In the bustling and lively East Market, it’s not a place for peddlers to make a living. They have to wander through the streets and alleys, shouting loudly to make ends meet.
Peddler Wu set down his burden, wiped his sweat with his sleeve, and took a short break.
On his stall, there was everything from rouge and face powder to preserved fruits, toys, needles, and silver threads.
The cries of a child came from inside a nearby house.
When business came, Peddler Wu immediately perked up and jingled his rattle drum.
“Hey, peddler, come over here.”
Two women waved to him, pulling a child along.
They rummaged through the stall, picking up various items to entertain the child, who, around three or four years old, also grabbed at the goods out of curiosity.
“Would you like some preserved fruits?” one woman asked, pulling out a few packages. “Oh, what’s this? I’ve never seen it before.”
“There’s writing on it too. What does it say?” another woman asked, leaning in to take a look.
Peddler Wu glanced at it and suddenly remembered.
It was the offering he had received from the Xuan-miao Temple yesterday.
What was it called?
The Mid-Autumn Festival, reunion…
“Mooncakes,” he said. “These are offerings from the Xuan-miao Temple. The nun there mentioned that eating these during the Mid-Autumn Festival symbolizes reunion. See, they’re round, like the moon.”
The woman, not having examined the mooncake carefully, was suddenly grabbed by the child beside her, who tore open the oiled paper.
“Look, it has flowers, it has flowers,” the child exclaimed, looking at the mooncake and immediately taking a bite.
“Oh dear, can he eat this?” the woman exclaimed in surprise. But it was too late; once bitten, it couldn’t be returned. Reluctantly, she took out some money and asked, “How much is this?”
“Madam, if it’s just this, then there’s no charge,” Peddler Wu said with a smile. “This is a complimentary offering from the temple. How could I charge for it? Enjoy and be blessed.”
The two women were delighted by this and, feeling satisfied, chose a few strands of thread and paid for those before leaving.
These women enjoyed taking advantage of small bargains. Peddler Wu, feeling a bit pleased with himself, lifted his spirits and, shaking his rattle drum, continued on his way.
A plump, elderly man ambled toward him, and the child who saw him from a distance shouted, “Grandpa!”
The chubby man quickened his pace, picked up the running child, and the child smeared the mooncake on his face.
“What’s this?” the old man asked with a smile.
“It’s the moon,” the child replied, recalling the snippets of information he had just heard.
The old man, surprised, opened his mouth as the child held the mooncake up to him.
“It’s delicious,” he exclaimed.
The old man took a bite, his eyes immediately lighting up.
“Ah?” he said, taking a few more bites and still feeling a bit unsatisfied, so he took another bite. “Not bad, not bad.”
In the alley, the sound of a child crying began.
“Grandpa, you ate my mooncake…”
“Good boy, good boy, Grandpa will buy you another one… Peddler, peddler… Slow down, peddler…”
When Cheng Si-lang stepped into the courtyard, a few maids were gathered together, chattering animatedly.
Cheng Si-lang stamped his foot in displeasure, and the maids quickly dispersed.
“Young master, you’re back early today,” Chun Lan said, hurrying to greet him and take his cloak.
“Guests will be arriving soon,” Cheng Si-lang replied.
Chun Lan asked, “Tea or wine?”
“Tea,” Cheng Si-lang said as he walked into the room, with Chun Lan following behind.
“Young master,” she hesitated for a moment before speaking, “the Xuan-miao Temple has changed maids again.”
Cheng Si-lang responded with a noncommittal sound, momentarily not understanding her words.
“Young master, the maid who replaced Ban Qin at Jiao-niang’s place has left too,” Chun Lan said quickly, her words spilling out once she started. “It turns out that the reason the master called her over yesterday was for this—she was sent to the Zhang family’s residence, where they said the pastries she made were to their liking…”
Cheng Si-lang was momentarily stunned. Another replacement? Had she been taken away by someone else?
Was it that the maid at that fool’s place couldn’t be kept, or was she just too in demand?
“Young master, the young master of the Zhang family has arrived.”
The voice from outside interrupted their conversation.
“Oh, there aren’t enough pastries,” a maid said, looking at a plate of pastries.
“There are a few more here,” another maid said, picking up two or three packages of preserved fruits wrapped in oiled paper from a nearby table.
“Where did these come from?” the first maid asked, taking the packages and noticing the writing on them.
“Is everything ready?” Chun Lan came in to urge them. “The young master of the Zhang family has arrived.”
The two maids, not daring to be negligent, quickly arranged the pastries and followed Chun Lan towards the study.
The young masters’ idle chatter and laughter were not something the maids needed to be involved in; even Chun Lan, the personal maid, could only stand outside the door waiting for a summons.
Inside, they discussed poetry and painting, exchanging laughter and lively conversation, and it wasn’t until dusk that they reluctantly took their leave.
“Oh, by the way, Si-lang, your family’s pastries are quite good. How about I take some back for my sister? She loves these,” the young master of the Zhang family said as he reached the door and remembered.
“Certainly,” Cheng Si-lang replied with a smile. “Which ones would you like?”
