Chapter 168

Qin Ye and the officials of various government offices in Jin Ling standing outside the main hall suddenly saw Jia Chengshi lose his composure and rush into the main hall like a madman, causing a commotion in the official team.

At this moment, inside the main hall, eminent monks and nuns from major temples were holding a grand ceremony of opening the light and praying for the Buddha statue and the Empress Dowager's spirit tablet, which must not be collided with.

Before Jia Cong approached the entrance of the main hall, he was stopped by several guarding Embroidered Uniform Guards. If it weren't for seeing Jia Cong wearing a Grade 7 official uniform, they would have accused him of disrespect on the spot.

It was just that during this delay, Jia Cong saw that the group of monks and nuns in the main hall had already turned around the Buddha statue, and the graceful figure that shocked his heart and soul, like a glimpse of a swan, was submerged in the crowd.

The monks and nuns outside the main hall were still filing into the hall, and the monks and nuns who had just been in the main hall left from the back hall door after finishing the three-circle ritual, making room for the monks and nuns who came later.

Jia Cong broke free from the entanglement and obstruction of the Embroidered Uniform Guards, lifted his official robe, bypassed the main hall, and ran wildly toward the back of the hall. His wild behavior without any official etiquette made every official present look sideways.

But after running a few steps, he was stopped by another wave of Embroidered Uniform Guards.

Today is the day for the opening and peace ceremony of the main hall of the Daci'en Temple. The spirit tablet of Empress Dowager Xianxiao needs to be protected, and the safety of the officials of various government offices and eminent monks and nuns from various temples participating in the ceremony needs to be protected even more.

Some time ago, the construction site was mixed into by ronin from the Eastern Islands, almost causing a major disaster.

The official replied: "It is exactly the roster of monks and nuns participating in the ceremony this time, a total of 297 monks and nuns from 81 famous temples and ancient monasteries under the jurisdiction of Jin Ling Province."

He spent a whole night carefully extracting all the names, addresses, and information of the nuns participating in the ceremony from the 27 nunneries on the roster.

Jia Cong finally explained clearly. By the time he bypassed the inspection and ran to the back hall, where could he still find the figure that lingered in his heart?

As a Grade 7 scripture-copying ritual official of the Daci'en Temple, this identity finally had some use. He immediately used this roster with the official of the Monk Recording Department.

He was afraid that this grand ceremony of the Empress Dowager's peace, which related to the Emperor's face, would have any mistakes, bringing a disaster to the Jin Ling government offices related to it.

This had to make the Ying Tian Prefecture and the Embroidered Uniform Guard take it as a warning, facing a great enemy, and arrange extremely strict preventive protection measures.

For the whole afternoon, Jia Cong shuttled through the unfinished Daci'en Temple building complex, hoping to pay for the luck of heaven, but eventually found nothing.

Because the Daci'en Temple is a place of Buddhism, no weapons are allowed. The guarding Embroidered Uniform Guards are not allowed to carry swords, so they all chose people with excellent skills.

Jia Cong saw him holding a thick cloth book in his hand, his eyes lit up, and he asked: "Is this the roster of monks and nuns participating in the ceremony of the main hall this time?"

Why did she appear in Jin Ling and become a nun? She has been missing for so many years. What is going on?

This is no different from looking for a needle in a haystack, but that scene in the main hall is already a great luck for him. Even if he travels all over the world, Jia Cong must find her whereabouts.

He described the appearance of the nun with hair to him, but there were hundreds of monks and nuns at the scene today, so how could the official recognize them all?

And the nuns participating in the ceremony did not register whether they had hair, only the names of eminent monks and nuns were recorded, and other accompanying monks and nuns only recorded the number of people.

At this time, the sun was setting in the west, and the opening and peace ceremony of the main hall of the Daci'en Temple had all ended, and the monks and nuns from various temples participating in the ceremony had all left.

There are 11 nunneries in Jin Ling, and others are distributed in Zhenjiang, Yangzhou, Gusu, Liangxi, and other places.

That is to say, Jia Cong has to visit the 20-plus nunneries in the prefectures on both sides of the Yangtze River to find the whereabouts of Zhi Shao.

That year, she was forced by Jia She to jump into the Liuyang River. Jia Cong had looked for her on both sides of the river for three days and three nights, but found nothing, and had long thought she was dead.

But Jia Cong still didn't give up and went to the temple to find the official of the Monk Recording Department.

Early the next morning, Jia Cong took Wuer out and went to the Ying Tian Prefecture to ask Jia Yucun to issue an official document for visiting the population.

If it weren't for Jia Cong wearing an official uniform and carrying an official waist token, such unruly behavior would have been taken down by these guards long ago.

Jia Cong can be sure that the nun with hair is Zhi Shao. Otherwise, how could there be such a similar person in this world?

