The Devious First-Daughter

Chapter 320 Buddha Reason in the Small Jing’an Temple

“Did my uncle take her away?” Ao Mingyu suddenly stood up and asked, as his face paled.

“Yes, I heard that it was because of the dispute with the Vice Minister of Justice Ling’s daughter. Prince Yi happened to witness it, so he asked her to go to the Small Jing’an Temple to seek the Buddha reason.” The eunuch answered carefully.

“Coincidence? He did it on the spur of the moment? So, he brought her to the Small Jing’an Temple to let Senior Nun Yuming see if they were compatible with him?”

Ao Mingyu frowned and asked, “Did the two ladies go to the Small Jing’an Temple together?”

“The Vice Minister of Justice Ling’s daughter was unwilling to go, and was thrown into the flowering shrubs, and her face was hurt.”

“What about the Fifth Young Lady?” Ao Mingyu was shocked and unconsciously clenched his fist.

“The Fifth Young Lady did not say anything to Prince Yi, and she followed the eunuch to the Small Jing’an Temple,” the eunuch replied.

Ao Mingyu nodded and breathed a sigh of relief in his heart. Fortunately, Ning Xueyan did not say anything. Ao Chenyi hated people who acted recklessly. The Vice Minister of Justice Ling’s daughter did not know what was good for her. Even if she died, she could not blame anyone. As for Ning Xueyan, since she was fine, he had to wait. He would not be distracted.

He wanted her to be chosen first, and then he would choose her as his concubine. Even if she was not selected now, it would not be a problem. Anyway, his mother had already promised him that she would become his concubine. At the thought of that, he relaxed. Ao Chenyi did not want to choose a concubine. With his character, he did everything on the spur of the moment. As for the Buddha reason in Jing’an Temple, it could not be taken seriously.

He did not want the emperor to give him too many concubines, so he told him directly.

Fortunately, Ao Chenyi had followed the imperial decree to marry his legal wife. As for other matters, he could do as he wished.

Ning Xueyan followed the eunuch all the way. It became quieter and quieter. When she arrived at a small Buddha hall, the eunuch led her directly to the main temple hall.

“Fifth Young Lady, I have to go. The nun will come and see you soon. Young Lady, you must perform well.” The eunuch said in a high voice.

Ning Xueyan could not help but laugh in surprise. Ao Chenyi certainly knew how to get things done. He invited a nun and asked her to perform well. How could she, a young lady, who entered the palace to join the Beauty Contest, perform well in front of a nun?

“Thank you!” Ning Xueyan said politely to the eunuch.

The door was slightly ajar. Ning Xueyan looked up at the Buddha hall, where there was a Bodhisattva. The Bodhisattva was sitting in the middle and had a kind look. In front of the Buddha’s desk, the smoke from a superior incense curled up in the air. It was a peaceful world in comparison with the bustle of the palace.

Two simple futons were put in front of her, and there was nothing else. When Ning Xueyan came forward and sat cross-legged on a rush cushion, she heard light footsteps. Looking up, she saw that the side door of the side hall was open, and a nun of about forty years old, came out.

“Alms Giver, are you the person Prince Yi sent here?” The nun asked gently, looking at Ning Xueyan. She was pretty, with a faint light in her eyes.

“Yes. How should I address you, master?” Ning Xueyan looked up and asked.

“Jingkong.” Senior Nun Jingkong said calmly and sat down on a futon on the other side. The smile on her face was benign.

“Jingkong? She was Jingkong?” Ning Xueyan suddenly opened her eyes wide and looked at the nun in front of her in disbelief. She said that her name was Jingkong. Was she the Jingkong she was looking for? No wonder no one called Jingkong was in the nunneries she had inquired about, in private. It turned out that she was in the palace.

But was this Jingkong the one that her mother asked her to look for?

“Master Jingkong, I think that I heard Sister Ziying mention your name before. Are you from the region south of the Yangtze River?” Ning Xueyan asked, suppressing the excitement in her heart.

“Miss Ning Ziying?” There was excitement in her calm eyes, but then she lowered her head and put her palms together to hide the emotion in her eyes.

“Yes, Ning Ziying. Do you know Ning Ziying, who came to reside in the Lord Protector’s Manor? Do you know her?” Ning Xueyan asked further when she saw Jingkong losing her composure.

“Yes, I do. When she was young, I used to live in Ning’s Mansion for a while.” Senior Nun Jingkong’s eyelids were twitching as she closed her eyes and put her palms together.

“Do you know Sister Ziying very well? No wonder Sister Ziying was looking for you before.” The master looked calm, but the color of her face was abnormal. Ning Xueyan was sure that the master in front of her was the person her mother asked her to find, in her previous life.

“Where is Young Lady Ziying now?” the senior nun asked. She did not answer Ning Xueyan’s question. After she calmed down, she raised her head and looked at Ning Xueyan, calmly.

“Sister Ziying is dead. It was rumored that she jumped into the lotus pond and died the night before her wedding.” Ning Xueyan said with a faint smile. She was no longer Ning Ziying, so she could not tell anyone else that she had been reborn. So, it was not easy to take things for granted.

If Ning Ziying found Senior Nun Jingkong, she would be able to ask her any questions she had.

