Chapter 9: Love Affair

The crowd of madams and masters standing behind Madam Liu had been startled by Madam Liu's earlier baffling words. This Jiang second miss was the poisonous di daughter of the first wife. Even though she looked pitiful, if they were to openly help her, they would be standing opposite Ji Shu Ran. These days, the Vice Imperial Censor Ji was a trusted man of Emperor Hong Xiao. Also, the family matters of the Chief Assistant were not something that anyone could manage. Therefore, everyone was just planning to watch without lifting a finger.

Who would have imagined that Jiang second young miss merely greeted Madam Liu with a few words and afterward Madam Liu immediately proposed for her to return to Yanjing together? To everyone's surprise, Madam Liu didn't hesitate to offend the Ji family to give face to this unfamiliar young lady.

What made everyone even more surprised was, this Jiang second miss still declined.

Everyone was astonished upon hearing Jiang Li's answer. In her heart, Tong'er was also anxious. Madam Liu faced her to enquire: "Jiang second young miss, what is the reason?"

Jing Li replied with a smile: "Father sent me to the family temple to let me grow and cultivate moral character. Although it was hard, but I am able to pray for the family's peace and health. If I give up halfway, it would be a blasphemy to the Bodhisattva. Moreover, father has not yet allowed me to go back. How could I just act on my own initiative?"

In her reasoning, she didn't bring out the matter of being punished for harming her di mother at all. She only mentioned her being sent here to cultivate her moral character and to ask for good fortune for her whole family. This made the people who heard her feel that this Jiang second young miss avoided the major charges while admitting to the more trivial matters. However, in Madam Liu's ears, there seemed to be another meaning.

Madam Liu and Ye Zhen Zhen had been good friends for a few years. She knew Ye Zhen Zhen as simple, honest and benevolent. Naturally, she did not believe that Ye Zhen Zhen's daughter was that malicious. However, at the time when Jiang Li had the accident, Madam Liu and the Jiang family had not been in contact for a few years already. Also, the accident where Ji Shu Ran was pushed over and miscarried happened in the presence of many madams. The evidence was conclusive. Although Madam Liu did not believe, there was no other way to come out of it.

Now, seeing how her former acquaintance's daughter was being bullied here, and also seeing how she was warm, soft, simple and benevolent, suspicions grew in Madam Liu's heart. Jiang Li not mentioning the matter of her mistake, perhaps it was because originally, she didn't make any mistakes. Harming the di mother was just an excuse. It was deliberately made up so that people would believe it as she sent this daughter out to be tormented.

Listening to Jiang Li's final words, everything was to listen and obey Jiang Yuan Bai. However, one was afraid Jiang Yuan Bai had never thought of this daughter!

A fire rose inside Madam Liu's heart, but she saw Jiang Li raising her head to see her and somewhat hesitatingly said: "Talking about it, don't know why Madam come here at this time? Furthermore, these......." She saw the crowd behind Madam Liu and asked: "Could it be that you came here to light incense? Normally, there are not many people who come here to light incense, they usually go to He Lin Temple that is on the other side. Also, it's already very late now, madams and gentlemen, you couldn't be here to light incense, right?"

When these words came out, everyone present had different expressions on their faces. Suddenly Madam Liu thought of something, looking thoughtful for a moment then she abruptly asked Jiang Li: "This family temple is not a very good family temple. Since your father sent you here, he should have looked for a decent family temple. Never mind, since you are not willing to leave with me, tomorrow I will set my trip to go back to Yanjing. But I think, your father should quickly pick and bring you back home."

The meaning in her words was quite obvious.

Jiang Li looked as if she understood but at the same time didn't. She merely smiled and replied: "Then I have to thank madam."

Madam Liu spoke once again: "Actually, you don't have to be this devout. In the middle of the night kneeling in the hall, justice is at people's hearts. If the heart has sincerity, Buddha naturally will know. Yu Xiang," she called the servant girl by her side, "stay here these few days and take good care of Jiang second young miss. There is only one servant girl by Jiang second young miss's side, I fear it is not enough to look after her." Then she turned her attention to Jiang Li and continued, "Jiang second young miss doesn't have to refuse. Your mother and I were good friends. Yu Xiang, this girl, is my personal servant girl. She knows a bit of martial arts. With her by your side, I will be a bit more assured. Wait until you return to Yanjing and then you can let Yu Xiang go back to my side."

To go as far as to lend her close servant girl to Jiang Li, it was clear that Madam Liu regarded Jiang Li as important. It could be said that perhaps not too long in the future, Jiang Li would be able to quickly return to the Jiang family in Yanjing and play her role as the Jiang family's young miss.

Jiang Li thanked Madam Liu and afterward, Madam Liu took all the madams and young ladies to rest in the nunnery. Immediately afterward, Yu Xiang followed Jiang Li. Jiang Li and Tong'er changed their usual room to a nun's cozy room. In the temple, not even one nun was seen at all.