“The peach strips in the paper packages,” the Zhang family young master said, pointing to them.
Cheng Si-lang then instructed a maid to fetch them.
After waiting for a moment, the maids nervously came over.
“Young master, this isn’t from our home,” one of them said.
Young Master Zhang was a bit surprised, and Cheng Si-lang looked somewhat embarrassed.
“In that case, where did it come from? We can just go buy more,” Cheng Si-lang said.
“No need, no need. Just tell me where it’s from, and I’ll go get it myself,” the Young Master Zhang quickly replied with a smile.
The maids exchanged glances and looked towards Chun Lan.
“It was brought back by Chun Lan,” they said.
Chun Lan was momentarily stunned.
“Oh, it’s that…” She suddenly remembered, “Is it the pastries from Xuan-miao Temple?”
“Xuan-miao Temple?” Young Master Zhang repeated the name, puzzled.
At the same time, many households in the city were also repeating the name.
“Xuan-miao Temple,” they said, looking at the patterns and text on the paper packages in their hands and then at their steward in front of them. “Is this the Mid-Autumn Festival gift specially sent by Old Master Zhang?”
For the nuns at Xuan-miao Temple, the day was as usual, but it was also different.
Because a maid had left the Tai Ping Palace on the mountain.
“Abbess will be staying at Tai Ping Palace from now on. Junior Sister and Second Senior Sister will be helping out over there. Ling Hui, you take care of the incense offerings,” one nun said to another. “I will be performing the ritual.”
“It’s fine. Don’t be nervous. The two of us will be enough; besides, there aren’t many visitors…” Ling Hui replied.
Before she could finish, footsteps were heard outside the mountain gate.
“Hello, hello!”
Someone was calling loudly as they entered.
As soon as they heard someone had arrived, the two nuns quickly adjusted their appearance to greet the visitors.
“Are these mooncakes made here?” The newcomer was an elderly man who asked as soon as he arrived.
Before he finished speaking, several more people came in from outside.
“Hello, are there any Mid-Autumn Festival offerings left?”
“Hello, is it possible to request a blessing?”
“Hello, do you provide vegetarian meals and pastries here?”
A chaotic clamor of questions flooded in, leaving the two nuns bewildered and unsure of whom to answer.
What’s going on? Why were so many people here?
Two people were simply not enough to handle this!
The hustle and bustle of the temple at the foot of the mountain contrasted with the calm of Tai Ping Palace on the mountain.
In the kitchen, the aroma of something being prepared mingled with the chatter and laughter of two maids.
A young child came from the front hall, first peeking into the room, but finding no one in front of the screen.
“Miss, Miss,” the child called out, somewhat scared.
When no one answered from inside the room, the child hurried to the kitchen to ask the two maids.
“She was just sitting in the corridor a moment ago,” the two maids said, glancing outside. “Oh, this fool is really quick on her feet. Who knows where she’s gone off to now, and she didn’t even say anything.”
“Please, keep an eye out,” the child urged urgently.
“Who’s supposed to keep an eye out? You’re supposed to watch the door. What do we need you for? Just eating and drinking at our place for free?” the two maids retorted, hands on their hips.
The child was startled and stepped back a couple of paces.
“Go find her quickly,” the maids said, frowning and pointing.
The child, frightened, turned and ran, stumbling over the door threshold, which caused the two maids to burst into laughter.
The child, both embarrassed and scared, was on the verge of tears, anxiously looking around.
Abbess and Senior Sister were busy with their duties, and she had only gone to check the incense offerings in the hall. Now that she returned and couldn’t find the lady, what if this fool fell down the mountain?
“Miss!” the child cried out, with a hint of tears in her voice.
“Mm?” came a response from the side door.
The child quickly wiped away her tears and saw a young lady entering. She was dressed in her usual plain satin robe, vermilion skirt, wooden clogs, and white socks, with long hair cascading down her back. It was Cheng Jiao-niang.
“Miss…” the child hurriedly called out as she took a few quick steps toward her.
Cheng Jiao-niang looked at the child and twirled the twig she was holding.
“What happened?” she asked.
“Where… where did you go?” the child asked.
“Just taking a walk,” Cheng Jiao-niang replied, heading straight toward the small pavilion.
When Ban Qin was here, they would always go for walks on the mountain every day. The child let out a sigh of relief. But now, only one person was left to wander around.
“Miss, next time you go out, take me with you,” the child said, their voice tinged with a hint of sadness. She hurried to catch up, speaking more slowly, “Take me with you, look, if you encounter a wolf, it’ll eat you.”
Cheng Jiao-niang had already seated herself on the base of the pavilion. Hearing this, she looked at the child with a gentle smile on her lips.
“Alright,” she said, holding the twig and drawing on the ground.
“Miss, would you like some water?”
“…The stone is cold. Shall we go back?”
“Miss, are you hungry?”
The child asked these questions from time to time, but Cheng Jiao-niang did not respond, instead focusing intently on using the twig to draw lines and strokes on the ground.
“Miss, what are you drawing?” the child asked curiously, taking a few steps closer and looking down.
