The pain in Xie Miao's heart soon disappeared in the scent of incense at Qingxin Temple.
Qingxin Temple is built halfway up Feng Huang Mountain, hidden in the high forest where it can bathe in the light of the first sunlight. It has offered incense for hundreds of years and the sound of the bells are deep and long.
In the solemn hall, Xie Miao knelt down on a mediation cushion and clasped her hands together. She chanted Buddhist scriptures together with many female disciples. After reciting the sutra, Master Hui Jue couldn't help but look at her differently, "Miss Xie is so young, it's hard to have such a character."
Xie Miao moved into the temple half a month ago in the name of self-cultivation. She originally thought that like other pilgrims, she would just worship Buddha and burn incense. However, she did not expect that she would study with the disciples in the temple every day and she was actually more pious than a monk.
Master Hui Jue was a little curious. Xie Miao was obviously just a young girl when they met last time. She didn't know what she had gone through but she had transformed into such a calm person in just half a month.
Naturally, Xie Miao couldn't tell the truth so she only said: "Perhaps I received guidance from the Buddha and suddenly woke up."
Master Hui Jue did not ask any further questions and said, "In that case, Miss Xie can come and listen to me discuss the sutras and recite the Buddha's name every day and comprehend its secrets."
Xie Miao smiled and nodded, "I have this intention."
Master Hui Jue stood up and heard Xie Miao whisper: "Master, please go slowly. I will have something to ask you for help..."
The mountain light faded, the haze flowed and Xie Miao stepped into the courtyard step by step in the afterglow.
This is the courtyard where Qingxin Temple accommodate pilgrims. It is small and elegant. There is a persimmon tree planted in the courtyard. Its branches are red at the moment and it looks like red lanterns from a distance.
Lan Xia laid out rice under the tree, including stir-fried lettuce, cabbage and tofu, cold lotus root slices, and a dish of watershield soup.
A few people sat down to eat together regardless of their status. Xie Miao's health improved a lot and her appetite recovered. On the other hand, Lan Xia who always eats well, picks up a handful of cabbage but the hand holding the chopsticks is weak.
It isn't known what she thought of but she suddenly sat up straight and said enigmatically: "Miss, I am enlightened."
Xie Miao felt happy for a moment. She was indeed her maid. She had only listened to the Sanskrit scripture for a few days and realized the mystery of Buddhism. Then she heard her say: "This slave has finally realised why no one except nuns want to live in the nunnery forever. It's because dishes without meat is too unsatisfactory!"
Xie Miao: ...she thinks too much.
Lan Xia was still sighing: "I really don't know how those nuns can stay here."
Xie Miao calmly picked up a piece of lotus root and said, "For monks, this world is an illusion so naturally they don't care about this little bit of rhetoric."
Lan Xia tilted her head and said: "In life, food, clothing, housing and transportation are the second most important things. If you can't enjoy eating, what's the point?"
Fu Lu stretched out her index finger and pushed her forehead, "You, you, you know how to eat all day long, you are such a foodie!"
Lan Xia sighed, "It's a pity that there is nothing else but vegetarian food..."
With a "splat" sound, a persimmon fell from the tree and hit Lan Xia's head. Lan Xia covered her head and fell back, falling on all fours.
Fu Lu was always mature but when she saw her embarrassment, she couldn't help laughing. While helping her, she said: "Seriously, if you feel sleepy, pass over the pillow - it's just the right time!"
Xie Miao raised her head and looked at the fruits on the tree then slightly bent her eyes.
Let's get some persimmons to eat tomorrow.
*
They agreed to pick persimmons tomorrow but Lan Xia couldn't wait and started dreaming about it that night.
In the dream, she still looked nine or ten years old, living in the Xie family's old house with her Young Lady and Fu Lu. The Young Lady was happy and depressed at the same time because her aunt was getting married. She wanted to make the Young Lady happy so she took aim at the persimmon tree in the yard.
She heard that it was planted by the Master and his wife when they got married. Every autumn, it will bear a lot of fruits which are red, smooth and very delicious. Before the Second Lady got married, they would ask the servants to pick persimmons and share them around the table. However, since the Second Lady decided to marry far away, the persimmon tree was as listless as the Young Lady and could no longer bear many fruits.
The persimmons were very sweet and she thought that the Young Lady would feel better if she ate something sweet. Even if there are only a few pitiful red spots hanging on the persimmon tree, it is better than nothing, right?
Humming, she moved a ladder and set it up against the tree. She climbed up like a monkey and cut each fruit with a pair of scissor.
Click.
