The young nun didn’t dare to neglect the request and quickly ran off to comply.
Before long, she brought back an elderly nun. The old nun had a peaceful deanor, greeted Su Pan’er with respect, and then ushered her inside.
She smiled in an exceptionally serene manner, "I heard early on that the Empress was coming to Huangjue Temple to offer incense. Unfortunately, I was preoccupied with mundane matters and couldn’t co to welco you. I am ashad, truly ashad!"
"It doesn’t matter."
Su Pan’er waved her hand dismissively, sowhat weary of this formality of greeting and sending off, "Abbess, in truth, I am here today to find soone."
When it ca ti to ask her real question, Su Pan’er hesitated.
All of a sudden, she felt it strange to have co. For years, she had held no affection for this nominal younger sister, yet today she inexplicably made her way here. Now that she thought about it, she truly seed to have been poisoned by so baffling curse.
"Your Majesty, please speak your mind."
The abbess apparently did not pick up on Su Pan’er’s internal struggle.
"Oh, it’s about finding a woman, a secular na, Liu Lijin!"
The old nun appeared sowhat taken aback!
She abruptly looked up at her, then quickly lowered her gaze.
"Your Majesty, although the nuns in the temple co from all over, I personally manage the origins of the temple’s disciples. I rember very clearly, there is no secularly nad Liu Lijin among those who have taken vows here. Perhaps Your Majesty has mistaken the na? Or maybe Your Majesty has co to the wrong place?"
How could she not be there?
Su Pan’er’s brows shot up in surprise as she studied her closely.
She had initially felt that she should not have co, but now, she was being told by the abbess that no such person was here. It wasn’t that the person had left nor was still in the temple! How could that be?
The abbess still stood calmly at the lower end, her face betraying not a hint of evasiveness.
This multiplied the doubts in Su Pan’er’s mind.
"Abbess, would you mind checking again? Perhaps you have rembered incorrectly? After all, the secular na and the religious dharma na are different."
"Let’s check it then."
The abbess didn’t decline but instead turned and instructed a nun behind her to investigate the matter.
Su Pan’er signalled with her eyes to Jiu Lan at her side, "You go along with the two young Masters and help out."
It was said as help, but in reality, it was supervision.
Jiu Lan understood and quickly complied, following the two nuns downstairs.
The abbess was quite talkative. While waiting, she softly introduced the history of the ancestral hall and the financial strains they had been facing for years, chattering away without pause. It wasn’t until Su Pan’er frowned and gave her a cold glance that she finally restrained herself.
After Su Pan’er had filled her stomach with refreshnt, Jiu Lan returned, drenched in sweat, following the two nuns.
Su Pan’er imdiately perked up, hastily looking towards Jiu Lan. Jiu Lan slightly shook her head, clearly indicating there had been no discoveries.
"Your Majesty, even though I am old, I would not forget such a major matter. There are currently only 156 disciples in Quiet Cloud Nunnery, all of whom entered under my supervision. How could I possibly make a mistake?"
The abbess spoke earnestly.
Su Pan’er had no choice but to stand up, "It seems, indeed, I have rembered incorrectly! I have troubled you for so long, Abbess, and I feel terribly uneasy about it. Jiu Lan, go bring 500 taels of silver to the Abbess; consider it a small contribution of temple donations from to Quiet Cloud Nunnery. Please, Abbess, accept it with a smile!"
"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your support of Quiet Cloud Nunnery."
After exchanging only a few words and drinking a few cups of tea, the abbess was delighted to receive 500 taels of silver as temple donations, her eyebrows and eyes brimming with joy as she happily saw off Su Pan’er and her party.
Once Su Pan’er and her entourage had gone far, the smile gradually faded from the abbess’s face. Then she turned and quickly went into the Zen Room to call for a young nun.
"Go, tell the Master! Everything went smoothly."
Su Pan’er left the Quiet Cloud Nunnery, looking back three steps at a ti.
She walked to the valley where she first t Liu Lijin and was still confused whether the Liu Lijin she t back then was real or fake?
Perhaps...
Su Pan’er harbored doubts in her heart and appeared sowhat anxious when she returned to the Zen Room.
The Jun Ruochen who had agreed to et her at Huangjue Temple was nowhere to be seen, making her heart pound with fear, like she had the premonition that things were getting out of her control!
A night of restlessness ensued.
It was only close to dawn that Su Pan’er finally fell asleep.
She was awakened by the chanting of the monks doing their morning rituals outside, and only then did she struggle to get up. She still felt utterly exhausted, and as the few behind her helped her wash up, she frequently pressed her brow, clearly showing her discomfort.
She ate even less for the vegetarian al, hardly touching her chopsticks.
It wasn’t until the monks finished their morning rituals and the buzzingly annoying sounds finally faded away that Su Pan’er, seeing the bright sunshine outside, left the Zen Room with Jiu Lan and others.
On the hillside, the osmanthus trees were blooming all over the mountains, emitting a strong, fresh fragrance. There were also grandes das, sweet-scented olives, and pogranate flowers blooming one after another, causing the visiting Incense Guests to stop and gaze frequently.
Today, Su Pan’er wasn’t wearing palace attire but was instead dressed in a plain-colored dress, strolling leisurely along the Shepherd’s Path in the temple, and before she knew it, she had wandered to the back mountain.
"Pan’er!"
An abrupt and excited call jolted Su Pan’er from her imrsion in the scenery around her. She looked up and imdiately froze in her tracks.
Not far ahead, Jun Ruochen was standing by a large stone, his eyes glistening with tears as he looked at Su Pan’er, appearing very excited.
At this mont, Jun Ruochen had long lost his original appearance. He had darkened and lost weight, with sunken cheeks and red eyes, and wore a dusty monk’s robe. He lifted his foot as if to co over but ultimately drew back, not closing the distance between them.
"So you’re here."
Su Pan’er’s face also looked dreadful, and after a long hesitation, she managed to put forth a sentence.
"Mhm..."
Jun Ruochen had a torrent of words on his mind, but when he faced Su Pan’er, he couldn’t articulate a single one, overco with deep sorrow.
In the end, it was Su Pan’er who broke the silence, "Xue’er ntioned that you have sothing very important to tell , face to face?"
"Yes, it’s..."
Jun Ruochen evidently struggled to speak. He stopped and started several tis.
"Didn’t you say you’ve found that person? Where is he? Where is he?"
Talking was not ensuing comfortably, not even in half sentences!
Su Pan’er really didn’t wish to confront him any longer.
"He, he is at..."
Jun Ruochen said it a few tis but could not co to a conclusion.
He wouldn’t have tricked her into eting him, right?
Su Pan’er frowned and involuntarily took a few steps back.
Jun Ruochen naturally saw this, and the disappointnt on his face was alarming!
"You’re still afraid of ? Pan’er, back then, it was my fault, Big Brother Jun shouldn’t have treated you like that, and I shouldn’t have..."
"Enough, I don’t want to bring up the past, nor do I want to hear it! Say it! Where is he now? Don’t conceal it for him, otherwise, don’t bla for settling the new account and old account together!"
His actions back then almost cost her life to the Underworld and even handed Little Yanyan to that person. Such actions, Su Pan’er could not forgive, even looking back now!
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