Chapter 100
Chapter 100: Buddha’s Chosen Elder Cousin Is Easy to Talk To
Sister Xiao Man was amused by Lin Yu Ning’s penny-pinching face and tapped the table with a finger, one brow lifting as she teased: “Hey, you little money-grubber!”
She leaned in with a smile and said: “I’m the one taking the risk to steal the notebooks, yet your split is three-seven? Three for me and seven for you? Your abacus is so loud I can hear it all the way in the Capital City.”
Lin Yu Ning giggled and scooted closer like a sly little fox as she replied: “I was waiting for you to bargain, Sister Xiao Man. Business is business; it’s all about negotiation.”
Sister Xiao Man laughed even harder and said: “What if I refuse and flip your little abacus right over?”
Lin Yu Ning instantly put on a pitiful look, leaned even closer, and began counting on her fingers like a serious little accountant as she coaxed: “Don’t reject me so fast, Sister. Think about it: one of Elder Cousin’s hand-copied sutras can sell for five hundred taels outside. We won’t be greedy. Let’s get ten copies. That’s five thousand taels of bright white silver.” Her eyes sparkled as she added: “Those buyers will feel blessed to spend money to avoid disaster. We can say we’re, uh, helping the world in a roundabout way. It’s a huge good deed.”
Holding back a laugh, Sister Xiao Man deliberately poked at her: “But if your Elder Cousin finds out you took his sutras not to deliver all beings but to earn money, what will he think?”
“Aw, Sister!” Lin Yu Ning pouted and argued: “What do all beings have to do with us? Not everyone has money. We’ll first ‘deliver’ a small group with ‘fate’.” She purposely slurred the word for silver so it sounded like fate, then tugged Sister Xiao Man’s sleeve, shaking it playfully as she pled: “Please help me, Sister. I have to make money on this wave.”
Sister Xiao Man looked at the lively little clown in front of her and softened. She stood and said: “Come with me.”
She led Lin Yu Ning to the study door and pushed open the heavy wood: “Go on in. These are his most recent copies. He hasn’t put them away yet.”
Lin Yu Ning could hardly believe her ears. Her big eyes went round as she stared at Sister Xiao Man: [So easy to talk to? That can’t be right!]
“Sister, aren’t you coming in with me?” she asked at the threshold, unsure.
Sister Xiao Man shook her head and lounged against the doorframe, at ease as she said: “You can go in alone. See those stacks by the desk? He copied them not long ago. The ink is still fresh.”
Lin Yu Ning stepped into the study with care. A cool ink scent washed over her. At once she saw the piles of sutra scrolls by the desk, each copy neat and flawless. She flipped through one and her mental abacus began clacking. She changed her offer on the spot: “Sister, we split fifty-fifty!”
Thinking that wasn’t enough, she quickly added: “No, sixty-forty. You take six, I take four.”
“I refuse,” Sister Xiao Man answered in an even tone. “When your Elder Cousin returns, I’ll tell him the Third Miss begged for sutras to deliver those ‘fated’ little souls.”
Lin Yu Ning’s hands froze. She stared in shock: “Sister Xiao Man, you’re going to tell Elder Cousin? If I take just a few, he won’t notice, right?” Her confidence wilted.
Sister Xiao Man patiently advised: “If you ask him openly, would he really refuse you? Why sneak around and lower your own worth?”
“This… but I’m going to sell them,” Lin Yu Ning mumbled, wringing her fingers.
“If he gives them to you, then they’re yours,” Sister Xiao Man said slowly, guiding her. “What you do with them afterward is your own business.”
Lin Yu Ning’s eyes lit up as her mind cleared: “Oh, right! Then I’ll wait for Elder Cousin to come back and just tell him straight. Thank you, Sister Xiao Man.” Facing that cool, quiet Elder Cousin felt a little less scary now.
Leaving the Auspicious Cloud Residence with a new, righteous plan to ask for sutras in the open, Lin Yu Ning walked with a spring in her step. She decided to speak up the moment Elder Cousin returned. The more she thought about it, the more sense Sister Xiao Man’s words made. Why sneak around?
She had barely left when Granny Chen, bursting with fresh gossip, rushed to find Sister Xiao Man, who was in the courtyard hanging strips of linen to dry. Hurrying over in a low voice, eyes shining, Granny Chen asked: “Sister Xiao Man! I just saw something. Didn’t Third Miss come from the Young Master’s study? Why was she here? When she left, that grin of hers reached her ears. Did she get some great benefit?”
Without pausing her work, Sister Xiao Man smoothed the sun-warmed fine linen and answered casually: “Nothing much. Third Miss dropped by to sit and chat.”
