Chapter 63: Chapter 63
Chapter 63
Mu Heng watched his petite wife, her face still expressed her worry. Despite his reassurances, he sighed deeply and gently stroked the beauty’s hair to comfort her with his thick hand.
"I’ll be fine. Just prepare a bit more food for tonight. I missed lunch with you and the little ones today, but I’ll definitely be back for a hearty meal tonight." The young man joyfully teased. His light-hearted demeanor made Yue Qian sigh.
The little hands of the two children clung to her as if seeking solace Even a stupid could suspect that this summons was laden with ill intentions. Xiao Long and Huan‘er were worried too, but they had overheard their sister-in-law and their eldest brother discussing survival strategies. After this, all they could do was trust their sister-in-law.
Because their sister-in-law was immensely wise. Just a task of helping their older brother, she would succeed it!
Yue Qian was unaware of the profound impact she had on these young minds. Even without this knowledge, she remained a dependable pillar for them to lean on.
Soon, Mu Heng left, leaving behind the two children and the beautiful lady, under the watchful and potentially malevolent gaze of someone...
"Sister-in-law, what should we do today? I really don’t feel like practicing my writing. I can’t focus on studying at all," Xiao Long said, sounding much older than his years.
Huan’er nodded in agreement. With her eldest brother gone, her heart was filled with worry. How could she possibly concentrate on learning characters?
In fact, she would rather go with big brother, but Huan’er knew she was just a little girl and might only burden him. So, she should stay at home with her sister-in-law and her second brother like this.
"Hmm, that’s true. Let’s sit and pray while we wait for your big brother then." Yue Qian understood their feelings well as she shared them. Now, all she hoped for was his safe return.
She wanted to follow Mu Heng discreetly but feared those who attack behind other’s back might concoct a scheme to harm the two children as a way to get to her. She needed to stay here to protect two children who could not defend themselves yet, to ensure their safety and give Mu Heng peace of mind.
"Pray?"
“How to pray?” Two kids looked around. The village had no temples; where could they possibly pray?
Thinking briefly, Yue Qian went into the room where she kept her dowry and retrieved a Buddha statue made of bronze—a piece from her department store dimension. She chose this color instead of gold or silver because the statue would not be too flashy.
The young woman set up a high table in the courtyard, placing the Buddha statue there. Then she laid out a mat, arranged a joss stick pot, and placed unused incense sticks and candles in a wooden basket for the children to use.
The two siblings looked on in astonishment. Normally, a Buddha statue would only be found in wealthy families; ordinary villagers had to travel to different villages with chapels displaying Buddha statues if they wished to worship. But most people, barely getting by, seldom had time to think about making such pilgrimages.
From birth, these two children had only ever worshipped a Buddha statue once. That was when their entire Mu family was predicted to face a calamity. It wasn’t certain whether the fortune teller was genuine, but such a prophecy had caused concern. At that time, their parents hadn’t separated their households yet, so they traveled together, staying overnight for several days before reaching the temple with the Buddha statue.
They were immensely excited then, due to the sacred aura that emanated from the place; every time they prayed, they felt peace. Thus, whenever bad things happened, the two children would think of that Buddha statue in their memories.
They never thought that in this lifetime they would have another chance to see Buddha statue, albeit not as large as the one in temple chapel but still a venerable one.
"Children, come light the incense and candle to pray to the Buddha," Yue Qian called them together.
The children were very excited; they took the smooth candle, the texture was nice, smooth, and beautiful.
Their sister-in-law was the first to light her candle, then she used the flame to light the candle at the base before placing it on the altar in front of the large joss stick pot.
Seeing how adept their sister-in-law was, the children thought she must frequently visit temples to make merit. If the city folk knew someone thought this, they’d likely laugh.
While in the capital, even in temples, Yue Qian could still speak harshly, so not many invited her to make merit. Even the Qin family didn’t include her in such trips. Would she go to a temple by herself? If she did, it might be more likely to hear that the world was ending.
But they never knew what Yue Qian actually did. In every life of hers, she often visited temples to make merit. Finding peace and stillness in such acts was what she cherished most.
Every time she gave, sacrificed, or made offerings, she felt at ease—whether karma truly existed or not, or whether it would lead her to heaven or hell, but Yue Qian could feel that there was one thing she could get in return soon after praying. It was peaceful.
