Yu Hua Temple was filled with incense and there were many carriages parked in front of the temple.
He Yan and Xiao Jue got off the carriage and Fei Nu drove the carriage to the side to wait for them. The two of them did not bring any maids or servants with them and they were very eye-catching. People who came to worship Buddha could not help but take a few more glances at them. There were those who didn't know the person, so they just looked around. There were those who knew the official's family members. After recognizing Xiao Jue, they guessed He Yan's identity. However, they didn't dare to talk about it in front of him, so they stayed far away.
The rules for worshipping Buddha were simple. Ordinary people would donate some incense, oil and rice. Those who were richer would donate some money. Xiao family did not lack money and Fei Nu had already prepared it. After receiving the incense from the monks, they had to enter the temple to worship.
Xiao Jue did not enter.
He Yan asked him why he did not enter and he only said, "I don't believe in Buddha."
He Yan, "…"
They were already in front of the temple and he said that he did not believe in Buddha in other people's territory. This person was really arrogant and lawless. However, this kind of thing did not matter if he believed in it or not. She could not force Xiao Jue to worship Buddha. She let Xiao Jue stay outside and entered the temple.
He Yan knelt down on the praying mat. The golden Buddha statue she made up for the wealthy merchants looked down on all living beings mercifully. She bowed down and kowtowed sincerely. She said in her heart, she didn't ask for anything else. She only asked for those who were harmed by He Rufei and were burdened by her to be reincarnated earlier. She wanted to be safe and healthy in her next life.
After offering incense and lighting the lamp, He Yan walked out of the temple. Xiao Jue was waiting for her in front of the temple. Seeing her come out, he asked casually, "What did you wish for?"
"I hope that there will be no more wars in the world," He Yan put her hands together and pretended to be serious, "I hope that the world will be peaceful so that you and I can relax."
These words were not false. The matter of Uto had not been completely resolved. It was said that the Imperial Court was still debating whether to advocate war or peace. Even now, no conclusion had been reached.
After donating incense money and praying to Buddha, one could even have a vegetarian meal in the temple. The vegetarian food of Yu Hua Temple was also one of the best. However, He Yan was blind the last time he came here. Even if it was a mountain delicacy, it was tasteless to him. He had already forgotten what it tasted like. Now that he thought about it, he was actually looking forward to it.
When they passed the ancient tree, they could see that the huge ancient tree was rooted beside the mountain temple. The branches were as vast as the clouds and mist. They were originally green and glistening, but now they were covered in layers of red. When they got closer, they could see that the red on the branches were strands of red silk. On the red silk, there were words written, which were probably the wishes of the writer. It was said that if one hung one's wish on the ancient tree, the ancient tree would manifest its spirit.
He Yan remembered that he had hung the red silk here before, and he couldn't help but stop.
"This ancient tree is very spiritual." He said to Xiao Jue.
Xiao Jue leisurely said: "You want to make up a story again?"
"No, it really is very spiritual." He Yan smiled and thought that in her previous life, she had hung a wish on the tree. She hoped that she could see the moon again. At that time, when she wrote these words on the red silk, she felt that it was a pipe dream. Not to mention the moon, just the fact that her eyes could see the light again sounded inconceivable.
However, at this impossible moment, even after her death, she was able to be reborn in a hopeless situation and see the "moon" again.
"In the future, when I have more money," He Yan said: "I will buy a lot of fertilizer and water this ancient tree to show my gratitude and sincerity."
Xiao Jue choked, "Your sincerity is really different."
The guest house of Yu Hua Temple was a little in front of the courtyard where the monks lived. For those who donated less, many people ate in the same place. For those who donated more, they had their own courtyard. Most of the time, there was only one person in each room. There were fewer people, and the environment was more elegant.
