Flower Stealing Master

Chapter 1010: The Woman in the Temple

Mu Tianyan replied, “Later, Wang Bo became a high-ranking official, and the court sent him to guard Yangzhou. He then went to the Mulan Courtyard. Naturally, those monks flattered him greatly. He wanted to see if the poem he had inscribed on the wall back then was still there. To his surprise, he found a precious piece of green silk covering his two lines of poetry to prevent damage. Wang Bo felt quite emotional and added two more lines: “Thirty years ago, dust covered my face; now at last, I am veiled in emerald gauze.ʼ”

Song Qingshu frowned and asked, “Did he catch those bald thieves and give them a good beating?” 

Mu Tianyan said, “Wang Bo is a refined gentleman; I suppose he thought it was enough to inscribe a couple of lines of poetry as a subtle mockery.” 

Song Qingshu shook his head and said, “I don’t agree with that. A man should stand tall in this world and naturally take pleasure in settling scores. Isn’t there a saying from Confucius, the sage of the Han people—’Repay kindness with kindness, but how do you repay resentment? Repay resentment with straightforwardness!’ If it were me, I would definitely vent my anger thoroughly.”

At first, everyone thought he was just an unlearned fool, secretly mocking how the Jin Dynasty allowed such a simpleton to become a high-ranking military and political leader. However, the imposing aura that suddenly rose from him just now made everyone break out in cold sweat and view him with newfound respect.

“Not only can the Marshal lead troops into battle, but he is also well-versed in the Analects. Truly impressive!” Mu Tianyan and the others hurriedly flattered him, making Song Qingshu feel a bit dizzy. He thought to himself, ‘no wonder so many great figures throughout history cannot escape the mundane; the power of flattery is indeed formidable.’

Fortunately, Song Qingshu remembered his purpose and said, “In that case, why don’t we go into the temple and see if the poem Wang Bo inscribed back then is still there?” 

The group of officials exchanged glances, thinking there was nothing worth seeing inside. Moreover, with the dim lights and ancient Buddha statues, they feared it would ruin the interest of the two imperial envoys. 

Fortunately, Suo Etu was very accommodating and laughed, “Just in time, I’m also interested. Little brother, let’s go take a look together.” The two had exchanged their birth dates when they became sworn brothers yesterday. With his daughter Wu Yunzhu already so grown up, Suo Etu was naturally older than Tang Kuo Bian, making him the elder brother and Tang Kuo Bian the younger brother.

Thus, the group marched toward the temple. 

The monks inside had already received word and hurried out to welcome them. However, Song Qingshu’s purpose for this trip was to stir up trouble, so how could he let these monks lead him around? 

Ignoring the monks entirely, he charged ahead. He was already very familiar with the general structure of temples and thought that since the Song Dynasty’s envoys needed a place to stay, they could only reside in the guest rooms for pilgrims. Therefore, although he appeared to be wandering aimlessly, he was actually heading directly toward the guest rooms.

“Please hold on, benefactors. Up ahead is the lodging for our temple’s pilgrims; there’s nothing worth seeing,” a monk said, sweating profusely as he tried to stop him when Song Qingshu lifted his foot to enter the courtyard.

“I just want to take a look around; is there a problem?” Song Qingshu said, deliberately puffing up his cheeks and glaring.

“This… this might be a bit inconvenient. Inside are all pilgrims, and if we disturb their rest, who would come to our temple to offer incense money afterward?” the monk said, bracing himself.

Song Qingshu laughed heartily, “So it’s about the incense money. Someone, give this master five hundred taels of silver as my incense offering.” 

A soldier from the Jin Dynasty stepped forward and handed a bag of silver to the monk. 

Song Qingshu smiled and said, “Now I’m a pilgrim too; it should be fine for me to go in and see the accommodations you provide, right?” 

“This…” the monk hurriedly said, “This… I cannot decide; I need to report to the abbot…” 

Before he could finish, Song Qingshu suddenly became furious, “You keep making excuses; could it be that there’s something unspeakable inside? Someone, search me!”

“Absolutely not!” The monk tried to stop them, but was kicked to the ground by a soldier from the Jin Dynasty standing nearby. Song Qingshu took the lead and rushed inside. Seeing the nervous expressions of the monks in the Chanzhi Temple, even Suo Etu and the others began to feel suspicious. They quickly exchanged glances and signaled their subordinates to follow them in. After entering the courtyard, Song Qingshu allowed the soldiers to create chaos in the various rooms while he stood still, surveying his surroundings. Soon, he noticed a separate house deep in the courtyard, partially hidden among the pine trees. 

“It must be here!” Song Qingshu felt a surge of joy in his heart. Even if the envoy from the Song Dynasty tried to hide their traces, it was unlikely they would mix with the ordinary worshippers outside. As a diplomatic team, they would inherently have certain standards. This house, with its serene environment and distance from the crowd, was undoubtedly the perfect place to stay.

The soldiers that Song Qingshu brought were few in number, and seeing them searching the rooms outside, he couldn’t be bothered to call them over, nor did he want to engage with Suo Etu’s men. So, he walked alone towards that house. At this moment, Suo Etu also sensed something unusual and ordered his soldiers to surround the entire garden, not allowing anyone to escape. He then noticed Song Qingshu’s actions and hurriedly followed him.

“Eh?” After jogging for a bit, Suo Etu realized that the distance between him and Song Qingshu was actually increasing, and he was secretly astonished. Was Song Qingshu moving too fast? 

Song Qingshu had already used his Qi to probe the entire house and vaguely sensed that someone was inside a certain room. He walked straight towards it, and without knocking, he kicked the door open. 

“Ah~” He originally thought he could catch one or two envoys from the Song Dynasty and obtain some information about Li Kexiu’s intentions from them. Who would have thought that he would be met with a woman’s scream instead? 

As soon as the scream rang out, everyone in the courtyard froze. Suo Etu stumbled and nearly fell. How could there be a woman in a Buddhist temple? The officials from Yangzhou were all aghast; how could such a scandal occur under their jurisdiction? Not only had a high-ranking envoy been caught in the act, but it was also a matter that could bring disgrace to the country. If the court pursued this, none of them would come out unscathed.

Song Qingshu’s eyes widened. The woman in the room had clearly just gotten out of bed. It seemed she had heard the commotion in the courtyard and was preparing to get dressed. For some reason, she was flustered and had taken a long time to put on her clothes. Just as she was halfway through, he barged in. 

This woman was stunningly beautiful, around twenty years old. Judging by her hairstyle, she must have been married. At that moment, her jade-like face was filled with terror. Song Qingshu recalled what Jiao Wan’er had told him about the Song Dynasty’s envoy last night. This woman must be Cheng Yaojia, the young mistress of Guiyun Manor. In the original story, she was a disciple of Sun Bu’er from the Quanzhen Sect. Years ago, Ouyang Ke coveted the beauty of this young lady from the Cheng family, but thanks to Guo Jing and Huang Rong’s intervention, her reputation was preserved. Later, she fell in love at first sight with Lu Guanying in Niujia Village and married him under the auspices of Huang Yaoshi, maintaining a good relationship with Guo Jing and Huang Rong. (G: a character from The Legend of the Condor Heroes.)

Looking at the woman before him, her face flushed, Song Qingshu couldn’t help but feel annoyed and said, “You’re not even naked, so why scream like that?”