Chapter 006: Yizhen is also fake

Yongxin still sat with his eyes closed and palms together, and replied, "Phenomena arise from the mind. If the donor's mind harbors thoughts of birth, then all things will naturally be born. If the donor's mind is free from thoughts of birth, then all things will be like dead objects."

After a moment of silence, Liuli saw the monk chanting again. She slowly walked over to the other side and sat on the cushion opposite Master He, picking up the scriptures on the table.

"May I ask, Master, what are these two characters?" She pointed to the word "Nirvana" that was deciphered by Ruan Hua during the day.

Yongxin glanced and said, "Since the donor has undergone the baptism, how could you not know 'Nirvana'?"

Liuli's fists began to sweat. "Do you really know about me..." She felt she had spoken too much and quickly suppressed her emotions, pressing her lips tightly. After steadying herself, she continued, "Master, you have been devoted to helping the He family resolve their difficulties. I believe you have already been regarded as a confidant by Lord Shang."

This statement contained deep meaning, and Yongxin, of course, understood it. He nodded and said, "The donor worries too much. A monk does not concern himself with worldly affairs. The rise and fall of worldly karma are all due to cause and effect. I do not do anything against the natural order."

Liuli nodded and said, "That puts my mind at ease. I believe that Master's reputation precedes him, and I trust that he will not cause difficulties for a young woman like me." She then tested the tea that Master He had not yet touched with a silver hairpin, took a sip, and continued, "My current concern is that, barring any unforeseen events, I will become a slave of the He family in three days, signing a lifelong contract that I can never retrieve. Does the Master have a solution to this?"

Yongxin fingered the prayer beads and slowly said, "Destiny is in the hands of the heavens, but actions are in the hands of people. The donor should act cautiously and will surely turn adversity into good fortune."

Seeing that he was evading the question again, Liuli felt frustrated. She noticed some paper and a pen, so she wrote a few words.

"Master, you are the only person in this world with whom I can speak freely. If you provide me with some guidance now, when I am able to rise above my current situation, I will donate hundreds or thousands of offerings to express my gratitude to the Buddha. Would that not be virtuous?"

Yongxin, however, did not nod in agreement.

As Liuli got up to bid farewell, Yongxin suddenly picked up the piece of paper she had written on. "Yizhen, is this your name?" Liuli nodded. The two sentences she had written on the paper read: "Yizhen is both false and true; once the heart dies, Nirvana is reborn." Liuli wrote the words well and was quite pleased with herself, thinking that she had touched a chord with him. So, full of hope, she asked, "Can you provide some guidance based on this?"

Yongxin shook his head and said, "I cannot."

Feeling utterly defeated, Liuli heard a knock on the door from outside. "Master, it's time."

It was time to end the meeting, and the household servants were about to come in. Feeling disheartened, Liuli bowed to Yongxin and said, "I hope that Master will not reveal Yizhen's whereabouts. If I have the chance in the future, I will come to the White Horse Temple to express my gratitude."

With that, she quickly retraced her steps and left.

When Liuli returned to the small courtyard, there was no one in the room, and she didn't know where Cuiying had gone. She went to the kitchen to fetch water to wash her feet, and when she lifted the lid of a pot, she found some leftover meat soup inside. It seemed that the household, after days of fasting, could no longer resist the temptation and had secretly started eating meat.

Liuli covered the pot again, finished washing up, and went back to her room to sleep.

The next morning, someone brought her breakfast as usual: a bowl of rice porridge, two spring rolls, a plate of pickled bamboo shoots, and two steamed dumplings. After tidying up, Liuli sat at the table, pretending to choose her clothes for the day while secretly testing the food with a silver hairpin. She found that the rice porridge, spring rolls, and dumplings were safe, but when she put the hairpin in the pickled bamboo shoots, it immediately turned black. She discreetly wrapped the pickled bamboo shoots in a handkerchief and put them in her purse.

Liuli asked the woman who brought the food, "Who made these pickled bamboo shoots? They are delicious."

The woman looked somewhat proud and disdainful as she replied, "These were made by Mrs. Mao, the second stewardess in the main kitchen. Mrs. Mao's pickled vegetables are a favorite of Madam Si. You are also lucky to have them, especially with Miss Jinse around."

Jinse was the chief maid by Lady Nie's side, and Miss Wu was Lady Nie's daughter. If this poison was not the work of He Yanhua, then Liuli would not believe it.

But she was not Yuhua, so why was she also being targeted? Was it because Lady Nie had always relied on the relationship with the Yu family?

The chanting session was scheduled to begin at the hour of the Dragon, and it was now the hour of the Rabbit. Liuli sat by the window, flipping through the scriptures. Cuiying opened the curtains, and the morning mist drifted in, bringing with it a chill.

Liuli decided to walk outside onto the veranda. Just a yard away was the well, where two people were squatting under a rose bush, washing clothes. Liuli gazed at the mist, lost in thought, and remembered that the last time she had been chanting continuously, she had stayed in the temple. This time, she was staying in this small courtyard, and she wondered if there was any significance to it.

Suddenly, there was a splash at the well, and one of the two people washing clothes stood up, wringing out the wet clothes.

Liuli focused her gaze and saw that the person on the left, wearing a gray robe, was older, with her hair tied up and held in place with a wooden hairpin. The person on the right, however, was much younger, about eighteen or nineteen years old, wearing a light-colored silk shirt, with a beautiful face, almond-shaped eyes, and a bright red hairpin in her hair.

Liuli immediately thought of the plate of green bean cakes.

In a large mansion like this, there were no shortage of intrigues. Yesterday, the man in the green robe had surreptitiously delivered the green bean cakes to that room, and the coral hairpin that had been hidden under the plate was now stuck in this young woman's hair. It was too much of a coincidence. But the man looked familiar, and he was dressed as a steward. Which household did he belong to?

The older woman spoke, "I have the mid-shift today, so I won't have time to finish washing. Can you help me finish up, and I'll thank you later." With that, she wiped her hands on her clothes and prepared to leave.