Chapter 48 Dare to Go
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From time to time, people carrying dry grass passed by on the road, lively and bustling. Those from the Grand Xuan-miao Temple couldn’t help but inquire. Upon hearing that it was repairs being made to the roof of the Small Xuan-miao Temple on the mountain, they felt complex.
“Where did this woman get money from again,’ murmured a child, “not caring about food and drink, yet repairing a temple.”
As they were talking, a nun suddenly exclaimed, “Quick, look!”
She shouted, pointing her hand outside the door.
The door was wide open, offering a clear view of the road outside, where a boy of about twelve or thirteen was walking by, both hands holding a paper kite.
“What’s so interesting about the paper kite?” the child muttered, pouting. “Although it’s rare at this time of year, it’s not that special.”
“No, not the kite, the lady,” the nun said.
The lady?
Everyone looked over and saw a young girl approaching the boy. The boy raised the paper kite in his hand to show her, seemingly asking for permission.
“Oh my, it’s that lady!” exclaimed a nun.
“Which one?” asked the child, puzzled.
“The one from up the mountain, the girl who gave the old man the tangerines,” the nun explained.
“Immortal!” The child exclaimed in astonishment, immediately running outside. The others followed hurriedly, even the abbess coming along.
“If it’s that girl, just say thank you and pass on the message for the old man,” she said.
Several people rushed outside, but the lady and the boy had already walked away.
“Hey…” a nun began to call out, but she saw them heading towards the Small Xuan-miao Temple on the mountain and her voice trailed off.
Two men carrying baskets of grass caught up with them.
“Hey, the grass fodder won’t be delivered until afternoon,” they said.
“Don’t delay any longer, it needs to be done by this afternoon,” the maid replied.
The group continued talking as they went up the mountain, leaving the nuns of the Grand Xuan-miao Temple outside staring blankly.
“Ah, that immortal, does she live at the Small Xuan-miao Temple?” the child said, turning to look at his senior sisters. “An immortal wouldn’t live there!”
The nuns also looked embarrassed and somewhat disappointed.
“So, they have a new resident, that’s why they’re repairing the temple,” the abbess said, nodding.
The maid ran into the door holding a paper kite in her hand.
“Miss, do you think this one is good?” she shouted loudly.
“I have a larger swallow kite here,” the boy called from behind, running in with his own kite in hand.
What a fool, playing with these things at this age.
The abbess standing in the courtyard, watching the masons repair the roof, shook her head and smirked.
“Ban Qin,” she thought for a moment and called out, “take the mistress out to play, it’s chaotic here.”
The maid in the courtyard responded and soon escorted Cheng Jiao-niang, wearing a veiled hat, outside.
“Why can’t it fly?”
“Miss, there’s no wind today…”
“Fly, fly.”
“Qing Mei, I’ll do it, I can run fast.”
For several consecutive days, shouts from the maids, the boy, and that fool echoed from the mountain. There were also wobbly paper kites in the sky, but they couldn’t stay up for long and often fell down. Once, one even hit the abbess on the shoulder.
“Oh my, this isn’t the season for playing with these, and it’s not suitable on the mountain either,” said an old craftsman.
“No harm, no harm. She doesn’t understand all that. As long as she’s happy, let her do as she pleases,” the abbess chuckled.
The craftsmen had already figured out that the lady was mentally challenged.
“It’s really pitiful,” they murmured softly.
A person with a mental disability naturally wouldn’t understand anything.
As night fell, the craftsmen began to wrap up their work. Inside the house, the maid handed a long cast iron rod to the boy.
“Do I have to press this onto the roof?” the boy asked, puzzled.
“Yes, the old lady said back then, wherever the mistress lives, this should be there. It’s called the ‘Mind-Settling Needle.’ With this, Miss’s spirit will gradually return,” the maid explained. “It was a request from Ban Qin before she left.”
The boy couldn’t be bothered with these things. Anyway, he had taken their money, so he would do their work. It was the first time he had earned so much money, feeling like a grown-up and extremely pleased with himself.
“Alright, I’ll go now,” he said, grabbing the iron rod and leaving.
“Wait, be quiet, don’t let anyone see you. If they do, it won’t work,” the maid hurriedly advised.
The boy nodded and ran off quickly.
Outside, as the craftsmen wrapped up their work, the abbess breathed a sigh of relief. Standing and watching day after day was tiring. Fortunately, the work would be completed in a few more days. She instructed two children to watch as the workers left and locked the door. She went inside to rest, sitting down on a cushion, when a man entered carrying a jug of wine.
While the craftsmen worked, the man also came around, helping with menial tasks like fetching water and mud. Of course, he refused to do any heavy lifting. When everyone else left, he lingered behind and then simply stayed, not leaving.
“The workers haven’t even left yet, how did you come in!” The woman jumped in surprise and scolded in a hushed voice.
“No one saw me,” the man chuckled, unconcerned.
Besides, even if someone did see, so what? If it’s not their business, who would dare to gossip?
“Come, you’ve worked hard. Have a drink to relieve your fatigue,” he said with a smile, moving closer.
The abbess gave him a stern look, but she wasn’t afraid. As long as no one was caught in bed, what could they say or do? If they dared to speak out, she could still clear her name! To defile her reputation was to defile the Cheng family’s reputation. There weren’t many people in Jiang-zhou who dared to cross paths with the North Cheng.
Just as the two poured the wine, they heard a loud bang from the roof.
“What was that? Go and check,” the abbess startled, about to get up.
“Oh, it’s probably those craftsmen who left something behind and went back up,” the man said.
Was that so?
“Are they all gone?” the abbess called out.
“There’s still one,” the child timidly replied from outside.
The man gave the abbess a look as if to say, “See, I was right.”
“Tell him to hurry up, it’s getting dark,” the abbess shouted.
The child responded from outside, and soon the courtyard quieted down.
Night had fallen over the small temple.
Inside the room, the dim light revealed the maid looking at Cheng Jiao-niang.
“Miss, you want me to go over there to borrow some ingredients?” she asked.
“Yes,” Cheng Jiao-niang replied, looking at her.
The maid acknowledged with an “oh” and without asking why she needed the ingredients, turned around to leave.
“That man should be over there,” Cheng Jiao-niang said.
The maid’s body immediately stiffened. She bit her lip but continued walking.
“I have something for you to do. Are you willing?” Cheng Jiao-niang had asked her before, and she had answered, “I’m willing to die; what wouldn’t I dare?”
Cheng Jiao-niang didn’t ask her to die, but instead told her to listen to her instructions. Whatever she said, the maid would go and do it.
“If she invites you to sit down and have a drink together, you should accept one drink,” Cheng Jiao-niang continued, “but only one. If she insists on keeping you, say it’s going to rain and you need to come back to accompany me.”
The maid was nearly biting her lip until it bled. She couldn’t help but look up at the sky outside. It had been clear and sunny for several days, almost as hot as midsummer. Though the night was cool with no moon or stars, there was no hint of rain at all.
Could such a transparent excuse really let her escape?
But…
“Yes,” she said, lifting her foot to step outside.
After a neither short nor long distance, the maid felt like she had walked a lifetime, but even a long journey has its end. She stood in front of the courtyard gate, where faint laughter and chatter of men and women drifted on the night breeze.
She raised her hand and knocked on the door, and the laughter and chatter inside immediately faded away.
“Who is it?”
A trembling voice of a child came from inside.
The maid took a deep breath.
“It’s me, Ban Qin,” she said. “I’ve come to borrow some vegetables.”
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