Click.
Click...
Lan Xia, who was sleeping soundly, moved her ears and suddenly opened her eyes and sat up straight.
Click, click, click.
She rubbed her eyes. She was not dreaming. There was really a sound in the yard!
She opened a crack in the door and looked out only to see a looming figure moving in the persimmon tree in the dark yard.
What little thief dared to steal her persimmons!
Lan Xia picked up the broom beside the door, rushed out the door with thunderous momentum and ran straight to the tree. She drew out the broom and aimed at the black shadow on the tree like a knight drawing a sword and said angrily: "Where does this thief come from to steal persimmons?"
The black shadow in the tree didn't expect to be discovered. It was so frightened that it almost fell down and barely managed to hold on to the trunk to steady itself.
It was late at night and everything was pitch dark. Lan Xia couldn't see the face clearly but it didn't affect her performance. "Come down here and I'll escort you to the government! Our young cousin is a senior official of the Ministry of Justice. I want him to punish you! Send you to the frontier to farm..."
"Lan Xia, shut up!"
Fu Lu heard the movement outside the door and hurriedly put on her clothes and came out with a lantern. The dim yellow light illuminated a corner of the yard. Fu Lu raised her arm and saw a short figure lying in the persimmon tree. She was obviously not tall enough.
It's actually a child.
Lan Xia could see clearly at this time, "Little thief, since you dare to steal things, you must be prepared to be punished! Get down here!"
Facing the aggressive Lan Xia, the child on the tree remained silent. It seemed that as long as she kept silent, she could escape from this terrible scene.
Lan Xia lost her patience, "Not coming down? Then I'll go up!"
She was rolling up her sleeves and planning to climb up the tree when Xie Miao also walked out.
She quickly complained: "Miss, I was sleeping just fine. I heard something moving in the yard. When I came out, I saw that it was a thief stealing persimmons... I will go up and catch her right now and take her to the Criminal Department tomorrow!"
"I, I'm not a thief, don't send me to jail!" A trembling, crying child's voice came from the tree.
Xie Miao frowned and looked around. A grey figure was lying on the tree. Her face and expression could not be seen clearly but judging from her voice, she was very frightened.
At this time, there was a knock on the door and the night watch nun asked: "Miss Xie, has something happened in the yard?"
Xie Miao glanced at Fu Lu, who immediately covered Lan Xia's mouth as she was about to speak.
"I'm sorry to disturb you, Master. There's nothing wrong in the courtyard. It was my maid's sleeping nightmare. It's gone now." Xie Miao raised her voice.
After the night watch nun left, Xie Miao picked up the lantern and walked under the tree.
She asked: "Who are you?"
The child on the tree was quiet for a long time and said softly: "I am from a decent family living at the foot of the mountain. I am not a little thief."
Xie Miao said: "If you are not a thief, why are you still staying in the tree?"
The child shrank, pointed at Lan Xia and complained loudly, "She said I was a thief. She wanted to send me to the prison of the Ministry of Justice. She wanted me to be punished by the adults to farm in the frontier!"
Lan Xia's mouth was covered: "Woo ass oou tuo seel my pershiming (who asked you to steal my persimmons)..."
Xie Miao said: "Fu Lu, take Lan Xia in."
Fu Lu did as she was told and only Xie Miao and the child on the tree were left in the yard.
Xie Miao waved to her and said gently: "She's gone, come down."
The child hesitated, "Are you her Lady?"
Xie Miao said: "Yes, she listens to my words and will not come to arrest you again."
The child asked: "Then will you send me to the Criminal Department?"
Xie Miao couldn't laugh or cry, "This is the persimmon tree in Qingxin Temple, what does it have to do with me? Even if I go to appeal, they will ignore it."
"Then go back further."
Xie Miao stood at the corner and saw the person climbing down from the tree nimbly. She looked eight or nine years old, wearing buns and a patched coarse skirt. Her face was dirty but her dark eyes were exceptionally bright at night. She was holding a basket in her hand with several persimmons in it. When Xie Miao looked over, she immediately hid it behind her.
Her expression was guarded and a little uneasy and she was still defending herself: "The persimmons are ripe, it would be a pity not to pick them and have them drop on the ground."
"Yes." Xie Miao said, "It's true, one fell while we were having dinner tonight and hit Lan Xia on the head."
"Who is Lan Xia?"
"It's the one who just shouted that she wanted to arrest you."
The girl grinned, very happy, "Good job." Who made her keep saying that she was a thief and then want to send her to the Criminal Department!
