18 Ch. 18: Reading

It was easy to adjust to life at the temple, for both Meifeng and Lin Xiao. The conditions are not good, but Lin Xiao was accustomed to living in poor conditions after both herself and her mother became destitute and moved to the rural village. And for Meifeng, she did not seem to pay any mind to her surroundings as she ate anything and slept anywhere with the same relish as if it were the emperor's own chambers.

However, a certain complication quickly arose within their first few days. Lin Xiao had been digging through the abandoned chests of sutras and books within the storage room the two had been gruffly instructed to clean at dawn when she had unearthed what she deemed treasures.

"Bene-Young Miss! Look what I found," Lin Xiao had exclaimed with youthful excitement.

In her hand, she clutched a slightly tattered paper book, the front page almost completely torn off. Meifeng had been sweeping the leaves that had blown in and found herself fascinated by what Lin Xiao held. Books. She knew what those were. Did she remember from her forgotten past or...

The possibilities were rather exciting for Meifeng, who showed the first hint of excitement as she dropped the straw broom and approached Lin Xiao with rapid steps. The paper was cool and dry, the bindings still neatly holding the decaying pages together. Clutching the book within her hands, an even stronger feeling that this was something she knew ran through Meifeng.

"Exciting, right? My brother taught me how to read years ago when he visited but I don't have the chance to practice much. If you can read, you can do anything! At least, that is what my big brother always told me," Lin Xiao sighed wistfully, her mind caught up in the past.

Offhandedly, Meifeng hoped that her subordinate would forget her brother soon. She wished for Lin Xiao to devote herself entirely to the present and subsequently, herself. Otherwise, what was the use for her?

"Your brother taught you?" Meifeng asked, flicking up her eyes to Lin Xiao. The girl nodded energetically and pointed to the words on the cover of the one she held.

"The Analects of Confucius." She tapped the one in Meifeng's hand. "Records of the Grand Historian."

Meifeng looked at the undecipherable symbols before her and irritatedly called out for System mentally.

"System. I... cannot read this," she admitted, a faint frustration obvious in her voice. There was also a hint of vulnerability, although System was rather dull and did no sense it. Meifeng did not know why she thought she would be able to read, but not being able to rankled her as if she had once had something and lost it.

System, who had spent several days being ignored by its Master, felt grumpy at her sudden communication.

"Of course you can't, how could you be able to read ancient Chinese at the drop of a hat? You'd need to earn points and buy that language perk from me, but because this is a punishment system you can't buy anything from me," System sounded a little smug as it said its last words.

"System, you aren't speaking to me this way, are you?" Meifeng asked sweetly, sending a chill down System's invisible spine. If it could've it would've immediately dropped down in its knees and kowtowed to Meifeng. How could it so quickly forget the wolf that lived under her pretty skin?

"Master, there was a glitch in my system, which is why I suddenly spoke with such disrespect. Please forgive me," System wailed in panic. Meifeng regarded the blue screen with an unreadable expression then turned to Lin Xiao.

"What good are these books?" she asked curiously.

Lin Xiao smiled expectantly. "Well, the Analects are the basic tenets that all citizens live by, from the emperor to the poorest beggar. And these records record the history of the empire."

Meifeng was pleased with this new discovery, although her face still hovered between her typical mask of indifference and mirth. To get a glimpse into the mindset and history of the empire she was meant to bring to ruin, it was as good as completing half of her task already.

"Put down your broom, Lin Xiao," Meifeng ordered.

"Huh?" Lin Xiao asked, a confused expression crossing her face.

"You have worked hard. Go get some rest," Meifeng told her subordinate goodnaturedly. She took the initiative of taking the rudimentary broom from Lin Xiao's hands and gestured for her to take a seat.

"Wait, I'm really fine! Benefactor, I can help sweep," Lin Xiao exclaimed, looking guilty at the thought of taking a seat when all she had done was dig around the chests of books since they'd arrived.

"It's no matter," Meifeng insisted. "You promised you would do anything for me. Are you going against your promise?"

"No, but..."

"In that case, take a seat. If you really don't want to be idle," Meifeng replied, watching Lin Xiao's eyes widen with anticipation at her next words, "You can start reading out loud from these books you've found and practice your reading skills while I listen."

It was almost comical the way Lin Xiao's face fell when she heard Meifeng ask her to read and not do something more strenuous. She was nonetheless extremely dedicated in her task, reading from the pages loudly and clearly as Meifeng did all the work herself while listening. In this way, Lin Xiao was extremely grateful to Meifeng for allowing her to practice her character reading while Meifeng was able to learn the contents of the book without being able to read them.

"Interesting. Very interesting," Meifeng mused as Lin Xiao read the last pages.

She had been working vigorously over the past few days, taking on the work of two with ease. She had no memory of engaging in hard labor like dusting and sweeping, but it was simple work. As a means to an end, Meifeng was willing to do anything.

