Chapter 007: Flower Demon

Tong Er was taken aback, and the nuns in the nun's temple were all asleep at this moment, and would not wake up during the night. Tong Er whispered: "Miss, this is the offering fruit for the Bodhisattva!"

Tong Er leaves the house every night at the hour of Hai and only sneaks back at the hour of Zi. She has always been clever, managing to avoid the nuns in the temple with remarkable ease. When she leaves, Jiang Li waits for her in the dilapidated house, but waiting is quite boring. There are no scriptures in this temple, and Jiang Li has neither paper nor pen. After waking up, she no longer spends her days and nights stitching shoe soles, so she simply sits quietly, lost in thought.

Jiang Li nodded and said, "Just this one."

Tong'er asked: "Where to go"

The two individuals gaze at each other from a distance, their eyes meeting, yet it is also a confrontation at close quarters

"Miss, they are becoming increasingly excessive now," Tong'er said resentfully. "It must be the Ji family scheming behind the scenes!"

Jing'an Shitai would not openly scold or beat Jiang Li, yet for a young girl who has just reached the age of adulthood, being inadequately fed and clothed makes her feel as if her life has fallen from the heavens to the depths of the earth, and the sense of shame is enough to cause her suffering. Unfortunately, she is not the real Second Miss Jiang; not to mention whether she can endure hardship, even the low point of her life is far lower than that of the original Second Miss Jiang today.

Tong Er stared at the pastry crumbs, swallowed hard, and shook her head, saying: "If the young lady does not eat, then Tong Er will not eat either"

They have not eaten for a day and a night. Yesterday, the nun at the nunnery deliberately smashed the thin porridge that was sent over, and there were no other dishes in the kitchen. All the remaining pastries were taken to feed the monkeys in the back forest of Helin Temple, and both of them are now feeling extremely hungry

Hmm," Jiang Li shrugged, "So what?"

The nuns knew that Jiang Li had exchanged forty strings of copper coins for a basket of pastries. As soon as Jiang Li stepped out of the house, she could hear their mockery. Upon hearing this, Jiang Li did not get angry; instead, she smiled and watched them. After a few instances of this, the nuns found it uninteresting and stopped speaking.

On the roof of the small Buddhist hall, a person was seated, though it was unclear when this occurred. This individual was dressed in black, but was draped in a long cloak embroidered with deep red peonies, which made them appear particularly enchanting and striking.

No one noticed the surprise that flashed through Jiang Li's heart

Having reached such a point and now arriving at this level, one no longer feels that there is anything insurmountable

Tong'er asked: "Does the young lady want to wear this piece?"

Under the bright moon, the thin mist of the night gradually dissipates, illuminating the youthful face of the man on the roof layer by layer. His long eyebrows slant into his temples, particularly striking, and he possesses a pair of narrow, affectionate phoenix eyes with long eyelashes. Beneath his straight nose, his thin lips curve slightly, as if smiling, yet there is a hint of sarcasm in his smile. At the corner of his slightly upturned eyes, there is a small, crimson mole the size of a grain of rice, adding a touch of tenderness to his already otherworldly handsome profile under the moonlight.

By the time May 19 arrived, the basket of pastries was already empty. Tong'er leaned over the edge of the basket, carefully using a wooden spoon to scoop out the crumbs of pastries from the bottom of the basket and place them on a plate, saying to Jiang Li: "Miss, why don't you eat some of this to fill your stomach first"

Tong Er also walked over, and Jiang Li gently brushed her hands over the garments inside, shaking out a black robe from within.

In the days that followed, Tong'er indeed went to the mountains every day

"It doesn't matter," Jiang Li reassured her, "Even if we find out, there is nothing we can do."

"No problem, we will have something good to eat later," Jiang Li smiled.

How is he

Tong Er stared in astonishment at Jiang Li, the former Miss Jiang Er would never have spoken such shocking words

Tong Er refers to the current First Lady of the capital, Yanjing, as "Ji Shi," which must have been tacitly accepted by Miss Jiang Er in the past. Jiang Li does not find anything wrong with this; initially, everyone thought she would not survive and would soon die. In any case, Ji Shuran must have felt very comfortable in her heart. Who would have known that not only did she survive, but her temperament also improved significantly? Seeing her so happy, Ji Shuran must be feeling uncomfortable, and it is certain that she wants Master Jing'an to make herself uncomfortable.