“Oh, my silly Miss,” Granny Chen cried, slapping her thigh in frustration. “Use your head. None of the three Cousin Misses are easy to handle, especially the Third Miss. She’s the youngest and the cleverest. She wouldn’t come for no reason. Be careful she doesn’t sell you and then have you count the money for her!”
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Sister Xiao Man knew Granny Chen was worried out of care. The concern warmed her, and she smiled as she said: “You’re overthinking it, Nanny. Third Miss just has a child’s heart. What could she be up to?”
“Child’s heart?” Granny Chen curled her lip, plainly unconvinced: “I’ve heard people outside are reselling the Eldest Grandson Young Master’s portraits and his hand-copied sutras at sky-high prices. Tell me, Third Miss suddenly visiting you and lurking near the study… could she be thinking along those lines and hoping to fish a benefit from you?”
Sister Xiao Man’s hands stilled for a moment. Granny Chen’s news was very well informed. Seeing that flicker of reaction, Granny Chen pressed her warning, gentle but firm: “Listen to me, Sister Xiao Man. Stay far from this business. The Young Master treats you differently, but this house has many watching eyes. Keep your head down and avoid trouble, especially when it comes to the Masters’ money schemes. Those waters are deep.”
Hanging the last strip of cloth, Sister Xiao Man turned and said earnestly: “Thank you for the reminder, Nanny. I’ll remember. Don’t worry, I know what I’m doing.”
Only then did Granny Chen relax a little, nagged a few more lines, and left. Watching her go, Sister Xiao Man sighed softly. There really were no secrets in this mansion. Even Granny Chen had heard the rumors. It was likely not idle talk.
She recalled Lin Yu Ning’s excitement and then thought of Lin Qing Xuan’s cool, quiet nature. If he knew his sutras were used to earn huge profits, even bundled with those suggestive portraits, how would he feel? She shook her head to clear the noise. In the end, these were matters of the Masters. She was a maid. As Granny Chen said, better to behave, keep her head down, and wait for the day she could leave the household.
But the wind would not quiet for the tree. That very afternoon, Lin Qing Xuan returned. He had barely stepped into the Auspicious Cloud Residence and hadn’t yet changed out of his travel clothes when Sister Xiao Man, keeping her promise to Lin Yu Ning, found a moment under the covered walkway and said casually: “Young Master, Third Miss visited today.”
His stride didn’t break. He gave a faint “Mm,” to show he’d heard. Sister Xiao Man went on: “Third Miss said she wants a few scrolls of your hand-copied sutras to, well, form bonds and save people.”
Hearing that careful phrase, Lin Qing Xuan paused almost imperceptibly and turned his head to glance at Sister Xiao Man. His gaze was still mild, but it lingered a heartbeat longer than usual as he said: “In the study. She can choose for herself.” He asked nothing more and walked on toward the inner room.
Sister Xiao Man answered, “Yes,” and felt easier. The matter was now out in the open. As for how Lin Yu Ning would “form bonds” with the sutras she took, that wasn’t something she could or wanted to control.
What she didn’t know was that, inside the inner room, Lin Qing Xuan dismissed everyone except the Black Cat, Tuan Tuan, who had leaped onto the desk. Licking his paw, green eyes slanted with their usual teasing light, Tuan Tuan said: “Form bonds and save people? Hmph. More like form ‘yuan’ and save herself. That little money-grubber’s stink of copper coins carries for miles. And you’re generous. You gave without even asking?”
Lin Qing Xuan ignored the mockery. He stood by the window, looking into the deep courtyard. After a quiet moment he said in a low voice: “I’ve heard about the market.”
Tuan Tuan perked up: “Oh? You know? Then why—”
“If sutras truly help people do good, that is a good bond. If someone uses them, that is their own karma,” Lin Qing Xuan answered, voice level, like this had nothing to do with him. “As for Yu Ning, if she can learn something from this, so much the better.”
Tuan Tuan snorted: “Learn what? How to count silver faster. Indulge her then.”
Lin Qing Xuan fell silent, his eyes slightly deep. Of course he knew people’s greed. Sometimes guiding worked better than blocking. What concerned him more was something else: when Sister Xiao Man brought it up, she was clearly trying to keep her distance while passing on the message. She kept carefully pushing him away.
Meanwhile, overjoyed, Lin Yu Ning carried off several freshly copied sutras. She was full of gratitude for Sister Xiao Man and thought Sister was both smart and reliable. She threw herself into planning her grand “bonding” scheme, unaware that under the surface, the currents had already begun to stir. Fake sutras and hyped prices had drawn attention. A storm started by this “little money-grubber” was quietly brewing.
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