Chapter 157: Noble

Words : 1462 Updated : Sep 19th, 2025

After soaking in the medicinal bath for so long, enhancing her health and alleviating the poison, Su Jin wanted to see the results. But after she spoke, no one responded. Su Jin glanced at the Hidden Guard and said, "Are you reluctant to hit your Young Master?" The Hidden Guard’s mouth twitched, and he said truthfully, "I am no match for the Young Master." Due to the poisoning, Xie Jingchen couldn’t practice martial arts, but to suppress the poison, his Inner Strength was very high. Now that most of the poison had been alleviated, his martial skills were above the Hidden Guard’s. If Xie Jingchen were to fight, it would definitely be the Hidden Guard who would get beaten. Doing something so self-degrading was definitely not on the agenda. Fearing that Su Jin might say he’d have to stand there and let Xie Jingchen beat him, the Hidden Guard quickly went to add more wood to the fire. The backyard was serene and beautiful. Gentle breezes blew, and the scent of medicine filled the air. ... The next day was a sunny day. When she woke up in the morning, Xie Jingchen’s figure was already gone. Su Jin sat up in bed, stretching lazily. Xingxing came over with the old almanac and said, "Miss, I checked the old almanac, and today is a good day to go out." Su Jin, "...." "You still read the old almanac?" Su Jin asked, taken aback. "It’s yours, Miss. You brought it specially from Qingyun Mountain into the Capital, but after you lost your memory, you stopped looking at it. I still flip through it every day," Xingxing said. "...." Su Jin was a bit curious, "Why did I have to look at the old almanac?" "Back at Qingyun Mountain, Madam wouldn’t let you go down the mountain, fearing the dangers below. So you would show her the old almanac. As long as it said it was a good day to go out, you could always convince Madam to let you go down," Xingxing explained. "...." Truly, she would use any means necessary to go down the mountain and play. But since it says it’s a good day to go out, why not go out and have some fun? Staying at the mansion, there wasn’t anything urgent, and she hadn’t properly taken in the ancient world’s beautiful scenery yet. After breakfast, Su Jin asked Xie Jingchen, "Where’s the liveliest place in the Capital lately?" Xie Jingchen gave her a deep look. "The Great Buddha Temple," he said. "Miss, shall we go to the Great Buddha Temple then?" Xingxing proposed. Su Jin hesitated a little. She had a psychological shadow about temples. If it hadn’t been for going to Wutai Mountain, she wouldn’t have bumped into the Bodhisattva’s foot, and she wouldn’t have time traveled. After all this time, she still hadn’t figured out why she time traveled. She remained silent for a long time until Xingxing called out, "Miss?" "Alright then, we’ll go to the Great Buddha Temple." ... After breakfast, Su Jin took Xingxing to Qihao Hall to greet the Old Madam. When she saw her yesterday, the Old Madam was lying sickly in bed, her face pale. Just one night later, the Old Madam had completely regained her color. Su Jin went forward to greet her. The Old Madam’s expression was indifferent. Su Jin immediately felt like she was getting a cold shoulder. Clearly, the Old Madam didn’t enjoy seeing her, yet she had to come daily to greet her. She really couldn’t understand why. Not staying long, Su Jin bowed slightly and left. Instead of returning to Agarwood Pavilion, Su Jin and Xingxing left the mansion directly. The carriage was waiting at the main gate, with Xie Jingchen astride a horse, looking imposing and unmatched in elegance. "You’re coming too?" Su Jin was a bit surprised. "Only then can I rest assured," Xie Jingchen replied. "...." She wasn’t a three-year-old; was it necessary to be so concerned? She forgot. What he was worried about were the other pilgrims visiting the temple to offer incense. Su Jin was annoyed. She seemed like a calamity, wherever she went, chaos followed. Xingxing helped her onto the carriage and then climbed in herself. The carriage slowly moved forward. A good half an hour later, the carriage reached the foot of the Great Buddha Temple’s mountain. Xingxing lifted the curtain and looked outside, marveling, "Madam mentioned the temple’s incense was thriving, but I didn’t expect it to be this prosperous. We