Chapter 499 Eight Pairs of Silver Bracelets
Though having been in the Yuhui Nunnery for a long time, Shao Wanru had never met this Pushan Nun. On the one hand, the nun basically didn’t deal with this kind of thing. She only focused on Buddhism and seldom went out in her daily life. On the other hand, Shao Wanru did not go out either, and she almost stayed in the back of the Yuhui Nunnery.
Most pilgrims were also forbidden in that place.
Since Pushan Nun had accepted the mission this time, she would definitely be there, because today was the first day to lay Buddha’s offerings.
When Shao Wanru arrived at the Buddha Hall, the servant girls and old maids of Duke Xing’s Mansion were busy with their work. There were seven or eight people. They were all stunned when they saw Shao Wanru. After Yujie said that this was the Fifth Miss, they all stepped back politely.
Fifth Miss had no parents in the mansion, and she was not favored by Old Madam. However, Fifth Miss had a noble grandmother, who would not stand by to watch Fifth Miss being bullied. If she made trouble, Old Madam would not be able to stand it!
Shao Wanru entered the hall with Yujie and saw Pushan Nun in the main hall.
Pushan Nun seems to be in her mid-forties. She was very beautiful and had the same kind of elegance as Shao Wanru. Even though she dressed in plain clothes, she also had a kind of softness that was condensed over the years, which made people feel relaxed.
Her beautiful hair had long been shaved clean. Even so, the impression she left on Shao Wanru was different from those from the other Nuns. There were wrinkles at the corners of her eyes, but they can still show her beauty before. Not only was she beautiful, but if she was in the nuns’ group, she could still be seen at first glance. Even if she stood together with Mingqiu Nun, who had the outstanding looking, no one would ignore her existence.
She was a Miss from an aristocratic family. She had no choice but to enter the nunnery because of coming down in the world. However, her temperament was still very different from those of ordinary people.
Anyone who saw her would admire this Pushan Nun that she was indeed a Miss from a century-old aristocratic family.
Huiqing, standing next to Pushan Nun, had already seen Shao Wanru. She was stunned first, and then she quickly whispered something to Pushan Nun who closed her eyes meditatively.
Pushan Nun nodded slightly. She opened her eyes and looked at Shao Wanru calmly.
“I will have to trouble you this time, Master Pushan!” Shao Wanru came over and greeted her with a smile. Her eyes were bright as she saluted sideways.
Master Pushan smiled and made a bow with her hands clasped in front. “Fifth Miss Shao, you are too polite!”
Then, she closed her eyes again and lowered her head. The Buddha beads glided in her hands slowly and she continued to recite scriptures.
“Fifth Miss Shao, if you have anything to ask, you can tell me. Master usually does not react to affairs.” Huiming smiled at Shao Wanru kindly.
Huiqing lowered her head and began to recite scriptures along with Pushan Nun.
Shao Wanru asked in a low voice, “Sorry to trouble you, Pushan Nun. Will you come here every day to recite scriptures? When will you come?”
“Master will bring us here every day, but the time is not settled,” Huiming said with a smile.
“Sorry to trouble you all!” Shao Wanru said and walked to the Buddha statue in the middle. Huiming followed her with her hands folded slightly and said with a smile, “Fifth Miss Shao, if you think there is something placed in an inappropriate way, you can place it again after telling me.”
“Is there a different way of placement?” Shao Wanru looked curiously at the things placed by several servant girls and old maids.
Most of them were pastries and fruits, and some offerings were cloths, and other things were like small houses and pavilions.
They were exquisitely made and placed according to certain standards.
“Yes, it’s different. First Miss chose one at will before, but if Fifth Miss is not satisfied with it, you can choose again to put them in a different way.”
Huiming took out a book-like object from behind the Buddha statue. Opening it, one could see the different ways to place offerings. Moreover, there were also special names with blessing words, and they were all very good names.
Shao Wanru saw the topmost one. Indeed, it was the pattern that was placed right now. It was also the simplest one, so obviously Shao Yanru had pointed it casually.
What surprised Shao Wanru the most was that the paintings of the placement. They were excellent and could even be said to be perfect.
“When First Miss Shao visited Fifth Miss last time, she also visited Master by the way. At that time, she mentioned this matter, so Master asked me to show First Miss this album. First Miss didn’t look at it carefully and just pointed out the placement on the top. She also said that if Fifth Miss is not satisfied with it, you could choose another one.”
Huiming explained with a smile.
Shao Wanru flipped down a few pages. Indeed, every following piece was more exquisite than the one on the top. And the placement was more beautiful too, and it immediately outdid the one on the top.
It was clear which one was better!
Shao Wanru flipped through a few more pages, and finally chose the most outstanding one in the album. It was obviously the best placement and the name “Ten Blessings As You Wish” was also good!
Huiming had been following her all the time. When she saw that Shao Wanru turned to this page again, she knew that Shao Wanru was very satisfied with this one, and immediately said with a smile, “Fifth Miss, you have good taste. This one is indeed the best. If you choose this, I will arrange it. There are many people from your mansion, so it will be very fast to rearrange these things!”
