jdhmnovel Chapter 382: Surrender to 5 Dou of Rice
Chapter 382: Surrender to 5 Dou of Rice
Miaomiao sat down next to the little nun.
The little nun shifted her position.
The little girl in red moved closer to her again.
The little nun moved over again.
Miaomiao grabbed her arm, "I'm just a child, what are you afraid of me for?"
The young nun had never seen such a beautiful and unpretentious young lady from an official's family.
She sat motionless with her head bowed.
Miao Miao took out a few dates from her small cloth bag and handed them to her, saying, "They were just picked and are still fresh."
Xi'er's brow twitched.
He stared intently at the little nun, as if afraid she would pull out a knife from her bosom.
Her little master really doesn't know what fear is.
She was so close; what if the young nun wanted to kill her to silence her, and stabbed her...?
The young nun remained silent with her head down.
She had already thought it through; the worst that could happen was that she would just smash her head against a wall and die.
One hundred.
Miao Miao shoved the date into her hand and muttered to herself, "Your daughter's becoming a nun was bestowed by the Emperor. Now she's running away and you're taking her place. Do you know what that means?"
The little girl tightened her grip on the date, but still didn't say anything.
Miao Miao continued to talk, seemingly casually, as if chatting, "Do you know that Jiang Zijin sneaking out like this, leaving you here to take her place, is a crime of deceiving the emperor. The crime of deceiving the emperor is punishable by death, and in more serious cases, it can lead to the extermination of nine generations of your family. Nine generations of your family means your parents, brothers, uncles, and all your relatives and friends. No one can escape. Aren't you afraid?"
The young nun looked up at her, her eyes filled with horror.
The third girl said that if she did not agree to be a substitute, she would accuse her parents of stealing their master's property.
Such a person would either end up in jail or be beaten to death by his master.
Her younger brother will also be sent to the palace to become a eunuch.
She had no one to confide in!
Miao Miao continued, "And everyone in the nunnery will be punished for protecting you. Can you bear to do that?"
It was clear that although the nuns wouldn't let her leave the courtyard, they hadn't mistreated her.
The house was clean and tidy, and there were even snacks and fruits on the table.
"This servant did not want to do this, but was forced by the Third Miss."
The young nun's face was deathly pale; she was in a complete panic, and her body was trembling uncontrollably.
Then she buried her head in her hands and began to sob.
At that moment, she suddenly realized that there was no point in her killing herself now.
As long as Jiang Zijin doesn't come back, it wouldn't matter if she died a hundred times.
My parents and younger brother will be implicated.
The nuns in this temple could not escape their guilt either.
How to do?
Are we to pin our chances of survival on this little girl in front of us?
she does not know.
But there was no other way; we had to try anything, even if it seemed hopeless.
She wiped away her tears and slowly said, "My original name was Xing'er. My parents and younger brother were bought into the Jiang family with me. The Third Miss used my parents as leverage to force me to become a nun in her place. She said that her mother was dead, her maternal grandparents were dead, and no one would care about her life or death. No one would come to this nunnery to see her, and no one would notice... That's why I agreed to her request."
"Then where did she go? Why did the nun help her?" Miaomiao felt that what she said didn't seem like a lie.
Jiang Zijin was punished by the emperor.
Seeing that she had lost her usefulness and had even angered the Emperor, Jiang Yunze and his mother naturally kept their distance.
It seems that no one really cared whether she lived or died, let alone came to see her, so naturally no one could find her.
It sounds pitiful, but it's even more hateful.
Sometimes, the people who care about you the most are your enemies.
If it weren't for Mother's order for Aunt Xiuxiu to keep an eye on things, she would have really succeeded.
The young nun Xing'er truly had no idea where Jiang Zijin had gone. "The Third Miss left and never came back, but she would send money to the nunnery every now and then."
Miaomiao took her hand and said very sincerely, "Sister, I also have relatives in Jiangzhou. My uncle's family in Jiangzhou has been very good to me. Like you, I don't want them to be implicated. If you trust me, come with me. I will take you to find my mother, and we will think of a solution together."
