Chapter 194: Chapter 172: The Buddhist Hall
Although Old Sir Gu suggested for Gu Yanjing to go back, Gu Yanjing didn’t leave.
After all, Old Sir Gu was getting on in years and his heart wasn’t too good.
Staying at the Longevity Hall, Gu Yanjing was naturally worried.
Fearing that in case anything happened, he wouldn’t be there.
On the twenty-ninth, he spent the night at the temple.
On the morning of the thirty-first, at five o’clock, Old Sir Gu entered the Longevity Hall.
Gu Yanjing escorted him to the entrance. As Old Sir Gu entered and took a step inside, he paused, turned around, and looked at Gu Yanjing.
Gu Yanjing watched him from outside.
Old Sir Gu also looked at him, as if he had suddenly come to a realization, as if having to tell him something he had long concealed. Or perhaps as though he had kept something hidden for ages and finally had to let him bear it. Suddenly, he said: "Yanjing, you should come in too."
Gu Yanjing’s expression remained unchanged. He paused for a moment and then stepped into the Longevity Hall.
Meanwhile, in Yue City.
Qiao Yuxian also got up early, freshened up, and dressed in formal attire.
The sky was still dark when she went to the West Courtyard.
The entire quadrangle compound was single-story, except for the West Courtyard, which had a two-story building.
At first glance, it looked no different from the other rooms, except it was taller, appearing somewhat abrupt.
Yuan Wei was with her, but he stood outside and did not go in.
The door opened to reveal a Buddhist hall inside. It was dedicated to the Womb of the Earth Bodhisattva.
Qiao Yuxian entered, closed the door, went inside, lit incense, and knelt in worship.
After rising, she stood inside for a while, then circled behind the statue, and beneath the lamp holder of the wall lamp behind, found a button and pressed it.
The floor behind the statue slowly opened.
Qiao Yuxian turned the wall lamp once more, and lights below the floor lit up, revealing a staircase descending seemingly into infinity.
Qiao Yuxian descended, and once entirely below, she tapped twice on the wall to her right, causing the floor above to close again.
The space, silent and narrow, with steps one after another, Qiao Yuxian proceeded slowly downwards.
After a long while, she finally reached the end of the stairs.
The view opened wide.
Beneath was a large area, with only this level. The decoration was simple, in cement tones.
The only lights on the wall were dim, warm lamps.
Qiao Yuxian walked a few steps forward, then turned to the right.
Step by step she approached, and the scene before her became gradually clear.
It was like an ancestral shrine, filled with countless memorial tablets.
Arranged from high to low, row by row.
Yet only a few of the names on the tablets bore the surname Qiao, some had no names at all, just numbers or codes.
Qiao Yuxian approached and stood before them.
Looking at the newest two tablets at the bottom, which seemed newer than the others.
The memorial tablet of Qiao Huaisong.
The memorial tablet of Xi Wanqing.
Simple, just like the others, with a few straightforward words.
No titles, no person serving offerings, just birth and death dates written beside them.
Qiao Yuxian, dressed in black, hair tied up, her expression solemn.
She gazed at her grandparents’ tablets. After a long time, she took matches from the offering table and lit the candles on both sides, every single one.
Candlelight flickered, shimmering on her face.
Qiao Yuxian looked from the bottom up, row by row, examining each and every tablet.
Both men and women, some named, others numbered or coded.
Dates beside the tablets, some marking birth and death dates. But mostly, only the death date.
Eighty percent of those dates were from a certain day over sixty years ago.
Qiao Yuxian looked up, examining each one, finishing at the top, her gaze falling on the plaque above.
— Yao Mountain Island.
Qiao Yuxian looked up at those three words.
Then she lowered her gaze, took incense from the table, lit it, bowed to all the tablets, and placed it in the incense burner.
The smoke rose slowly.
Qiao Yuxian stood straight, after a while, she stepped back, sat cross-legged on the cushion, propped her elbows on her knees, supporting her face, revealing the Peace Pendant on her wrist. She whispered: "The investigation is ongoing, they seem impatient, came to see me in Beijing a few times, after being thwarted several times, they quieted down for a few months."
Her voice was low, slowly dispersing in the vast, open space.
Candlelight flickered, casting a warm hue on the gray-toned space.
"There are people by my side who belong to them, sometimes they know my actions." Qiao Yuxian whispered, "But it doesn’t matter, I have plans. Rest assured, sooner or later, I will deal with them."
"Grandpa Nine is very stable, everything is fine." Qiao Yuxian said, "His health is good, spends his days savoring small drinks, gardening, walking dogs, feeling quite content."
She reported some matters, and then spoke more personal things to Qiao Huaisong and Xi Wanqing.
"Grandpa, Grandma, I got married." Qiao Yuxian said, laughing softly, "My spouse is Gu Yanjing. He’s the one grandpa called the little rascal."
"I wonder if Grandpa got angry when he heard." Qiao Yuxian spoke warmly, "Don’t be angry, he’s wonderful, treats me wonderfully. You said I should marry someone I like, I like him very much, so I married him."
Qiao Yuxian looked at their tablets, "I’m lucky, he treats me very well. Now he likes me a lot. Although initially he saw me as a younger sister to care for, but now I think he loves me."
As she spoke, Qiao Yuxian blushed a little, "Perhaps he’ll like me even more in the future."
"Grandpa Gu is very healthy, takes good care of me." She said, "Grandpa Gu and I united to force him into marriage. It was likely Grandpa Gu’s instruction to make him care for me. But now, taking care of me is voluntary. So be at ease, I’m well, someone is caring for me, no need to worry."
"I’ve been in touch more frequently with my Dad and Aunt Chen Hui too." Qiao Yuxian smiled, "Feels like we’re a lot closer, slowly recovering the feeling from childhood. Dad is still the same, upright and sometimes wooden, but he’s very capable. Alone, he can handle over twenty people. Super cool."
"Aunt Chen Hui is very good to me, just like Grandma said, an excellent mother."
"Also, I..." Qiao Yuxian suddenly paused as she spoke, the word stuck in her throat, finally she changed her phrasing, "Ms. Zhao is back. We met briefly. We’ve always stayed in touch, she cares a lot for me, bought me many gifts. Earlier in the year she asked if I’d like to spend New Year’s with her on A Continent. I declined."
Qiao Yuxian said this and then fell silent.
Afterwards, she shared some events from the past few months.
Speaking for nearly two hours.
Then she moved a small table in front of the cushion, knelt on the cushion, and began copying Buddhist scriptures.