A Beautiful Duchess with a Dark Heart – Chapter 67

Chapter 67: One Must Save Oneself

The Heavenly Dragon Temple has a long history. It used to be the temple with the most prosperous incense within a radius of several hundred miles.

Because of its beautiful scenery, exquisite architecture, and flourishing incense, a town of considerable size and rank was built around it.

The temple was wealthy. Not to mention the land, nearly half of the properties in Heavenly Dragon Town belonged to the Heavenly Dragon Temple.

Many wealthy and influential families had established villas here.

However, in the past two years, a new temple had been built two to three hundred miles away: the Heavenly Dharma Temple.

It was said that the abbot of Heavenly Dharma Temple possessed profound Dharma and that the incense there was even more efficacious than that of Heavenly Dragon Temple! It had snatched away a lot of Heavenly Dragon Temple’s incense.

At first, Heavenly Dragon Temple didn’t take this new temple seriously.

However, they didn’t expect that after a few years, the other temple would become more and more prosperous, while their own temple had actually begun to decline…

This couldn’t be tolerated!

Everyone brainstormed and finally came up with a solution.

In a few days, it would be the “millennial” anniversary of the establishment of Heavenly Dragon Temple.

The monks of Heavenly Dragon Temple wanted to use this celebration to trace back to the past, clarify the origins, and properly discuss the Dao.

Therefore, they had the main hall’s Buddha statue re-gilded, waiting for the auspicious day to unveil the yellow cloth and accept the worship of the pilgrims.

They even brought out the relics of the first abbot and some thousand-year-old treasures, which pilgrims with a certain （incense offering amount） could visit.

They had invited eminent monks from several surrounding temples to jointly preach scriptures.

Even the abbot of the royal temple in the capital would personally attend.

Moreover, this time, not only the main hall but also the Sutra Repository and the dining hall had been renovated and repainted.

New meditation rooms had also been built to accommodate pilgrims from afar.

Even the Buddhist community couldn’t escape worldly customs. Just as the secular world was divided into high and low, noble and humble, rich and poor, the rooms were decorated according to their distance from the temple, with simpler decorations for those further away.

They had also vigorously publicized the event, and wealthy families from hundreds of miles around had donated large sums of incense offerings, contributing their share to the Buddha’s golden body.

Even families from the capital had sent incense offerings.

The Song family was wealthy and influential. Years ago, they had bought a house here. After Song Shang took charge, they purchased a larger mansion closer to the temple.

They no longer wanted the original house, so the Wen family took it over and would come to live there every year.

Although it was far from the main temple complex, it was peaceful and had a good environment.

Wen Feng was feeling down after leaving his beloved widow. When he arrived here, he went out to have fun with his friends. Despite this being a Buddhist holy place, as long as one had the heart, there were “fun” places… you know what I mean!

Old Madam Wen was planning to sell the house.

Wu Shi stayed home and didn’t come.

This time, Wen Yu brought Xiao Ji and Qing He, but not Yan Zhu.

Wen Yu was still a little wary of Wen Feng.

This was another reason why Yan Zhu was favored by Wen Yu! She might throw a tantrum because she had no clothes to make, but if Wen Yu told her to stay home, even if she loved to watch the excitement and desperately wanted to go to Heavenly Dragon Temple, she would never show it and make things difficult for Wen Yu.

She patted her chest and guaranteed that she would definitely look after the house and Lan Zhou’s property for her!

Although there were many people coming to Heavenly Dragon Town recently, there were no safety concerns.

As long as they had enough people with them, the young ladies of the Wen family could go out on the streets here.

This opportunity didn’t come often, so after putting down their things, the girls prepared to go out.

Even Wen Jiao couldn’t be bothered to scowl at Wen Yu anymore. She was afraid of provoking Old Madam Wen and not being allowed to go out, so she didn’t dare to ride in Old Madam Wen’s carriage.

Wen Yu’s carriage was new and compact, very convenient. So Wen Jiao shamelessly asked to borrow it, saying that they only needed to be dropped off at the busiest street, and they would find their own way back.

Wen Yu wouldn’t quibble over such matters and immediately asked Li Jiang to take them there.

Wen Jiao, Wen Wan, Wen Su, along with their eldest sister-in-law Li Shi, and Cousin Hui, along with their maids, crammed into two carriages and set off.

After dropping them off, Li Jiang came back to pick up Wen Yu, and then she also went out.

The Wen family’s house was a bit remote, very quiet, and had a good environment.

There was no one in the alley, but as soon as they reached the main street, it became lively.

They enjoyed the sights along the way.

They were still far from Heavenly Dragon Temple, but the street was already crowded, and it was a bit difficult for the carriage to move forward.

There was a large square nearby, where a temporary market had been set up. There was constant laughter inside, and it looked very interesting.

