Chapter 86: Leaving the House

In the end, Wen Ruyu allowed the monk to enter her house and actively inquired about Miaozhen.

However, she didn’t want to directly ask Miaozhen, so instead, she first asked whether any of the younger monks had managed to escape the bandits’ clutches.

Then, as if she suddenly remembered, she casually asked, “Especially one young novice monk named Miaozhen. He looked clean and hardworking. Is he still here?”

The abbot, who had also narrowly escaped, was still trying to gather all the monks, and didn’t want to say anything that might upset Wen Ruyu’s mood. He simply replied, “The little monks were originally laypeople, so it’s possible that, in their panic, they returned to their parents’ homes. The temple is still counting the numbers.”

“Oh.” Wen Ruyu wasn’t too disappointed when she couldn’t get any useful information.

She chatted with the monks for a while and then donated fifty taels of silver to help rebuild the temple.

The ancient people were often superstitious, and building temples was akin to offering a letter of recommendation before the Buddha.

Doing good deeds may not necessarily make the Buddha remember you, but working for the Buddha surely would.

Perhaps the Buddha didn’t care for these things, but as long as the Buddha was in people’s hearts, their perception of him reflected how they saw the world.

So, when the rebuilding of the temple was announced, the wealthy residents of Guihua Alley were naturally eager to contribute.

The larger the donation, the more likely the names of the major donors would be carved onto stone tablets, with the font size varying according to the donation amount.

For the people in Guihua Alley, fifty taels of silver was considered a modest donation.

Guihua Alley was home to the wealthier and more powerful families in Qinghe County, and many devout believers of the Buddha contributed hundreds of taels of silver.

Thus, for the people here, fifty taels was a reasonable amount to donate.

Donations of only one or two taels would lose face if made public.

Wen Ruyu actually didn’t want to donate, but since she had invited the monks in, it would be rude not to offer something.

Moreover, whenever they went to the temple to pray, the abbot had always been attentive in hosting them, so she decided to donate fifty taels.

After making the donation, she sent the monks away.

In the evening, she went to Zhao Shu’s place to play with the little girl.

The little girl’s full name was likely chosen by Lu Songnian, who had selected a few names for boys and girls before he left, though he hadn’t finalized one yet.

So, the family was calling the girl by her nickname “Bao’er.”

Wen Ruyu, while holding the child, always called her “Bao Bei” (Baby) repeatedly.

Thus, everyone started calling her “Bao’er.”

Lin Xiaoyin came over with the account books to show Wen Ruyu. She had been unable to see her for the past few days, so today, she directly came to Zhao Shu’s house.

“I knew the old lady would be here,” Lin Xiaoyin said with a smile as she entered.

Wen Ruyu, holding the child, let the maid take the account books. The three women gathered around Zhao Shu’s bed to chat.

After giving birth, Zhao Shu couldn’t leave the house and was feeling quite bored. Naturally, she welcomed the company of her mother-in-law and sisters-in-law.

Since she wasn’t fully recovered, she could only meet them in bed, but luckily, her mother-in-law didn’t mind.

Lin Xiaoyin sat down and began talking about what she had heard that day. “I heard that Longxing Temple caught fire, and the Song family next door donated five hundred taels of silver for the cause.”

“How do you know?” Wen Ruyu asked.

Lin Xiaoyin picked up the tea the maid brought, lifted the lid with a delicate hand, and said, “A servant from the Song family mentioned it when they were escorting the monk out. We happened to pass by, and I overheard.”

Zhao Shu was lying on the bed, propped up by several pillows, her face pale and lacking color. “How did they come up with so much money?”

Lin Xiaoyin replied, “It just so happened that after the old man from the Song family passed away, the family matriarch was also injured by Song Lao San. Since then, her health has been poor. I heard she got even sicker a few days ago. The Song family is rich, so they’ve invited all kinds of famous doctors and miraculous medicines, but the matriarch’s condition hasn’t improved.”

Zhao Shu nodded in understanding. “If that’s the case, then praying to the gods is the only option left.”

“Has Song Lao San been caught yet?” Wen Ruyu asked.

Lin Xiaoyin replied, “He’s probably already fled to another county. He definitely isn’t in the city anymore. No one would dare hide such a heartless person. If someone does, they are truly not afraid of bringing ruin upon themselves.”

Zhao Shu, still in her confinement period and perhaps influenced by hormones, was particularly sentimental. “His family is truly pitiful. The old man died from anger, and the matriarch was injured by her most beloved son. What kind of karma did they have in their past life to end up like this?”

Wen Ruyu said, “If they had been less indulgent toward the third son in the past, perhaps this tragedy wouldn’t have happened.”

The three women chatted for a while. Afterward, Wen Ruyu went to check on Lu Jinnian before bed.

He still had a high fever, and though there was no thermometer to measure his temperature, it was clear he was burning with fever.

She could only feel his forehead and cheeks, which seemed a little cooler than before, though she wasn’t sure if it was just psychological.

She ordered the servants to take good care of him and returned to her own courtyard.

Over the next few days, Tie Chui, who had been investigating outside, finally found out the whereabouts of the monk Miaozhen.

When Wen Ruyu heard that he was still alive, she breathed a sigh of relief.

