It’s half way through April, and there are only three points of spring left.
The soft satin curtains on the windows of wealthy people's carriages have been removed, and they are covered with haze.
The fine, golden and precious material looks like a cloud of clouds from a distance, but up close it is just like a cloud of smoke.
Early in the morning, the carriage of Marquis Chengyi left the mansion.
After walking a few streets, they stopped in front of the Pudu Nunnery. The Marquis's wife, Mrs. Zheng, was helped out of the car by a group of ladies and maids.
A little nun at the gate of the temple saw the Marquis's carriage from a distance, turned around and ran inside. When she got to the backyard, she told her master, Mrs. Jingfan.
Jingfan nodded, got up from the futon, and came to the west wing across the courtyard.
Just then, a maid came out with a copper basin to pour water. When she saw her, she smiled and said hello: "Good morning, Master Jingfan."
When Jingfan entered the room, Xu Chunjun quickly stood up to give up his seat and offered tea with his own hands.
Jingfanzhi said: "Miss Xu, there is no need to be polite. This poor nun is here to tell you that the person you want to see has already arrived."
"Thank you so much, Mrs. Xu," Xu Chunjun saluted, "could you please give me an introduction."
"Miss Xu, the Marquis's wife is not very easy-going, and she hates being disturbed when she is offering incense." Jingfan reminded.
"Thank you, Master, for the heads up. I'll just wait outside the hall." Xu Chunjun's voice was soft and low, making Jingfan believe that she was not someone who acted rashly.
"Girl, let's go with you!" the woman behind Xu Chunjun caught up and said.
"No need, Mother Cheng, you all can stay here. It's not good if there are too many people," Xu Chunjun turned around and comforted, "Don't worry, I'll try my best."
In the main hall, Mrs. Marquis offered incense and prayed in a low voice.
Several maids behind her stepped forward to help her carefully. One of them knelt down and gently brushed off the dust on Madam's shoes with a handkerchief.
At this time, Jingfan had already arrived outside the main hall. When she saw Madam getting up, she stepped in and asked, "A table of vegetarian food has been prepared. Madam, would you like to have breakfast here?"
"No need, your nunnery master is not at home, let's do it another day!" Every time Mrs. Hou Ye comes here, she is accompanied by the nunnery master Jingxu. Jingxu has been to Dongdu these days and will not come back until the end of the month.
"Madam, please stay," Jingfan said when he saw Madam Hou Ye was about to leave, "There is a girl who has been waiting for you here for a long time. Madam, may I be honored to meet her?"
Mrs. Houye had already stepped out of the hall. Hearing what Jingfan said, she couldn't help but stand still and asked with some displeasure: "Which girl wants to see me here?"
Jingfan pointed at Xu Chunjun who was standing far away and said, "That's Miss Xu. She is Xu Youguang's granddaughter..."
"You people from outside the country are actually asking about secular affairs." Before Jingfan could finish his words, Mother Ye next to Mrs. Hou Ye said, "I know that if your nunnery master is not here, you will have trouble. Then.
Xu Youguang was dismissed from his post and exiled ten years ago, so why did you bring the granddaughter of a criminal minister to meet our wife?"
Xu Chunjun stood far away and couldn't hear what they said, but he could guess a good deal based on the situation.
So he stepped forward, stopped about ten steps away from Mrs. Hou Ye, and said a deep blessing.
At this time, the maid of the Hou Mansion had already stood in front of him, as if she was afraid that Xu Chunjun would do something to harm his wife.
"Madam, Chunjun knows that you are presumptuous, but I beg you to give me a chance to explain your intention." Xu Chunjun is only a sixteen-year-old girl. It is the first time in her life that she has appeared in public, so her cheeks can't help but blush slightly, but her eyes are full of sincerity.
A persistent look.
"I'm very tired and don't want to get involved in other people's affairs." Mrs. Marquis didn't want to give her a chance: "You'd better tell it to anyone who is willing to listen!"
You don't need to think about it to know that this girl from the Xu family must be seeking something from herself, but she is still worried about her own affairs, so how can she have the leisure to care about irrelevant people?
"Excuse me, madam, why do you worship Buddha?" Seeing that she was still leaving, Xu Chunjun couldn't help but step forward and asked.