Although he was somewhat speechless at the difference in treatment, it was a good thing that there were fewer people. He Yan didn't want to eat a vegetarian meal and be secretly watched by others. Now, because of the marriage bestowed by the Emperor Wen Xuan, he and Xiao Jue appeared in front of the world. It took a lot of courage for her to do so. Even though she was a famous person in the past, at least she had a mask to cover her face. Now, she didn't even have the slightest bit of cover. In broad daylight, she was like a white peacock shipped by a sea merchant from a foreign country. It was so rare that everyone wanted to see and talk about it.
They sat down in the guest house. Not long after, the monk in green brought in many plates of vegetarian dishes. It was indeed very rich. There were steamed white jade buddha hand, sweet and sour bitter gourd, steamed wild mountain pepper winter gourd, purple potato cakes, celestial tofu … It was much colder on the mountain than it was at the foot of the mountain. After rushing for an entire morning, they were already hungry. Now that the hot vegetarian dishes were in front of them, He Yan couldn't help but have a big appetite. He gave Xiao Jue a pair of chopsticks and said: "The money for the sesame oil was not wasted … Governor, if you are not full, can I have another set?"
Xiao Jue: "…"
He said: "As you wish."
He Yan didn't stand on ceremony. She ate boldly. In comparison, Xiao Jue ate more elegantly. Not long after they started eating, there was a knock on the door of the guest house. A monk led two people in.
For a rich family like theirs, the guest house was small and exquisite. Usually, one family was enough. However, the weather was good today, and it was the Mid-Autumn Festival. There were many pilgrims who came to Yu Hua Temple to burn incense. It was probably not enough to accommodate all of them, so they could only squeeze with Xiao Jue.
Xiao Jue frowned slightly. Just as she was about to say something, He Yan said: "It's okay, let them in. I eat very quickly. It's not a problem."
It wasn't easy for her to gain some fame in Shuo Capital. She hadn't officially fought with He Rufei yet. She didn't want to be accused of being overbearing and unreasonable.
Xiao Jue thought about it and didn't say anything.
The two people that the monks brought in were two women. One was older and the other was younger. He Yan only glanced at them briefly. When he saw the older woman's face, his heart skipped a beat. He couldn't control himself and the chopsticks in his hand fell to the ground.
He Yan hurriedly bent down to pick them up. At the same time, he hid the shock on his face.
This movement attracted the attention of the two people who came in. The two women stopped in their tracks and looked at He Yan. He Yan had just picked up his chopsticks when the monk came over and said: "Benefactor, please wait for a moment. I will go and get a clean set for you."
He Yan didn't say anything. The younger woman had already followed He Yan's gaze and saw Xiao Jue. She blurted out: "General Fengyun!"
He Yan subconsciously looked at Xiao Jue. Xiao Jue frowned slightly. She seemed unhappy.
He Xinying was very surprised. He didn't expect to see Xiao Jue here. Speaking of which, she had only seen Xiao Jue once. It was when she went shopping with a friend. She saw a group of people riding horses through the streets. The people and carriages on the side of the road all avoided them. The man in the lead was handsome and outstanding. At that time, her friend beside her told her: "That was Da Wei's General Fengyun."
It was probably because this man's appearance was too outstanding and the impression he gave people was too vivid. Therefore, when she saw Xiao Jue, it overlapped with her memory.
However, everyone knew that this Military Governor Xiao's temper wasn't very good. For a moment, He Xinying supported Madame He and didn't know whether to advance or retreat. He was afraid that if he wasn't careful, he would offend this vicious and merciless military governor.
However, Madame He didn't care about this. She only pulled He Xinying inside and sat down at the table next to He Yan's.
He Xinying curiously looked at Xiao Jue. There were many rumors about this Military Governor Xiao. However, there was one rumor that had never changed. It was that he didn't get close to women. However, this rumor was broken a few days ago at the celebration banquet. His Majesty personally bestowed a marriage between him and a woman. Xiao Jue protected that woman in front of all the civil and military officials in the main hall. When the news spread to the ears of the people in Shuo Jing, it shattered the dreams of many young ladies.
