Black Lotus Concubine's Case-solving Notes

"Exactly!"

The young monk nodded and said, "I also heard from my senior brothers in the temple that there were cult members hiding in the fishing village. Ten years ago, the imperial court sent people to eliminate them. Anyone who had any connection with the cult was ruthlessly slaughtered. The people were panicked and fled, and the fishing village was abandoned."

Feng Jia didn't say anything else. He followed the little monk up the stairs, walked through the long and quiet path, and his vision suddenly broadened.

Compared with the solemnity of the front yard, the Zen room on the back mountain is more fresh and elegant. There are several verdant evergreen pines and cypresses planted on both sides of the Zen room, several small rockery are stacked, and there is even running water flowing in it.

There are several statues placed at the door of the Zen room.

Feng Jia walked over and found that they were four stone statues of Buddha.

The young monk enthusiastically introduced: "These four Buddha statues symbolize the four tests that the Buddha Shakyamuni experienced in the human world. The Buddha was originally a mortal. After experiencing the sufferings of the human world, he decided to practice hard under the Bodhi tree all night and finally attained enlightenment."

"Legend has it that during his ascetic practice, the Buddha was tempted and tested by demons, but he remained unshakable. Eventually he realized the truth, namely the Four Noble Truths: the truth of suffering, the truth of origin, the truth of cessation, and the truth of the path, and his achievement was great."

The young monk said proudly, "These four seats symbolize the trials that the Buddha went through. The first one is a picture of the Buddha cutting his flesh to feed the eagle, which symbolizes sacrificing the ego. The second one is a picture of a Buddha holding a flower and smiling, which symbolizes compassion for all living beings. The third one is a picture of crossing the river on a reed, which symbolizes the search for truth. The fourth one is a picture of sitting in the fire, which symbolizes getting rid of the illusion and becoming a Buddha."

Although the four Buddha statues depict different stories, what is the same is that the corners of the Buddha’s mouth are filled with a kind and compassionate smile, which represents the compassion of our Buddha.

The young monk added: "There are also Buddha statues like this in the Hall of Rebirth. If you are interested, I can take you to see them."

"No need." Feng Jia smiled. She didn't believe in ghosts and gods, so she had no interest in this Buddha statue.

A few monks came over with buckets of water, and cold air was coming out of the buckets. The young monk explained, "The main hall of the temple has been in disrepair for many years, and it was recently renovated. The weather in the mountains is hot, and the oil powder has signs of falling off. The abbot ordered us to fetch ice from the ice cellar every once in a while to delay the time for the oil powder to fall off."

"You still have an ice cellar?"

"Yes, we melt the snow into ice and then put the ice in the icehouse for use in the summer. The icehouse is next to the stream where we draw water. If you are interested, I can take you for a tour!"

As he was speaking, a sharp female voice came over.

"You blind man! How dare you bump into me!"

"Following a bitch master, you have to learn to be a bitch too? Pah! You are just a dog kept in the mansion! You have to kneel down if I tell you to, and you are not allowed to live if I tell you to die!"

"Pick up the fan for me now!"

Feng Jia looked in the direction of the voice and saw several figures standing at the side of the Zen room. One of them was a woman wearing a purple shirt with a pattern of willows and sunshine. It was Xie Changrong. Her maid Chunmei was holding an umbrella for her from behind.

The woman in a long pink skirt with colorful ribbons and jingling jewelry is Xie Xiyi, the eighth girl from the fourth room. Behind Xie Xiyi is the maid Liu'er. The girl next to her wearing a pink Liuxian skirt and double flower buns is a stranger, but judging by her demeanor, she must be a noble lady from some wealthy family.

And the person standing opposite them was Song Huai.

"I told you to pick it up, did you hear me?" Xie Changrong looked angry.

If it weren't for Xie Lanzhao, even if she couldn't marry the young general, she could still choose her husband from the legitimate sons of prominent families in the capital. But now she has fallen to the point of marrying her own cowardly cousin. All this is thanks to that bitch!

She couldn't kill Xie Lanzhao, but it would be nice to deal with her girl!

Xie Changrong pointed at Song Huai and said arrogantly, "Are you deaf or dumb? I told you to kneel down! Pick up the fan!"

"Miss Nine, you threw the fan down yourself."

