Translator – Xiao He Lian
This is a translation hosted on KnoxT, copies found elsewhere are either stolen or plagiarized. Please support the translator by reading it at KnoxT.
Chapter 43
It was evening and the candlelight flickered on her face, just like the flickering of Lu Yan’s heartbeat.
Lu Yan never thought that the girl he raised would have to worry about money for incense.
He lowered his head and counted the landscape paintings on the table. There were twenty paintings in total and his eyes suddenly darkened. They had only been back to the capital for three days. With so many paintings, he could roughly guess that she had been busy since she came back.
Shen Zhen saw him holding her paintings in his hand and looking at them and said hurriedly: “Can you help me sell these?”
Lu Yan’s expression condensed slightly. He admitted that her paintings were very good. Each of these landscape paintings was unconventional. Most of the paintings were of the scenery along the way when they went to Yangzhou. There was fog in the mountains and forests and a spring in the middle with colorful clouds filling the sky and everything was lively.
But nowadays, there are only a few people who truly understand elegance, most people just stick to the mediocrity.
Take the so-called big names in the capital as an example, their calligraphy were not worth thousands but as long as they were praised by noble people, there will be people in the capital who will support them.
Even if her pen and ink can still be sold for a certain amount of money, it would be a fool’s errand to use the money from selling her paintings to pay Master Yuan Shen to recite sutras. The third young lady from the Yunyang Marquis Mansion went out to worship Buddha, the Buddhist temple could close the temple just for her. However, times have changed and without a lot of money to support her, I am afraid that even the knowledgeable monks in the temple will not pass the message on her behalf.
Naturally, Lu Yan would not tell her about this.
“If you need money, why didn’t you tell me?” He frowned, his voice a little heavy.
Although this man was still as cold as ever on the surface, from the bottom of his heart, he still hoped that Shen Zhen could rely on him. There are some things he cannot give, but he will not treat her unfairly.
However, Shen Zhen’s thoughts always ran counter to his.
In her opinion, she has hands and feet. In addition to selling paintings, she can also make incense. No matter what, she would never think of asking him for money.
So at this moment, Miss Shen’s eyes were full of defiance.
Lu Yan ruffled her hair, put her paintings away and then said, “I have already prepared your incense money for you.”
As soon as he finished speaking, Shen Zhen panicked and stumbled, “No, no.”
Lu Yan looked down at her, his thin lips pursed slightly, and his undeniable aura came back.
“My Lord, this money is different from others. This is the money I use to pray for my mother.” Shen Zhen took his hand, “They say sincerity leads to success. I will not feel at ease if I use your money. “
Lu Yan said: “Do you know how much these paintings can be sold for?”
“I have a clear idea of how much I can sell these for.” When something like that happened to the Yunyang Marquis Mansion, Shen Zhen couldn’t remember how many things she had sold off. If she hadn’t known about it, she wouldn’t have painted twenty paintings all at once.
Lu Yan looked down at her little hands that were blackened by ink, pinched her face and said disdainfully: “Okay, follow me back to the house and wash your hands.”
“My lord, please rest first.” Shen Zhen said with a smile, “I still want to paint another picture.”
After saying that, she turned back to the table, picked up the brush and dipped it in ink.
Lu Yan stared at her for a long time. Seeing that she still didn’t come over, he walked over, held the back of her neck with one hand and said in a cold voice: “Didn’t you hear what I said?”
Shen Zhen, who was caught by the scruff of her neck, immediately put down the brush in her hand.
Returning to Lanyue Pavilion, Shen Zhen quickly washed herself and lay down next to him. Lu Yan was about to fall asleep, but was woken up by her turning over.
He reached over and found the little girl’s body curled up, “Did you get your periods?”
Shen Zhen said “hmm” reluctantly.
“When did it start?”
Shen Zhen didn’t think much and said honestly: “Around noon today.”