On the day that Xu Zhiheng came back from the celebration banquet, his mood wasn't very good. Therefore, he didn't tell He Xinying about this matter. Therefore, this matter was only spread to the entire residence the next day when the maidservants in the residence went out to buy goods and heard about it. Speaking of which, Xiao Jue's fiancée wasn't a simple woman. She actually dared to dress up as a man and go to the battlefield to kill Uto. She even became the first female Marquis of Da Wei, Marquis Wu An.
The most coincidental thing was that this Wu 'an Marquis had the same name as her deceased sister, Grand Mistress Xu, who had passed away due to illness.
However, her sister, He Yan, was very weak. She had to spend many years in the countryside residence to recuperate and take medicine every day. Not to mention going to the battlefield to kill Uto, even walking a few steps would cause her to gasp for breath. Therefore, although their names were the same, their temperaments were completely different.
He Xinying looked at the woman beside Xiao Jue. The woman was young and beautiful, and there was a heroic spirit between her eyebrows. He Xinying guessed that the woman who could make Xiao Jue, who did not get close to women, be so close to her was not the young mistress of the Xiao family, but his "sweetheart" fiancée, Wu 'an Marquis He Yan.
He Xinying sized her up. He Yan just lowered her head and pretended to eat seriously. However, there were thousands of thoughts running through her mind. She couldn't help but look at the person facing her several times — Madame He.
That was her biological mother.
He Yan didn't have a deep impression of Madame He. Compared to He Yuanliang, Madame He didn't like to go out. Usually, unless it was a festival, she would only stay in her courtyard. Perhaps because she was a soft-hearted woman, Madame He was afraid that something would go wrong. He Yan often saw He Yuanliang, but he rarely saw Madame He. However, ever since He Yan found out about his true identity, he often wanted to see what kind of person his biological mother was. He vaguely felt that she was a very quiet and gentle woman. Sometimes, she seemed a little dull.
He Yuanliang always had a smile on his face, which was very popular with women. There were also a few concubines living in the second branch. There were also concubines who gave birth to sons and daughters of concubines. In terms of favoritism, He Yuanliang's second wife was definitely not the one that He Yuanliang liked the most. However, He Yuanliang never neglected his second wife. He had never done anything like favoring his concubine and neglecting his wife. At least, before He Yan's previous life, He Yuanliang's second wife, He Yuanliang's second wife, lived a good life in the mansion.
One year during a family banquet, He Yan sat at the same table as Madame He when he was eating at home. At that time, she was still young. She was only ten years old. She sat opposite Madame He. Probably because she was too curious, she looked up at Madame He more often. Later, during family banquets, He Yan and Madame He didn't sit at the same table.
She didn't expect to meet her biological mother here without any warning. No matter how much he hated the He family, He Yan's mood wasn't as indifferent as it seemed on the surface when he faced Madame He.
He Xinying carefully pulled Madame He and whispered, "The one opposite is General Fengyun and Military Governor Xiao. The one beside him is most likely Marquis Wu An, He Yan, who was betrothed to by His Majesty a few days ago."
As soon as these words came out, Madame He stopped picking up her chopsticks and looked up at the opposite table.
Now that the news of Xiao Huaijin being betrothed to His Majesty was known by the whole Shuo Jing, from the officials and nobles to the common people. Even the beggars on the street knew that his fiancée was called He Yan. It was impossible that Madame He didn't know about it. She couldn't help but be startled when she suddenly heard someone with the same name as her dead daughter.
On the other side, Xiao Jue noticed He Yan's sudden silence and asked her, "Why aren't you saying anything?"
Before the mother and daughter came, she kept chattering, but after they came, she didn't say anything. So what if she was recognized? He Yan was never someone who acted according to other people's expressions.
