Chapter 188: Think Twice Before Acting
Recently, she had been attending funerals a bit too frequently.
Qin Luoxia had just returned to Ming County with her husband to pay her respects, and now she had to go to the Yu residence.
She never expected that her first visit would be because the master of the house had passed away.
How quickly people are forgotten once they are gone.
When Official Yu had first taken office, there were many guests and drinking companions.
Every day, his home was filled with distinguished guests, accompanied by singing and dancing.
Yet, now that he was gone, the only ones sitting in the mourning hall were his original wife and their three daughters.
Concubine Zhenger, the favored concubine, had been knocked unconscious and sent back to the residence.
She woke up on the way back, swearing to take revenge.
Her husband valued heirs above all else and longed for a son; if she claimed that her son had been beaten out of her, he would surely fight Lady Qin to the death.
She had already planned to cry and make a scene; she was filled with rage.
Concubine Zhenger had never suffered such a great grievance before.
She would make that country woman, Lady Qin, know the consequences of offending her.
And those three good-for-nothing girls who watched her get beaten—she would definitely not spare them.
She had already ordered her maid to tamper with her undergarments to make it look like she was bleeding.
She would teach Lady Qin a lesson once and for all.
It wasn’t until dark that the old master was brought back.
Concubine Zhenger was trembling all over, debating whether to pack her things and flee.
However, she couldn’t bear to leave behind the many gifts he had given her, and she felt that Madam Yu was quite soft-hearted, so she didn’t think she needed to run.
She remained indecisive.
Madam Yu released the wet nurse who had been locked up and was on the verge of death.
Once the wet nurse had eaten her fill, the first thing she did was have Concubine Zhenger tied up.
A favored concubine was still a concubine and could be sold; with Concubine Zhenger’s looks, she would fetch a good price.
Then, they prepared the mourning hall.
Official Yu had no sons, and Madam Yu did not intend to keep the house; she planned to return to the estate after the funeral.
The three young ladies changed into the mourning clothes that had been rushed through the night.
They kept vigil before the mourning hall.
Qin Luoxia arrived with Mianmian, Great-Aunt, and Pang Ya.
Mother said that Mier was still very young, so she let her come along to see.
Great-Aunt did not object; generally, Great-Aunt did not oppose anything Mother decided.
She had thought Great-Aunt would say the child was too young to attend a funeral or something similar.
When they arrived at the Yu residence, white funeral banners were fluttering at the entrance.
The scene inside was slightly chaotic, with people running about.
Upon reaching the mourning hall, Madam Yu seemed to be in good spirits.
Seeing Madam Jiang arrive with her child, she hurriedly stepped forward to express her gratitude.
“Thanks to you yesterday, Madam Jiang. My three girls are so dull; even when they are bullied, they don’t know how to resist. It’s my fault; following me, they’ve become like this.”
“Madam Yu, please accept my condolences. What are your plans for the future? If you need any help, don’t hesitate to ask.”
“I think I will take the children back to the estate. The girls are used to life on the estate, and with our relatives there to help, life surely won’t be bad. If I run into difficulties, I will send someone to find you, so you mustn’t refuse,” Madam Yu said in a forthright manner.
Jiang Mianmian followed along to offer incense.
After leaving the funeral offering, Mother took her and left.
Before they left, little Mier even shared a piece of dried fruit with her.
Although they were keeping vigil, their Mother had not let them go hungry.
In some places, there were rules forbidding eating or drinking while keeping vigil.
Jiang Mianmian looked back and saw the one older and three younger figures dressed in mourning clothes, with the red coffin placed up front.
Madam Yu watched Madam Jiang leave and suddenly burst into tears.
The Eldest Miss, Xiu’er, dared not look at Madam Jiang.
She had thought countless times before about her Father dying—why hadn’t he died? It would be good if he were dead.
But now that her Father was truly dead, she felt helpless and panicked.
