Chapter 663 Master Wuchen
The Empress probably had sent some people to leave some traces of Lin Mengya’s fleeing to escape being punished in the woodshed from the moment Lin Mengya stepped out of the woodshed. As long as Lin Mengya rejected her terms, these traces would be discovered.
“I can agree to your terms, but you must release Yinghua and let him come back to me!”
The Empress turned around. In the darkness, there was a cold and mocking look in her slanted eyes.
“I can let him go back to you only after you do what I said. Don’t try any tricks. Even if His Majesty is dissatisfied with me, I’m still the Empress of Dajin!”
At that moment, Lin Mengya was frightened by the undisguised hatred in the Empress’ eyes.
She was sure that it was not because of the adversarial relationship between the side she took and the side the Empress took.
However, the Empress turned around and left the dark meditation room without giving her a chance to ask about it.
Why on earth did the Empress nurse such a profound hatred for her and such a strong desire to kill her?
Lin Mengya didn’t know, but a bigger problem came into her mind in an instant.
The Empress was indeed scheming. Knowing that Yinghua meant a lot to Long Tianyu and her, the Empress came up with such a vicious scheme.
However, she could give up neither the military power nor Long Tianyu.
The Empress was a patient person. It would be difficult for her to escape from the trap.
Shaking her head, Lin Mengya sighed slightly.
She really didn’t know what kind of evil she had done before so that she had to be trapped in this intrigue in this life.
“Go and take me back to the woodshed.”
After adjusting her expression, Lin Mengya walked out of the meditation room.
People here all worked for the Empress. Therefore, it would be difficult for her to run away even if she wanted to.
It was better to wait and see. After all, she was now all alone.
She returned to the woodshed after this visit.
Figuring out the Empress’ purpose was not necessarily a bad thing for Lin Mengya.
She had long known that the military power in her father’s hands was as tempting as drugs to both the Empress and Long Tianyu.
The reason why she was married to Long Tianyu and poisoned in the sedan was that they wanted to make her father take a side.
To be honest, sometimes she really wanted her father to resign and leave here with her brother to stay out of trouble.
But they were in a special situation now. If her father could not control the military power, Long Tianyu might not be able to get so many people’s support, and her father might not be able to protect the Lin family.
The Emperor’s favor wouldn’t last forever. The loyalty of the Lin family with no military power meant nothing.
Lin Mengya sat with her arms around her knees in the woodshed blankly, in an emotional turmoil.
“Knock, knock…”
At dawn, Lin Mengya, who was not sleepy at all, suddenly heard someone knock on the door gently.
She immediately thought that the person outside the door was sent by the Empress. However, the person did not speak. Instead, he gave her a sweet pancake wrapped in oil paper through the door.
Lin Mengya was a little confused, but suddenly, there came a very amiable whisper from outside.
“My child, don’t be afraid. Take it and eat it while it’s hot.”
Although the voice sounded old, it reminded Lin Mengya of the nanny in charge of taking care of her and the other orphans in the orphanage when she was a child.
The nanny was also amiable and took care of every orphan lovingly so that they could grow up in love.
With her eyes turning red, Lin Mengya involuntarily took the sweet pancake from the person with both hands, put it in her mouth, and took a big bite.
It was sweet, soft, and still warm.
She, who had experienced a cold night, seemed to have been warmed by this sweet pancake.
Lin Mengya raised her head and looked out through the crack in the door, only to see an old monk with a benignant look standing not far away and looking at her with a smile.
…
He was dressed in a coa.r.s.e robe, which was not gorgeous but neat and clean.
His eyes were full of wisdom, and only a glance into them was enough to arouse her respect for him.
At this moment, seeing Lin Mengya looking at him, the old monk put his palms together and bowed to her.
“Greetings, benefactor. I’m sorry to disturb you. Amitabha. You are chosen by the Buddha and destined to have incredible experiences. I can do nothing other than doing you a tiny favor.”
The old monk said “amitabha”, but not in a deliberate way as others did.
Lin Mengya quickly returned a bow at the thought that this man was a real Buddhist disciple. It was said that the face was the index of the mind. Compared with Yunshen who attempted to kill her last night, this monk was as heart-warming as a Bodhisattva.
“Master, I’m flattered. Thank you for your sweet pancake. But it’s really not a good place to talk. If I get a chance later, I will definitely invite you to my mansion to talk freely about the Buddhist scriptures.”
In fact, Lin Mengya had a bad impression of Buddhism.
It was because, in modern times, the commercialized Buddhism propaganda had already caused this religion for self-cultivation to be stained with the stink of money.