Afraid that Xiao Jue would see through her, He Yan smiled and randomly found a topic, "Military Governor, is it really okay to keep the black jade you gave me before?"
"What's wrong with it?"
"I just think that it's a bit too precious." He Yan stuffed a potato biscuit into her mouth and stared at the table. She didn't look at the other two people in the room, "But your parents are really good at naming you. Jue, it means double jade. The Empress Dowager gave you a double-colored jade, it's really suitable. "
Xiao Jue smiled, "Your name is also good."
He Yan thought for a moment, her lips moved as if she wanted to say something, but in the end, she didn't say anything and just lowered her head to eat.
Madame He stared at He Yan's movements. He Yan was fond of sweet things, so she always ate the beets first. Although she wasn't refined and reserved, she was very frugal and didn't leave a single grain of rice behind. If she encountered a dish that she didn't like, she wouldn't throw it away. She just paused a little, as if to pave some courage for herself, and then she would eat it all in one go and never touch the plate again.
As Madame He watched, her face gradually changed. Her originally empty and numb eyes began to become more and more emotional, as if she couldn't help but cry.
Xiao Jue's back was facing Madame He, so she didn't see Madame He's strange behavior. He Yan saw it, but he pretended not to know and changed the topic to Xiao Jue.
He Xinying asked in a low voice, "Mother, why aren't you eating?"
The girl seemed to feel something and looked over. Madame He quickly lowered her head and picked up her chopsticks to eat a mouthful of rice. No one saw her tear fall into the bowl.
During this meal, except for Xiao Jue and He Xinying, Madame He and He Yan ate with different thoughts. He Yan came a little earlier and ate quickly. After the meal, He Yan put down his chopsticks. Xiao Jue had already finished eating. When she finished, she said, "Let's go."
He Yan nodded, and the two of them walked out together.
Not long after they left, suddenly, someone's voice came from behind, "… Miss, please wait!"
He Yan looked back and saw Madame He running towards him. He Xinying was a little surprised, as if she didn't expect her mother to do such a thing. Madame He was not in good health, so after running a few steps, she was gasping for breath. As a Madame of an official's family, her behavior was somewhat rude. However, Madame He didn't care about this and walked towards them.
Xiao Jue frowned, "Who are you?"
"I'm … the second Madame of the He family in the capital." Madame He glanced at Xiao Jue. The young man's indifferent expression made her a little timid. Even so, she still stared straight at He Yan. She was reluctant to move her eyes away for even half a second.
He Yan nodded with a smile, "Madame He."
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry." He Xinying also caught up and secretly pulled Madame He's sleeve. There was a hint of blame in her eyes. After He Yan left, they still hadn't finished their meal. He Xinying wanted to talk to Madame He about the two of them, but Madame He suddenly stood up and chased after him.
Everything happened so fast that she didn't have time to stop it. However, He Xinying knew that she shouldn't provoke the Commander-In-Chief of the Right Army for no reason. Every official in the Shuo capital knew that Xiao Huaijin wasn't someone to be trifled with. If she pursued the matter, she didn't want to add more trouble to the He family.
"Madame, what's the matter?" He Yan asked politely.
Madame He looked at her, as if she was looking at another person through her. Her voice was soft, as if she was afraid of disturbing the young lady in front of her, or as if she was coaxing her three-year-old daughter, "You … are called He Yan?"
He Yan looked at the woman in front of her.
In her memory, Madame He was still very young. Unlike Madame He who was meticulous and strict, Madame He had a gentle and kind face. At first glance, she could tell that she was a very good person. He Xinying had also seen her younger sister break a very expensive vase. Madame He didn't get angry. Instead, she would hold He Xinying in her arms and check if her hand was scratched by the broken vase.
He Yan was very envious at that time. She felt that her biological mother was really better than her "mother".