Madam Yu said to the children in front of the mourning hall: “After your Father arrived in the Prefecture City, he changed into a different person. He was arrogant, offended people, and took money he shouldn’t have. This disaster was bound to happen sooner or later. Do not think about avenging your Father or anything like that. You reap what you sow. We are fortunate that the disaster did not extend to the family. We must take care of ourselves and live our own lives well.”
On the way back, they didn’t take the carriage; the two houses were actually not far apart.
Qin Luoxia took the children to stroll through the market.
Although she said she would take the children, she was also worried it might not be good.
Coming out to relax and clear away the bad luck—she herself was not superstitious, but the children might be affected.
The market was very lively, with people hawking their wares all along the way.
Money went a long way; for a few coins, one could buy all sorts of small trinkets, as well as snacks from the roadside.
The crowd was large, so Mother carried her.
There were quite a few women on the street. Judging by their hairstyles, they all had their hair pinned up, which was the style for married women.
Unmarried young girls were rarely seen.
There were also some children running around the market; they were likely the children of the merchants.
It was full of the atmosphere of everyday life.
Mother bought her a meat pie by the roadside. She bought four, one for each person, and packed a bag to go.
Although she had arrived in the Prefecture City and become Madam Jiang, Qin Luoxia did not act high and mighty.
She also enjoyed eating these roadside snacks.
She finished a piece quite neatly.
Pang Ya had originally wanted to save hers for later, but seeing that Madam had eaten hers, she happily ate it too.
Aunt Yin was older and didn’t have many demands on herself; she ate the meat pie with tea and felt quite content.
Jiang Mianmian held the pie and took small bites.
It tasted of flour and was a bit hard, but it was freshly baked, hot, and delicious.
She couldn’t bite into the meat, but it was oily and fragrant.
As Jiang Mianmian ate the baked pie, her hands were oily, and her mouth was oily too.
There seemed to be pie crumbs on the corner of her mouth, so she pouted and leaned toward Mother, “Mother, wipe it.”
After Qin Luoxia wiped it for her, she patiently wiped her hands as well.
Passersby occasionally stopped to watch but dared not get close because there were guards nearby.
When the lady left carrying the child, Old Wu’s Meat Pie shop suddenly had a long queue; everyone wanted to taste what the pie that the noble lady had enjoyed so much tasted like.
Qin Luoxia continued walking while carrying Mianmian.
She also bought her a small clay figurine, a wooden carving, and a wooden hairpin, collecting quite a few things along the way.
She then took her to watch the street performers, making a full circle, until Jiang Mianmian was tired from playing and fell asleep on Mother’s shoulder.
Only then did Qin Luoxia carry the child home.
As a Mother, she both wanted to tell her child that life would have hardships and was afraid of frightening her, so she accompanied her to play for the whole day until she fell asleep, only then feeling at ease.
It was a contradictory feeling.
Qin Luoxia couldn’t describe this feeling, and she wasn’t the type to share her emotions; she was very pragmatic—she just did it.
Shangqiu Temple.
Commander Jiang brought a dense crowd of men and surrounded the entrance.
A portion of them were Yamen Runners who had followed to investigate the case of Official Yu’s accidental death, but they hadn’t expected to end up at the entrance of Shangqiu Temple.
Some clever Yamen Runners had already quietly run back to report the news.
This Shangqiu Temple was untouchable.
Even when the Rebels, Great Marshal Zi, besieged the city, they hadn’t touched Guizhen Temple or Shangqiu Temple.
This Commander Jiang from Ming County was just a reckless brute.
Originally, they had thought Judge Yu was already a rapidly corrupting Rebel—arresting people, taking bribes, accepting beauties, and skillfully becoming a lackey for the powerful.
Some officials were already rubbing their hands, waiting for him to make a big mistake to bring him down.
They hadn’t expected Judge Yu to leave so suddenly.
And Commander Jiang was corrupting even faster.
Because there were no battles to fight here, and Commander Jiang couldn’t get weapons, soldiers, or equipment—the officials had a way of shirking responsibility—it would be a miracle if Commander Jiang could even get the supplies he was owed within a year.
