Chapter 23 Contemptible Scoundrel
“You get nothing to report, just because of you, a concubine’s daughter—female inside but male outside, who was born in May. You led to the dystocia of a concubine of the mansion and almost disfigurement of your sister Qin, and caused your father and elder brother had no way to return home. Besides, I heard that your mother died of disease several years ago. You are really a hoodoo of your family.” Li Weijun turned back suddenly with her golden jade-gold-made hair clasp shining. Family Li had come down now and Li Weijun was just the daughter of the stepmother of family Li. How could she buy such valuable jewelry?
Qin Yunuan suddenly understood something. It seemed that Dou Qing’e paid much money to plan to hurt her.
“Sister Li, you have shown the evidence,” Qin Yunuan straightened her body and fought back, “The concubine Chang in family Qin had difficulty in giving birth just because she was too exhausted before. My elder brother travelled far away just because he inherited my father’s lecture ‘Man should have higher ambition to conquer the world’ to expand his horizon. My father was attacked just by the leftover evil people from East Qin. My elder sister got hurt on her face just by the unexpectedly crazy pet cat Shishi of the Empress, and finally my second sister was punished just because she mistrusted someone and did something wrong. All have nothing to do with me.”
At this moment, someone in the crowd shook suddenly and said nothing. Qin Yunuan glimpsed at Shangguan Yee in a casual way who was upset now. Qin Yunuan just wanted Shangguan Yee to know that all her acts were well known by Dou Qing’e and her daughter. The more the enemies’ enemies were, the more benefits Qin Yunuan had.
Li Weijun answered quickly, “Even so, you, an evil girl, should be responsible for the constant misfortunes of family Qin. It was you that made the concubine had difficulty in giving birth. It was you that made your brother travel far away and could not return home. It was you that made your father get an attack, and it was you that made your two sisters turn unfortunate. You hurt the whole family. All have something to do with you!”
While Li Weijun shouted there, Hui An kept rotating the dragon-eye Buddha Beads constantly aside. Suddenly, the beads were broken and all fell down on the marble bricks with ringing sounds, shaking all the hearts in this palace.
“It’s a sin! Sin,” Hui An now turned to be miserable. He crouched and held the left beads, “The dragon-eye Buddha Beads can suppress evil things, but now they were broken for no reason. The evil thing here has such a superpower.” He was staring at Qin Yunuan with bitter hatred, “All are the dignity! Miss Qin Yunuan, I have no idea to save you.”
“Even master Hui An has no idea to save you. The solution is to kick Qin Yunuan out of the family so the family Qin can be exempt from the misfortune.” Li Weijun finally threw off her mask.
Fang Ziying said calmly, “That’s the business of the family Qin. Anyone out of the family has no right to intervene. Li Weijun, you go too far.”
Li Weijun disdained to humph and stared at Qin Yunuan only with aggressive eyes.
Qin Yunuan suddenly said, “’He who has a mind to beat his dog will easily find his stick.’ The Buddha delivers all living creatures from torment and will not slander anyone in his followers. I always behave myself all the time with a pure and kind heart. But now I am framed to be a hoodoo and that’s why the Buddha cried.”
All paid men would do what he needs to do. Master Hui An took the money from Madam Qin and added medicine in the meal of his senior fellow master Hui Neng to let him sleep all the time. He would not give up easily since he had come into this situation.
“How dare you,” Master Hui An clenched the cassock, “The Buddha was epiphanic just now, how come it was just a misunderstanding? Sister Qin Yunuan, you explained too much but how do you explain that the Buddha was crying just now?”
“It’s simple,” Qin Yunuan said in a gentle voice as light as spring water, but there was something delight in her eyes, “If you were willing to dispatch somebody to fetch the bloody tear and study it for a while, the whole thing would be clear very much.”
Hui An was so surprised and shouted, “The Buddha is saintly and no one can touch it, or he will be punished due to his impoliteness.”
“Qin Yunuan, you are so rude,” Li Weijun added, “You are sullying the Buddha. This is a huge mistake!”
Qin Yunuan smiled, “So Master Hui An, you are not willing to investigate the whole thing?” She suddenly turned back to look at Leng Changxi, “General Leng is the top rank officer here. So General Leng, what do you think of it?”
Leng Changxi knew that this girl was sounding out him. He rubbed his index finger constantly and used his eagle-like sharp eyes to stared at QinYunuan’s eyes as pure and clear as exquisite jades. The pure eyes also hid endless conspiracies. It was just at this moment that Qin Yunuan’s eyesight made Leng Changxi shocked a little and absent-minded.
“If the Buddha is hurt due to misbehavior when someone climbs to take the blood tears, it will be a great disgrace to the Buddha. It is undesirable.” Hui An felt released after he heard Leng’s words. But Leng Changxi then turned back and said to the servant behind him, “You are good at flying Kung Fu. Go ahead to fetch the tea and remember that do not hurt the Buddha.”
Hui An was shocked and his chin almost fell down. He blocked the servant, “No, no! I need to ask for instructions toward my senior fellow.” He thought that he could delay for a while.
