Nanny Zhou responded and left, while Li Shi took Ren Yaoqi to burn incense.

Kneeling before the Buddha statue over ten feet tall in the Great Hero Hall, Li Shi clasped her hands together, closed her eyes, and prayed devoutly.

Li Shi’s prayers were nothing more than wishing for the health of the entire family, old and young, for her two children to be safe and sound, to have smooth lives, and finally hoping Buddha would help Ren Yaoqi dispel evil spirits and free her from nightmares.

Ren Yaoqi knelt beside her with proper form. Seeing Li Shi rise to offer incense, she followed behind and imitated her actions.

After both mother and daughter finished burning incense, Nanny Zhou returned.

“Madam, Master Jingchen is discussing Buddhist doctrine with an honored guest. We may have to wait a while longer,” Nanny Zhou approached and said quietly. “The guest monk has arranged a resting courtyard for us. Would you like to go rest for a moment now?”

White Dragon Temple received many visitors daily, so having one or two distinguished guests was normal. The monks were both worldly and otherworldly, unable to avoid such customs.

After sitting in the carriage for over an hour, Li Shi was also somewhat tired, so she nodded and said to Ren Yaoqi, “The abbot master is temporarily unavailable. Let’s go rest for a moment.”

Ren Yaoqi naturally had no objections.

This time, the courtyard White Dragon Temple prepared for Li Shi’s rest happened to be the same one Ren Yaoqi and others had used during their last visit.

However, Li Shi and Ren Yaoqi had barely sat down and taken two sips of tea when Master Jingchen sent a young monk to say he was now available.

Nanny Zhou asked the monk: “Wasn’t it said earlier that the abbot was receiving a distinguished guest?”

The young monk chanted a Buddhist phrase and replied: “That young master came to play chess with our abbot. Hearing that the benefactress requested a meeting, that young master has already taken his leave.”

Nanny Zhou looked toward Li Shi. Li Shi nodded, so Nanny Zhou smiled and said: “Then please trouble the young master to tell Master Jingchen that our madam will come over right away.”

The young monk returned a Buddhist salute and withdrew.

Li Shi then took Ren Yaoqi to the abbot’s reception area.

Abbot Jingchen was an old monk around sixty years old, somewhat thin but with kind eyebrows and benevolent features.

When Ren Yaoqi followed Li Shi into the meditation room, she discovered a chessboard on the kang table by the window, with black and white pieces locked in intense battle.

The white pieces were superior clamshell stones called “Snow Seal” – pure white throughout, smooth as jade with exquisite patterns, clearly not ordinary items. The quality of chess pieces was always distinguished by the white stones, so this set was extremely precious.

“Does the young benefactress also excel at chess?” Though the old monk was advanced in years, his gaze was extremely sharp. Seeing Ren Yaoqi’s eyes lingering on the kang table under the south window, he asked kindly.

Ren Yaoqi turned back and met the old monk’s peaceful, tolerant gaze, smiling as she replied: “I only know how to play – I wouldn’t say I excel.”

The old monk chuckled and invited Li Shi and Ren Yaoqi to sit.

Li Shi told the old monk about Ren Yaoqi’s nightmares and asked if he had any solutions.

Master Jingchen examined Ren Yaoqi for a few moments and asked gently: “Let this old monk take the young benefactress’s pulse.”

Li Shi was startled: “Master, do you mean she’s having nightmares because she’s ill?”

The monk shook his head and said peacefully, “Dreams arise from the heart. This old monk just wants to confirm something.”

Ren Yaoqi obediently extended her hand for him to check her pulse.

Jingchen closed his eyes and felt her pulse for a while, then asked: “How long has the young benefactress been having these nightmares? Have you recently experienced frequent cold sweats, loss of appetite, or difficulty sleeping?”

“No,” Ren Yaoqi answered truthfully.

Jingchen looked carefully at Ren Yaoqi’s complexion again and nodded: “Then it’s not physical discomfort. I’ll prescribe a calming formula for you later – you may take it or not.” The old monk sighed softly. “Human life in this world spans only a few decades. If one worries about everything, then everything becomes a worry.”

“So there’s nothing wrong?” Li Shi didn’t notice the old monk’s sigh and asked uneasily, “Do we need to perform any ceremonies to dispel impurities?”

Master Jingchen shook his head and said with a chuckle: “If you’re still worried, recite the Diamond Sutra once before sleep each night.”

Since Master Jingchen had a good reputation, Li Shi felt somewhat reassured.

The old monk then began discussing Buddhist scriptures with Li Shi. Knowing Ren Yaoqi wasn’t interested in these matters, Li Shi let Ren Yaoqi go rest first.

Ren Yaoqi was just looking for an opportunity to handle her own business, so she was very willing to leave.

