newbobooks Chapter 234 Sending You to Become a Monk
Chapter 234 Sending You to Become a Monk
Chapter 234 Sending You to Become a Monk
evening.
It was getting dark.
Lu Qingyao suddenly felt inspired and decided to cook herself.
On cloudy winter days, it gets dark earlier, but it's only a quarter past 5 pm.
After cooking, the children should be back by now.
Seeing her mother heading to the kitchen, Jiang Miaomiao quickly took Xi'er and Jiang Xiaobai to the door to greet her brother and aunt.
Xi'er quickly wrapped the girl in a fluffy cloak, covering her completely, leaving only her rosy little face exposed.
It makes you want to reach out and pinch it.
Although the young lady might not necessarily get angry, Xi'er still held back, after all, no maid would dare to pinch her master's face.
Jiang Miaomiao held her little hand and looked around at the door.
Waiting for those who are about to return home.
Before long, the sound of horses' hooves could be heard from the alley entrance.
Chirp flew back ahead of them to deliver the message...
Little Red Bird stayed home today and didn't go out, mainly because when her brothers went out, it looked like it was going to rain.
It didn't want to get soaked, so it slacked off.
In the blink of an eye, several tall horses arrived at the door.
Jiang Zifeng was the first to jump off his horse, pick up his younger sister, and couldn't help but pinch her chubby little face. "Miaomiao, did you come to pick up your brother?"
No, it's not...
She was waiting for her aunt.
I want to eat my aunt's cooking.
But they all nodded with smiles.
Huh! The older brother didn't wash his hands; there's a faint smell of incense on him.
Jiang Miaomiao slapped her older brother's hand away and reached out to Xiuxiu, "Auntie, I'm hungry."
"Okay, let's go back and cook." Xiuxiu smiled and gently pinched the little girl's nose, then picked her up and strode over the threshold towards the kitchen.
Don't let the fact that this little guy is a glutton fool you; he's incredibly picky. If something doesn't taste good, he'll only take one bite and never eat it again. He insists on washing or peeling fruit before eating it, and he watches the food being prepared at roadside stalls.
She wouldn't eat the food made by vendors if they looked unkempt or disheveled.
No matter how delicious it is, I don't want it.
Xiuxiu even suspected that without her, these children would definitely have starved to death.
Jiang Zifeng rubbed his belly and followed, chuckling at Miaomiao, "My little sister knows me best. You have no idea how many steps we climbed. There were steps in the academy, and steps in the temple. The vegetarian food in the temple wasn't very oily, so we got hungry quickly..."
Jiang Miaomiao: ……
My brother is already this hungry after only one day away from home. What will he do if he leaves home for the army?
There probably aren't any snacks or fruits available; it's mostly steamed buns or flatbreads, and meat is only served occasionally.
It seems I'll have to ask my aunt to make more jerky for him to store.
Second Brother also seemed exhausted, following weakly behind. And Brother Cui, though physically present, was probably still in the kitchen.
Cui Xingzhou stayed, which was perfectly reasonable.
He was so happy to have the chance to eat a meal cooked by Aunt Xiuxiu that he couldn't bear to leave.
However, things did not go as he wished.
Following the aroma, they arrived at the kitchen, where their mother had already prepared food and was waiting for them.
"Go wait in the dining room, it'll be ready soon..."
Tonight we're having scallion oil noodles, braised pork belly with pickled bamboo shoots, and a few side dishes of pickled vegetables.
Jiang Miaomiao was relieved when she saw this.
This is one of the few things that Mother is good at.
My mother's noodles were surprisingly good, very chewy, but...
The scallion oil noodles were a bit too salty tonight.
But it's okay, there's still room to salvage the situation by turning the scallion oil noodles into soup noodles.
Fortunately, the braised pork and bamboo shoot soup went well.
It was probably around the time of Qingshi Town that my family had the most bamboo shoots. My mother cooked them every day and gained a lot of experience.
At that time, she was just a baby named Xiaomiao, so she didn't have the chance to be a guinea pig.
The dish we're eating now is the traditional pickled bamboo shoot and pork soup, made with countless hours of experience; it's incredibly delicious and flavorful.
They've all lost their eyebrows from all the freshness.
Lu Qingyao took a bite of noodles and said calmly, "Oh dear, I forgot to add soup."
Without further ado, a large spoonful of soup was added to each person's bowl, turning the original scallion oil noodles into a juicy soup.
It seems that what she originally intended to make was noodle soup.
Everyone was used to it and cooperated by drinking the soup and slurping the noodles in big gulps, and soon the bowls were empty.