"Is your cousin really working in the Ministry of Justice?" she asked the beautiful young lady in front of her curiously.
Xie Miao shook her head, "A distant relative who is not related by blood will not interfere with my affairs."
The girl's expression relaxed at this moment, "I knew she was lying. How can the officials of the Ministry of Justice have so many relatives and also ordered to catch just me."
Although she was sure that the girl in front of her was not harmful, Xie Miao still had doubts in her heart. Qingxin Temple is a century-old nunnery with strict discipline and special personnel patrolling at night. Where did the child in front of her come from?
She asked directly, "How did you get in?"
The girl scratched her cheek in embarrassment, "I sometimes help the Master in the nunnery with errands so I am familiar with the place..." She pointed behind Xie Miao and said, "There is a dog hole in the corner and I crawled in from there."
Xie Miao turned around and saw a big stone pressed against the corner of the wall which should have just covered the entrance of the hole.
Xie Miao nodded, thinking that she would ask Lan Xia to fix it tomorrow.
A gust of night wind blew and the girl sneezed and two clear streams came out of her nose.
Xie Miao took out the handkerchief from her sleeve and walked towards her slowly, "I'll wipe it for you."
The girl wanted to run but her feet seemed to be growing into the ground and she couldn't lift them up.
The bamboo lantern exuded a warm light, covering the dark blue dress swaying in front of her. The pretty lady knelt down and wiped her nose gently.
"It's cold at night. You're going to get sick if you don't wear enough clothes."
Xie Miao was subconsciously concerned. After hearing this, the girl burst into tears and hugged her waist tightly. She shouted, "Mom, I miss you so much!"
Fifteen-year-old Xie Miao is happy to be a mother!
*
Half an hour later, Xie Miao found out clearly about the girl's life experience.
The girl's name is Sun Qiaogu. She is eight years old and lives in Jishan Village at the foot of the mountain. She has a 65-year-old grandmother and a scholar brother at home. Her father was a bad gambler and an alcoholic. He beat and scolded her mother every day until one day her mother couldn't bear it anymore, packed her bags and left. Her father also fell asleep drunk in the field on a snowy night last winter and froze to death.
The elder brother concentrates on his studies and the grandmother has limited mobility. The family relies on Qiaogu's work to support the family. Qiaogu usually help people run errands and do farm work but even so she can't make ends meet. So she set her sights on the persimmon tree in Qing Xin Temple. She wanted to pick the persimmons and make them into persimmon cakes to sell.
Who knew that she would get into trouble and be discovered as soon as she picked a few.
Qiaogu cried until she had tears and a runny nose and Lan Xia was... no better.
The person who had just been clamouring to send Qiaogu to the Ministry of Justice cried uncontrollably, "Sister Qiaogu, it turns out that your life experience is so pitiful. If you want to pick persimmons, go ahead and pick them. There are so many of it. I can't finish it either."
Fu Lu covered her eyes with one hand and couldn't bear to look at her. This girl is really... indescribably mean-spirited. The persimmon tree belongs to Qingxin Temple, is it their turn to assign it to someone else? However, Fu Lu also understood her feelings. Not to mention Xie Miao, she and Lan Xia themselves came from poor families so they naturally understood Qiaogu's plight.
Fu Lu looked at the Young Lady and saw that she was smiling slightly, as if she had an idea.
"Qiaogu, you just said you can make persimmon cakes?" Xie Miao asked.
Qiaogu wiped her face carelessly with her sleeves, "Yes sister. My Grandmother used to be the best at making persimmon cakes but now she can't move while lying in the bed so she taught me everything. Don't look at me for being young but I'm very good at making persimmon cakes. I have talent and my Grandmother always praises me as bluer than blue."
It is green born of blue and better than blue. (t/n: The student becomes superior to the master)
"You are so awesome." Xie Miao touched her head and turned to the two maids, "Do you want to eat persimmon cakes?"
Lan Xia and Fu Lu's eyes lit up and they nodded in unison, "Yes!"
Xie Miao asked Qiaogu again, "Qiaogu, Sister wants to hire you to make persimmon cakes for us. The reward will be three coins each. Are you willing?"
Three coins each? If you make one hundred, wouldn't that mean three hundred coins?
Qiaogu jumped up, raised her hands high and said with a bright smile: "Sister, I do!"
She called her sister, reminding Xie Miao of the "Mother" she had said previously.
Qiaogu's mother left for many years and never came back to see her. Xie Miao's caring tone just now was very similar to hers so Qiaogu blurted out and called her mother.
This was the first mother sound that Xie Miao heard in two lifetimes.