"Presumptuous!" Mother Ye scolded: "You are so ill-educated! How dare you talk to the madam like this! Are you, a little girl, not allowed to comment on the madam's affairs?!"
"I definitely don't mean to offend," Xu Chunjun stopped in front and explained: "I just want to say that Madam should pray for something when worshiping Buddha, either for peace or health. This is human nature. I came to pray for Madam today to express your gratitude.
As a Bodhisattva, as long as you show mercy, you can save my family from the sea of suffering. Madam, if you are compassionate, you will definitely get good results."
After saying that, Xu Chunjun knelt down.
At this time, a servant came in from outside and said that the carriage had its tenons pulled out and needed to be repaired. Please ask Madam to leave temporarily.
Xu Chunjun seized the opportunity and said hurriedly: "Madam, this is the mercy of the Bodhisattva, allowing me to express my love to you."
"I didn't expect you, a little girl, to be so smart and articulate," Mrs. Houye laughed, but her smile was full of sarcasm: "Well, for the sake of the Bodhisattva, I will give you a chance to see how much effort you have put into it.
What exactly happened?"
Xu Chunjun was overjoyed when he heard this, and just as he was about to say thank you, Mrs. Hou Ye said with a serious face: "But if what you said is not a good cause, then don't blame me for giving you a taste of the evil fruit, so that you know the pros and cons of playing with me."
Xu Chunjun was taken to the side hall for questioning, and it was a real questioning, because the lady said that she had to ask Xu Chunjun one question and answer one, and she was not allowed to take the lead.
"Let me ask you, you and I have no contact with each other, so why did you come to ask me for help?" Mrs. Hou Ye's face was grave. She was always strict, but this time it was even more serious.
"To be honest, Chunjun didn't want to disturb my wife at first. It was only because the Marquis was not in the capital that I came to beg you instead." Xu Chunjun spoke clearly and was not submissive.
"What are you doing for?" Mrs. Hou Ye pondered for a moment and asked again.
"Madam knows that our Xu family moved out of the capital and returned to our hometown in Siyuan ten years ago," Xu Chunjun said eloquently: "Last month, my second brother was arrested by the government, saying that the ship he was transporting silk and satin contained illegal salt.
The people were arrested, and the ship's cargo was seized. My family has always been law-abiding, and we know that selling smuggled salt is a capital crime, so we would never dare to knowingly commit the crime. However, after the governor arrived, he ordered a strict investigation of smuggled salt, and we were worried that our second brother would not find out in time.
He was convicted, so before he is convicted, I would like to ask someone to tell Mr. Zhizhou that he must examine the case clearly and don't kill the wrong person."
"How come you, a little girl, can only handle such a big thing?" Mrs. Hou Ye didn't believe it: "Where are the adults in your family?"
"Madam knows that our uncles are all in exile, and the third aunt has been in charge of the family for the past ten years. Now something unexpected happened, and the third aunt has to stay at home to take charge of the affairs. The eldest brother became a monk in the first month and no longer interferes with the affairs of the family. 2
My sister-in-law was born prematurely, my second sister is about to leave the cabinet, and she is very busy with illness, so I am the only one with no time to spare." Xu Chunjun couldn't help but feel sad when talking about family matters.
"It can be seen that the Xu family is really in decline, and there is no decent person to handle it." Mrs. Hou Ye sighed with emotion.
But then he said: "You also know that this case is serious. Besides, whether your brother is really innocent or not, it doesn't matter just by your words." Mrs. Hou Ye has heavy golden bell lines on her face, which makes her look unhappy.
Close to human feelings: "Zhizhou is an official, how can he interfere at will?"
"Madam's concerns are not unreasonable, but on the one hand, I would never dare to tell a lie in front of gods and Buddhas. Secondly, we certainly know the principle of 'when the situation is defeated, Yungui will be abandoned, and when the family is destroyed, there is no need to talk about relatives'. My family is guilty of this."
Sir, if I didn't rely on my own innocence, how could I have the confidence to go to Beijing to ask for help? If my brother was really guilty, wouldn't he be handing the blame to others? Although you shouldn't talk about your elders, my grandfather did offend many people because of the reform.