“It is almost set. If I rearrange… I’m afraid this is not good!” Shao Wanru looked up and saw that more than half of the offerings had been placed.
“Fifth Miss, you’re too polite. It’s originally the matter of our nunnery. We have to satisfy you, Fifth Miss. I heard that this is still for your parents. If you change it, it’s also reasonable. Others will only say that you are filial and careful and you care about your parents!”
Huiming smiled and said with a kind attitude. It was just like the first time Shao Wanru had met Pushan Nun. No one could find her imperfect side.
“Forget it. It was chosen by Big Sister, and they have already been placed in this way.” Shao Wanru shook her hand and returned the album to Huiming.
“Fifth Miss, it’s really not troublesome. But if Fifth Miss insists on it, then forget it. If Fifth Miss feels that it’s not suitable in a few days, you can tell me and I’ll definitely ask someone to rearrange them.” Huiming seemed to want to persuade her again, but she changed her mind after saying a few words.
Yujie followed Shao Wanru and looked at Huiming from head to toe. This Huiming Nun was really good. She was not only cordial, but also gentle and graceful. It seemed that whatever Shao Wanru asked her to do or wanted to do, she would do as Shao Wanru asked, and she was not reluctant at all.
She was more sophisticated than Puyu Nun, who was a nun familiar with pilgrims. Of course, the reception nuns in Jingxin Monastery couldn’t even be compared with her!
“Thank you, Huiming Nun!” Shao Wanru nodded with a smile.
“If Fifth Miss is all right, I’ll go and accompany Master to recite scriptures!” Huiming put the album again behind the Buddha statue and said with a smile.
“Help yourself, Nun!” Shao Wanru nodded.
Huiming went back to Pushan Nun and closed her eyes. She followed Pushan Nun to recite scriptures again, with a peaceful look on her face.
But Huiqing, who had sat down earlier, seemed to be a little uneasy. She slightly twisted her body and opened her eyes to look at the Buddha beads in her hand. After turning a few beads, she closed her eyes again.
Shao Wanru turned around in the main hall and then went to the side hall.
The arrangement in the side hall was very similar to that in the religious rite in Prime Minister Zhang’s Chambers. The side hall was for the owner’s family to rest in, and the tables and chairs were placed in a very standard manner. The other side was a vacant place. If the owner needed some sundries, he could put it in this side hall.
Most of the offerings for Buddha brought by Duke Xing’s Mansion were placed here.
There were a lot of things brought here, and they had not completely been put in order. Some servant girls cleaned them up, and some old maids carefully took them to the main hall.
They were in a rush and a muddle!
When the servant girls and old maids saw Shao Wanru coming over, they all put down the things in their hands and saluted.
Shao Wanru waved them off, giving a sign to be free. Then, she walked over and looked at the offerings casually.
There were so many offerings. Those having not been sorted out were piled up in disorder. Shao Wanru’s eyes suddenly fell on several pairs of bracelets. They were silver bracelets.
There were exquisite designs with the same thickness. Upon closer inspection, one could see that the designs were the same and there were eight pairs in total.
The silver bracelets looked a little fat, but they didn’t have big circles. It seemed to be for children, and looked a bit old.
Seeing Shao Wanru notice these eight bracelets, Yujie pulled the old maid who had reported to Shao Wanru and asked her, “What’s this?”
“These bracelets are worn by the Misses and Childes in their childhood. Old Madam also thinks that they should also be the offerings!” The old maid turned her head to look at them and answered with a smile.
“Won’t they be brought back in the future?” Shao Wanru looked at the exquisite and beautiful paper-made pavilion in front of her and asked curiously.
These paper-made pavilions and stuff were going to be burned.
“Of course not. It’s just good words for a blessing purpose. On the other hand, it’s also to bless the Misses and Childes’ safety and gentleness.” The old maid explained with a smile.
She reached out and picked up a pair of small silver bracelets and said, “This pair is First Miss’s, so it is placed in the first place. You see, there is a small print on it, and it’s First Miss’s name!”
Yujie took it and handed it to Shao Wanru. She indeed saw a small “Ru” character on the side of the bracelet, so this was worn by Shao Yanru in her childhood.
Shao Wanru put down the bracelets and picked up another pair with great interest. “Is this my bracelets? But I have never worn them before. Do I also have them?”
The old maid looked at the pair of bracelets in Shao Wanru’s hands and said in a hurry, “Fifth Miss’s bracelets do exist. When Master Hao was born, Old Madam remade everything. This pair of bracelets were prepared by Old Madam early. Now it happens to belong to Fifth Miss.”
They quite matched the longevity lock before. They had been prepared for her early, but one had been sent to her and the other was still in Old Madam’s hands.
She reached out and took Shao Yanru’s bracelet and put it together with the one which could be viewed as hers. They were exactly the same, because they were made of the same mold. Both the patterns and the style showed no partiality. She could also see that the “Ru” character in her name was newly carved.
Shao Wanru looked through it carefully for a while, and the smile on the old maid’s face almost turned dry after such a long time. Shao Wanru put down the bracelets in her hand and glanced at the old maid. She didn’t know whether it was because the old maid was tired after working in the morning. After all, the old maid sweated on her forehead for this short while…