The carriage rumbled towards the temple.
Buddhist Temple.
Fang Junhua was forced by his mother to offer three sticks of incense and pay homage to the Buddha. Mrs. Fang drew a fortune stick and was handing it to a young novice monk for interpretation. Taking advantage of his mother's inattention, he slipped away like a greased weasel.
The servant scurried after him, obsequiously smiling and asking, "Young master, where do you want to play?"
Fang Junhua looked bored. "All there is in this Buddhist temple are Buddha statues and incense. Where's there any fun?"
As they walked and strolled around, Fang Junhua plucked a blade of grass and stuck it in his mouth. He looked like a complete good - for - nothing dandy and didn't even bother to put on a pretense.
The servant was used to following Fang Junhua around on his wild escapades. Now that they were in this place of spiritual cultivation and had nothing to do, he was so bored that his eyes kept darting around. Suddenly, as if he had discovered something, he quickly pointed in a certain direction and called Fang Junhua over. "Young master, young master! Look quickly! See who that is!"
Fang Junhua came over and took a closer look. He was immediately shocked. "Why is she here too?"
The person they saw was Chen Huanyun, striding forcefully into the temple.
She wasn't wearing a veil hat today and was not far from Fang Junhua. Just moments after he spotted her, she turned her head and locked eyes with him!
She glared at him. "Fang Junhua!" Then she ran towards him.
Fang Junhua panicked and tried to cover his face. Just as he was about to sneak away, in his haste, he turned around and bumped into the servant. "Ouch!"
"Can't you be more alert, you idiot!" He slapped the servant hard on the head and growled through gritted teeth. "Why are you running towards me? Run the other way!"
"Fang Junhua! Stop right there!" Chen Huanyun had already caught up with him. She was still out of breath but grabbed his sleeve tightly. "You still want to run? Where do you think you're going?"
Fang Junhua forced a smile. "No, nowhere."
Chen Huanyun sneered. "I wrote you so many letters before. Why didn't you reply? Could it be that you didn't receive a single one? Did this stupid servant hide them all?"
The servant's eyes widened. How dare he hide such things? He didn't have the guts to hide letters from his master's woman!
Fang Junhua clearly knew what was going on. He had received the letters but was just too lazy to read them. It was all about her urging him to come and propose marriage, but those were just empty words to amuse her. He didn't really want to marry her.
He originally wanted to avoid her, but now that he was caught, there was no way out. So he forced a smile and quickly coaxed her. "Good girl, this isn't the right place to talk. How about we go somewhere quieter and have a good chat?"
Chen Huanyun also seemed to be a bit concerned. Although this place was deserted, there were still people coming from time to time. She looked around, then let go of his sleeve and straightened her clothes. She snorted. "Let's go!"
Fang Junhua knew he couldn't escape today. He followed her with a bitter face, thinking about how to wriggle out of this situation.
This wasn't the first time something like this had happened, but in the past, he had only toyed with commoner girls. No matter how much they made a fuss, in the end, they would be carried into his courtyard in a small sedan chair and become his concubines obediently.
But now Chen Huanyun lived in the Marquis of Wu'an's mansion. The Marquis's mansion was at the height of its power. Although he was arrogant, he wasn't a complete fool. He didn't want to offend the Marquis's mansion for no reason.
He had to find a way to deal with Chen Huanyun.
He definitely didn't want to really marry such a flighty woman.
Inside the main hall.
After getting the interpretation of the fortune stick, Mrs. Fang turned around and saw that her son was gone. She was immediately furious. "This good - for - nothing! As soon as I took my eyes off him, he sneaked away. I bet he's off somewhere fooling around again!"
The maid beside her comforted her. "This is a pure land of Buddhism. There's no place for fun. I'm sure he just went outside to enjoy the scenery because he was bored in the hall."
"Fine, fine," Mrs. Fang said angrily. "I might as well have given birth to a wooden club instead of him. Let's not talk about him."
Then she turned to the young novice monk waiting beside her and showed a gentle smile. "Little master, is the Great Master Mingjing in the temple today?"
The young novice monk shook his head. "I don't know."
The Great Master Mingjing was unpredictable. If one wanted to see him in the Buddhist temple, one had to look for him oneself. Even the monks in the temple couldn't give an exact location.
Mrs. Fang showed a disappointed look. Just then, a person suddenly stood beside her. She heard the person say, "The Great Master Mingjing? I seem to have seen him on the Lotus Platform just now."
"The Lotus Platform?" Mrs. Fang's eyes lit up. She turned around and was about to ask further, but when she saw that the person in front of her was Fu Zhen, the girl she had looked down on that day, she was suddenly speechless. The words in her mouth were stuck, and she felt extremely uncomfortable.
Her expression changed several times, and finally she showed a smile. "Is what you said just now true?"
Fu Zhen smiled gently. "I wouldn't dare to deceive you, madam. Although I've never seen the Great Master Mingjing before, the person I saw just now had an otherworldly air. He walked as if he was stepping on lotus flowers with every step. I think in this temple, the only one with such elegance must be the Great Master Mingjing."
Mrs. Fang believed her a bit more and was also a bit satisfied.
Although this girl came from a humble background, perhaps because she had lived in the Marquis's mansion for a long time and been influenced by wealth, her vision was quite extraordinary.
She had seen the Great Master Mingjing before and naturally knew that he had more of a sense of Zen than all the other monks in the temple.
Now that she knew his whereabouts, she didn't want to continue chatting. After a few perfunctory words, she said her goodbyes.
Fu Zhen watched her back and smiled faintly.
On the Lotus Platform.
Chen Huanyun glared at Fang Junhua in front of her. "You didn't say this when you were courting me before! You said you liked me. Were you just lying to me?"
As she said this, her eyes turned red, and tears welled up.
Fang Junhua looked embarrassed but was afraid that she would make a big scene. So he patiently coaxed her. "Of course I like you. But you know my mother's temper. She's the most domineering person. Even my father has to avoid her sharpness. If I don't get her approval, how can I marry you?"
"But it's been a month already. Can't you convince her yet?" Chen Huanyun looked at him with tear - filled eyes. "Erlang, you won't lie to me, right?"
"Of course not!" Fang Junhua lied through his teeth. He grabbed her hand and coaxed her tenderly. "Give me a little more time. I will definitely come and marry you. Trust me!"
"When?" Chen Huanyun wasn't fooled by his words. She looked him straight in the eye. "You have to give me a definite date. When exactly?"
Fang Junhua was silent. He hadn't even mentioned this to his mother. If he did, he could almost imagine how furious she would be. "Huanyun, baby, if you really like me, give me more time. Let me clear the obstacles for you so that you can marry into the Fang family in style in the future!"
The corners of Chen Huanyun's mouth gradually straightened. She could tell that Fang Junhua was just trying to placate her!
"No, you must give me a definite answer today!"
As they were arguing, neither of them noticed that around the corner behind them, Mrs. Fang and the maid were slowly approaching.
"Listen, it sounds like someone is talking?" Mrs. Fang stopped in her tracks. The voices reached her ears, and almost instantly, she recognized her son's voice!
Her eyes sharpened. She quickened her steps, rounded the corner, and the sight of the two arguing suddenly came into view.
Before she could storm over in anger, she suddenly heard Chen Huanyun scream, "I'm pregnant!"
Her eyes widened in shock.