Chapter 176: Affection and Buddha Are Both Fate

On a sunny day, outside the gate of Panxiang Temple, a carriage had been parked there for a long time.

Jing Hui still wore her hair in a Miaochang bun, dressed in a moon-white, plain-sleeved Buddhist robe.

The exquisite dresses and embroidered shoes Jia Cong had given her were, in the end, not put on.

Although she had made up her mind to follow him forever, from the moment she had memories, she had been in this Buddhist robe; it was like a part of her body, and suddenly changing it was always hard to get used to.

Jia Cong naturally wouldn't care about these things; even if Jing Hui wore a bun and Buddhist robes for a lifetime, it wouldn't matter to him, because she had returned to his side alive, which was more important than anything else.

Jing Hui respectfully kowtowed to Abbess Xiushan to say goodbye; Xiushan truly had the grace of rebirth and remaking for her.

Abbess Xiushan had profound Buddhist knowledge and had seen through the ways of the world, but that didn't mean she hoped her young disciple would also spend her life with green lamps and ancient Buddhas. Now that she had a place she felt comfortable going, that was her own good fortune.

Sister Miao Yu usually kept a respectful distance from Jia Cong, but at this moment, she was somewhat contrary to her usual self, walking up to him and saying, "My junior sister is following you now; you must treat her well."

Jia Cong smiled slightly: "Don't worry, I will definitely treat her like a pearl or a treasure."

Abbess Xiushan looked at her disciple and smiled meaningfully: "Don't worry about your junior sister; her tribulation has passed, so she is a person of good fortune.

Jia Cong knew her thoughts, so along the way, he and Zhen Ying Lian found topics to talk about, chatting and laughing with her, which naturally reduced the anxiety and sorrow in her heart.

Thinking of the intimate maid who had relied on him for survival in the East Courtyard years ago, and now being able to be together every day, he felt satisfied and had no other requests.

Seeing that Jia Cong had really brought Zhi Shao back, although he had said so in his letter, Wu'er still couldn't believe her eyes when she saw it with her own eyes.

On the road from Gusu back to Jin Ling, they were escorted by the Yingtian Prefecture and the Embroidered Uniform Guard, so naturally, the journey was safe and uneventful.

The Cong Sanye didn't care about being in front of others, holding the nun's hand and walking into the residence in a leisurely manner, a strange and ambiguous situation that left Jin Cai and a group of servants and maids stunned.

Sister Miao Yu looked at his naturally handsome and flawless face; under the bright sun and light, his smile was relaxed, as bright as jade, and she felt a bit flustered, lowering her head and not daring to look again.

Everyone has their own fate; green lamps and ancient Buddhas are fate, and deep gratitude and affection are also fate. If it is in your life, do not refuse or abandon it; accepting it from heaven is great kindness."

The Cong Sanye's talent and ability were beyond question, top-notch, it was just that he was a bit too absurd and romantic when it came to women.

Jin Cai remembered that as soon as the Cong Sanye arrived in Jin Ling, he bought a pretty maid home, and now he had brought such a beautiful nun back to the residence; looking at that situation, their relationship was also unusual.

The carriage drove far away, but Sister Miao Yu was still standing outside the mountain gate, quietly looking into the distance.

But then he saw a beautiful nun get off the Cong Sanye's carriage, wearing a Miaochang bun and a moon-white, plain-sleeved Buddhist robe, looking at the old residence's tall gate with a dazed expression.

Jing Hui said goodbye to Sister Miao Yu with tears in her eyes, and then she and Jia Cong got into the carriage.

Looking at Jing Hui in her Buddhist robe, refined and otherworldly, as pretty as a peony.

Since being brought back to Gusu by Abbess Xiushan that year, Jing Hui hadn't left Gusu city for two years; in her current memory, this was probably her first time going on a long journey.

After looking for a long time, tears flowed down; she and Zhi Shao had been close since childhood, and the two had always been closer than others.

When the group entered Jin Ling city, they separated; the people from the Yingtian Prefecture took the documents and files back to the yamen to report, and Liu Hai also escorted the prisoners back to the Thousand-Household Station.

Although Jia Cong accompanied her along the way, thinking of her master and senior sister, sorrow was inevitable in her heart.

Years ago, when Jia Cong was severely injured by Jia She, Lady Xing and Wang Shanbao's wife deducted his monthly allowance and cut his food.

When Jia Cong's carriage arrived at the old Jia residence in Xinglong Square, Jin Cai had already received the news in advance and brought the family's servants and maids to wait at the gate.

At that time, Zhi Shao always asked Wu'er for help, and they were sisters who had shared hardships.