Who knew that Commander Jiang would find another way? As soon as he arrived, he held a birthday celebration for his son, and next month he would hold one for his son-in-law.
It would be one thing if he were good at accumulating wealth, but his ability to cause trouble was no less than Judge Yu’s.
Everyone thought Judge Yu’s death was an internal conflict among the Rebels and that they were about to have a showdown.
They hadn’t expected that this madman, Commander Jiang, would actually lead men to surround Shangqiu Temple.
Many of the officials’ inner residences had people sent from Shangqiu Temple.
Shangqiu Temple also housed many family members of the powerful.
Commander Jiang brought his own men.
He knocked on the door, but the temple gates remained tightly closed.
He demanded that the master of Qingci and Qingming come out, suspecting her involvement in Official Yu’s death.
However, Shangqiu Temple delayed handing anyone over.
Instead, several waves of lobbyists arrived.
“Commander Jiang, this is a place of Buddha; you must not be reckless.”
“Commander Jiang, this Shangqiu Temple has a deep background, and there are nobles from the capital inside; you must not act rashly.”
“Commander Jiang, think of your family; you don’t want to follow in Official Yu’s footsteps, do you?”
“Commander Jiang, I advise you to think twice.”
“Commander Jiang, you are now an official of the imperial court; do you intend to rebel by bringing so many troops?”
Commander Jiang looked at the lobbyists with a surprised expression and said, “I am here to investigate a case, for my sworn brother, Yu Qian, who died with unfinished business.
The people I brought are just fellow villagers; they are all my folks, all warm-hearted people.
How would we know there are so many rules at Shangqiu Temple?
You can go to Ming County and ask; the masters and the common people in Ming County are like family.
No one says anything bad about me.
I respect Buddhism the most.
If you won’t let me investigate, then fine, but don’t pin so many charges on me; it’s quite frightening.”
The gates of Shangqiu Temple were tightly closed, and there wasn’t even anyone to greet them.
The incense inside was still burning, and the smoke rose into the air, forming the shape of a giant monster, as if it were cracking its mouth to mock Commander Jiang’s naivety.
So what if you surround Shangqiu Temple with troops? Do you dare to come in?
Deep within the zen courtyard of Shangqiu Temple, a beautiful nun was tapping a wooden fish, looking like someone detached from the mundane world.
The sound of the wooden fish was very soothing.
It seemed to calm people’s hearts.
Behind her was a group of young girls, each with different looks, but all very striking.
They were carefully tapping the wooden fish.
The oldest was about ten, and the youngest was only two or three.
They couldn’t even kneel properly; they just sat there, foolishly tapping the wooden fish, and seeing the mats getting wet—they had peed themselves.
Outside the gates of Shangqiu Temple, Commander Jiang looked at the wave after wave of lobbyists and seemed finally persuaded, mobilizing his army to turn back.
He couldn’t make enemies of everyone, after all.
The lobbyists who had been persuading him wiped the sweat from their foreheads, worried that this Lord Sima wouldn’t listen to reason.
Abbess Jingren heard the servant report: “Commander Jiang seems to have been persuaded to leave; he has already assembled his troops and turned around.”
Jingren slowly stopped tapping the wooden fish, turned to look at the little girl who had wet her pants, frowned, and said, “If you cannot control yourself again, I will send you to keep the Buddha company.”
At this moment, thick smoke rose into the air.
Commander Jiang had already led his troops and was preparing to leave.
However, he saw that the temple seemed to be on fire.
Commander Jiang looked at the billowing smoke and led his men charging back.
He cupped his hands to those lobbyists and said, “I know, there are nobles in this Shangqiu Temple, and no matter who dies, the nobles must not.
Rest assured, I will take my fellow villagers in to put out the fire and save people.
We, the people of Ming County, have been simple and selfless since ancient times.
Even though you look down on us, we will still go to save people.”
Commander Jiang waved his sword, and the gates of Shangqiu Temple came crashing down.
Thank you for reading + listening 🙂 I hope you all liked my translations. If you enjoyed my work, please consider buying me a Ko-Fi 😉