Lu Jinnian had a fever for two days, and on the last day, he bled from his nose, but gradually began to recover. Now, his body had improved, and he was eager to go outside.

Wen Ruyu ordered the servants to keep him resting for another two days.

When Wen Ruyu found out Miaozhen’s whereabouts, she had the servants prepare horses and silver and set off for the Jiang family.

When they arrived at Jiangjia Village, Qinghe County, they learned that Miaozhen’s grandmother had just passed away.

Being a poor family, there were no grand funeral arrangements—just a simple coffin was enough.

Therefore, the funeral was quickly taken care of.

With no one left at the Jiang family, Jiang Chao had gone to his uncle’s house and had not returned since, nor was it certain if he would come back.

Miaozhen’s real name was Jiang Chao, and in the village, this was considered a relatively cultured name.

In Jiangjia Village, there were many common names like Dog Egg and Iron Column.

It was said that when Jiang Chao’s father was alive, the family had a few acres of poor land, and the child had attended school for a few years.

His parents were farmers and weavers, and after paying his schooling fees, they could hardly save any money throughout the year.

Later, his father, the pillar of the family, fell ill. The family sold their land to treat him, but his condition didn’t improve, and they lost the land they had been living on.

Jiang Chao’s mother was taken back by her family and remarried.

Fortunately, Jiang Chao’s uncle was a kind man who took him in and helped him become a monk.

In ancient times, monks weren’t necessarily celibate. They could get married or even return to secular life and marry later.

Jiang Chao’s uncle, who was poor and sent to be a monk, didn’t have much status in Longxing Temple, but after more than ten years of enduring hardship, he had gained some recognition and returned to secular life.

Perhaps his uncle hoped Jiang Chao would follow the same path and earn money to marry a wife.

However, they never expected that Longxing Temple, a Buddhist stronghold, would be troubled by bandits.

Wen Ruyu couldn’t find anyone at Jiangjia Village, so she moved on to Liu Family Village.

After inquiring, the servants found Jiang Chao’s uncle.

The Liu family wasn’t a big household in Liujia Village, and Jiang Chao’s uncle Liu Da didn’t have much of a position at the temple. Now, he had returned to secular life, bought a few acres of land, and lived as an ordinary farmer.

With Wen Ruyu’s status, if she had used her power to intimidate them, the Liu family would have been powerless to resist.

Therefore, Wen Ruyu didn’t conceal her identity as the matriarch of the Lu family and simply stated that she had come to see Jiang Chao.

Although Liu Da had once threatened Lu Jinnian and said he would tell his family, it was just an attempt to get some silver to improve his family’s situation.

After all, Lu Jinnian had committed a shameful act, so he didn’t dare to escalate things.

Liu Da didn’t truly dare to face Wen Ruyu.

When he heard that the matriarch of the Lu family had arrived, he and his wife were so scared they nearly lost their courage.

They were an ordinary peasant family, living even worse than those in the town, so they naturally feared the powerful.

Even the scholars in the village would feel inferior in front of someone like Wen Ruyu.

Seeing that she had come, Liu Da and his wife guessed her purpose right away.

Not wanting to be criticized by the villagers or offend Wen Ruyu, they hurriedly invited her inside.

Wen Ruyu entered the Liu family’s courtyard, which had a small yard, two small rooms, a kitchen, a privy, and a silly donkey eating grass in a shed.

There was a large water jar in the yard, indicating that they had to carry water with a shoulder pole.

After entering Liu Da’s house, the servants quickly set up a chair for her to sit in with cushions, ensuring she was comfortable.

Once seated, Wen Ruyu asked, “Where is Miaozhen?”

She moved with grace, her emerald hairpin in her hair, her ears, neck, and wrists adorned with matching dark green jade jewelry. She wore a plain satin robe, and her shoes were worth more than their entire household’s annual food expenses.

Liu Da and his wife, seeing her grandeur, didn’t dare to breathe too loudly in front of her.

Liu Da immediately nodded, “He is here, he is here.”

“Quickly go call Chao’er over,” Liu Da said, turning to his wife.

The wife hurried out to summon him.

Though he was afraid of Wen Ruyu’s power, Liu Da still felt the obligation to speak up for his nephew.

“This child lost his father at a young age and grew up without guidance. He may be a little rude. If he has offended you, please, Matriarch, forgive him.”

Wen Ruyu glanced at Liu Da, thinking that, despite his poverty, he had a bit of family loyalty.

Poor families should not be expected to act according to the virtues of a gentleman. As long as they don’t break the law, that’s enough.

Any excess moral virtue is to be praised.

Because they lived in a society that was almost hellish, it was remarkable that they didn’t go bad.

On the other hand, wealthy families should be held to higher moral standards.

This is something that should not be reversed. Society should not expect too much from the lower class, nor should it lower its moral standards for the wealthy.

Therefore, Wen Ruyu didn’t have any hatred toward Jiang Chao. On the contrary, she was deeply frustrated with Lu Jinnian.

That piece of rotten mud, if it were just him who was bad, it would be fine, but he dragged good children into it.

She sighed, “He didn’t do anything wrong. It’s probably just that my family’s misdeeds have offended him.”

With such an uncle, Jiang Chao likely wasn’t too bad.