Later, when she returned home after the war, she became "He Yan" again. Madame He also came to visit several times. However, they had missed each other for too long. Even if they sat in the same room, they felt awkward and alienated. On the day of the wedding, Madame He came to see her off. He Yan sat in the room. When Madame He helped her cover her head, she said something.
She took He Yan's hand and said slowly, "A He, you have to be good in the future."
That one sentence made He Yan's eyes wet under the veil.
Unfortunately, she couldn't even achieve such a simple wish of "being good" in the end. Even when she was blind in the Xu family, Madame He didn't come to visit her even once because she was "sick".
The woman in front of her had aged a lot. She was no longer as young as she remembered. He Yan could even see that there were some gray hairs on her temples.
She was old.
He Xinying looked at Xiao Jue. She was nervous and hurriedly explained to He Yan, "I'm sorry, Miss He. It's because you have the same name as my sister, so my mother, she …"
She didn't know how to continue. If she said that He Yan had the same name as a dead person, who knew if the Marquess would feel that it was unlucky and displeased.
Madame He looked at He Yan and asked in a trembling voice, "Miss He … Why are you called He Yan?"
This question really came out of nowhere. He Yan stared at her. After a moment, she smiled carelessly and replied in a relaxed tone, "Who knows? Normal girls don't have the name 'Yan'. The river is clear and the sea is Yan. Maybe my parents knew when I was born that I would have to go to the battlefield to protect the safety of the people. If that's the case, this name is quite different from normal people."
There was a hint of self-mockery in her words.
"The river is clear and the sea is peaceful." It naturally sounded like a flourishing age, but she herself was on the battlefield. Not only did her blood-related relatives not feel sorry for her, they even wanted to squeeze every last bit of value out of her. It was unavoidably chilling. He Yan thought that her desire for family affection had been obliterated when she was very young. Since there was no hope, she wouldn't be too sad when she was disappointed. Now that she was in another He Family, she received warmth that she didn't have before. When she met Madame He again, the grievances and grievances that were deliberately buried deep in her heart were all born.
After saying that, He Xinying didn't feel anything, but Madame He's expression changed. Her face was drained of blood in a split second and she almost collapsed.
He Yan nodded at them, "If there's nothing else, we'll leave first." She gently pulled Xiao Jue's clothes and walked forward.
He Xinying waited until the two people walked far enough before she complained in a low voice, "Mother, what's wrong with you? You suddenly rushed out and scared me. It's not like you don't know what kind of person Military Governor Xiao is. Fortunately, they didn't make a fuss just now. If they were angry, big brother and husband may not be able to do anything … Mother, mother? "
He Xinying suddenly stopped talking, because she saw a big drop of tears in the eyes of the woman in front of her. The tears streaked across the corners of her eyes, like cold dew in the middle of the night, with broken sorrow.
He Xinying knew that Madame He was thinking of her dead elder sister. After He Yan's death, her mother's health hadn't been good. The doctor always said that she would be fine after some rest, but He Xinying also knew that it was a psychological problem. Her mother's heart was always thinking about her elder sister's death, so she became like this.
But … there was something she didn't understand. She always thought that her mother was always indifferent to her elder sister. Maybe it was because He Yan had always been recuperating in the village and didn't get close to her mother in the fu, so after a long time, it was difficult for her mother to have the same feelings as her. But after He Yan's death, her mother was so sad that she understood that she wasn't heartless.
But if that was the case, why did her mother alienate her so much in the beginning?
There was also his father, He Yuanliang, who was very nice to everyone. He was always smiling and had a very amiable appearance. However, regarding He Yan's death, he didn't show that much sadness.
In short, He Yan seemed to be a subtle existence in the He family, and He Yan's death made those seemingly normal things finally reveal the strangeness underneath. She was full of questions, but no one could answer her.
No one would answer her questions.
He Xinying held Madame He's hand and didn't say anything in the end. She took a handkerchief to wipe the tears from the corners of her mother's eyes and said in a low voice, "Mother, let's go back."
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