Mein erster Ehemann nach der Transmigration

Kapitel 5

All that could be heard was her delicate, crisp voice mixed with Su Bai's slightly altered tone, spreading throughout the courtyard.

“Subhuti, if there were as many Ganges rivers as there are grains of sand in the Ganges, what do you think? Would the sand in those Ganges rivers be many?”

Subhuti said, 'Very many, World Honored One. Even the Ganges Rivers are countless in number, let alone the sands.'

'Subhuti, I now tell you the truth: if a virtuous man or woman were to fill as many three-thousand-great-thousand-world systems as there are grains of sand in the Ganges with the seven treasures and use them for almsgiving, would they gain much merit?'

Subhuti said, 'Very much, World Honored One.'

The Buddha told Subhuti: 'If a virtuous man or woman, through reciting or upholding even a single verse or phrase from this sutra, explains it to others, the merit of this surpasses that of the former.'

This is a passage from the Diamond Sutra, entirely in classical Chinese. It means that the merit of giving away countless treasures is not as great as believing in this sutra and spreading the teachings to others, leading people to believe in Buddhism.

After listening, He Su Shi said, "It's starting to look somewhat good, but you still misspell words, and there's no Longjing shrimp." He Su Chen glared at him, glanced at his left hand, and narrowed his eyes, saying, "Brother, do you want me to take another bite?"

He quickly withdrew his hand, saying, "The mouth of a green bamboo snake, the stinger of a wasp, neither is poisonous; the most poisonous is a woman's heart." He Su Chen opened her mouth, grabbed his withdrawn hand, and bit down again, muttering indistinctly, "Who is the woman?! Who is the woman?!"

Your older sister is only twenty-two, and she's not married yet!!

He Su Shi wailed, but his eyes held a smile: "Women and petty men are the hardest to deal with; the ancients were right!"

He Suchen hadn't actually bitten, but upon hearing his words, she quickly loosened her teeth and said, "Sour taste, are you taking the imperial examination?!"

He Su Shi didn't reply, just smiled at her. He Su Chen looked at his eyes, which were even warmer than the sunshine, and sighed as she called out, "Brother."

He Su Shi smiled and said, "Little sister, I only hope that you can be this happy every day and that nothing else will happen to you..." She hummed in agreement, feeling a warmth spread through her heart. She thought to herself, "He Su Chen, do you hear how much your brother loves you?"

The two sat there, and even the cold wind seemed to warm them up. Just then, Yongjiao ran over complaining, "You two were playing here without calling me! I only found out when I came over! Third Brother told us about what happened today!" She ran over from the courtyard gate, and by the time she finished speaking, she was already beside the two. The maid who had followed behind her, supporting her back and leaning against the courtyard gate, said, "My little darlings, please slow down. It would be terrible if you fell."

She didn't care and kept insisting that the little maid bring her a chair that looked like a handle, so she could sit like that. She also ordered that snacks and tea be served, saying that she wanted to listen to her third brother tell stories. He Su Shi sighed helplessly, scratched his head, and told two stories, both about a big house with a very pretty little girl inside who could cook delicious food, etc. Su Chen was speechless with exasperation.

This guy is only a few years old, and all he thinks about is beautiful women and food. He's obsessed with both food and sex. What will he be like when he grows up?! Do you think you're watching a fairy tale?

He Yongjiao frowned, clearly dissatisfied: "Third brother, you're not your father. The stories you tell aren't interesting at all. Are you trying to amuse a child? Just tell me and Guazi where you went with the teacher last time and what fun things happened."

He Su Shi was both amused and exasperated: "The teacher took us out to see Tianyi Pavilion in Ningbo. We went to Yangzhou to see an old friend, and we'll go again next year. We spent the whole trip on the boat, studying and attending classes. We didn't have any time to play."

He Suchen asked in confusion, "What's so great about Tianyi Pavilion in Ningbo? Why did your teacher take more than a dozen students with him?" Yongjiao replied, "I heard from my mother that there are many treasured books inside."

He Sushi nodded: "The teacher said that we cannot be ignorant of the world outside when we are doing our studies. We must understand the hardships of ordinary people in order to be good officials in the future. We must also know that the world is vast and knowledge is everywhere. He took us to Tianyi Pavilion to see the real collection of books and told us not to be complacent with our achievements. On the way, we visited poor families in the villages so that we would know how to serve the people in the future."