Lu Yan sneered coldly: “Shen Zhen, you are bringing this upon yourself.” She had always been weak during menstruation and she had been standing in the study for an entire day.
Shen Zhen’s back stiffened after being scolded by him and she didn’t dare to say anything.
This is a translation hosted on KnoxT, copies found elsewhere are either stolen or plagiarized. Please support the translator by reading it at KnoxT.
But a moment later, the man’s warm palm touched her belly.
“My Lord.” Shen Zhen looked back at him.
Lu Yan looked at her and whispered: “Twenty paintings are enough, if you dare to paint again tomorrow, I will collect all the stationery in the study.”
“I understand.” Shen Zhen said softly.
——
Originally, the fact that Shen Zhen was selling paintings to find money for incense had already shocked Lu Yan. Unexpectedly, the next day, early in the morning, came another bolt from the blue.
Shen Zhen surprisingly estimated the market value of a box of jade he bought for her in Yangzhou and made an account, planning to sell them separately so that the originally six hundred copper coins worth box can be sold for 720 copper coins.
Lu Yan stared at the box of jewelry and jade in front of him and the accounts in his hand, and even laughed angrily.
Tell me, is she stupid? But she knows how to settle accounts better than anyone else.
Sometimes people who look harmless can choke a person to death.
Lu Yan choked, his eyebrows and temples were twitching and for a moment, he seemed to hear a ringing in his ears.
He resisted the urge to scold her angrily, stood up, and walked out of Chengyuan expressionlessly. He ignored her sweet voice and got into the carriage.
Before entering Jingzhao Prefecture, Lu Yan piled the paintings into Yang Zong’s hands.
Yang Zong said doubtfully: “Master, this is…”
Lu Yan raised the corner of his mouth, a bit self-mocking, “Take all these back to the study room of the Duke’s Mansion and put them away so that no one can see them.”
Lu Yan felt like going up the stone steps and bang the drum1(So I don’t think I explained this before, but in ancient china there is a special drum near the judicial office where people go and beat it if they have a grievance that they want justice for) because he is the one with nowhere to go to redress his grievances.
——
Time flies and it was the seventh day of the third month.
Lu Yan originally planned to accompany Shen Zhen to Daxingshan Temple, but something suddenly happened at Jingzhao Prefecture.
That day, someone came to play drums early in the morning.
At the Blue Gate Inn in Anshan lane, South of the City, six members of a family were found dead overnight. Their deaths were miserable. After their heads were cut off, they were all hung on the beams. No one, including the elderly and children, were spared.
However, the money in the house is not missing and the young woman has no traces of rape and murder.
If the culprit didn’t care about wealth or sex, it’s probably an enemy.
Such a tragedy happened, but Governor Zheng suffered from a headache and was bedridden at home, while Magistrate Sun went out to handle a case. If Lu Yan didn’t go, there would be no one in Jingzhao Prefecture to do the job.
With no other option, Lu Yan could only send another trustworthy coachmen to take Shen Zhen there.
——
The carriage turned the corner and traveled towards the Daxingshan Temple standing not far away, with yellow walls and gray tiles, solemn and elegant. Next to Daxingshan Temple, there is another ancient pagoda – Longye Pagoda.
The Longye Pagoda was nine stories high, with an octagonal body and gates on each floor.
When people stood under the eaves, they could hear the wind chimes sounding in the wind. It is not only pleasant to the ear, but also adds a sense of sacredness to the place.
The seventh day of the third month is not a special day. There were not many pilgrims and it was a bit deserted. However, if today were the Buddha’s birthday on the eighth day of the fourth month, she would have been drowned under the huge crowd as soon as she entered the door.
After all, people from Chang’an were not the only ones who came here to burn incense. There were people from Yangzhou, Jingzhou, and Luoyang nearby, as well as the Western Regions and Goguryeo.
Shen Zhen and Tang Yue entered Daxingshan Temple and entered the main hall under the guidance of a monk.