The markings on the ground were a chaotic mess, resembling a character, but quickly smeared by the twig’s movements, rendering the original lines indistinguishable.
Just doodling, the child concluded.
Looking up, the child saw Cheng Jiao-niang switch the twig from her right hand to her left hand and continue drawing on the ground.
It’s just random doodles, the child thought. Who writes with their left hand anyway?
“Miss, Miss.”
Abbess Sun’s voice came from the front hall. Cheng Jiao-niang and the child looked in the direction of the sound and saw Abbess Sun rushing over, heading toward the room.
“Here!” the child called out urgently.
Only then did Abbess Sun notice them and hurriedly walked over, her steps uneven and flustered, causing the two maidsstanding by the kitchen door to laugh again.
“She’s turned into their Buddha now; they’re so panicked at the slightest absence,” one of them laughed.
“Indeed, without this fool, Xuan-miao Temple would probably be in trouble,” the other said. “You see, they might even need to consult this fool before they decide where to burn the next stick of incense.”
The two maids’ guesses weren’t far off the mark.
“Miss, what’s going on? Why are so many people suddenly coming here?” Abbess Sun asked.
Cheng Jiao-niang looked up at her, the twig in her hand still moving.
“Spreading blessings,” she said. “Have you forgotten?”
Abbess Sun was momentarily stunned by the question and, seeing the girl’s calm demeanor, began to calm down as well.
“Are you saying that the offering to passersby from the day before yesterday is the cause?” she asked, astonished.
Was it really because of that? It can’t be.
“That’s one thing, and there’s another. We should thank Ban Qin,” Cheng Jiao-niang said.
Ban Qin?
Abbess Sun was once again taken aback, recalling how Ban Qin had packed a basket of offerings and dried fruits, saying she was going to give them to an old gentleman in the city, and then had not returned.
Could it be that the distinguished old gentleman, receiving these gifts and considering Ban Qin’s favor, helped raise the reputation of Xuan-miao Temple?
“Smart people are like that. Even if you give them something for free, they can’t just accept it; they need to do something to feel reassured,” Cheng Jiao-niang said, twirling the twig.
Her hands were so nimble; it was truly delightful to watch.
It probably wouldn’t be long before she could speak freely, right?
As she switched hands and wrote a few more characters, Abbess Sun finally understood. Looking at the still serene and composed girl before her, her heart was tumultuous and unsettled.
They needed to thank Ban Qin, they needed to thank the distinguished old gentleman, but ultimately, they needed to thank the person before them.
She asked whether she wanted to make a small name or a big name for the temple, rather than whether she wanted the temple to be famous, as if becoming famous was the simplest thing for her.
Indeed, it was just a blink of an eye, and fame had truly arrived.
“Thank you.” Abbess Sun said sincerely, performing a respectful bow.
Cheng Jiao-niang did not speak. She stood up and set down the twig she was holding.
“Miss, the offerings are already used up. Should we prepare more immediately?” Abbess Sun asked, suddenly remembering something.
“You’ve forgotten again,” Cheng Jiao-niang said, looking at her. “You are a Taoist temple, not a food shop.”
Abbess Sun, initially overwhelmed, calmed down as her mind settled.
“Rare items are valued more,” Cheng Jiao-niang said as she gracefully walked past her and headed into the room. “Value lies in quality.”
Abbess Sun reflected on this and couldn’t help but smile wryly.
“I’ve been practicing for so many years for nothing,” she said, shaking her head.
“That’s not it,” Cheng Jiao-niang said, turning back to her. “It’s because you are part of it.”
Abbess Sun, feeling somewhat embarrassed, bowed to her again.
After Cheng Jiao-niang entered the room, Abbess Sun turned and walked back down the mountain, her steps now calm and her expression serene compared to when she had arrived.
Cheng Jiao-niang and Abbess Sun went their separate ways, leaving the child standing alone by the small pavilion.
What did abbess and this silly lady talk about just now? Why did it seem like they were having such a pleasant conversation? Why didn’t I understand a single word?
“Could it be that I’m actually the fool here?” the child murmured to herself.
The bustling crowd waited anxiously at the temple at the foot of the mountain. With a solemn chant of the Dharma, they turned to look at the abbess entering through the door. Her expression was grave, her steps calm and composed. As the autumn sun rose higher, its light bathed Abbess Sun, casting a dazzling glow and adding a touch of spiritual aura to the dilapidated temple.
Indeed, Xuan-miao Temple was quite extraordinary; at that moment, everyone present had this thought flashing through their minds.
Old Master Zhang, seated in the donkey cart, withdrew his gaze from the bustling Xuan-miao Temple and looked at the maid standing by the cart.
The maid’s expression was sorrowful and she was struggling to control herself, to the point that her body was trembling.
“Ban Qin, you don’t want to go with us to the capital?” he asked.
The maid seemed startled and came to her senses.
“No, no, Master, I am willing,” she stammered.
Old Master Zhang laughed heartily.
“If I believed that, wouldn’t I be a fool?” he said with a smile. “A gentleman doesn’t take away what others cherish. You can go.”
He then gestured towards the direction of Tai Ping Palace on the mountain.