Years ago, when Zhi Shao was forced to jump into the river, she thought they would be separated by life and death forever; she didn't expect that she could return intact today, so she was naturally overjoyed.

Seeing Wu'er so excited to see her, Jing Hui thought she must be someone she knew before, but she couldn't remember a thing, which inevitably made her feel confused and sad.

Fortunately, Wu'er was clever and knew the reason, so she composed herself, found some daily topics to talk about, and diverted the atmosphere.

Qingwen had long known that Jia Cong had an intimate personal maid who grew up with him.

Years ago, when this Zhi Shao was forced to jump into the river by the Old Master, the Cong Sanye made a huge scene, and even that annoying Wang Shanbao's wife—it was rumored in the residence that she was finished off by the Cong Sanye because she harmed Zhi Shao.

As for what the real situation was, no one could say clearly; in short, the Cong Sanye cared deeply about this Zhi Shao.

Back then, Qingwen had once made a wish that if she treated the Cong Sanye with all her heart, the Cong Sanye would naturally treat her the way he treated Zhi Shao.

Now that she had seen the real Zhi Shao, she was indeed outstanding, and it was no wonder the Cong Sanye had been thinking about her for so many years.

However, Qingwen had a straightforward personality; although her mouth was sharp, she had a broad mind and a bit of pride, and she wouldn't feel that she would lose favor with the Cong Sanye just because Zhi Shao returned.

Because she always felt that she was not inferior to others in any way, she naturally didn't need to worry about being jealous of others; besides, the Cong Sanye was the smartest, and everything in his heart was as clear as a mirror.

Zhen Ying Lian was the happiest to be able to return; she didn't have to stay at her maternal grandfather's house in fear, not knowing when she would be sold as a concubine.

Moreover, the day before the Cong Sanye left Gusu, he specially took her to see her mother.

They had already discussed letting her mother go to Shenjing with her; the Cong Sanye had opened a perfume shop with someone in Shenjing, and he could find a job for her mother in the shop, so mother and daughter could be together for a long time.

For the next few days, Jia Cong recuperated in the residence; now that he had brought Jing Hui back, all matters in Jin Ling were finished, and he was just waiting for his injuries to heal a bit more before preparing to return to the capital to report the mission.

Just three days after he returned to the residence, news came from Liu Hai that the Embroidered Uniform Guard had discovered Cui Bowang's body in a river in the west of the city.

After examination by the coroner, Cui Bowang had been killed by having his throat slit, then bagged and sunk; if the body bag hadn't been caught in a passing fisherman's net, no one would have known when it would have been discovered.

Cui Bowang was clearly silenced; the killer didn't want to cover up his motive for assassinating Jia Cong, because that was obvious and there was nothing to cover up.

It must be that he knew some important things, and someone didn't want him to fall into the hands of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, lest the Embroidered Uniform Guard follow the vine to find the melon and make him say things he shouldn't.

The Embroidered Uniform Guard immediately raided Cui Bowang's home, seizing quite a bit of related evidence and implicating many people; even that Ruan Hongcheng, who had once made things difficult for Jia Cong, was convicted and imprisoned this time.

However, Jia Cong heard rumors through various channels that those caught this time were all small characters and didn't cause much of a stir; it looked more like someone was using Cui Bowang to prune some useless branches.

However, because of this disturbance, several collateral official-class descendants of the Jin Ling Wang and Shi families were also implicated and imprisoned.

Probably because they heard that the major Water Surveillance Office case was solved by Jia Cong assisting Prince Ning, and the current disturbance was also caused by Jia Cong.

Therefore, people from these two families came to his door, wanting Jia Cong to go out and mediate.

As a result, they were all blocked by his excuse of recuperating behind closed doors and not being convenient to see guests.

Since they could be implicated by the evidence found in Cui Bowang's home, it showed that these people's hands were not clean.

Back then, the Xue Pan incident was just an ordinary criminal case, and he tried his best to avoid getting involved.

Let alone the current matters involving the major Water Surveillance Office case; Jia Cong didn't want to get involved in the slightest.

In Jin Ling city, there were not only the Embroidered Uniform Guard but also the omnipresent spies of the Zhongche Office; he wasn't stupid enough to leave himself a handle to be smeared just for the sake of covering for relatives.

Even in the Jia family, there were only a few people he cared about; now, these so-called relatives were even more ridiculous, relations that were hard to reach even with an eight-foot pole.

Since that Cui Bowang had met his end, the Gusu assassination attempt could be considered to have come to an end; as for what was hidden behind it, Jia Cong had no interest in exploring.

He just wanted to leave this place of right and wrong as soon as possible.

He had long missed Shenjing; it was time to go back.

(End of Chapter) ===== CHAPTER 177 =====