90 days of spring are passing by

Chapter 13: Don’t believe in gods and Buddhas

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"The mother-in-law is here!" Aunt Li from the neighbor's house shouted hurriedly.

Before the midwife took away the umbrella, she was pushed into the delivery room by several women. The woman inside kept moaning in pain. The labor pains had started since she was a child. It had been three hours now. The amniotic fluid had broken and the baby had not yet revealed its head.

The forty-year-old blacksmith was anxious outside the yard. He knelt under the willow tree and prayed to God. He just hoped that his wife would give birth to the child safely.

"It's happening! It's happening!" the women shouted to people outside the hospital.

However, this child didn't even cry when he was born.

The midwife said, "This is really bad!"

The women asked, "Why?"

"If this child doesn't cry, I'm afraid he will die in a moment."

"But what should I do?" Aunt Li was anxious, holding a hot towel to wipe away the cold sweat of the fainted woman on the bed.

"This is the only way." He said, lifting the baby, hitting her butt continuously, and using a clean cloth to suck the dirty water from her mouth.

After working for a long time, the child still didn't cry.

The old woman shook her head and said, "There is nothing we can do. Let's prepare for the funeral."

A few days after these words were spoken, the child did not die as she said. He could hardly breathe while feeding, and was just like any other child, except that he neither cried nor fussed.

When her relatives came to tease her when she was one month old, she would not smile, but would stare at everyone with her watery almond eyes. Her blacksmith father's hair turned gray because of this, but her mother didn't care. As long as the child lived well, it didn't matter if she didn't cry or laugh.

The blacksmith father remembered the day when the child was born. It rained heavily. After the rain stopped, it was already a new moon. Some lotus petals that came from nowhere fell on the ground outside the courtyard, so he named the child He. My family’s surname is Shen, so the child’s name is Shen He.

She didn't touch any female celebrities in the family. She learned writing and reading from her mother for several months. She only liked those books that were infested with moths. She read them all day long and could recite the poems in the books backwards and forwards. Xin He's mother was amazed by this. Xin He's father was uneasy, wondering whether his daughter's talent was a blessing or a curse.

At the age of twelve, she could write poems in pairs. She was born with long eyebrows and bright eyes, red lips and white teeth. She was a cold beauty with stunning beauty. In order to supplement the family income, she entered the Jingsi Prince's Mansion at the age of fifteen and worked as the companion of this young lady. She stood with Miss Baili. For one thing, others didn't know it, and thought that such a beautiful woman was the youngest daughter of Prince Jingsi.

One day when Xin He was waiting for the pen and ink, Baili Fuhe, the youngest daughter of Prince Jingsi, and several ladies from the same aristocratic family were talking about the handsome monk that her father had recently sent to the palace.

"If you are such an intelligent man, why don't you go to school and take the imperial examination instead of spending your life with the ancient Buddha Qing Deng?" asked a friend.

Bailifu'e thought about the handsome monk and said to his friends, "What do you know! I heard from the servants who followed his father to Mingyin Temple that he had been studying poetry and books since he was a child, and his writing skills were beyond the reach of others. But at the age of seventeen He failed the imperial examination at the age of 18, and later developed an inexplicable and strange illness. His family asked a magician to tell him a fortune, saying that he was destined to have a flower canopy, but no official star, so he must escape from the world and end the worldly world."

Before she finished speaking, another little girl of similar age sat down next to her and said, "I know the monk you are talking about."

Baili Fucai was surprised, "How do you know?"

"My mother had met him before when she went to Mingyin Temple to ask for a fortune."

"Liar, tell me what his name is." Bailifu'e felt like a treasure that only he knew was being looked at by others, and he was indignant at this time.

"His common name is Cheng Jiezhi, his courtesy name is Ke Chang, and now he has a religious title of Kong." Miss Zhao said.

Baili Fucai stuck out his tongue, "I also know that I want you to talk more."

Miss Zhao smiled, "Then there is another strange thing about Master Zhikong, do you know?"

"I've already found out everything about him. You don't need to tell me." Bailifu'e said arrogantly.

"Well, it's about a fetal dream his mother had. You all know it, so I won't talk about it."

Baili Fuhe pursed his lips, "I don't know this, you can tell me."

"Just now you said you knew everything, why are you talking so much about me?"

"Oh, what do you say." She put Xin He's freshly peeled lotus seeds in her hand and said to please her.

"I'll just tell you. I heard that when his mother was pregnant with him, she dreamed of a golden Arhat falling into her arms, and that night there was a shining golden star in the southwest corner of the sky."

Baili Fu'e covered his mouth, "When I first saw him, I felt that Master Zhikong was an extraordinary person. Now it seems that he must be a real Buddha."

The girls were talking attentively, and even the maids who served the ladies were talking about it. Only Xin He remained silent.

Bailifu'e poked her shoulder with his elbow, "Xinhe, you are smart. What kind of person do you think that Master Kongzhi is?"

Xin He's expression was cold, "Ignorant people don't believe in gods and Buddhas."

The girls were disappointed, "Fu He, you maid... you are so ignorant..."

The little girl who was gushing just now remembered the rumors about Xin He, "Are you the beauty who can't cry or laugh?"

The eyes of the little girls were all attracted. Bailifu'e felt that it was interesting and took the initiative to tell her friend, "Yes, she has never shed a tear since she entered the house, and I have never seen her smile."

The girls didn't believe she wouldn't laugh, so they all pushed her down on the grass, lifted up her skirt and squeaked her, whether it was around her waist or neck, and finally even tore off her shoes and socks, but she still didn't say a word. Laughing, one girl was so angry that she twisted the tender flesh on her arm hard and tried to make her cry, but she didn't cry.

Everyone found it boring, so they all dispersed and went to the garden to enjoy flowers and butterflies, leaving only Xin He who was in a miserable state.

She lowered her eyebrows and bent over and slowly put on her shoes and socks and put on her clothes. Suddenly, a foreign man passed by. The man didn't pay attention. He glanced at her and quickly turned his eyes away, "I'm sorry, Miss Xin."

Xin He recognized the voice of the eldest son of the Crown Prince and saluted, "I'm sorry, sir."

The eldest son came back and said behind his back, "That girl from Fu'e is naughty again, isn't she? I will definitely teach her a lesson when I get back."

Xin He didn't say anything, and straightened her clothes in a few moments, "Thank you, sir, no need."

Baili Fu'en thought for a moment, took off his outer robe and said, "Girl, please keep it on."

Only then did Xin He notice that the buckle under her clothes had been removed, but she did not panic. Baili Fu'en said, "I'm sorry," and covered her back with the robe.

"Fu'e is still young, and she is not a slave in the house. I know she has gone too far. I hope she will be patient and don't feel sad."

Xin He slowly raised her head and met his eyes, "My little girl won't be sad."

If the woman next to her had been bullied into such a miserable state, she would probably have cried a long time ago, but she was not. She looked as usual, as if she had never experienced anything. Baili Fuen became interested, "Why aren't you sad? "

"Xinhe never knows what sadness is."

"I had only heard about it a little bit before, but today the girl took the initiative to tell me. I was really surprised."

He said he was surprised, but actually he didn't believe it in his heart.

How could Xin He be smart enough not to see that he wanted to tease her? He didn't believe her, so he wanted to use other tricks to verify it.

(End of chapter)