However, the master she saw today made her understand why Buddhism had been pa.s.sed on for thousands of years.
If the old monk didn’t devote himself to cultivation and deliver all living creatures from torment, she wouldn’t feel so peaceful the moment she saw him.
The air exuded from him was capable of making people feel composed and unhurried even in a busy street.
Such a person must be a great master in Buddhism, so Lin Mengya respected him very much.
“Hahaha, my dharma name is Wuchen. You can just call me Monk Wuchen. I’m far from being a master. In fact, I came here to ask something back from you.”
Lin Mengya was stunned for a moment. It was just the first time she had met Master Wuchen. How could she owe him anything?
…
Seeing her expression, Wuchen smiled and explained, “Actually, many years ago, I asked a benefactor to give it to you. It seems that he has kept his promise and straightened out the cause and effect, so it fell into your hands. Congratulations on that.”
Only then did Lin Mengya realize that what Wuchen was talking about was the bead Tian Ning gave her.
She quickly put down the sweet pancake and wiped her hands carefully. Then, she drew the bead from her waist and presented it with both hands.
“Master, I’m wondering if you’re talking about this. I didn’t expect that Tian Ning got it from you. Thank you for saving my life. I will never forget it.”
Seeing Lin Mengya return it directly, Wuchen could not help glancing at her with admiration.
“Great, she, who is sensible and not greedy for something belonging to someone else, is indeed a person with singular wisdom in Buddhist doctrine.” As Wuchen thought, he reached out and took the white bead cautiously from her.
There was faint reluctance and sadness in his eyes. But soon, those worldly emotions gradually faded in his eyes.
Wuchen put his palms together and bowed to the west. Then, he returned the bead to Lin Mengya.
“No, master, I can’t accept it. It belongs to you and should be returned to you.”
Lin Mengya noticed the emotions in Master Wuchen’s eyes, so she could not accept it.
However, Wuchen just smiled with no more obsession in his eyes.
“Just take it, benefactor. To tell you the truth, this is the relic of my master Yunfang. Speaking of which, I just pa.s.sed it on to you. It’s actually my master Yunfang who entrusted me with this task.”
The relic?
Lin Mengya was very surprised. She took the bead from Master Wuchen’s hands with both hands.
She had only heard that a real eminent monk could leave behind a relic, which represented his merits, after pa.s.sing away.
The relic was supposed to be a treasure worshiped in a Buddhist paG.o.da. Why did Master Yunfang give it to her?
“Benefactor, you don’t have to doubt it. My master Yunfang has penetrated the great wisdom. He must have made such an arrangement for a reason. In fact, I just come here to visit his grave. Besides, I hope you can promise me one thing.”
Lin Mengya carefully put away the relic. Since Master Yunfang had given her such a treasure, she definitely would promise to help him anything.
“Please don’t hesitate to tell me, Master.”
Wuchen suddenly sighed with a guilty look on his face.
“To tell you the truth, my master Yunfang and Master Yunshen were originally fellow disciples. Master Yunshen have committed these monstrous crimes because of his evil thought. The Buddhist incense he used is the root of all sins. I would like to ask you to get him out of the abyss of misery.”
Yunshen was Master Yunfang’s fellow disciple?
Lin Mengya opened her eyes wide and looked at Master Wuchen in front of her.
Monk Yunshen committed crimes with cruel and outrageous means.
However, he definitely looked like a young man in his thirties at most. How could he—
“Alas, it’s a long story. I’m ashamed that his degenerating into a member of an evil cult enables him to stay young. You will know the details in the future. He could be considered a part of your trial you encountered and will be defeated at a proper time. Don’t worry, the relic of my master can exactly restrain his evil means. Under the light from the Buddha, all evil things have nowhere to hide. It’s getting late, so I shouldn’t bother you any longer.”
Wuchen bowed deeply and was about to leave.
But Lin Mengya suddenly called out to him.
“Master, I will try my best to do what you said. But I also want to ask you for a favor. I hope you could do your best to make it. But if you couldn’t make it, I will still be very grateful.”
Since Lin Mengya had promised to help him, he should do her a favor in return. Thinking of this, Wuchen stopped and listened to her attentively.
“All that have happened to me are caused by striving for power. I have got involved in it and can’t get out of it. But I hope that you could save the innocent child out of sympathy. I will appreciate it if you could convert him to Buddhism. If you couldn’t make it, I hope you could try every means to keep him away from these conspiracies.”
Lin Mengya was not stupid. Since Monk Wuchen appeared in front of her, those servants, who had been watching over her day and night, had never appeared.