Then he went to visit the 11 nunneries in Jin Ling city one by one.

Because Wuer was close to Zhi Shao since she was a child and was very familiar with everything about Zhi Shao, and nunneries do not allow male guests to enter the inner hall, it was much more convenient to take Wuer with her.

The two went out early every morning and ran around for two days, visiting all 11 nunneries, but found nothing.

Since the search for nunneries in Jin Ling was fruitless, he had to go to Yangzhou, Gusu, Zhenjiang, Liangxi, and other places to find them.

That night, he flipped through the roster of the Monk Recording Department in the study, hoping to have new discoveries.

When he turned to one page, he found the name Xuanmu Temple in Gusu, and his heart moved slightly.

He knew that there was a Xuanmu Mountain in Wu County, Gusu, which was named after the Eastern Jin Dynasty Qingzhou Inspector Yu Taixuan who was buried here.

This mountain is planted with plum blossoms. Every winter, the cold plum blossoms bloom, looking like snow, which is the first place for local people in Gusu to enjoy plum blossoms.

The reason Jia Cong knows so clearly is because he has heard Daiyu mention it many times. Daiyu has been a guest in the Jia family for many years and has a deep longing for her hometown.

Every time she talks to Jia Cong about her hometown Gusu, she is obsessed with the plum blossoms on Xuanmu Mountain, which is known as the "Sea of Fragrant Snow."

And Jia Cong also knows that there is a Panxiang Temple on Xuanmu Mountain, which is the place where Sister Miao Yu, the "cloud is not necessarily empty" in the Red Chamber, practiced.

I don't know how many nunneries are on Xuanmu Mountain, and whether that Xuanmu Temple is the Panxiang Temple.

Gusu, Feng family.

Since finding Zhen Ying Lian, Madam Feng, who had been withered and decadent for more than ten years, seemed to have taken an immortal pill and came alive.

But good days didn't last long. Her father suddenly invited the wealthy Liu from Chonghui Lane to the house, and asked Zhen Ying Lian to come out to serve tea. Madam Feng felt something was wrong.

She also knew this wealthy Liu. He was old, but still greedy for color. Because he had some assets at home, he had already taken two concubines and was still not satisfied. I heard that he had been looking to buy beauty recently.

"Father, Zhen Ying Lian is not yet thirteen and has not reached the age of marriage. That Old Master Liu is nearly sixty and wants to take a concubine. Isn't this harming Zhen Ying Lian?"

"What do you know, woman? Old Master Liu has served as a county magistrate and has thousands of acres of fertile land. He is a famous local squire in Gusu. What does it matter if he is old? It is better than Zhen Ying Lian marrying a poor scholar and suffering in the future."

"Zhen Ying Lian is my daughter. It was not easy to find her back. I cannot let her suffer. I, as her mother, cannot accept this marriage!"

Zhen Ying Lian hid in the room, listening to her mother and grandfather arguing.

That day, her grandfather asked her to serve tea to that Old Master Liu. That person stared at her without blinking, which made her feel a burst of hair. The next day, her grandfather said that Old Master Liu wanted to take her as a concubine.

Her mother was very good to her, but her grandfather disliked her, thinking that she was an extra mouth to feed at home and wasted silver. She didn't like staying in this house, she just couldn't bear to leave her mother.

If only the Young Master were here. Didn't he promise to come and see me? How many days has it been? He wouldn't have forgotten me, right? Thinking of this, Zhen Ying Lian felt sour in her heart and kept wiping the tears that fell.

"It's not your turn to be the master of this house! After your husband was lost, you ate idle rice in your mother's house for more than ten years. Now you have to raise another one. How can you afford it?

Girls will get married sooner or later. Why keep her at home? Zhen Ying Lian has been abducted for more than ten years, and you are a widow. What kind of good person can she marry in the future?

Now Old Master Liu is willing to take a concubine, and she will have no worries about food and clothing in the future. With such a good thing, what are you still dissatisfied with?"

"Father, for these years, I have been washing and sewing at home to subsidize the family. When have I eaten idle rice? Zhen Ying Lian has me to raise her at home."

"You just want the 500 taels of gift money from Old Master Liu. That is my daughter. I will never agree to this marriage even if I die!"

Suddenly, the courtyard door was slammed open, and the person who pushed it in seemed to have used a lot of force.

Madam Feng's face was pleasantly surprised: "Young Master Jia, why are you here?"

"Young Master!"

Zhen Ying Lian smiled and rushed out of the room, her tender and moving smile seemed to cover all the sorrow and coldness.

Regardless of her mother and grandfather being present, she threw herself into Jia Cong's arms, hugging him tightly for fear that he would leave again. The fear and worry that filled her heart were swept away in an instant.

(End of chapter)