Everyone bowed one after the other and followed the old mother of Li Mountain into the courtyard.
Upon entering, they saw a layout facing south with three grand halls from north to south and doors and windows that were tall and imposing.
On the main door hung a scroll painting of "Mountains of Longevity and Seas of Fortune," and on the gold-painted pillars on either side, there hung a pair of red spring couplets that read: "Silk floats around the weak willows by the flat bridge at dusk, snow dots the fragrant plums in the small courtyard at spring."
In the center, there was a black lacquer incense table with no shine, on it placed an ancient bronze beast incense burner.
There were six armchairs, with seasonal hanging screens on two mountains.
One could say, even those who knew nothing about luxury could tell at a glance that this was certainly a ho of great wealth and high status!
The visitors settled down as guests and hosts, with Tang Sanzang sitting opposite the old mother of Li Mountain, his eyes observing his nose, his nose observing his heart, motionless throughout.
This made the old mother silently frown, thinking to herself, "This fake Monk Tang really acts the part; let’s see if he can keep this up later!"
At that mont, Tang Sanzang asked, "Thank you for your hospitality, but if I may so boldly ask, where is this place? Coming all this way, even a monk has gotten a bit disoriented."
The old mother of Li Mountain smiled and said, "This is the land of the Western Bull Hezhou, tens of thousands of miles away from the Great Tang."
Soon after, she sweetly spoke, "The esteed monk need not call a patron; my maiden na is Jia, and my married na is Mo. Struck by misfortune at an early age, both my in-laws passed away, and my husband and I managed our ancestral estate, owning thousands of strings of cash and hundreds of acres of good farmland.
Unfortunately, my husband and I were childless, only having three daughters.
Pitifully, I lost my husband the year before last, leaving the vast lands and properties with no other relatives or family to rely on, alas…"
As she spoke, tears welled up in the eyes of the old mother of Li Mountain, her continual sighs truly evoking pity.
Zhu Ganglie couldn’t bear it anymore and stepped forward, saying, "Sister, don’t cry.
Since you’re already alone, why not just remarry?"
The crowd nodded, feeling that made sense.
The old mother of Li Mountain bitterly laughed and said, "I would like to, but as you see, there is neither a village ahead nor a shop behind, and within a hundred miles, there is no one else.
Moreover, to marry is to follow the husband. What about the family property then?
Hearing this, Zhu Ganglie suddenly laughed, "Haha, sister, now you’ve asked the right person. I’m not familiar with other matters, but I know this one well! Why not find a man who will marry into your family?"
Her eyes lit up, looking at the four disciples before her, she laughed, "Elder Brother Zhu makes a good point, and amusingly, there are four of you monks and I have exactly three daughters.
Since you are esteed monks from the eastern land of the Great Tang, you must be of reliable character.
Why not stay here and join our family?"
As she finished, the old mother of Li Mountain fixed her gaze on Tang Sanzang, curious whether the fake Monk Tang could continue his pretense.
Upon hearing this, while others showed no reaction, Zhu Ganglie’s eyes sparkled, several tis he seed about to speak and then stopped.
But since Tang Sanzang said nothing, he dared not speak out of turn.
Seeing this, the old mother of Li Mountain thought to herself, "I underestimated this fake Monk Tang, able to withstand the allure of beauty and not only keep his own heart in check but also manage his unruly disciples like Sun Wukong, Zhu Ganglie, and Sha Wujing so well, he indeed is a capable man…"
The old mother of Li Mountain couldn’t help but regard Tang Sanzang more highly.
Just then, Tang Sanzang slowly said, "Since we co from the Great Tang of the eastern land, naturally we are n of high standards. Ordinary won won’t catch our eye. If you really an it, why not let us et your three daughters and see for ourselves? We should ’inspect the rchandise’."
Pfft!
The old mother of Li Mountain sprayed out a mouthful of tea… frustration written all over her face, she thought to herself, "This was rash…"
Zhu Ganglie chuckled bitterly, thinking, "It’s over! Although my master has the mind of a thief, he has a dauntless courage, daring to say anything, utterly clueless in courtship. This easy catch is likely to slip away!"
The old mother of Li Mountain ticulously watched Tang Sanzang, who still sat there with a simpleminded expression, showing little emotional change.
The old mother of Li Mountain slightly frowned, wondering if the monk was actually progressing by seeming to retreat. Did he perhaps have Zen Heart after all?
Thus, she spoke, "Elder Tang, I am not testing your Zen Heart.
You also needn’t reject in such a crude manner…
Elder Tang, although I am plain-looking, fortunately, my daughters are sowhat attractive, skilled in needlework and capable of anything.
As my late husband had no sons, I have raised them as if they were sons, teaching them a bit of poetry and literature from a young age, all knowledgeable enough to compose and counter verse.
Although we live in a villa, we are not utterly unrefined. I believe they are indeed suitable for esteed Elders like yourselves."
Her words were modest, yet filled with unparalleled confidence. After all, weren’t they all transford by Bodhisattvas, each one a beauty capable of toppling cities and nations?
At this point, the Old Lady of Mount Li picked up her teacup again and began to drink.
However, the bald thief before her rely responded indifferently, "More words are pointless, whether it’s a mule or a horse, bring them out for a walk and then we’ll talk."
Pfft!
The Old Lady of Mount Li again spat out a mouthful of tea, guessing that the bald man before her might be purposely feigning ignorance to indirectly reject her.
But her expression remained unpleasing…
What did he an by bringing out a mule or a horse for a stroll?
Did he imply her daughters were mules and horses?
The Old Lady of Mount Li realized this too.
Either the bald man was steadfast in his Zen Heart, deliberately evading the offer;
Or he was the type not to loose the hawk until he saw the hare.
The Old Lady of Mount Li narrowed her eyes, thinking, "Very well, I want to see how long you can keep up this act!"
With that, the Old Lady of Mount Li clapped her hands, "Daughters, co out! The Elders want to et you."
"Coming!"
A gentle response sounded.
The next mont, three young won walked in from outside.
Each of them with eyebrows green as erald, faces as fresh as spring, enchantingly beautiful, grace that could sway hearts.
The one who walked in first was a woman in a light yellow long gown, graceful and elegant.
The Old Lady of Mount Li said, "This is my eldest daughter, Zhenzhen, twenty years old this year."
Zhenzhen smiled graciously and stood aside, poised and graceful.
Following her was a young girl in a red outfit.
The Old Lady of Mount Li said, "This is my second daughter, Aiai, eighteen years old this year."
Aiai looked around at the monks with curious, large eyes before finally standing to one side.
The last to enter was a young woman in a green silk dress, imnsely bashful, her pretty face blushing, too shy to look at anyone.
The Old Lady of Mount Li said, "This is my youngest daughter, Lianlian, sixteen years old this year."
Lianlian quickly hid behind her sister, peeking out shyly at the monks. When she saw Tang Sanzang, her face lit up with admiration.
After all, Tang Sanzang was only disguised over the years as a harmless fool, pretending to be weaker than he actually was. But he was not at all ugly; in fact, he was quite handso!
Lianlian then glanced at the monkey next to him, a bit curious;
but upon seeing Zhu Ganglie, who was drooling at her, his eyes nearly bursting into flas, she was scared and dared not look any longer.
Finally, when she saw Sha Wujing, she was frightened enough to retract her head, not daring to peek out again.
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