“Master Hui An, you just now said that Master Hui Neng was ill and no one could visit him. So you should not bother him only for asking for instructions. It is not a big thing. My servant is the most competent one who is good at flying Kung Fu in my military group, and he would not hurt the Buddha at all.” Leng Changxi raised his head and was like an audience who was watching a good show.
“But…” Master Hui An still tried to stop him but Qin Yunuan added, “So Master Hui An, you want the bloody tear to remain on the face of the Buddha? If someone else sees it, gossiping will be the great disgrace toward the Buddha.”
Master Hui An was in a dilemma and turned to be pale. He could not stop the servant. The servant just jumped higher sharply and wiped the face of the Buddha by a piece of purdah without treading anything, and then he fell down on the ground stably. He gave the white cloth full of blood to Leng Changxi and said, “General, here is the bloody tear.”
Qin Yunuan exclaimed in her heart that there were so many talented people around Leng Changxi.
Leng Changxi sniffed closely the red water that looked like blood on the white cloth, and suddenly laughed scornfully and gave the cloth to someone aside him, “Childish tricks.”
Fang Ziying was urgent, “So what is on earth the blood tear?”
A young master in blue held the white cloth and sniffed clearly. He seemed to find something and raised his head, “It is Red Flower Powder, used for boiling red eggs for weddings.”
His words were definitely a thunder exploding here.
“Such a cheeky trick.” Someone sighed.
Someone further added, “This menial trick almost destroys our praying. If I can find the initiator, I will send him to the government.”
Suddenly, the focus changed, and only Li Weijun did not give up, “Whatever the blood tear is, the crying Buddha is the instruction from the Heaven, and it must be the evil omen.”
The harder Li Weijun was, the funnier Qin Yunuan felt. She said to Master Hui An, “Master Hui An, Master Hui Neng was ill and you are the only person who can make a decision in this temple. At present, someone uses Red Flower Powder trick to destroy our praying, and you must tell us if you will check the whole thing or not.” It was just a question but apparently, the answer was clear now.
Master Hui An was in an urgent situation and had no other choices. He still insisted, “Fine! I’ll investigate! Even if the Buddha will be disdained, I will investigate this radically,” he called a young monk to come in and asked, “Call all fellows together in Arhat Hall. I want to know who had come into the Great Buddha’s Hall today.”
“Thanks, but there is no need to call together all people here,” Qin Yunuan stopped the young monk with a smile who was about to go out. All here were confused and Qin Yunuan waved her hands outward, “Take the person in.”
Just for a while, Tong and Maner controlled a young monk whose hands and feet were bound. The young monk was only 15 or 16 years old but with cunning eyes. He saw Master Hui An in the crowd. He seemed to find a life-saving straw and tried to come closer to him in a hurry.
“This time, my mother specially asked me to borrow a Buddhist scripture at Sutra Collection Pavilion in Wan’an Temple for her singing and incense burning. So when we all rested in the East Side Hall, I dispatched two maidservants to fetch it. To their surprise, on their way, they met a young monk called Jie Chen who was furtive outside the palace. When we called him, he got panic and ran away, leaving a red candle. I planned to bind him and sent him to Master Hui Neng after the praying ceremony but now he should show up.”
While she said those words, she took out the red candle from Jie Chen, “He firstly added the Red Flower Powder into the candle and then dripped the candle onto the eyelids of the Buddha, waiting for the solidification of the candle when all did not notice the statue. The Buddha was high and it was hard to find a little candle on it. However, when we came in and started to pray, the temperature in this palace rose due to the burning charcoals. And then the candle melted and that’s why the Buddha seemed to be crying at that time.”
Qin Yunuan said in a gentle and calm voice. Her hair waved subtly due to the warm air caused by charcoals’ burning. Leng Changxi listened to each word of her words carefully and thought her words were like tough pampas grass. She just disguised herself and remained aloof from the noisy world.
“But,” Qin Yunuan did not feel uncomfortable due to Leng Changxi’s staring. She just tilted her head and said, “There must be some reasons that such a young monk took a risk to insult the Buddha. Or he was guided by someone. Otherwise, he will pay the price.”
“Speak it out,” Fang Ziying pointed at Jie Chen, “There must be someone behind you! Who is the person?”
Jie Chen rotated her eyeballs and held the leg of Master Hui An, crying, “Senior uncle, please forgive me. I have served you for so long. I know a lot of things about you. Your hobbies are well known to me. Uncle, if I got some trouble, you would not gain a comfortable life.”
Master Hui An now had a serious face. He knew that Jie Chen was threatening him. If he punished Jie Chen, Jie Chen must say all out. He still wanted to live in Wan’an Temple to earn more donations. Now he clenched his fist and decided not to let off Jie Chen.
“Go away,” Master Hui An suddenly raised his hand and slapped Jie Chen, roaring, “Master Hui Neng is absent, and now I will punish you, this menial guy, for my senior fellow.” And then he slapped Jie Chen heavily again.