"How dare you talk back!" Xie Changrong raised her hand and slapped him.

Song Huai's face was slapped to one side, with blood oozing from the corner of his mouth. He turned around and looked at Xie Changrong with cold eyes, and the five fingers hidden in his sleeves tightened slightly.

The maid Chunmei advised anxiously: "Miss, this girl is Miss Nine's person after all, and there are so many people coming and going. If someone sees her and spreads it, it will be bad for your reputation! Why not just forget it."

Xie Xiyi's face revealed reluctance: "Yes, Tenth Sister, is she a little maid worth you getting so angry? Forget it. If Ninth Sister sees it, you will be the one who suffers. Why bother!"

"Would I be afraid of that bitch? Even if she were here, I would still scold her!"

As soon as he finished speaking, they heard footsteps behind him. Everyone turned around and saw a little monk leading a woman wearing a green shirt and a horse-like bun towards them.

Everyone present was shocked. Why was she here?

A trace of timidity appeared on Xie Changrong's face, and Xie Xiyi's head, which had been held high, slowly lowered, not daring to look Feng Jia in the eye.

Liu'er followed her master and buried her face in the water, while Chunmei was trembling so much that she could hardly hold the umbrella. This Ninth Lady was really evil! No one who went against her would have a good ending, so compared to the always crazy Tenth Lady, Chunmei was more afraid of this Ninth Lady who looked gentle and delicate on the surface, but was actually black-bellied and cold-hearted!

Only the pink-shirted woman next to her, Zhou Muqi, the daughter of the Grand Farmer's Mansion, did not show any fear, but was rather surprised. It was strange that everyone saw the green-shirted woman with such a frightened expression.

Moreover, this woman in green is too pretty.

The young monk bowed to Xie Changrong and said, "Dear guest, this temple prohibits group fighting!"

Xie Changrong didn't even look at him. She stared at Feng Jia behind the little monk without blinking, and sneered, "Ninth sister, you came at the right time. Your maid knocked over my fan, and I asked her to pick it up but she refused. She even stared at me with those eyes. It's really annoying!"

Feng Jia glanced at Song Huai's swollen cheek, her eyes slightly gloomy.

When Song Huai saw her coming, his murderous intent subsided, and two tears fell straight from his eyes, as if he had suffered a great injustice: "Miss, I didn't! It was the Tenth Miss who bumped into me, and she also threw the fan on the ground in front of me!"

Song Huai covered her face and cried, "The Tenth Miss wants to humiliate me in public! Please help me!"

"Is that so, Tenth Sister?" Feng Jia's voice was not loud, but it was full of intimidation.

Xie Changrong felt as if her gaze weighed a thousand pounds, and she couldn't help but shiver.

But she didn't want to lose face in front of Zhou Muqi, so she forced herself to say, "Sister Nine, why did you listen to a slave? Well, I'll give you two choices. Either you hand this slave over to me. If she looks at me like that, I'll have people dig out her eyes and throw her into the snake cave, or..."

After a pause, Xie Changrong smiled and said, "Or, sister, pick up the fan for me yourself!"

"Tenth Miss!" Chunmei exclaimed, and subconsciously tugged at the corner of Xie Changrong's clothes. Her heart was pounding with fear, and she whispered in her ear: "Miss! Please don't mess with Ninth Miss! Otherwise, I will be punished by the Fourth Madam for not keeping an eye on you!"

Xie Changrong ignored him completely, determined to make Feng Jia look bad in public, and asked, "Do you want to hand this slave girl over to me, or do you want to pick up the fan for me?"

"Sister, choose!"

"Tenth Miss, why do you have to make things difficult for my girl?" Song Huai frowned.

Xie Changrong turned a deaf ear to him, and just stared at Feng Jia with a pair of eyes, mocking her: "What's the matter, Ninth Sister, are you unwilling? People in the mansion say that you are considerate of the servants, but I think you are just so-so."

After saying that, he signaled Chunmei to grab Songhuai.

"Wait a minute," Feng Jia stepped forward, protecting Song Huai behind him, and smiled, "Tenth sister, it's just picking up a fan, what's the difficulty?"

She bent her knees and just as she grasped the handle of the dusty white feather fan, Xie Changrong's high boots inlaid with golden lotus patterns stepped on it.