Chapter 52: Hall of Compassion
On the northern outskirts of the capital of the Grand Xia Empire, there existed a place called the Hall of Compassion. It was dedicated to sheltering orphans. Similar places existed in several other locations. These halls, scattered around the capital, ensured that beggars wouldn’t be seen on its streets.
Those halls were maintained through regular allocations of funds. Most of it came from affluent families in the capital. Even the Fang family donated hundreds of taels of silver to such places each year.
Near the Hall of Compassion, a carriage slowly came to a halt, and Qin Dong, now in casual clothes, hurriedly got off and entered.
"Minster Qin, you've arrived. Please come inside quickly," greeted the caretaker of the hall warmly.
Qin Dong's expression was gloomy. "I wish to see Master Xu."
"Master Xu is currently in meditation. I'm afraid..." The caretaker wore a troubled expression.
"In meditation?" Qin Dong was surprised, then his expression showed a hint of joy. "He hasn't left yet?"
"No, of course not," the caretaker said, finding Qin Dong especially strange today.
Qin Dong muttered softly to himself, "That's good, that's good. I’ll wait until he finishes meditating before seeing him."
Just then, a dark figure slowly approached from a distance. As he came closer, he turned out to be a child with only one arm, around five or six years old.
Seeing the kid, a grin appeared on his face, and he squatted down in front of him. "Little Wu, have you eaten well today?"
"Uncle Qin, Little Wu ate very well." The child looked up with bright eyes. Despite missing both legs and an arm, his face was filled with a contented smile.
Qin Dong chuckled and approached the caretaker. "I've come to donate today. Is anyone else here?"
"The lady of the Green Medicine Hall is expected to come, so I had Little Wu come out and wait." The caretaker nodded with a smile.
"Green Medicine Hall?" Qin Dong hadn't heard of them but he nodded nonetheless. Just as he was about to say something, a cry rang through the air.
"Young Lady, this child only has one arm!"
The newcomer was none other than Fang Qingyao from the Green Medicine Hall and her maidservant. That yelp had come from the maidservant.
Fang Qingyao looked at Little Wu and a trace of compassion flashed in her eyes.
Seeing this, the manager hurriedly approached her. "Young Lady Fang, please come inside. Let me introduce you. This is Deputy Minister Qin, who’s here today to make a donation and visit the children."
She looks pretty good. Qin Dong glanced at Fang Qingyao with lust in his eyes.
Fang Qingyao politely nodded to Qin Dong before reaching down and patting Little Wu’s head. She started to inquire about how he had lost his feet and arm.
Little Wu said innocently, "A big uncle had told me that if I cut off my hands and feet, I can eat well, and my younger brothers and sisters at home can also eat well."
"How could there be such a villain?!" the maidservant exclaimed.
Fang Qingyao fell silent for a moment before rubbing his head. She stood up and spoke to the manager of the Hall of Compassion. "Manager He, our Green Medicine Hall intends to donate five hundred taels this time."
"Young Lady, weren't you planning to donate two hundred taels..." The maidservant was slightly surprised.
Fang Qingyao glanced at her and said, "Although our profit is meager, we can still afford to donate five hundred taels of silver. The Hall of Compassion shelters orphans, providing them with a place to live, clothing, and food. Since we cannot do all these, the only thing we can do to play our part is to donate some of our profits.”
"Thank you, Young Lady Fang. On behalf of the orphans at the Hall of Compassion, I express my gratitude!" The manager's eyes lit up.
To the side, Qin Dong stroked his beard and smiled. "You are truly benevolent, Young Lady Fang. If all the merchants and traders in the Grand Xia Empire were like you, these orphans would’ve been able to live much better lives.”
"Your words are too kind, Lord Qin. I'm just doing my best," she said politely. After a pause, she turned to the manager of the hall and said, "Manager He, my maidservant and I would like to stroll around this place. Is that alright?"
"Please feel free to do so. But please avoid entering the inner courtyard lest you disturb Master Xu’s meditation." he smiled and nodded.
"Are you referring to Grandmaster Xu Hui, who traveled to the Grand Xia Empire a few years ago? My father has long since admired him for a long time. I didn't expect him to be living here." She said, a bit surprised. Several years ago, a high monk appeared in the Grand Xia Empire and traveled to every corner of the empire in a short period of time, spreading his reputation far and wide. Eventually, he arrived in the capital. It was said that he had established the Transcendence Temple there. Many people wished to seek guidance from him, but only a few could truly meet him in person.
"Indeed, Master Xu said that one can feel the suffering of the world here, helping him comprehend the true meaning of buddhism," the manager said with a smile.
"He truly is the master of a generation." Fang Qingyao expressed her admiration.
After exchanging a few words, she took her maidservant to visit other parts of the Hall of Compassion along with Little Wu.
"That young lady is quite interesting," Qin Dong mused as he watched Fang Qingyao's departing figure.
After about the time it took to brew a pot of tea had passed, the manager brought Qin Dong into the inner courtyard. A venerable-looking monk slowly walked out, calmly gazing at Qin Dong.
"Master Xu," Qin Dong dared not be neglectful and hastily gave a respectful salute. He knew that the monk had a significant background. Even the old woman who stayed in his manor showed great deference to him.
"Deputy Minister Qin, what brings you here today?" Master Xu spoke slowly.
"Master Xu, Granny Jin Hua said that the Spirit Blood Sect is planning to withdraw from the Grand Xia Empire," Qin Dong quickly explained.
Master Xu raised an eyebrow slightly, a solemn expression appearing on his face. "Did she personally tell you this?"
"Yes... No... Actually, one of her subordinates did...” Qin Dong initially nodded but then corrected himself.
"One of her subordinates?" Master Xu immediately understood whom Qin Dong was referring to. He was probably talking about the Qingmu Puppet, which belonged to Granny Jin Hua.
"She only sent the Qingmu puppet..." Master Xu murmured to himself. He keenly sensed that something was amiss and, considering that Daoist Xue hadn’t shown his face in quite a while, a hint of concern appeared on his face. With doubt in his heart, he thought, Did a cultivator discover our tracks?
"Master Xu? Is it really true that the Spirit Blood Sect will withdraw from the Grand Xia Empire? If all of you leave like this, who will clean up the mess left behind? There are still many people locked up in there, even if we were to kill them all, we wouldn’t be able to handle all these corpses. If the news leaked out, even if I had ten heads, I won’t be able to escape death!”
When Xu Hui saw how frantic Qing Dong was, impatience crept up on his face. "Since the Spirit Blood Sect sent us to the Grand Xia Empire, we won't leave until we gather the ten Blood Spirit Pills. Granny Jin Hua might have encountered some trouble, that’s all," Master Xu calmly said. "Senior Brother Bei left with the rest because of some urgent matters and it might take a while for them to return. For safety reasons, remain here for the time being.”
Fang Chen watched the scene unfold with his divine soul. As it turned out, the straw doll was called the Qingmu Puppet!
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