Red Mansion and Crimson Pearl

Chapter 231: The Appearance of Shang Panxiang

For the old nun who was interpreting the divination by burning incense, this was probably one of the few women she had ever seen in her life, who was so open and happy about her fate of "never getting married".

The old nun couldn't help herself, she clasped her hands together and chanted deeply: "Amitabha!" With a look of pity on her face, she looked at Daiyu, "The donor is so free and easy at such a young age, I am obsessed with appearances!"

Lin Daiyu smiled and bowed: "Master, you are too kind. I am not carefree, but I know myself well.

"My parents are both dead, and I have no one to discipline me. I have a strange temper and sharp tongue. I am also entangled in karma and face many difficulties. But my elders dote on me and will never let me suffer injustice.

"I'm afraid there's no other woman in the world who is in my situation.

"Who dares to easily say that he can afford to marry me? Who can make me willingly say that I am willing to marry?"

The old nun was surprised and couldn't help but chant the Buddha's name again.

Daiyu smiled and said, "In front of the Buddha, I dare not lie. But the truth is so rude and shocking that it has polluted the ears of the nun."

He bowed again, nodded, said "goodbye", and left the Guanyin Hall with Qingwen's support.

The old nun put her hands together and bowed her head behind her, returning the greeting and sighing, "She has such wisdom, yet she has so many ties. What a pity, how pitiful!"

Qingwen had sharp ears. She walked a few steps and heard the old nun's words. She whispered to Lin Daiyu, "Listen, young lady. She said you are pitiful!

"I just can't see how you can be pitiful except for the fact that you don't have a bad marriage!"

Lin Daiyu smiled slightly and whispered, "She said that I have so many ties that I cannot enter Buddhism - this is pitiful."

"If you can't enter Buddhism, you're pitiful?" Qingwen was surprised and sneered, "Forget it! How many people in this world who can live a good life would enter Buddhism or Taoism?

"They used the same tricks to deceive me, but I actually believed them and even felt sorry for others because of it!

"Let me make a bet. If there is a great judge sitting here who can avenge them, will there still be ten people left in this temple?"

"Maybe." Aunt Meng walked beside them with a serious face and spoke vaguely, "After all, there are still people like abbots and supervisors of temples, and there are a lot of benefits to be made."

With a chuckle, Qingwen and Daiyu both laughed!

Only Zijuan heard it, feeling angry, amused, and helpless at the same time - she created such bad karma with her words!

He quickly turned around, clasped his hands together, muttered something, and apologized to the Guanyin Temple.

Xueyan and Xiaohong were holding hands at this time, looking at this and touching that curiously, their faces full of surprise like little girls who had never left home.

After walking a few more steps, they had finished their tour of the temple. Aunt Meng asked someone to find out which gate to take to exit the back mountain.

It happened that the person who pulled her this time was the receptionist of the temple. He looked her up and down for a few times, then suddenly turned around and said, "I was just about to go over there, so I'll show you the way."

Daiyu and the others knew that she saw that Aunt Meng had an extraordinary temperament and was either rich or noble, so she was doing it for them. She did not say anything, but just followed them with a smile.

After passing the Sutra Library and exiting a small black lacquered door, you will feel a refreshing mountain breeze towards you, and the view in front of you will suddenly become clear!

There are actually plum blossoms planted halfway up the mountain behind Xuanmu Mountain!

It is early winter now, and the mountain is much colder than the plain. There are several wintersweets blooming in the mountains, trembling in the cold. From a distance, they stand out with their elegance, while up close, they are delicate and charming.

The best thing is that although there are only a few plum trees in bloom on the mountain, the fragrance is already so refreshing that it makes people feel relaxed and happy.

"It is true that 'the fragrance of a flower can be smelled ten miles away'!" Lin Daiyu blurted out, her face full of surprise and joy. She held Qingwen's hand, walked past Aunt Meng and the nun in charge of reception, and walked hesitantly into the depths of the plum forest.

The receptionist looked at Daiyu's back, his brows twitched slightly, and he could not help but clasp his hands together and exclaim: "This little donor is truly a beauty, graceful and elegant. Even compared to the plum blossoms in the garden, she is no less beautiful!"

"Do all the nuns in Panxiang Temple really care so much about appearance?" Aunt Meng chuckled, "The nun who just interpreted the divination said that she was obsessed with appearance, and now she has you as her master."

After saying that, he glanced disdainfully and walked away.

Xueyan and Xiaohong pushed and shoved each other, resisting the urge to make faces and laugh, and hurriedly chased after Aunt Meng.

Only Zijuan couldn't help but sigh softly, smiled apologetically at the monk in charge of reception, nodded, and followed him into the forest.

Being despised by pilgrims for the first time, the monk in charge of receiving guests was speechless. Then he laughed and shook his head, chanted a Buddhist chant, and went down the mountain along another path.

Unexpectedly, a middle-aged nun suddenly came hurriedly behind her, holding a roll of paper. She looked around and saw her. She grabbed it and said, "Seventh Junior Sister, look at this!"

The monk in charge of reception looked at her strangely, then lowered his head to look at the unfolded gold paper, which turned out to be a hand-copied copy of the Diamond Sutra.

As soon as the familiar font came into view, the monk's pupils shrank, his expression became stern, and he looked up at the middle-aged nun: "Where did it come from!?"

"Someone came to burn incense and placed it on the incense table! I passed by and saw that it was gold paper. I was curious and took it down to have a look. Then I found that it was actually the handwriting of my junior sister!"

The middle-aged nun looked anxiously into the forest and said, "I heard that there are six or seven female guests, asking about Merlin..."

"It's them!" The monk in charge of reception had a bright look in his eyes, and he hurriedly pulled the nun over. "They came to see the plum blossoms. I brought them here!"

The two of them hurried down the stairs and entered Merlin to look for Daiyu and her group.

The monk in charge of reception continued in a low voice: "...After walking this short distance, you just asked me about the situation in the temple.

"I just praised the girl and wanted to ask about her background, but she mocked me for saying that everyone in this temple only cares about appearance.

"Just when I had nothing to say and was stunned, they all ran away! They were really alert!"

The middle-aged nun became more and more anxious: "Although the junior sister loves to copy scriptures, she is not easy to pass on her writings to others. If it falls into the hands of such people, she is stubborn and will suffer a great loss!"

"He may not be a bad person." The monk in charge of reception recalled the poem that Daiyu had said and whispered, "At least he is the daughter of a scholarly family."

"My junior sister wrote back last time, saying that she was in the Rongguo Mansion in the capital. That family is indeed a scholarly family, and the girls are also considered rich ladies.

"But how could a daughter of such a rich family come to Gusu so quietly? We haven't heard of the Duke of Rong returning home to visit his relatives recently!" the middle-aged nun asked anxiously.

The monk in charge of reception shook his head and said, "Have you forgotten? Last year, Duke Ningguo resigned from his title and returned to Nanjing. Who knows, it might be his women who came here secretly from Nanjing to enjoy the sights."

The middle-aged nun was stunned, then thought about it and it made sense.

Since there is a place, there is no need to rush.

The two men were certain that Daiyu was a member of the Jia family from the former Ning Mansion, so they calmed down and began to search slowly.