He Suchen asked, "Brother, do you really want to be an official in the future?" He replied, "Of course. What else can a family like ours do if we don't become officials? But we still need to pass the exams."

Upon hearing this, Yongjiao clapped her hands and said, "Big brother wants to take the imperial examination, second brother wants to take it too, all the brothers want to take it too. When you become officials, you can buy us lots of fun things!"

She picked up the last piece of water chestnut cake from the plate and offered it to the two of them. He Su Shi knew perfectly well that she was just being polite; she could easily finish ten more. He smiled and helped his sister decline. Yong Jiao's eyes lit up with joy. After finishing, she said, "The sun is so nice. How about we go play in the garden? Is that alright?"

He Su Shi initially wanted to refuse, but seeing his sister's expectant face, he thought it would be good to go for a walk. He reasoned that staying still for too long wouldn't be good for his health, so he called his maids and servants to go out with him.

The second wife's residence, Ji Cang Courtyard, was not far from the garden; it took less than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn to get there by taking a shortcut.

The garden of the He family has a name, called Shiyi Garden. There is a stone carving at the entrance with an inscription left by Su Shi. There is also a couplet by the gate, written in very regular running script, which reads: "Rain startles poetic dreams and leaves lotus leaves; wind cuts the sound of reading and comes from lotus flowers."

Shiyi Garden covers an area of nine acres and is oval-shaped, elongated from east to west. This garden separates the front hall from the rear living quarters. The garden walls, corridors, and windows are decorated with flowers, trees, and rocks. There are winding bridges and water gates. At its center is a large lake called Liuhu (Remaining Lake), which was once filled with lotus flowers. Unfortunately, it was winter, and the lotus leaves had withered—this was the very lake where He Suchen was kicked into and lost his life. At the garden entrance, there is another pond, symbolizing an inexhaustible flow of water.

The group arrived at the gate, chatting and laughing, but before they even stepped inside, they were startled by a shrill curse—

"You brat, I refuse to believe I can't teach you a lesson!! I'll kick you into the lake and feed you to the turtles!!"

Chapter Nine, Dispute

The "Propaganda Officer" function is now open! What are you waiting for? Join now! </A> Granny Sun and Qing'er, the maid who followed Yongjiao, were walking behind when they heard this and were about to rush forward, but were stopped by He Su Shi, whose face was ashen.

From their direction, they could see three people standing near the artificial hill not far away in the garden. Yongjiao explained, "Guazi, did you see that old woman who was cursing? That's Granny Jiang from the third branch of the family. She's the fiercest. She was brought here by the third aunt. The sister in the purple dress is Su'e from our branch. The one in the blue dress who's crying is Sufen from the third branch of the family. She's Su'e's sister."

Su Chen nodded; the argument over there had reached a fever pitch. Granny Jiang's finger almost poked Su'e in the face: "You ill-mannered little slut, how dare you argue with me?! You weren't even born when I was in power!! Kneel down to me twice and I'll let you off this time, otherwise, don't blame me for being impolite!!"

Su'e, furious, blushed and retorted, "Granny, have you lost your mind?! I only bumped into you by accident, and I've already apologized! What more do you want?! What foul language are you spouting?! We're all maids, 'the girls in the blue-robed troupe—they're all servants! Even if you have authority, you can't be unreasonable! What kind of behavior is this, resorting to insults for no reason?!"

Granny Jiang rushed forward, ready to slap her, but Su'e grabbed her hand. Unable to break free, Granny Jiang kicked Su'e, who lost her balance and fell to the ground. Granny Jiang, still holding Granny Jiang's hand, pulled her down as well. Having lost face, Granny Jiang unleashed a torrent of blows. Su'e, though a maid in the main house, was no pushover and retaliated with punches and kicks. She yelled, "You call yourself 'Granny Jiang'? You think you're some kind of mistress?! Trying to kill me? Come on! Come on!!" Her sister, unable to stop either of them, could only cry and beg for her to stop.

He Su Shi had initially thought that when Jiang Mama mentioned kicking into the lake, she was referring to He Su Chen. That's why she stopped Sun Mama and Qing'er from arguing so she could find out what was going on. Now that things were in such a mess, several maids rushed out and pulled the two apart.

Su Fen sobbed for a long time before she finally explained what had happened. It turned out that her younger sister had accidentally bumped into Granny Jiang. Granny Jiang didn't know what was going on, but she insisted that they were being lazy and cunning, and she was even showing off while cursing. Su E was indignant and they started arguing.

