Chapter 233: Killing The Goose For The Egg
“???”
Chen Shun’an was stunned upon hearing this.
Good tea flavor!
Qingchen was resenting that after he returned home, he first bathed, then was intimate with Wan Niang, and only thought of her in the latter half of the night before coming to find her?
When there’s something, it’s Zhong Wuyan; when there’s nothing, it’s Xia Yingchun.
Heh, men!
Chen Shun’an looked at Qingchen with great interest, his face unflushed and breathing steady as he said,
“Naturally, it was specially delivered just for you, Qingchen.”
Qingchen walked closer, her collar tightly pressed against her chest. Even though she was wearing a thick overcoat, it could hardly conceal her graceful figure.
Qingchen fixed her gaze on the pastries in the plate and couldn’t help but let out a cold laugh,
“So it’s hawthorn pastries… I saw Mother Liu baking them fresh during the day. At this hour, oh, right, whatever scraps others didn’t pick or eat would hardly come to me.”
After that, Qingchen said things like “If Noble Consort Chen despises Qingchen, why bother with this false pretense of asking after her? It would be better to let Qingchen keep constant company with the green lamp, solitary and bitter for life, so as not to offend Noble Consort Chen’s eyes…”
Listening to these sour sarcastic words, Chen Shun’an suddenly understood something and said earnestly,
“Qingchen, are you in male form now, female form, or formless form?”
Qingchen only revealed a pair of smoky brows that seemed furrowed yet not, sat down opposite Chen Shun’an, and looked at him as she said,
“Female form.”
So it was actively entering the world, cultivating Zen mind, observing oneself as female form…
Chen Shun’an immediately felt relieved.
No wonder she was so tea-like.
It must have been from the first time discussing the Dao, when the red pill was plucked, and her state of mind was broken by Chen Shun’an.
The little nun was in the prime of youth and had gained quite a few worries.
So she actively sought change, transforming her body into ‘Bodhi’, intending to let flowers adorn her form.
First enter the world, then leave it.
Qingchen could also be considered an immortal seed.
That is, possessing a spiritual root for cultivating immortality. No need for martial arts practice; as long as guided by immortals or passing exams to enter the Daoist Academy, one could step onto the immortal path.
And it seemed immortal seeds all had various traits that they themselves were completely unaware of, yet were vastly different from ordinary people.
Scholar Ma’s were his otherworldly wisdom and unparalleled comprehension.
As for Qingchen, she seemed to possess some special physique, extremely fated with Esoteric Buddhism of the Buddhist Sect.
That Mercurial Dragon Lead Tiger Red Pill Method, other little nuns could hardly learn it, or even understand it upon reading.
However, Chen Shun’an couldn’t say whether this fate was a blessing or a curse for Qingchen.
Moreover…
Fortunately, Qingchen hadn’t actively entered ‘male form’; otherwise, Chen Shun’an would have a headache.
Discussing the Dao with Qingchen and cultivating the Mercurial Dragon Lead Tiger Red Pill Method could temporarily suppress yin dregs and corpse qi.
Chen Shun’an naturally didn’t want to give that up.
But to discuss the Dao with Qingchen in ‘male form’…
That would truly be absurd.
“Fine, since you don’t want me to stay…”
Chen Shun’an shook his head regretfully, took out a volume of Great Prajna Sutra from his sleeve, and said,
“This sutra was obtained by me through asking an old friend to search everywhere. It speaks of seeking the supreme equal Bodhi, comprehending the Four Noble Truths of suffering, origination, cessation, and path… I’ll be off then.”
Chen Shun’an left the Great Prajna Sutra on the table, turned around without hesitation, and left.
Upon seeing the Great Prajna Sutra, Qingchen was overjoyed, and seeing Chen Shun’an like this, she couldn’t help but subconsciously call out,
“Wait!”
As soon as the words left her mouth, Qingchen regretted it somewhat.
Just now when Noble Consort Chen arrived, she was cold and sarcastic; now that Noble Consort Chen had produced the Great Prajna Sutra, she called out to keep him.