But she was Ning Xueyan, so she could only make oblique references. Senior Nun Jinkong lived in the imperial palace, so she had a rare chance to come here. When she saw her, she would not let go of this opportunity.

“Is Young Lady Ziying dead?” Senior Nun Jing Kong suddenly opened her eyes, a fierce look appearing in her calm eyes.

“Yes, Sister Ziying died on the night before her marriage. Her husband is my brother-in-law now. Everyone only knew that the legal daughter of the Lord Protector’s Manor was the one who united Xia Manor, by marriage. However, no one knew that Sister Ziying was the one who was engaged to Xia Yuhang.”

Ning Xueyan said this slowly, with a sneer on her face.

Ning Ziying’s death was only known in the backyard of the Lord Protector’s Manor. Nobody knew who Ning Ziying was. Nobody knew that there was a Young Lady in the backyard of Lord Protector’s Manor, who had lived in the back garden for three years.

“Xia Yuhang betrayed her and killed her with the help of the people of the Lord Protector’s Manor!” The senior nun was not asking. Instead, she was full of anger and hatred. She could not hide the anger in her eyes anymore, and her eyes became sharp. “I told Madam that Xia Yuhang was a heartless person and that she could not rely on him. In the end, Madam went ahead and hurt Young Lady!”

As long as one could understand, one could appreciate Ning Xueyan’s words. Everything else had a hidden meaning. The only clues left indicated something else. It was as if the Lord Protector’s Manor had only one engagement with the Xia Family.

“Madam, are you talking about my mother?”

There was no memory of this Jingkong figure in her mind. However, she did not expect that Jingkong was so familiar with her mother.

However, how was it that this Senior Nun Jing Kong never hid her feelings? She showed her emotions naturally, as if she did not care that she was also a Young Lady of the Lord Protector’s Manor.

“Master, can you tell me about Sister Ziying’s background?” After thinking for a while, Ning Xueyan came straight to the point and looked at Senior Nun Jing Kong, without any hesitation. “This is what Sister Ziying asked me to ask before she died. If you don’t believe me, I can show you Sister Ziying’s letters, which are still with me.”

She did not have time to explain about her relationship with Ning Ziying indirectly. She could not talk about it in a straightforward manner. She could only put everything on Ning Ziying’s death. Looking at the raw sadness in Jing Kong Nun’s sharp eyes, she made up her mind to state her purpose directly. Whether it was Mother Wang or Lanning, they could not compare with Senior Nun Jing Kong.

“Since my mother asked me to ask her, it must be because she knows everything.”

“Fifth Young Lady, it’s over... it’s over! Some things can’t be undone by human power.” Jingkong seemed to calm down, and stared at her. After a while, she overcame her sadness, restored her serenity, and sighed.

Ning Xueyan narrowed her dark eyes, which were filled with coldness. She pointed at the lofty Buddha and said coldly, “You mean that Sister Ziying’s death was in vain. Even if it can’t be saved by human power, what you respect is this kind of lofty Buddha’s will. Life and death are decreed by fate. All the troubles are self-chosen.”

In her last life, she had died a painful death. She was submerged forcefully into the lotus pond after being framed and cheated by people, and was beaten as well. She watched her good sister and her unmarried husband talking intimately and watched herself drown in the lotus pond. If it was the will of heaven, how could she care about it?

She had climbed out of hell to seek revenge.

Shocked by Ning Xueyan’s cold words, Senior Nun Jing Kong could never imagine that the weak and pale girl in front of her, dared to say such disrespectful words about Buddha in the Buddha hall.

“Do you know how Sister Ziying died? They ruined her reputation and accused her of having affairs with other men. After being beaten half-dead by Madam Ling and her daughter, she was held down by several evil servants and drowned in the lotus pond. Her maid Xiang’er died together with her. Her blood stained the water in the lotus pond. When I sneaked over the next day, there was a strong smell of blood around the lotus pond.”

Ning Xueyan continued to tell her everything, word by word. Her words were light and natural, but they contained a strong evil and sharp coldness. The so-called kindness was an excuse to allow others to take advantage of her. After her rebirth, she had already lost this excuse. She would exact an eye for an eye and a tooth for tooth revenge. If it was the will of heaven, she did not believe in heaven.

Hearing her harsh words, Master Jingkong was no longer at peace, and then her face turned pale.

“Master, won’t you tell me?”

Ning Xueyan stared at Senior Nun Jing Kong’s face, and asked coldly.

“How... how could this happen?” Senior Nun Jing Kong murmured and looked at Ning Xueyan, absent-mindedly. Ning Xueyan saw her hands twitch slightly.

“Don’t you believe what I said?” A trace of coldness flashed in Ning Xueyan’s eyes. She stared at Senior Nun Jing Kong and sneered. “If you don’t believe me, go and investigate. If you find anything wrong, I’m willing to die to pay for it.”

Her words were forceful, unlike what a girl in a boudoir should sound like. However, the pale-faced girl said it so naturally, and she did not doubt it at all. Her words were absolute and sharp, filled with firm determination and perseverance.

“Forget it. Forget it. Since you want to know, I’ll tell you everything!” Senior Nun Jing Kong’s lips quivered. Her initial calm had been destroyed by Ning XueYan, and she already made up her mind.