"I did not know our country's history was so extensive," Lin Xiao had a hint of respect in her eyes as well.

"So the current emperor is rather young?" Meifeng asked, matching up the timeline from the book to the current year.

Lin Xiao nodded vigorously, her gray cap nearly falling off her head. "Yes. I was a young girl when the bells rang to signal the past emperor's death. It is the 7th year of the Tianlong emperor."

"And the current emperor's children, how many are there?" Meifeng asked.

Lin Xiao giggled and came close to whisper in Meifeng's ear, "Benefactor, you must really be from afar if you don't know. Who doesn't know that the emperor has one young son and a fool at that? Some people whisper that it is an ill omen, but this empire has been very peaceful. Even my father when he was still alive bore no memory of a war or battle."

Something occurred to Lin Xiao and she leaned in again urgently, "But don't go around repeating what I've said, alright? It is a crime worthy of losing your head if you slander the imperial family. Why are you so curious though?"

Meifeng put down her broom, finding herself in a rare good mood. She hadn't felt this cheerful since she'd killed the two poachers in the woods a few weeks prior. System saw its Master's eerily happy expression and felt faint as it recalled the last time it had seen her with that frighteningly beautiful face smile warmly.

"I've already told you I don't intend to stay here forever. When I have finished my business at Yonghe Temple we will leave this place immediately," Meifeng promised. Religion and its hypocritical sycophants brought discomfort to her chest whenever she thought about them.

"Leave? For the capital? That is too dangerous!" Lin Xiao exclaimed, launching into a speech about the various cities they would have to pass through, how difficult it would be to make it without any personal identification and so on. Meifeng waited patiently for her to finish before dropping a tantalizing offer she knew Lin Xiao couldn't refuse.

"But isn't your brother currently studying in the capital? I was under the impression that you would want to reunite with him. In that case, never mind, we can remain here indefinitely," Meifeng said flippantly, picking up her broom once more.

Lin Xiao reacted as if she had been struck with lightning, hopping up and running in circles around Meifeng.

"My brother, you remembered? Benefactor, you are the best! I will accompany you anywhere. I don't doubt that between the two of us we won't be able to find a way into the cities the same way we made our way to this temple," Lin Xiao sang, tugging at Meifeng's arm playfully.

System remarked, "Master, I was wrong about you. You are actually a warm-hearted person underneath your cold outer layer?"

System actually spoke to Meifeng quite often, but she largely ignored the useless words that came streaming from it. But perhaps due to the good news, Meifeng cast a bemused glance at the hovering blue screen. "Do you expect me to overturn an empire from a temple or the capital?" she asked playfully.

"Made your way into this temple, eh? Don't think no one is aware of the deceit you used to make yourself at home," a voice laden with venom said from behind them.

The two girls turned around to see the sour-faced nun, Nun Ling, standing behind them with her arms crossed aggressively over her chest. Happy she had their attention, she marched forward, disassembling the neat pile of leaves and debris Meifeng had put in the center of the empty courtyard. Lin Xiao sucked in an angry breath and moved forward to confront her, but Meifeng dragged her arm back. Such small and petty actions amused her rather than irritated her.

"Does Buddha not advocate for you to open your arms to all people, rich or poor? This kind of shrewish and dishonest nun, you will have to cultivate until your hairs are white to become a good person!" Lin Xiao sharply retorted, showing off her tongue once more. Meifeng stayed quiet behind her and put on the air of an aggrieved young miss, secretly enjoying her subordinate's banter.

"You-You dishonest wench!" Nun Ling said, flying off the handle immediately. Everything about the fake young miss and her mouthy servant set her off, especially when she saw the pitiful expression that immediately fell on the young miss's face.

"Just you wait. I will expose both of you for the liars you are and have you chased out lest you ruin our temple's good name."

Lin Xiao yawned loudly and dramatically before Nun Ling had even finished. "Very well, I look forward to the day you chase us off. Until then, please tell us the purpose of your presence."

Nun Ling felt like choking on blood, before wallowing down a choppy breath of rage.

"You didn't think that your work would be limited to simply sweeping and dusting the rooms? You're not real nuns, not until you shave your heads. There are some recently vacated courtyards on the western side of the temple, you both need to clean them promptly as we are expecting noble guests to the temple soon. There won't be a single bite for you to eat until I approve of the work you've done," Nun Ling announced haughtily.

Meifeng's eyes perked up in curiosity at the mention of new guests. They had been forced to clean areas where there was little to no foot traffic and she looked forward to seeing how actual noblewomen actually moved and spoke.

"Who? Who is coming?" she asked with the same quiet energy she was projecting. Nun Ling had already been on her way out but cast one last scowl over her shoulder.

"Hmph! Someone you two shouldn't even dream of touching, let alone laying eyes on. The Wen family," Nun Ling shot back.