Jiang Zifeng handed the empty bowl to his mother, "Mother, is there any more? Another bowl, please."
"I'd like another bowl." Cui Xinzhou handed over his empty bowl, a little embarrassed.
"Yes...yes." Lu Qingyao's eyes crinkled into a smile.
For the first time ever, the children actually enjoyed her noodles so much, making me feel like my cooking skills had improved again.
Very happy.
After they had eaten and drunk their fill, they began to ask their son, Jiang Zipei, how he had been settled.
“Pei’er has been placed in a temple in the suburbs by his younger brother. I think he really wants to become a monk. He even begged the abbot to shave his head for him. The abbot said he would give him three days. If he didn’t regret it, he would shave his head for him…”
Even now, Jiang Zifeng still finds it unbelievable.
"Mother, why would he be so foolish as to want to become a monk at such a young age?"
Instead of eating such delicious meat, they actually want to become vegetarian.
There must be something wrong with his brain.
Jiang Ziyan also handed over two letters. “Mother, these are from my fourth brother, who asked me to deliver them to Father and Aunt Qi. One is written by him, and the other is written by his pageboy about what his master saw and heard at the academy.”
Lu Qingyao took the letter but showed no intention of opening it.
I put it away.
After finishing her meal, Lu Qingyao pulled Xiuxiu aside and asked, "What happened? How did you end up at the temple?"
Xiuxiu whispered, "I don't know what Yan'er said to that child, but as soon as he saw the abbot, he knelt down and begged to become a monk, demanding that the abbot shave his head..."
A strange thought suddenly popped into her head.
"Sister, do you think Yan'er made that trip specifically to send Jiang Zipei to become a nun?"
Lu Qingyao fell silent.
No one knows a son better than his mother; this seems like something a son would do.
But this is for the best; it's better than being beaten to death at the academy or being driven to suicide by her mother.
She looked at the letter in her hand, hesitated for a moment, but still didn't open it.
Xiuxiu guessed that her older sister wanted to know the contents of the letter, and said, "Sister, we watched Pei-ge write this letter. It's just him saying goodbye to his parents and relatives, and telling Qi Caiwei not to look for him. There's nothing wrong with it. As for the letter written by the page, Yan'er specifically asked him to write it. It describes how Pei-ge was ostracized, beaten, threatened, and pushed into the icy lake where he almost drowned at the academy..."
Lu Qingyao clicked her tongue in amazement, feeling that Qi Caiwei was truly heartless for abandoning her child and returning to the capital alone.
If it were her own child who was being humiliated, she would definitely demand an explanation.
"Xiuxiu, do you think the headmaster of the academy knows about this?"
"I think that old man is turning a blind eye, but he knows something, and I feel that he is not that afraid of the Qi family."
Lu Qingyao smiled faintly, "Of course he's not afraid of the Qi family. Having lived to this age and been able to sit in the position of headmaster of Donglin Academy, how could he be an ordinary person? Don't look down on Donglin Academy's remote location. The students who have graduated from there are all over the court. What high-ranking family or wealthy family doesn't have a child studying at Donglin Academy?"
Xiuxiu seemed to understand why Yan'er had asked the page to write that letter.
"Sister, I will have someone send the letter to the capital by fast horse first thing tomorrow morning and deliver it to Qi Caiwei as soon as possible."
"Do you think that woman would be so angry she'd vomit blood if she found out her only precious son had become a monk?"
……
Qi Caiwei vomited blood.
However, it wasn't from anger, but from coughing up blood.
The further north you go, the colder it gets.
A heavy snow began to fall, forcing Jiang Zijin and her daughter to remain at the post station.
After a long and bumpy journey, Qi Caiwei's body couldn't take it, and she caught a cold and fell ill.
She had always taken good care of her health, and with Anita Mui's help, she didn't suffer any damage even when she gave birth to twins.
She felt several years older after only two or three years in Jiangzhou.
Not only was his face injured, but there were also lines on his face.
The closer she got to the capital, the more uneasy she became.
He grabbed his daughter's hand and said, "Jin'er, do you think your father only took a mistress because he thought I was no longer pretty?"
“Mother, don’t think nonsense. In terms of looks and demeanor, how could that mistress possibly compare to you? You are the daughter of a high-ranking official. It’s just that because you are not in the capital and Father is alone, that mistress was able to take advantage of the situation.”
Even Jiang Zijin herself didn't believe this.
But now my mother is like a frightened bird, and I have to coax her.
"Was it really just taking advantage of a weakness?"