Fortunate Life of the Rural Beauty
Chapter 354 - 353: Emergency

Chapter 354: Chapter 353: Emergency

Even receiving such a precious asset, Chen Afu couldn’t lift her spirits. If those two items couldn’t be found, then their family would be finished. They would all be gone, what use would this medicine be then? Indeed, even if the Ninth Prince’s leg was healed, the Chu family would still face disaster.

Seeing the melancholy look on Chen Afu’s face, Master Wu Zhi comforted, "Amitabha Buddha, don’t burden your mind, believe in the little one’s ability. As the Buddha said, saving one life is more significant than constructing a seven-storied stupa. If those two items are found, you will be saving more than one life. So, your future is bright. Not only will you continue to accumulate merit in this life, but it will also prepare you for the next life. It might even be the case that you could become an empress in your next life."

Chen Afu retorted scornfully, "I have no desire to be an empress."

The old monk chuckled and added, "Then you can be the first wife."

Chen Afu was taken aback and was about to ask further when she saw that the old monk had already closed his eyes and had begun to recite scriptures whilst turning Buddhist beads.

This was his way of bidding her depart.

Chen Afu had to get up and say to Master Wu Zhi, "I will take my leave. I wish you a safe journey and an early return."

As she left the side room, she put the red sandalwood box from her sleeve into the space.

Chen Dabao and Chu Hanyan had already been escorted out of their side room by the little monk Gui Er and were waiting for their mother in the main hall.

Seeing Chen Afu come out, Chu Hanyan went over and tugged at her skirt, saying, "Mother, I’m hungry. I only had two pastries earlier because I wanted to save room for the vegetarian meal."

Dabao also said, "Mom, I want to eat Lingyin Temple’s vegetarian meal."

Before coming, Dabao had heard his grandmother and some women mention more than once how delicious Lingyin Temple’s vegetarian meal was and had asked Chen Afu for it.

Before Chen Afu had entered the Zen Room, she had already asked her helpers to reserve a courtyard and order the meal.

Chen Afu nodded, leading the children out of the Zen room, she saw the "bird pot lid" still circling in the sky above the main hall.

The two children burst into laughter again.

At this point, Chen Afu no longer had the mood to enjoy the spectacle. How is she supposed to beg Jin Yanzi for such a large green bird nest and then ask it to search in the north for the three-colored ball?

Recalling how pitiful Jin Yanzi looked when she was crying, Chen Afu felt helpless.

But she had to shamelessly beg, otherwise, the entire Chu family, including the two children she was holding, would die.

A guard came over to report that Hong Fei had already reserved the courtyard and purchased the vegetarian meal.

They went to a small courtyard. Hidden amongst the green trees and red flowers were about ten courtyards, all for accommodating esteemed guests.

Once inside, the vegetarian meal was already on the table. The three of them sat down to eat. While the two children happily ate their fragrant meals, Chen Afu had no appetite.

Hong Fei, thinking that the meal didn’t suit Chen Afu’s taste, advised, "Madam, please eat for the sake of the children."

Yes, who knows how long it would take to find those two items. She couldn’t neglect her own well-being for such a long time, especially when she had to consider the child in her stomach.

Chen Afu had to force herself to eat some food.

Upon leaving the room, she pinched her left palm, calling Jin Yanzi back while also wishing for Rong Zhao to leave Lingyin Temple as quickly as possible.

A miracle occurred again. The thick "bird pot lid" in the sky gradually loosened, its area slowly extending until the birds scattered in all directions.

The crowd in the temple all pointed and shouted in surprise at the sight. Even Chen Dabao and Chu Hanyan, who had been drowsy, woke up and started pointing and jumping excitedly at the sight.

Many birds flew over to the trees in this courtyard and settled there. Seeing these members of the former "pot lid," made Hong Fei and the others burst into laughter. They quickly brought out the leftover vegetarian food from the room to appease these "valiant warriors."

Jin Yanzi also flew back. It landed on Chen Afu’s belly first, prepared to take the credit, but was caught by Dabao. He exclaimed joyously, "Did Jin Bao also go poop just now? Did you also become a ’pot lid’? You must have! You’re amazing!"

Chu Hanyan also looked at Jin Yanzi with admiration, saying, "Jin Bao is so capable, I admire you a lot."

Jin Yanzi tried aggressively to free itself from Chen Dabao’s hold, its gold hairpin from under its wing was about to be exposed.

Fearing that the others might see the gold hairpin, Chen Afu picked up Jin Yanzi and said, "Alright, it’s time to go. We still have to get to Yingxue Nunnery." The moment she covered Jin Yanzi with her sleeve, Jin Yanzi had already placed the gold hairpin back into the space.

The two children were once again sleepy and were carried by the guards and Mrs. Song.

On the way, they encountered the guards Chen Afu had left behind. He reported in a low voice, "Princess Rong Zhao has already left the temple..."

Rong Zhao was terrified, she constantly kowtowed to the Bodhisattva in the main hall, it was said that even her forehead turned blue.

The pilgrims didn’t know that Rong Zhao was a princess and they speculated that she must have offended the Bird Fairy, as evidenced by the bird feces ’punishment’.

Offending the Bird Fairy was a grave sin, it might even bring disaster upon the Dashun dynasty. Many pilgrims ran to the main hall demanding to bring out the woman who had invoked Bird Fairy’s wrath to offer her as a sacrifice.

Of course, they couldn’t enter the main hall. Guards, eunuchs, and some martial monks all blocked the entrance to the main hall.

The crowd of pilgrims was countless and arrogant, fearing that they might force their way in. The martial monks had to announce that the woman inside was a princess and hence above reproach.

A clever eunuch explained, "The princess is a phoenix, these birds are coming for her, a gathering of many birds to pay respects to a phoenix."

Hearing that the woman was a princess, the pilgrims no longer dared to force their way into the main hall, instead they shouted, "If this is a gathering of many birds paying respects to a phoenix, then shouldn’t the birds be putting on a performance instead of defecating?"

The eunuch replied, "Well, everyone has emergencies and so do birds. They were preparing to put on a show when they had an emergency."

Another pilgrim quipped, "I heard that a princess in the Imperial Palace was once hit by bird droppings, is it her?"

They couldn’t admit it.

All the eunuchs and guards were shaking their heads denying it, "No, no, it’s someone else."

No matter what, Rong Zhao is a princess, the monks of the temple couldn’t possibly not take care of her. The head monk personally came over and explained that this was a natural phenomenon, a coincidence, unrelated to the Bird Fairy...

In the same way, it occurred once in the palace in February, the Observatory officials even observed the astronomical phenomena carefully and found no abnormalities...

The pilgrims, of course, accepted the head monk’s explanation and gradually dispersed from the entrance to the main hall.

Chen Afu, after hearing this, burst into laughter again.

The guard reported lastly, "But Master Chu didn’t leave the temple, he seems to have stated that he’s going to stay in the temple for three days to pray for blessings for the princess by copying sutras and maintaining a vegetarian diet."

Rong Zhao, who kept clinging to Marquis Chu, could now give Marquis Chu a three-day break. Did she get really scared?

The crowd left Lingyin Temple, and Chen Afu rode her palanquin towards Yongxue Nunnery.

This was the most beautiful time on Honglin Mountain, with flowers blooming all over the mountain, green trees, chirping birds, cicadas, and bubbling springs forming the most pleasant symphony. Also, the higher you go, the cooler it gets, bringing considerable comfort to the people.

Chen Afu lifted the curtain on her carriage to look at the beautiful landscapes along the way and deeply sighed. The matter at hand would have to wait until Chu Lingxuan returned to consult with him.