Such an atmosphere wasn’t easily found outside; only in temple chapels could such an environment be fostered.
A detailed inspection might reveal that the person contributing most to the maintenance of these temples was none other than Yue Qian, contributing thousands of gold taels under the guise of the Arts Institute.
Thus, whether it was the emperor or others in the palace, they supported Yue Qian’s work because not only were her writings outstanding and captivating, part of the proceeds from her writings under the pseudonym ‘Butterfly Moving Wings’ went to assist others.
She maintained facilities, created temporary shelters for the destitute so they wouldn’t starve or lack shelter, in exchange for helping the officials clean and maintain the city’s markets.
Once grimy from negligence, when the homeless were involved in cleaning in exchange for shelter, the city’s appearance greatly improved. This idea was so admired that it was adopted as a model by people from other kingdoms.
Additionally, part of the trash collected was sold, such as food scraps or rotting items sold to fermented medicine merchants, or old rags and cloth bundles, which were washed and sold by the pound. Villagers, not wealthy but with some disposable income, would buy these fabric scraps to patch together into clothes.
Once they had some money, the authorities would review and relocate them from the homeless shelters, allowing others to move in. Certainly, there were some crafty individuals, but once these people earned some money from selling goods, they had money as evidence.
Although Yue Qian couldn’t help everyone, she did as much as she could, so she had no regrets. If one day her ideas were no longer supported, she would let them dismantle everything; the wood could still be used by the poor to build homes.
So, the rest was up to them. If they saw fit, they could demolish it. She only contributed as much as she could afford but couldn’t manage it herself; otherwise, she would have no time for herself.
Returning to the present, Yue Qian lit her own incense and stepped back to wait for the children. She went first, confident they would watch and learn.
She didn’t meddle too much with the children’s thought processes, lest they become unable to think and act for themselves. They were still young, and Yue Qian wanted them to be daring thinkers and doers; otherwise, they would remain stuck in backward and unprogressive thoughts.
"Ah." Huan’er exclaimed when the candle wax from the candle she had lit touched her hand.
Xiao Long was quite concerned about his younger sister. He came over, showed her how he held it, and then looked at Yue Qian again to see if she would scold them. But seeing only a bright smile from her, they continued cautiously.
This time Huan’er knew how, at least she knew how to handle it so she wouldn’t get burned by the candle wax. Soon after, the children sat next to Yue Qian in unison.
Yue Qian recalled prayers from her previous world and instructed them to recite them, even though they did not understand the meaning. She used prayers with translations, allowing the children to reflect on what the teachings of the Buddha meant. The interpretations of these prayers were diverse.
However, the essence was to teach goodness and the art of letting go. Living a balanced life, not lost in power, yet not so lazy as to be impoverished—these were the principles she imparted. She wouldn’t know what the children would learn from these teachings, it all depended on their understanding.
The prayer continued for nearly half an hour. Yue Qian then led the children to place the incense in the large joss stick pot in front of them. The rising smoke created a beautiful and mystical scene. The beautiful woman retreated to the mat, now knowing that she and the children were far from calm, hence she devised this method.
With their minds scattered, they couldn’t achieve much, so she considered this day a rest day—a day of meditation to clear the mind. Having always allocated one day per week for meditation and relaxation since her arrival, this was how her lifestyle had transformed. She might invite the children to meditate with her in the future, regardless of the circumstances.
"Children, let’s close your eyes and meditate. Sit in the lotus position, right hand over left, right leg over left, focus on the breath at the tip of your nose, slowly close your eyes, breathe in ’Bud’, breathe out ’dho’, and aim for a balanced mind, focusing only on the breath at the nose tip..."
The young woman guided the siblings in meditation. It would have been a strange sight for passersby, but luckily her home wasn’t next to the street, so not just anyone could see.
The three meditated quietly, their restlessness transforming into stillness, even their breathing slowly becoming smooth and regular.
Time passed quickly, and Xiao Long’s stomach grumbled. This was how they knew it was already noon...
"Let’s go, we still need to warm up the food," Yue Qian laughed as she opened her eyes.
The sound of Xiao Long’s stomach made all three of them laugh, forgetting all the tension that had built up. Even the incenses and candles in front of them had burned out, showing how deep their concentration had been.
