Second Marriage

Translator: tarararawr

Editor: Larkspur

Chapter 10 Part 2

That Daoist Nun did not leave with him. Instead, she walked up to her. “This good person, please follow this poor Daoist to go this way.”

“Hm?” Xiao Youning was puzzled, “Go where?”

The Daoist Nun saw that she was confused. She gently smiled and cleared up the confusion. “Don’t you have nowhere to go for the time being? You can stay here first and wait until he finds you a place to go.”

Xiao Youning suddenly understood.

Was Daoist Priest Wu Ye speaking to the Daoist Nun about this matter just now?

This was really not where he lived. Because she was a girl, he found such a place for her to stay. Even if the Daoist Priest suddenly jumped out of this mundane world1, in the end he was still a man.

As expected, the Daoist Priest was a man that was cold on the surface but had a good heart. He has arranged everything for her.

She thanked him with a blessing and next to her, Yuan Guo also looked happy. Their bodies had yet to recover, so returning to the capital would require staying at inns. It was better to stay at the peaceful Daoist Temple.

The master and servant pair followed the Daoist Nun in another direction. On this side, there were a few short buildings, which must be the wing for the guests that came to burn incense to stay overnight.

On the way, Xiao Youning inquired, “Which Daoist Temple is Daoist Priest Wu Ye in? He has given me a life-saving grace. In the future, when I return the favor, I want to be able to find him.”

The Daoist Nun leading the way turned around and looked at her with a strange expression.

The Daoist Nun was not a talkative person. Since this girl did not know what kind of place the Qingfeng Daoist Temple was, she would not say anything. She vaguely said, “He comes and goes, but he always comes here once or twice a month.”

Huh? What does that mean?

Is Wu Ye a Daoist Priest who wanders everywhere?

“Are you sure he comes here every month?” She probed.

If he didn’t come, then it would be impossible to find him.

The Daoist Nun smiled graciously and said, “Yes, he comes every month. Every month it is like this.”

Xiao Youning breathed a sigh of relief, then there will be no problems.

——

“But it’s truly strange. You went as far as to bring a young girl to come and stay here?”

At this moment, there was a woman sitting in front of Ye Shen. She was wearing a plain Daoist robe, but did not wear that kind of hair bun common to Daoist Nuns. It was still combed to a married woman’s style. The speaker’s willowy eyebrows slightly rose. Her tone of surprise held a bit of unclear meaning.

The small red clay furnace on the side of the low table was burning vigorously. The copper kettle above that was boiling water made a sound.

Ye Shen’s hand reached out to pick up the copper kettle. He leisurely steeped the tea and replied with a warm voice, “It’s not what you think. This is the Xiao Family’s daughter. Something happened to her father and brother. She encountered trouble on the road to Datong, so I gave her a hand.”

“The Xiao Family’s daughter? Which Xiao Family?” The woman sat up straight.

“Marquis Ningyuan of the Xiao Family.”

“It’s her, ah. This incident…She does not recognize you?” The woman looked even more astonished.

When Ye Shen saw her like this, he knew that she had heard about those messy matters in the capital. With an expressionless face, he nodded. “Mhm, she does not recognize me.”

“What kind of fate is this? Your elder sister has overdone it this time. I really like that little girl.” The woman sighed in pity. Half of her body leaned against the soft pillow. “I failed to teach her well and that made her have a selfish and arrogant nature since she was young.”

“It has nothing to do with you, Mother.” Ye Shen brought the brewed tea to her with both hands. “What did she say when she came over? Next time I’ll have someone observing, so they don’t always upset you with trivial matters.”

“It’s just to talk about family matters and to advise my family to go there. It was nothing to be upset about. It’s all like this. Is there anything else that upsets me? I do not have the kind of character that is sad in spring and hurt in autumn2. I should have gone earlier.”

This woman was Ye Shen’s mother, the Madam of the Ye family, who no one dared to provoke in the capital. But she was different from other mistresses. She was not at home all year round. She only lived in the remote northern outskirts of the city in this small Daoist Temple. She rarely goes home even during the New Year Festival.

Everyone in the capital knew that when Ye Shen almost died after he was born, Madam Ye made a vow——it was actually for her young son that she went to live at the Daoist Temple.

Ye Shen was silent.

Madam Ye pursed her lips and sipped the tea. And then, she said one more thing to him, “She also mentioned Princess Huijing.”

“Does Li Qingzhi want to rise through the princess?”

Her son was a thorough person. Madam Ye held the teacup with both hands and slowly sipped. She stopped speaking.

——

Xiao Youning had quietly returned to the capital, but the Xiao Family’s Second Branch was still looking for her everywhere. And Second Master Xiao once again received news that made him almost faint.

“What do you mean all the mountain bandits in that village died in a disaster?! Then where is she?!”

If he couldn’t find her, then he would be too ashamed to take a step out of the residence. His spine was about to snap!

Footnotes

跳出尘俗 (tiàochū chénsú) – give up on worldly affairs悲春秋伤 (bēichūnqiūshāng) – A sentimental person that feels sadness and sorrow caused by changes in the seasons or scenery.