truly came at the right time." There were many people at the foot of the mountain and even more on the mountain. "So many people believe in Buddhism?" Su Jin marveled. Xie Jingchen looked at her, "Half the people believe in Buddhism, the other half believe in you." Su Jin, "...." Su Jin thought she misheard, pointing to herself, "Believe in me?" Xie Jingchen said nothing. Xingxing tugged on Su Jin’s sleeve, "Miss, look, the incense the people from the Capital are offering is so thick, one stick is as big as the whole bundle you burned." Nearby, a woman walked past holding the hand of a child aged five or six. The child, looking puzzled, asked, "Mother, why buy so much incense? Isn’t three sticks enough to offer?" "Mother was once foolish and didn’t know that the more incense you burn, the better. The Eldest Young Madam of Duke Zhen’s Mansion offers a lot, and the Heavens have protected her, even wasps won’t sting her, only others," the woman said. "...." Su Jin’s mouth twitched uncontrollably. Wasps didn’t sting her because she had applied medicinal powder to keep them away, alright? She looked at Xie Jingchen. Xie Jingchen rubbed his forehead, "I have no idea how the news of you burning incense in bundles leaked out. People believe that Qingyun Mountain’s prosperity is due to Heavenly blessings, thus they imitate it. That’s why the Great Buddha Temple’s incense is thriving today; regular worshippers don’t make up even half of what’s here now." Su Jin, "...." Xingxing worriedly said, "Before, only Miss burned incense in bundles. Now everyone does. I wonder if the Heavens will still have special favor for you, Miss." Su Jin, "...." Xie Jingchen, "...." "I’ll go buy all the incense," Xingxing said, starting to run off when Su Jin stopped her. Xingxing turned back to look at her. Su Jin, feeling a headache, said, "Offering incense is about sincerity, not competition." Xingxing looked confused. Su Jin said, "There are too many people offering incense now. Let’s wander around and go in to offer incense later." Not far off was a market, selling all sorts of wares. Su Jin wandered and looked but didn’t really buy anything. The market was overcrowded, people jostling one another. After half a circuit, Su Jin lost interest. Xingxing rubbed her feet, saying, "My feet almost got trampled swollen. Miss, did you get stepped on?" "I didn’t," Su Jin replied. "Let’s go offer incense then." Xingxing nodded repeatedly. Climbing the white jade steps, they soon saw a group of worshippers being kept outside. Xingxing was curious. But she went straight up only to be stopped by a little monk. Xingxing frowned, "Why aren’t we allowed in? So many people are waiting." "There’s an important figure inside offering incense. I must trouble the female benefactor to wait," the little monk replied. "Does incense offering depend on one’s status? My Madam says in front of the Bodhisattva, all beings are equal," Xingxing said curiously. "...." "Is the Bodhisattva in the Capital different from those elsewhere?" "...." "My Miss is an important figure too. Tell me, who’s inside? If they’re not more important than my Miss, they should come out and wait," Xingxing said. "...." The little monk was dumbfounded. All beings are equal. Keeping others out because of a VIP inside did seem inappropriate. "Who is your Miss?" the little monk asked softly. "My Miss is the Eldest Young Madam of Duke Zhen’s Mansion," Xingxing said, lifting her chin. "...." "Inside, offering incense are the Old Madam of Duke Zhen’s Mansion and Princess Nanzhang," the little monk said quietly. "...." Xingxing was stunned. Her undefeated life encountered its first failure. Defeated by a little monk. Yet she also succeeded. Because the little monk made way for them. For the Great Buddha Temple, aside from the Emperor, there was no one more prestigious than the Eldest Young Madam of Duke Zhen’s Mansion. The abbot had tried every method, yet couldn’t boost the temple’s incense offerings this much. The Eldest Young Madam of Duke Zhen’s Mansion had managed it. Su Jin, with a face full of embarassment, entered the hall. At that moment, inside the hall, the Old Madam was kneeling on a prayer mat, looking gravely at the fortune stick she had just drawn: The worst fortune.

Chapter 157: Noble

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