Although the two were separated, the cursing continued. Granny Jiang spat and struggled to kick them a couple more times, saying, "You ill-mannered little slut, all you know how to do is argue with your old woman! Yesterday you were laughing and joking with Li Cai's youngest son by the corner of the west courtyard wall? Secretly meeting in secret, you shameless little whore, be careful I catch you and send you to the secret room!"

Seeing that her words were becoming increasingly absurd, Granny Sun stepped forward and said, "Granny Jiang, are you out of your mind? Can't you see the young master and young lady are here? What are you saying that's so filthy?!"

Granny Jiang, preoccupied with her argument, hadn't paid attention to anything else. Now, seeing everyone staring at her and remembering her inappropriate remarks, her face turned pale. Su'e, however, supported the maid beside her and cried, "I'm a respectable maid from a respectable family! What filthy things are you spouting?! When I bumped into Li Chuqing by the corner, I was bringing back bird's nest from the storeroom for the eldest mistress. I greeted him, and what kind of vile thoughts were in your head! Just because you're of a higher generation doesn't mean you have to do anything wrong. Why do you have to frame me for no reason?! I'm an innocent person. I said yesterday that I haven't done anything improper, so why are you still dragging me into this?!"

Seeing her like this, the maids comforted her, saying they knew she was a decent person. She cried again, "How can an innocent young woman be insulted like this?! Isn't this driving someone to their death?! If I had any integrity, I would have killed myself long ago, and after the seventh day after my death, I would haunt that wicked woman and settle accounts with her!"

Qing'er and Su'e were always close, and when she got angry, she said coldly, "Does Granny Jiang want to be a mistress? You're always restless and don't know your place as a servant, always pointing fingers and making trouble! To put it bluntly, you're just a senior, but at heart you're just like us. Meixiang and I are sworn sisters, we're all servants. The mistress respects your age, so if you cause a little trouble, she'll turn a blind eye. But if you go too far, who knows what the consequences will be!"

Several maids who went to pull her away retorted, "What do you mean 'it's hard to say'? What's there to say? If you really cause trouble, you'll be punished and kicked out. Do you think you're any different from us?!" Another clever maid looked at her with a smile and said, "Granny Jiang is getting more and more confused. How dare you speak to the maids of our main house?! Even if Third Mistress were here, she wouldn't have the right to touch the maids in our house. Granny, do you want to overstep our main mistress and become the mistress?! You, a dowry maid from the third house, are overstepping your bounds to manage the servants of our main house. Aren't you ashamed of yourself?!"

Seeing that she was alone and surrounded by people who disliked her, Granny Jiang knew she wouldn't get away with it today. So she decided to make a scene, forcefully shoving aside the maid who was holding her back, and throwing a tantrum on the ground: "What kind of behavior is this?! I've worked myself to the bone for decades, and now that I'm old, I still have to put up with your temper? I kindly taught you how to behave, and when I was working in this mansion, you were nowhere to be found! Now look what you've done! The younger generation doesn't listen to their elders, they're all talk, and they even know how to insult their elders, huh?!"

Last night, she happened to see Su'e and her servant laughing and talking by the wall. It was the middle of the night, and thinking she had stumbled upon a good thing, she asked Su'e for hush money without any reason. Su'e had nothing to hide and ignored her, even making a few sarcastic remarks. She was secretly annoyed and felt humiliated. Today, she was holding onto this excuse and wouldn't let go until she got her revenge. Unfortunately, she ran into He Su Shi with his two younger sisters visiting the garden.

Seeing her like this, He Su Shi was quite annoyed and said, "Have all the people in the third branch of the family been raised to be so ill-mannered by their third aunt?" He stopped walking into the garden, muttering about how disappointing it was, and pulled Su Chen and Yong Jiao back, telling Granny Sun to find the head of the first branch to deal with this unruly girl. It was a pity that He Su Chen hadn't seen the legendary, extremely formidable old women arguing for the first time and hadn't seen the ending.

Not long after he returned to his room, a servant came to find He Su Shi, saying that a classmate had come to see the young master and asked him to go out to entertain the guest. He had no choice but to go, leaving Yong Jiao and Su Chen to sit in the room chatting.

Yongjiao was angrily cursing those "annoying and annoying" nannies when suddenly a timid voice called from the doorway: "Is Guazi here?"

Su Chen turned his head and saw a girl in her early teens with a small braid and a flower hairpin cautiously peeking in, her expression slightly frightened.