In the human realm, the fragrance of April has faded, while the peach blossoms on the mountain begin to bloom. The peach blossoms of Qingcheng Mountain bloom late, and by mid-May, they unfold in layers. The vibrant and passionate color of the peach blossoms cannot diminish the charm of this person by even a fraction. Instead, it is he who, amidst the vast expanse of peach blossoms, transforms them into mere embellishments, as if he exists beyond the soft red of the blossoms, wearing a faint smile, coldly observing the struggles of the mundane world.

The nuns at the nunnery only felt that Tong'er went out more frequently than before, but when they secretly followed her, they did not discover anything unusual; Tong'er was chopping firewood with even more vigor.

"But this is the Bodhisattva," Tong'er still did not dare to respond, "We have eaten the offerings of the Bodhisattva, which is a great disrespect to the Bodhisattva"

It is evident that the better quality clothes in the wooden box are no longer available, and what remains are garments of inferior fabric, which are no longer suitable for Miss Jiang Er, who has grown taller over the past six years. Naturally, the people in the nunnery would not make new clothes for Jiang Li, so she usually wears ill-fitting clothes that are a bit short. This one remaining black robe was given to Jiang Li by a young nun who returned to secular life during this year's New Year, as she had an extra robe that happened to fit Jiang Li's stature quite well.

By the time she had donned her dark attire, the sun had completely vanished, and the night on Qingcheng Mountain was about to descend. Tong'er and Jiang Li kept vigil by the small kerosene lamp in the room, waiting until long after the hour of Hai had passed, when Jiang Li finally stood up and said, "Let us go out"

The peaceful days did not last long; perhaps it was intolerable for them to see the master and servant living too comfortably, so Master Jing'an began to make things difficult for them again. For instance, the porridge served daily was not only much thinner but also looked more like leftovers from someone else's meal.

Tong Er was even more perplexed

Jiang Li was dressed in the gray robe worn by nuns, her long hair unbound, cascading like a waterfall down her back, resembling a celestial being of the lotus at the feet of the Buddha. As she held a candle and looked up, her gaze was calm, perfectly meeting the eyes of the man on the roof.

Jiang Li raised her eyes to look out the window. Although it was much cooler on the mountain than down below, summer was approaching, and the days had noticeably lengthened. At this moment, the sun was about to set, and it would not be long before night fell. She said, "I won't eat anymore, you go ahead."

One is pure and unadorned, indifferent to the world, while the other is resplendent and enchanting, captivating the soul. The vast universe is neatly divided into two halves: one half is bright like a spring day, and the other half is dark like an abyss. The brightness is an illusion, while the abyss is an alluring gift

While I was lost in thought, I suddenly heard a soft laugh coming from above my head. The laughter was very faint, but in the stillness of the night, in the empty Buddhist hall, it sounded particularly clear

Tong Er looked up and was instantly stunned, pointing into the distance, stammering as she spoke: "Flower... Flower demon?"

Of course, it is to eat something said Jiang Li with a smile

Tong'er was filled with confusion until Jiang Li took her to the front Buddhist hall. Inside the hall, there was a statue of the female Bodhisattva, and sometimes in the nunnery, there would not be a single visitor for ten days or half a month, as the visitors all went to the nearby Helin Temple. Jiang Li walked up to the clay statue of the Bodhisattva, where offerings of fruit were placed on the altar. She picked up a plate and handed it to Tong'er, saying, "Eat."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Li smiled and said, "If even a clay Buddha cannot protect itself, how can you expect it to save or protect you? Since it is merely a clay statue, what does it matter whether it is respected or not? The path must be walked by oneself; relying on the Buddha will not suffice"

Jiang Li rose and walked to the corner of the room, where a large wooden box was placed. She opened the box, which was extremely large, making the few items inside appear pitifully lonely. There were only a few yellowed garments, barely filling half of the box. This was all that Miss Jiang had brought with her when she arrived at the nunnery from Yanjing six years ago. Perhaps there had once been some valuable items inside, but after six years, only these few yellowed garments remained.

Miss Jiang Er usually never wears this fitted black robe, as if only in this way can she convince herself that she is different from the nuns here, and that one day she will return to Yanjing as a young lady of the Jiang family. However, the current Jiang Li has no choice but to wear this black robe, for she has to meet someone tonight, and wearing a garment that is a bit too short in front of others would be rather disrespectful

What should those nuns do when they find out tomorrow morning? Tong'er waved her hand and said, "Let's just put it back."