17 Ch. 17: Morning

Neither quickly nor slowly, the sun finally rose.

Wan Xiaomei woke up due to the chill filling the room. The paper windows were thin and there was a hole poked in one of them, bringing in a faint fragrance of bamboo and ice. The thin rough blankets little to warm her and there were no braziers in the room. The girl struggled into an upright position on the bed, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes before getting startled.

Her benefactor was seated on a short stool staring right at her unabashedly. In the gray morning light, Wan Xiaomei could see Meifeng clearly and had her breath taken away once more. She had never seen such a small, palm-sized face, with crystalline eyes that seemed to pierce one's flesh.

"Benefactor," Wan Xiaomei muttered in a spoiled manner. "How was my performance last night?"

She was like a small lapdog, her tail wagging back and forth as she eagerly awaited praise.

"Not bad," Meifeng replied. Last night's makeup and seductive appearance were wiped away, but it seemed to a part of her presence, the magnetic aura the young girl radiated.

"Put this on," Meifeng ordered in her usual soft lilting voice, one that Wan Xiaomei found to be as calming as a babbling brook or a gentle breeze.

Meifeng handed Wan Xiaomei a nun's habit, the dull gray color reflected in the stone walls and plain decorations. Wan Xiaomei left on the underclothes she had taken from the brothel, as it was cold enough for her fingers to go numb and for her broken hand to ache in the chill. They both placed the simple cap upon their head and twisted their long locks into a long bun so a majority of the length went down their backs before the ends were placed in a bun. It was the appropriate look for nuns who were still in the midst of deciding if they wanted to pursue Buddha's calling and shave their heads.

"Do you need me to help you redo the bandages?" Meifeng asked softly, pointing at the mussed and dirty bandages that encircled Wan Xiaomei's right hand.

"No, no benefactor. I'm alright," Wan Xiaomei hastily answered, slightly stumbling over her words.

But Meifeng had already picked up the hand and using a strip of fabric from the discarded brothel clothing, began to rewrap the appendage gently. Wan Xiaomei didn't feel so much as a twinge the entirety of the time, Meifeng's warm hands warming up her cold ones.

"Thank you, benefactor," Wan Xiaomei said shyly, touched by her kindness.

System could only gawk in disbelief. Meifeng was the reason the hand was broken in the first place, didn't Wan Xiaomei realize that?

"Not benefactor. Call me young miss, remember?" Meifeng softly reminded.

Wan Xiaomei shook her head vigorously. "Yes, I remember!"

But Meifeng hadn't quite finished, regarding Wan Xiaomei with an unreadable stare. The girl couldn't help but fidget under its weight.

"And for you... what new name would you like?" Meifeng asked. "It is wiser to go by a name that isn't your own."

"Um... about that..." Wan Xiaomei stammered, scratching her head. She had never given much thought to any name she would like. "Erm, my brother used to call me Xiao Xiao whenever he wanted to make me mad about how much shorter I was than him."

It could be seen that this memory was dear to Wan Xiaomei as her eyes filled with stars for a moment before they were doused by reality. Meifeng noted the great affection her subordinate had for her brother but said nothing about it.

"In that case, let's call you Lin Xiao," Meifeng settled.

"Lin Xiao accepts her new name!" the newly renamed Lin Xiao replied cheerfully with a funny little bow.

The two girls had scarcely finished drinking the cold water in a wooden kettle and planning where to find food when there was a knock on the door. Opening it revealed the same sour-faced nun who had been set on ousting them from the temple grounds before Pushan Nun arrived. She slowly looked over them in their new nun outfits and her upper lip twitched in disgust. She had not forgotten the acting she had been subjected to by the two prostitutes.

A cold stare was leveled at the pair. "The senior nun wishes to meet with you."

Lan Xiao did not like this nun either, as her attitude reminded her of the fishermen's wives who argued like shrews all day long. Nevertheless, she couldn't help but ask, "Is it Pushan Nun?"

At the mention of the serene nun with impeccable bearing, the sour-faced nun's aura blackened further.

"Her? You are not worthy of mentioning her name, let alone meeting our most esteemed nun. There are other senior nuns at Yonghe Temple," the sour-faced nun snorted. She turned foot and started walking quickly without making sure the two girls she was escorting were following her.

The two had arrived to the temple in the dead of night, so this was the first time they could see the temple in daylight. Lan Xiao was awed by Yonghe Temple, slightly gaping her mouth until Meifeng threw her a side glance. She remembered that she had to play the role of an attending maid of a girl from a decent family, thus she would not be so impressed by her surroundings. But it was evident that Yonghe Temple had wealthy donors to match its famous status west of the capital.

It was indeed a calming location that one could successfully cultivate themselves within. The grounds were immaculate, with servants having woken at the crack of dawn to sweep snow from the paths. Bamboo was planted strategically along the path and all the stone and wood buildings were largely in mint condition except for the few hidden ones in the back where the girls were living. The occasional nun would walk by and both the sour-faced nun and she would bow slightly to one another with solemn expressions before carrying on.

Among the buildings stood a taller one in the center that had stairs leading to its entrance. As they began to ascend it, the sour-faced nun miraculously switched her expressions, immediately adopting a fawning expression.

"Nun Ling greets Senior Nun Wu," the sour-faced nun said gracefully, dropping into a slightly lower bow than she did for those who they'd seen outside. Meifeng and Lin Xiao followed her suit and bowed as well. In front of them was an older nun whose mouth was puckered as if she'd sucked on a lemon. Unlike Pushan Nun who was aging gracefully and slowly, one could say that this woman's bitter nature aged her faster as there were deep grooves carved into the sides of her mouth and between her brows. She clutched a set of prayer beads tightly in one hand as she sat imperiously in the seat of honor of the simple hall. The entire room stunk of incense, the kind only used in temples.