There were three golden “Three Sakyamuni Buddhas2(The center image is Dharmakaya Vairochana Buddha ( Vairochana Buddha Mahavatha Tathagata) or Sakyamuni Buddha (Vairocana Buddha ‘s counterpart in the Saha world [1] ). On the left side is Manjusri Bodhisattva, who is famous for his wisdom . On the right side is the Bodhisattva Manjusri. Shi is a Samantabhadra Bodhisattva who is famous for his great deeds)
” enshrined in the hall.
After bowing, Shen Zhen stopped in front of the statue of Manjushri Bodhisattva.
Manjushri Bodhisattva is worshiped as the incarnation of supreme wisdom and great compassion. He was named for his ability to save all living beings and eliminate sins. Shen Zhen slowly knelt on the futon, closed her eyes, clasped her hands and meditated silently for a long time.
After kowtowing, a monk came over with a merit book. It was inconvenient for Shen Zhen to write down her name, so she just wrote the amount she wanted to donate.
Sixty copper coins. This is the money Lu Yan gave her last night.
Shen Zhen knew in her heart that her paintings were not masterpieces. Let alone twenty paintings, even if it were forty paintings she would not be able to sell for this price.
But when she looked at the man’s face, which was already very unsightly, she couldn’t refuse him anymore.
Shen Zhen sighed quietly, adding another debt to be repaid.
The monk took it with a smile, and then said: “Master Yuan Chen still has a Dharma session on the “Humane Kings Wisdom Sūtra ” that has not yet ended, so please follow me to the guest room to wait.”
Shen Zhen entered the guest room and the monk closed the door and walked out.
At this time, a female pilgrim happened to pass by and looked inside.
The monk stopped her and said, “Donor, no one is allowed to enter here without the abbot’s permission.”
The female pilgrim snatched the merit book from his hand, looked it up and down and said, “With sixty copper coins as donation, can I ask Master Yuanchen to recite scriptures and resolve my doubts in person?”
The monk smiled and said: “Donor, Buddhism pays attention to cause and effect, and the cycle of cause and effect cannot be determined by these external things.”
The female pilgrim suddenly felt offended and complained.
After the female pilgrim left, the little novice monk who was sweeping the room in front of the guest room came over to the Monk and asked: “Is sixty copper coins as donation really enough?”
The monk Zhike his bald head and said, “No matter how much money you have, it’s all merit.”
The Monk lowered his head and glanced at the meager amount of copper coins in his hand, and thought to himself: Even if you added another zero for the sixty copper coins, it’s still not enough.
Shen Zhen met Master Yuan Shen in the side hall.
In the side hall, there are the Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva3(The Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara, known in Chinese as Guanyin, is the embodiment of the virtue of compassion and became the most important deity in Buddhism) and the dazzling golden body of Five Hundred Arhats(Five Hundred Arhat , Arhat , means Arhat , Yingzhen , and is the transliteration of the Sanskrit Arhat. It originally refers to the highest achievement that a Theravada Buddhist practitioner can achieve, having reached the state of “nirvana without any remaining worries” that cuts off the worries of life and death. Later, it generally refers to those who are monks who have achieved the ” Arahat fruit” status.). Just taking a look at it will make you feel awe.
Before leaving, Shen Zhen looked back at the lush green mountains behind her, the gurgling water, and the high-hanging plaque of Daci’en Temple. Thinking of Master Yuan Shen’s voice just now, she felt inexplicably calmer…
She pulled the curtains up and got into the carriage.
The carriage drove away slowly and the sound of wind chimes under the eaves of the pagoda gradually disappeared.
Around four quarters of Xushi4(the period of the day from 7 pm to 9 pm), Tang Yue helped Shen Zhen get out of the carriage, “Miss, watch your step.”
At this moment, none of them noticed that there was another person standing at the corner of the Chengyuan alley…
T/N – So I don’t think I explained this before, but in ancient china there is a special drum near the judicial office where people go and beat it if they have a grievance that they want justice for.
