Chapter 513 The Intimate Conversation Between the Elder Sister and the Younger Brother
“Do you think that I should feel peaceful?” Shao Yanru said with a frown and stared fixedly at Pushan Nun who looked kind. In the smoke from the incense burner, Pushan Nun’s face looked indistinct. Shao Yanru could only see that she seemed to be as amiable and peaceful as the Buddha statue on the lotus seat.
“Why do you feel uneasy? You want something from me?” Pushan Nun asked with a smile.
Shao Yanru shook her head first, and then nodded and said, “Can you clear up my confusion?”
“No!” Pushan Nun said with an increasingly gentle smile which made her look even more amiable and peaceful than the Buddha statue on the lotus seat, “First Miss, you actually have got the answer, don’t you?”
What she said made Shao Yanru fall silent for a long while. After that, Shao Yanru said, “Master, I can help you, but you have to help me too!”
“You help all the mortal beings by helping me. In this case, all the Buddhas will bless you. First Miss, if there is a reason why I must help you other than the benevolence of the Buddhism, just say it!”
Pushan Nun said.
“Master, the reason why I decided to help you is that you are the one who asked me to do so. If it is someone else, it has nothing to do with me. Moreover, if it is discovered by others, I may get into trouble. Master, as one of all mortal beings, I’m not as broad-minded as you. But if you can help me, I can help you in some things.”
Shao Yanru suddenly became peaceful, and the uneasiness in her eyes faded. She looked at Pushan Nun leisurely.
Seeing that Pushan Nun fell silent for the time being, she put down the teacup in her hand on the table, was about to stand up and said, “Master, if you can’t make up your mind at the moment, you can think it over. I’m going to stay on the mountain for three days. After that, there’s nothing I can do about it even if I want to!”
In fact, even if Pushan Nun agreed one day later, she would be in a rush and it would be discovered easily. At this point, Shao Yanru was not worried at all that Pushan Nun would refuse.
She didn’t believe that Pushan Nun would risk her life to save several poor ladies out of benevolence although Pushan Nun looked so compa.s.sionate!
Seeing that Shao Yanru really pushed the teacup away and stood up to leave, Pushan Nun said slowly, “First Miss, how can I help you?”
“This can wait. We’ll talk about it after you enter the imperial palace!” Shao Yanru said with a slight smile and turned around calmly. She was certain that she could win this round.
“I helped you once by offering you the chance to enter the imperial palace. This time I help you again. Master, remember that you owe me twice!”
“I do it for all mortal beings!” Pushan Nun didn’t give a definite answer. She only lowered her head, put her palms together and muttered.
“I’m one of the mortal beings. What’s more, I’m your disciple. Master, you help yourself by helping me. Do you think so?”
Shao Yanru said happily with a smile, seeming to be indicating something.
“Okay, I’ll do everything you ask me to do!” Pushan Nun said and nodded, while lowering her head. She began to chant scriptures slowly, and her appealing voice filled the Zen room.
Knowing that it was time to leave, Shao Yanru turned around and got out of the Zen room. She walked out slowly, thinking that the religious rite in the afternoon was about to begin!
Hearing that Shao Yanru had left, Pushan Nun kept chanting scriptures, while slowly opening her eyes to stare deeply at Shao Yanru’s back. After a long while, she showed a weird smile. Only Shao Yanru’s consent to help her was obviously not enough, and she needed more…
When Shao Wanru returned to the hall where the religious rite was held, it was still early. After she knelt down on a rush cus.h.i.+on on the side, Old Madam and the others showed up. They went to the side hall for a rest after offering incense, leaving Shao Wanru and her younger brother kneeling in the middle of the hall.
Shao Wanru and her younger brother were the direct descendants of the Heir of Duke Xing and Infanta Qinghua, so it was reasonable for them to kneel on behalf of the others.
Pushan Nun led her two disciples to chant scriptures here. In the afternoon the incense had been burnt out for three rounds, during which time Old Madam and the others from Duke Xing’s Mansion came in three times and each of them offered three sticks of incense every time.
After Pushan Nun finished chanting scriptures three times and left, there were only Shao Wanru and her younger brother in the hall.
With no one else around at this moment, the two of them could take a break. Shao Wanru sat down on the ground and pounded her legs lightly. At the sight of this, Shao Yuanhao also sat down.
“Hao’er, how are you doing in grandma’s mansion?” Shao Wanru lowered her voice and asked. It was not until now that they had the time to whisper to each other.
“Rest a.s.sured, sister. Grandma is very kind and she has taught me a lot. Sometimes she took me to Prince Chen’s Mansion where Prince Chen has also taught me a lot.” Hearing Shao Wanru’s words, Shao Yuanhao immediately looked around and then said in a low voice. They had always been close to each other. Although they didn’t meet during the last two years, they kept writing to each other.
“You visited Prince Chen’s Mansion?” Shao Wanru was stunned and said.
“Why not? Cousin Chen is so nice. Sometimes he insisted on teaching me even when he was sick!” Shao Yuanhao said.
“He taught you in person?” Shao Wanru became increasingly shocked. It was rumored that Prince Chen was so sick that he couldn’t even get up. Besides, why did her younger brother call him cousin Chen? Since when did her younger brother become so close to Chu Liuchen that he even called Chu Liuchen cousin Chen now?
