"Dad!"
"Hey!"
"Dad!"
"Hey!"
...
Like two fools, one calling and the other answering, the father - son duo made their way to the academy.
Yi Qing donated a huge sum of a hundred taels of silver as incense money. She thought she was quite generous, but the Buddhist monk in charge of registration remained calm.
Yi Qing couldn't help but think that the monks in the capital were really different. They were undisturbed by honor or disgrace and regarded money as dirt. They were more like enlightened masters.
She remembered that in the shabby temple in the suburbs, where she used to go whenever she missed her past life. Every time she donated one or two taels of silver, she would receive extremely enthusiastic hospitality. It was so annoying that she couldn't even talk to the Buddha sincerely with someone always around.
Looking at the situation now, well, this was the real master.
However, when her eyes accidentally caught a glimpse of the figures in the registration book, she found that the reality seemed a bit different from what she thought. A hundred taels of silver was really not worth getting excited about among the amounts of several hundred or even thousands of taels.
She was glad that she hadn't revealed her identity, otherwise she might have received contemptuous looks.
- The widow of Xiao Jinghan, so stingy. It was really embarrassing.
Yi Qing decided that she would never come here again.
This was a big Buddha. She couldn't afford to worship it. It would be better to invite a Bodhisattva statue home and worship it herself.
Did the people in the capital get their silver as easily as if it was blown by the wind?
Poverty really limited her imagination.
But sometimes things didn't go as she wished. The more she didn't want to expose her identity, the more likely she was to be recognized.
"Madam, what a coincidence to meet you here." Ju Shuang said excitedly.
She was carrying a basket full of incense and candles and was holding a woman's arm. Her face was flushed with excitement.
"Sister - in - law, this is the general's wife who saved Dad."
Yi Qing immediately felt self - conscious, thinking that the monks around were looking at her differently.
Contempt, it must be contempt.
The sister - in - law and younger sister bowed to her. Yi Qing said, "It was just a small effort. You're here too?"
"Yes," Ju Shuang was extremely happy to see her and became talkative. "We're here to fulfill our vow for my father. Of course, it's mainly thanks to you, Madam. Maybe it was the Buddha who sent you to us."
Well, everyone's attitude towards praying to the Buddha was surprisingly the same - pray when in trouble. If the wish came true, come to fulfill the vow. Anyway, one couldn't offend the Buddha.
Yi Qing wasn't the kind of person who enjoyed being thanked. Instead, she felt very uncomfortable, so she wanted to leave.
But Ju Shuang was so enthusiastic. She said she was very familiar with the Daxiangguo Temple and wanted to show Yi Qing around.
Unable to decline, Yi Qing had to agree.
The Daxiangguo Temple was very popular, so the surrounding area was very prosperous. In modern terms, it was just like the Nanluoguxiang in Beijing.
Yi Qing picked out a few small toys for Baozi. Then she was attracted by a stall selling peach - wood hairpins. She thought that since Xiao Tian had already proposed, maybe she should prepare a special and meaningful gift.
Maybe a pair of peach - wood hairpins would be a good choice.
Ju Shuang's sister - in - law went home first, and Ju Shuang went to queue up to buy what she thought was the most delicious deep - fried yuanxiao for Yi Qing, so she wasn't by Yi Qing's side.
"Madam, look at the workmanship. They're all the best," the old woman selling the hairpins said as she promoted her goods hard, with a beaming face. "They're cheap and nice. You can pick whatever you like. Buy more and I'll give you a discount."
"Then I'll take two. I'll pick them."
"Take your time, take your time."
When Yi Qing was concentrating on her selection, someone suddenly grabbed her arm forcefully, making her frown involuntarily.
Before she could turn to see who it was, she was slapped hard across the face, which left her dazed.
If she hadn't been held by someone, she might have fallen to the ground.
Could she just take this humiliation?
Absolutely not.
Without thinking, almost instinctively, Yi Qing stabbed the man in front of her hard in the chest with a hairpin.
The man who grabbed her had a bushy beard, was tall, and smelled sour. He seemed not to have taken a bath for a long time, which was disgusting.
Yi Qing was sure that she didn't know this man. But why did he grab her?
The man didn't expect her to fight back. By the time he reacted, he could only move aside a bit to avoid the vital part. The peach - wood hairpin had already stabbed deeply into his shoulder.
"How dare you, you bitch!" the man cursed angrily. "You left me and the kids to elope with someone else, and now you even try to murder your husband!"
"You're talking nonsense. I don't know you!" Yi Qing immediately realized that she might have encountered a kidnapper. She cursed silently in her heart. What a blind choice to pick a woman like her!
"Come with me!" the man scolded as he roughly dragged Yi Qing back. "You dared to run away with that bastard. I'll break your legs!"
He was so rough and scolding so forcefully without any sign of guilt that the onlookers just pointed and watched the show. No one stepped forward to help Yi Qing.
After a brief moment of panic, Yi Qing forced herself to calm down.
Fighting head - on was not a good idea when she was at an absolute physical disadvantage.
Suddenly, she had an idea. After being dragged a short distance by the man, she aimed at a fruit stall and kicked the basket of pears with all her might. The pears rolled everywhere...
The stall owner naturally wouldn't let it go. He came up and grabbed the man who intended to kidnap Yi Qing to argue and demanded compensation.
Taking advantage of the man's annoyance, Yi Qing broke free from his grasp and overturned several stalls in succession!
She couldn't outrun the man, so she would make sure he couldn't get away either!
Yi Qing's plan worked. The man was soon surrounded by the vendors.
Ju Shuang came back and was shocked by the chaotic scene. Seeing that Yi Qing had been beaten, she threw away the pumpkin cakes and rushed over...
The commotion finally attracted the yamen runners. Yi Qing was out of danger, but she still had a swollen face as she went to the yamen to identify the man.
Ju Shuang was very scared, but she stayed with Yi Qing all the time.
In the court, Yi Qing was calm and straightforward as she told the whole story.
The magistrate of the capital was extremely headache. In broad daylight, under his jurisdiction, someone almost kidnapped the widow of the late general.
If this really happened, he might as well not be the magistrate anymore. The emperor would directly exile him to the countryside to farm.
In order to atone for his sins and solve the case as soon as possible, the magistrate was very strict with the man and ordered torture immediately.
Although the man was extremely fierce towards Yi Qing, he was so scared in the court that he almost wet his pants. Before the twenty - board punishment was even finished, he cried out for mercy, "Your Honor, I just took ten taels of silver from someone to take this woman to the mountain. I did slap her, but she made me bleed too! Now that nothing bad has happened, please let me go."
The magistrate slapped the gavel hard and said, "You wish! Quickly confess who your accomplices are and where you were supposed to meet them!"
Yi Qing said coolly, "Your Honor, it's been so long. His accomplices must have fled by now. Judging from his appearance, he doesn't seem to know much..."