Wen Yu asked Li Jiang to find an empty space to watch the carriage, and then she took her two maids, followed by Sun Ying, and started strolling through the market.

The shops on both sides had food, daily necessities, and clothing, everything was fresh and new.

✿✿✿

Sun Ying followed behind, smiling wryly. He had never imagined that one day he would accompany a young lady shopping.

But before long, he actually found it interesting and even asked the young lady for advice, buying a hairpin for his wife.

Wen Yu burst out laughing as she watched Sun Ying blush and tuck the hairpin into his pocket.

“Miss Wen?” someone called her.

Wen Yu turned around: “Oh, Master Qing!?”

Over there, Master Qing was wearing a veil, only revealing her eyes, with a little girl standing behind her.

“Greetings, Miss Wen!”

“Master Qing, why are you here?”

“Rainbow Phoenix Pavilion has a temporary stall over there.”

“Ah? Such a grand establishment like Rainbow Phoenix Pavilion would also have a temporary stall?” Wen Yu teased her.

Master Qing took off her veil and smiled faintly, with a hint of melancholy in her expression.

Wen Yu had a thought and saw a teahouse nearby. “Master Qing, let’s go sit for a while! Let those girls wander around on their own.”

Master Qing nodded and said to the little girl: “Go play for a while, don’t go too far. And don’t cause any trouble.” She took out some copper coins and gave them to her.

The two sat down at the teahouse and ordered tea and snacks.

“Forgive my boldness, Master Qing, but are you in trouble?” At this moment, Wen Yu’s eyes, like those of a fawn, held curiosity and sympathy.

Master Qing wasn’t someone who easily revealed her emotions, but at this moment, her heart softened and ached.

“I just went to burn some incense. I… My employer hasn’t been well lately.”

“Oh, burning incense is good. The incense at Heavenly Dragon Temple is quite efficacious.”

“Yes. Setting up a stall here is just an excuse. Actually, we came to burn incense during this celebration.”

Wen Yu smiled and personally poured her a cup of tea. “Master Qing, although we’ve only met a few times, I admire your character, which can be seen through your craftsmanship. I also appreciate the way Rainbow Phoenix Pavilion is run.”

“Thank you for your recognition, Miss. You shouldn’t call me ‘Master,’ call me Yu Qing.”

Yu Qing? Is that her name?

“To be honest, I recently inherited my mother’s property. It’s not much. I’m currently looking for opportunities to do something with it. I wonder, Master Qing… are you interested in collaborating with me?”

It was a collaboration, not employment.

Master Qing could tell the difference.

She couldn’t help but laugh: “It’s my honor to be appreciated by Miss Wen. However…” She stopped again.

“Master Qing, I’ve only been to Rainbow Phoenix Pavilion two or three times, but I believe that if it were run according to your ideas, Rainbow Phoenix Pavilion would truly become a phoenix!”

Master Qing smiled: “Thank you for your recognition, Miss. However, I’m afraid I can’t leave Rainbow Phoenix Pavilion. And in the future, I might not be able to leave…”

“Everything is possible with human effort! Look at me. My mother died early, my father quickly remarried and had a new wife and children, and he was promoted to the capital. My grandmother values my father the most, and my grandfather is away from home all year round. As for my life… Haha, look at me now! I can travel around in my own carriage, I have money to plan for the future, and I even have my own say in my marriage. Wasn’t it difficult? But I’m planning step by step!”

“Miss Wen, you’re amazing! Boss Liu has saved my life and recognized my talent. If he doesn’t give his permission, I won’t leave, and I can’t leave.”

“Oh, Rainbow Phoenix Pavilion was originally just a small grocery store. It’s your hard work, Master Qing, that has made it what it is today. The wealth accumulated by the Liu family from just this embroidery workshop is enough for them to live comfortably for several lifetimes, right? The kindness is great, but you have also repaid it with your hard work and wisdom.”

“Miss Wen, I understand everything you’ve said. However… Thank you for your appreciation, but I’m truly sorry…”

“Praying to Buddha can bring comfort, but when facing real difficulties, one must save oneself!”

“I didn’t expect you to be so insightful at such a young age…”

“Master Qing, if you have any difficulties, you can come and ask me. If I can help, I won’t refuse.”

“Thank you, Miss. If that Miss Yan Zhu is interested, we can meet again. I’m willing to share some embroidery techniques with her.”

“Ah?! If she knew, she would be overjoyed. I’m also very happy!”

The two left the teahouse. Xiao Ji, Qing He, and Sun Ying were already waiting there. Everyone was holding big and small bags, very happy.

However, the little girl beside Master Qing was nowhere to be seen.

Seeing this, Master Qing smiled wryly, put on her veil, nodded to Wen Yu, and left.

Wen Yu stood there, watching Master Qing’s lonely and somewhat sad figure, feeling a pang of sadness in her heart…