Chu Liuchen was actually Shao Yuanhao’s cousin. Nevertheless, Chu Liuchen was of n.o.ble status as a prince, so it was inappropriate for Shao Yuanhao to call him cousin.
“Of course cousin Chen taught me in person. He has been in poor health. However, he struggled to teach me for a short time every time he asked me to go to his place.”
Shao Yuanhao said with tremendous reverence on his taut face.
Shao Wanru suddenly felt that her younger brother was so naive that he thought highly of Chu Liuchen who actually pretended to be seriously sick in front of him. She inexplicably felt a little uncomfortable.
“Sister, I’ve grown up and become sensible. I’ll protect you in the future!” Looking at Shao Wanru’s complex countenance, Shao Yuanhao said like an adult and reached out to ma.s.sage Shao Wanru’s legs.
“You are quite strong!” Feeling the numbness in her legs, Shao Wanru opened her eyes wide in shock and said. Shao Yuanhao even ma.s.saged her legs harder than she did.
“Of course. Cousin Chen asked someone to teach me martial arts. He said that it could not only strengthen my body but also enable me to protect my sister!”
Shao Yuanhao raised his head and said with a proud look.
Of course he would not mention that his cries almost turned over the roof when he began to learn martial arts. At that time, Rui’an Great Elder Princess was so distressed that she almost allowed him to quit. However, Prince Chen directly instructed the guards to take him to the branch and told him to get down by himself. Shao Yuanhao, who was trembling at that time, gave in at once.
Thinking of it at this moment, he found it so amusing. Now he had become sensible and knew that if he hadn’t studied hard at that time, he would have been an ignorant profligate childe now. At this point, Shao Yuanhao admired his cousin, Prince Chen, greatly from the bottom of his heart.
Shao Wanru only found out that Chu Liuchen made her younger brother become such a composed person after hearing her younger brother’s words. Feeling a surge of inexplicable warmth in her heart, she reached out to hold Shao Yuanhao’s hands with which he was pounding her legs. She looked him up and down and said with satisfaction, “You’ are so tall now and almost as tall as me!”
Shao Wanru had been growing very fast recently, and was more than one head taller than two years ago. Nevertheless, she still looked a little childish now. After all, she was still young and going to be fourteen years old in a few days.
“Cousin Chen said that I will grow into a very tall man in the future. I can be much taller than you. Sister, you are too short at your age!”
Shao Yuanhao said in a despising tone.
Shao Wanru felt an itch in her teeth and wanted to clench her teeth.
She reached out to pat Shao Yuanhao’s head and said reproachfully, “Why don’t you outgrow me now? You’re shorter than me, but talk big!”
“Sister, I’m not as old as you. I will definitely be taller than you at your age. I heard from cousin Chen that father was very tall. I don’t think you can grow much in the future!” Shao Yuanhao said seriously. He kept a childish straight face, looked Shao Wanru up and down and then made a judgment.
His cousin Chen had said that his elder sister wouldn’t grow much in the future. Thinking that his elder sister could even be considered short among ladies, Shao Yuanhao felt that his elder sister was so pitiful, so he immediately threw out his chest and said, “Sister, rest a.s.sured. Even if you can’t grow taller, I won’t despise you!”
His words made Shao Wanru laugh out loud. She reached out to pat Shao Yuanhao again and said, “How could you despise me before I despise you!”
As they talked, they felt close to each other at once, as if they had been getting along with each other in this way in the past two years. They could not help smiling into each other’s eyes.
“Fifth Miss, kneel properly. Third young master, Old Madam wants to meet you!” Suddenly, a cold voice of an old maid came from the door.
Shao Wanru frowned and was about to say something, but Shao Yuanhao said before her, “Why does grandma want to meet me without my elder sister?”
“There must be someone staying in the hall, and the Fifth Miss is the suitable person,” the old maid said at the door of the hall.
Shao Yuanhao wanted to say something else, but Shao Wanru reached out to stop him. She winked at him to indicate that he shouldn’t talk back. Shao Yuanhao nodded with a gloomy face and said, “You can go there now. My legs are tired. I’ll go there after cleaning up!”
“Okay. I’ll report it to Old Madam immediately!” The old maid responded and left.
“Sister, Grandma still doesn’t like you, does she?” Shao Yuanhao lowered his voice and asked discontentedly, “You come back after experiencing a hard time. Why doesn’t she like you?”
It was obvious that his elder sister was more likable. Why didn’t his grandma like his elder sister? Why did his grandma tell his elder sister to stay in the hall? She could ask someone to stay here in place of his elder sister. Why did she keep his elder sister here?
Shao Yuanhao was no longer the naive little boy who indulged himself in horsing around. He was very angry with his grandma’s bias.
“Hao’er, don’t be angry. There is nothing to be angry about. I’m not raised by her, so we are not close to each other. Hao’er, remember that you are raised by her. Don’t annoy her. Try to please her. Otherwise, we may lose the things left by our parents!”
They might lose screen wall, the t.i.tle of n.o.bility, and other things that they cared about. In the last life, these things were all taken by the second branch trampling on her and her younger brother’s blood…
Shao Yuanhao was still young, so Shao Wanru didn’t want to make it clear. There was only a trace of coldness and rage in her eyes!
“Sister, rest a.s.sured. I understand. I won’t let them climb up by trampling on us!” Shao Yuanhao clenched his teeth and said in a low voice. He stood up with the support of Shao Wanru’s shoulder, and his eyes were full of calmness that was rare in his age!