It might seem like seeing profit and forgetting righteousness, extremely undignified.
But if she really let Chen Shun’an, who had put in so much effort, leave like this, wouldn’t it make her seem heartless?
But if Noble Consort Chen really stayed, how would she face him?
But if he truly left, she would probably toss and turn tonight, replaying every scene that just happened over and over.
Qingchen’s heart was extremely conflicted now.
Clearly, she had fallen deeply into ‘female form’.
Fortunately, Chen Shun’an seemed deaf to it, didn’t hear her plea to stay, pushed open the door and went out, leaving only his back.
Seeing this, Qingchen instead regretted again, resenting herself for being so difficult with Noble Consort Chen just now.
Suddenly, Chen Shun’an turned around and returned to the room.
Qingchen’s eyes brightened slightly.
“Forgot something.”
Chen Shun’an picked up the ‘accidentally’ left peach wood bead from the corner of the table, passed in front of Qingchen, and in the blink of an eye, left the small courtyard.
Faintly, Chen Shun’an could still hear from behind him a mix of coquettish blame and anger, an indistinct grinding of teeth.
Little vixen, still wants to play with Master Chen?
A bit too green.
A smile appeared on Chen Shun’an’s face, and he suddenly felt a bit like his younger self.
This was the spice of life.
Fun~
……
Crouching Tiger Well.
Straw curtains to block wind and snow were hung around the well shed, swaying slightly in the cold wind.
There seemed to be no business at the well today.
A group of water carriers endured the cold, huddled outside the well shed. Not delivering water, they chatted idly, with many gazes occasionally glancing inside the well shed, from where quarreling voices could sometimes be heard.
Inside the well shed.
The shopkeepers under Zhao Guangxi were almost all gathered, even Lin Shou Zhuo had come, brows tightly furrowed, smoking dry tobacco, one leg crossed as he sat in a chair.
The account books on the table were somewhat messy. Shopkeeper Li’s face was stern, and the atmosphere in the entire well shed was oppressive.
Shopkeeper Li said gravely: “This is Leader Zhao’s order. It’s not just us; the other water stations, those eight landlords’ water wells, will all dig deeper, forcing out more Five Wheels Eight Treasures Immortal Water!”
“But we can’t smash the brothers’ rice bowls, pushing them to desperation!”
At the lower end, a man with a gloomy expression and three strands of mustache said coldly,
“Now that it’s cold, the common people’s water consumption has already shrunk; they won’t buy if they can avoid it. Now we have to kill the goose that lays the golden eggs, forcing out more immortal water… Over these years, this kind of well-digging order has only come twice, each time nearly drying up the well water, taking several months to barely recover!”
This man was Zhang Jinghe, also an old shopkeeper, whose seniority was no less than Shopkeeper Li’s.
Zhang Jinghe said: “If we really dig wells, what will the brothers below eat or use? Winter has just started; do they even want people to live?! In my view, Landlord Zhao has become the wellhead, high and mighty, too distant from the brothers, and doesn’t truly treat us as brothers…”
Lin Shou Zhuo, upon hearing this, glared with both eyes, eyes flashing coldly, and cursed,
“What nonsense!”
“Alright, alright… Hey, Brother Xun, what do you think?”
Shopkeeper Li immediately stepped in to smooth things over, looking toward another shopkeeper.
Xun Ye was originally He Qiang’s shopkeeper and also managed a fresh water well.
Originally, among the shopkeepers, Xun Ye was the most favored, considered the reddest of the red under Zhao Guangxi.
Unfortunately, with the sudden rise of Grit Well, first Lin Shou Zhuo and then Chen Shun’an emerged. Moreover, He Qiang not only failed his breakthrough but had now mysteriously disappeared, life and death unknown.
Xun Ye immediately lost interest, the whole person sinking into dejection.
Xun Ye, upon hearing this, was silent for a moment before saying,
“Perhaps Leader Zhao is also helpless, with his own difficulties.”