Xing'er had heard of the eldest son of the Jiang family; he was Lord Jiang's cousin.
It's quite a strange story.
The Jiang family members did not associate with Lord Jiang, but instead maintained close ties with his ex-wife, with whom he had divorced.
None of the young masters and ladies in their family acknowledge Lord Jiang; he now lives with just one concubine.
In that sense, the fifth sister felt the same way as her.
No one wants their loved ones to be implicated.
Xing'er took Miao Miao's hand and walked out of the courtyard.
This was also the first time she had gone out since she had been in the nunnery for almost a year.
The sun was shining brightly outside.
Inside the Buddhist hall.
The Bodhisattva has a kind and benevolent face, looking down upon all living beings, yet he cannot save them all.
Lu Qingyao and Abbess Juehui sat facing each other.
“It is said that monks do not lie, but the nun has been lying from the very beginning, putting the entire Sansheng Temple on the brink of disaster. Instead of trying to stop herself from going too far, she deliberately concealed the truth. Isn’t that unworthy of being a monk?” Lu Qingyao said.
The temple was not very popular, which meant that the cost of lamp oil was not high, but there were many nuns, and each of them was dressed in brand new and clean clothes.
Most of them were made after autumn.
Making new clothes for so many people requires money, and offering alms also requires money.
So this nunnery must be short of money.
It's somewhat unexpected that even monks would bow down for a mere five pecks of rice, and at such great risk.
Master Juehui remained silent, turning the prayer beads in her hand faster and faster until she finally stopped.
She looked up at Lu Qingyao and said, "This matter has nothing to do with anyone else. It was all done by this humble nun. I will go with you to see the officials."
Just as the two were at an impasse.
Miaomiao led the little nun to them. "Mother, this is Xing'er, the maid Jiang Zijin bought, and also her substitute. Please help her..."
"Crackling and popping..." The beads scattered on the ground.
The prayer beads in Master Juehui's hand broke, just like the string that was taut in her mind.
It's broken too.
She originally planned to go to the yamen alone to turn herself in and tell them that she had secretly let Jingchen go.
The court can't blame a few young nuns for this.
She should bear the blame alone.
But now...
The old nun, overcome with anger and frustration, collapsed with a thud.
Lu Qingyao was startled. She just wanted to scare the old nun and make her reveal Jiang Zijin's whereabouts, or at least make her cooperate with her.
I never thought of sending her away.
This teacher is too much; he's willing to risk his life, yet he couldn't withstand such a scare.
"Mother, pinch my philtrum." Miao Miao quickly ran over.
It's good that she passed out, but I hope she doesn't have a stroke.
This nun doesn't look like a bad person.
When Abbess Juehui woke up, it was already the morning of the next day.
When he opened his eyes, he saw Lu Qingyao and her daughter again.
She almost fainted again.
She pounded her chest and stamped her feet, saying, "Why haven't you left yet? If it weren't for you, this matter would probably never have been discovered in a lifetime. The girl is gone, and even the constables don't have time to watch over her. Her father wouldn't care whether she lives or dies. Why did you have to come and interfere?"
“Master, can you really be at ease like this? I mean, what if she does something wicked outside and commits some heinous crime? Do you think the Three Saints Nunnery can remain uninvolved?” Lu Qingyao had also heard Xing’er tell the whole story.
It turns out that this nunnery was truly short of money.
When the late emperor passed away, many concubines who had never given birth were sent to the Sansheng Nunnery to become nuns.
In order to prevent them from escaping or doing anything that would damage the royal family's reputation.
Soldiers were also stationed to guard it.
Over time, fewer and fewer pilgrims came.
In the years that followed.
The concubines were either old or dead, so there was no point in guarding them anymore.
The incense burning in the temple can never return to what it used to be.
Two years ago, when refugees flooded into the capital, the nun took in many women and children.
Coincidentally, Jiang Zijin gave them a large sum of hush money.
Every few months, someone would send a sum of money.
……