Taking advantage of the time when Yu Xiang went out to bring water, Tong'er asked Jiang Li in a low voice: "Young lady, what's going on ah? Where are all the Buddhist nuns? Why are there so many people coming here?"

Tong'er had probably guessed that Jiang Li had something to do with this matter. But she didn't know, in the end, what exactly Jiang Li had done. These days, Jiang Li only told her to feed the monkeys. But merely feeding monkeys wouldn't cause any events ah!

"Didn't I ask you to feed the monkeys?" Jiang Li mildly said: "Master Tong Ming who is in charge of He Lin Temple has an adult disciple called Liao Wu. This disciple has an affair with Head Nun Jing An from our Buddhist nunnery. Every month on the nineteenth, they will have their tryst at the back of He Lin Temple. These monkeys in the mountain were fed pastries in the past half month. Every night they would wait in the same place where you had fed them. Tonight is the nineteenth and as usual, the monkeys waited for you to send food. Seeing Jing An and Liao Wu, they thought they were the ones who were bringing food and advanced to get their food. These two people originally had a guilty conscience and were very likely to be startled by the sound of the movements, which in turn disturbed the ladies and gentlemen there. The ladies and madams who came are wealthy and respectable people. How could they tolerate filthy matters on the clean Buddhist ground? They most certainly must demand explanations and the rules to be held. So the Buddhist nuns must have already been all arrested.

Tong'er understood clearly after hearing Jiang Li's explanation and mumbled: "How is it possible......." She nervously stood up and sat down again a few times, "Such a hidden matter, how did young miss find out?"

"I heard it." Jiang Li picked up the cup of tea on the table and took a sip. "Two little nuns were gossiping and I overheard."

Tong'er could still not cope with all this situation: "It's too awful."

Jiang Li smiled, naturally she knew. At that time when she was still Xue Fang Fei, Princess Yong Ning would get somebody to give her Chinese medicine every day, hoping that she would slowly wither and die. She was kept in house arrest and could not go out. Those female servants spoke without paying any attention to her, treating her as an already dead person. So she found out, actually, the place where Princess Yong Ning and Shen Yurong had their trysts was precisely at a temple not too far from Yanjing.

Those female servants also revealed another secret. Liao Wu from He Lin Temple was actually an amorous monk and the females that he had defiled were a lot. Even the nuns at the neighboring nunnery were not spared from his grasp. Princess Yong Ning got inspired exactly by this Liao Wu. So she held her rendezvous with Shen Yurong at a temple in a similar fashion.

When she woke up and became Jiang second miss, and then learned that not too far from there was the back of He Lin Temple, the first thing she recalled was this piece of secret. Especially after she met Head Nun Jing An, Jiang Li was even more convinced that Head Nun Jing An definitely had a lover. A young female nun with such good looks, if she didn't have a man in her heart, why would she use hair ointment, why would she put an attractive fragrance on herself?

In the end, it was to maintain herself pretty.

A complete plan emerged in Jiang Li's mind. Naturally, this plan might not succeed. Perhaps, what those female servants gossiped about was untrue. Perhaps, Head Nun Jing An's boyfriend was not Liao Wu. There was also the possibility that during their tryst, they didn't let any sound out. Any of these things would become a critical factor in causing her plan to fail.

Until the time came, Jiang Li could only look for another way.

However, her luck couldn't be that bad. As many coincidences equaled as much success.

Tong'er put her palms together in prayer: "Thankfully young miss heard their gossip. Thankfully young miss thought of this method. By the way, what if young miss didn't meet that Madam Liu? Maybe all of these lucky coincidences came to us because of seeing the flower demon tonight....... No, the appearance of the spirit of the flower deity let those evil creatures receive their retribution!"

Flower deity? In front of Jiang Li's eyes, immediately appeared the appearance of the frivolous man perched on the roof beams.

"He was not a deity." Jiang Li laughed.

"He was Duke Su."

He was Duke Su. He was Duke Su. He. Was. Duke. Su! So yup now you know who he was x) not the spirit of a flower deity lmao with Tong'er ideas. I am kinda used to see it as Su Gong from when I MTLed it in the past, but for my editions I decided it would be better to use tlion for as many terms as possible as long as they made sense in English, and only leave in pinyin those that the translation is not really that comfortable to read... or sth like that. So since Lime translated it as Duke, then Duke it is. But somehow, to me, when I see it in pinyin I kinda feel it's more arrogant so I like it better xD

And there you go the explanation of JL's scheme^^ I guess the monkeys caused a real ruckus when the people they saw didn't give them the food, and then that pair of monk and nun were caught naked by those attracted by the monkeys' shrieks.