"You may rise," said a junior nun serving by the side of the senior nun.

Lin Xiao smirked in disgust but said nothing at the display, heeding Meifeng's warning. She had never before heard of a nun who carried herself as if she were a noble madam. At her rural home town, there were only a few shrines to animal deities and traveling monks. It seemed that the Yonghe Temple donations were a little too generous.

"Who are they?" asked Senior Nun Wu in disinterest, not even deigning to glance at Meifeng.

"These are the two... women Pushan Nun let in through the gates last night," Nun Ling answered cleverly. She had intentionally left a gap to highlight the suspiciousness of their identities, then pointed out how it was Pushan Nun who had allowed them in so the ire wasn't directed towards her.

In fact, Senior Nun Wu already knew a few of the details for herself, as ever since the first few people had risen in the temple murmurs of a screaming brothel madam and two prostitutes who may not have been prostitutes were abound that cold morning. As someone who prided herself in maintaining the dignity and superiority of Yonghe Temple, it had placed the old nun in a bad mood that day.

She looked over the beautiful face of the one who had supposedly been sold and her maid and felt as if a foul wind had blown into the temple. If she could have it her way, she would toss the pair out of the temple, but Pushan Nun had intervened and she did not wish to challenge that woman's authority yet.

Senior Nun Wu grunted in displeasure. "You don't look like you can devote your heart to Buddha," she said, her wrinkled brow pinching together even further. Since Pushan Nun had brought them in, she could not kick the two girls out. However, it was entirely different if they chose to leave of their own accord.

An oppressive aura hung over Meifeng and Lin Xiao, one that was hostile and unwelcoming. There were nuns sprinkled throughout the room doing ordinary tasks like sweeping while throwing unfriendly glances towards the isolated pair. Yonghe Temple was a money tree, one that many were lucky to tap into over the years as Senior Nun Wu proved. They did not welcome anything that would ruin their external appearance of virtuous conduct.

Meifeng wanted to laugh, a grin nearly splitting her lips as she felt the hostile gazes. But the young girl somehow managed to swallow it down, allowing a determined look to settle on her face. She dramatically dropped to her knees, the loud crack startling a wince out of onlookers although the sufferer herself did not react. Meifeng did not know much yet on how a young miss' maid was meant to behave, but she had instructed Lin Xiao to simply follow her lead so Lin Xiao too fell onto her knees.

"From this day forth, I, Meifeng, vow to cast off my family name and entirely devote myself to Yonghe Temple. My every breath and labor will be dedicated to Buddha and this temple as long as you will have me. If I lie, may I be struck by a hundred strikes of lightning," Meifeng vowed solemnly. To finish she cracked her head hard on the chilly wooden floor in a few kowtows.

Did she mean a word of it? Somewhat. But she had no intention of remaining at the temple for long.

Everyone in the room who were muttering viciously about the girl whose reputation was ruined were shocked into silence. It was a very serious vow and vows were spoken with caution as the Xia Empire was founded on values of honesty and brotherhood.

Senior Nun Wu had seen many things in her journey to seniorhood so she snapped out of her shock the fastest.

"Enough, enough. There is no need for such serious vows in our holy establishment. As long as you are willing to work hard, there will be room for you here," she said hastily, gesturing for the junior nun by her side to help Meifeng rise.

The junior nun had an unnecessarily tight grip as she helped Meifeng to a standing position. Meifeng smiled brightly at her in response, eliciting a hard scowl.

In all honesty, it wasn't unusual for Yonghe Temple to obtain a few noblewomen every year with ruined reputations, appearances, or who simply were discarded by their families. Keeping women in an honorable location on paper, while locking them away in a serene prison for them to lose their minds for the remainder of their lives. The difference however was that normally these families paid sesame seed oil money, a small fee that ensured that the woman was taken care of and kept within Yonghe Temple. As Meifeng was supposedly an orphan and one without any money to her name, they wouldn't have been inclined to keep her free of charge if it weren't for Pushan Nun's interference.

Meifeng already knew they weren't going to kick her out and she found herself curious about Pushan Nun and her influence within Yonghe Temple that had caused the troublemaking nuns to cease their play so quickly with a simple vow. Bowing a final greeting to Senior Nun Wu and the seething Nun Ling who had hoped for more trouble to the pair, Meifeng and Lin Xiao left the building rather quickly.

"This kind of dishonest woman is the senior nun of Yonghe Temple? Pah! Preposterous!" Lin Xiao spat in disgust as soon as they were out of earshot. As she had grown up in Jiangnan when her family had a little more money to their name, she too knew of the illustrious fame that followed the temple.

"Pushan Nun's blessing managed to obtain that old couple a baby after 20 years of infertility!"

"I heard that just drinking the water from Yonghe Temple will guarantee a good marriage with a loving husband."

"Really?"

"Really!"

Words such as those were common on the streets and commoners such as herself always dreamed of going to Yonghe Temple and changing their luck. But the establishment was off-limits to ordinary people like herself who couldn't afford the entrance fee the temple had added to reap more benefits from eager visitors.

Now that Lin Xiao saw the truth, she felt foolish for all the years she had wished to have enough taels to visit Yonghe Temple and turn around her family's bad luck.

"Lin Xiao," Meifeng called softly, looking over her shoulder at her subordinate who was lost in her thoughts.

"Benefact- er, Young Miss!" Lin Xiao stammered out.

"This Pushan Nun. Find out anything you can about her."