She had barely walked to not far outside the Great Hero Hall on White Dragon Temple’s central axis when Ren Yaoqi suddenly caught a glimpse of Yuan Dayong’s figure flashing by.

Ren Yaoqi thought for a moment, then walked outside.

“Miss, aren’t you going back to rest? Where are you going?” a matron behind her asked carefully.

Ren Yaoqi walked slowly while saying casually, “I’m going to the blessing bell at the single-arch bridge outside. I heard that if you can hit it, you’ll have good luck.”

Hearing this, the matrons thought Ren Yaoqi was in a playful mood and wanted to ring the bell, so they said nothing more.

It wasn’t far from the Great Hero Hall to the single-arch bridge. As Ren Yaoqi approached, she discovered many people gathered around the bridge, with quite a few clapping and cheering – it was very lively.

Still five or six zhang away, Ren Yaoqi could hear successive “clang,” “clang,” “clang” sounds of the bell being struck, one after another with full force.

“Eh? Who’s so skilled?” Sangshen said quietly. “I’ve never been able to hit that bell.”

A matron scoffed: “This is a temple blessing bell, not street entertainment! Which family’s child is being so mischievous?”

Ren Yaoqi stopped to listen for a while and shook her head inwardly.

This person not only had good aim but also controlled their strength well. It didn’t seem like some child being playful – they were probably martial arts trained.

“Miss, shall we still go over?” a matron asked for instructions.

Ren Yaoqi shook her head: “Never mind, let’s go another time.” She didn’t want to invite trouble and wasn’t that curious.

Just as she was about to take another path around, she saw a young monk leading an old monk coming this way.

The young monk spoke to the old monk as they walked. The old monk was about fifty years old with a very leisurely, calm demeanor.

When they got closer, Ren Yaoqi heard the young monk say: “The Princess has been ringing for almost half an hour. Pilgrims are all gathered there watching the excitement, and even benefactors coming from outside are blocked and can’t enter. Could you go see if you can persuade her? If that doesn’t work, we’ll have to ask Second Young Master Xiao to intervene…”

“Don’t worry, don’t worry. The Princess is not unreasonable. If you speak to her properly, she’ll listen,” the old monk said without changing expression.

Ren Yaoqi’s heart stirred.

Princess? In all of Yanbei, only the daughter of the Prince of Yanbei could be called Princess. And the monk also mentioned Second Young Master Xiao – could the bell-ringer be Princess Xiao Jinglin of the Yanbei Prince’s residence?

She had heard this Princess didn’t love rouge and powder but loved military attire, spending most of the year not at the Yanbei Prince’s residence but with the Prince’s generals guarding Jiajing Pass.

Ren Yaoqi had never seen this Princess in her previous life, though she had heard the court wanted to arrange her marriage to the youngest son of Duke Zheng, which she flatly refused.

Xiao Jinglin’s reason for refusal was enough to shame all the men in the Great Zhou. She said that with the northern frontier unsettled, how could she establish a home?

She also said her husband must fight her before marriage – he didn’t necessarily have to win, but as long as he could get out of bed within a month after the battle, he’d be qualified. Men who fell over in a breeze were no different from trash in her eyes. Then someone mentioned that Xiao Jinglin had once single-handedly challenged the Yanbei Prince’s ten Black Riders.

As a result, Duke Zheng’s wife tearfully ran before the Empress Dowager begging for mercy to spare her youngest son’s life. Other noble families with eligible sons quickly arranged marriages or wed their sons, fearing they’d be matched with this Princess from the Yanbei Prince’s family.

Eventually, that marriage proposal fell through. At the time, Ren Yaoqi found it quite amusing.

Xiao Jinglin shouldn’t be much older than her, right? Her martial arts seemed already quite good.

Speaking of the masters of this generation in the Yanbei Prince’s residence, the heir held as hostage in the capital only loved literature, the second young master was of unknown background but poor health – only this Princess retained some of the Xiao ancestors’ dignity.

Thinking this, Ren Yaoqi changed her mind and walked toward the single-arch bridge.

The maids and matrons, hearing it was the Princess, were also curious and followed without a word.

After those two monks went over, the young monk asked all the onlookers to leave.

Only then could Ren Yaoqi see a tall young woman standing by the railing.

The young woman appeared to be thirteen or fourteen, not at all like the androgynous female-dressed-as-male appearance Ren Yaoqi had imagined from opera stories. She wore a very ordinary lake-green dress with her hair in double buns, her features very delicate.

But Ren Yaoqi noticed her posture was more upright than ordinary women. The old monk chanted a Buddhist phrase, went forward and spoke a few words with her. Xiao Jinglin listened quietly, then, without saying anything, just nodded and came down.

She happened to walk in Ren Yaoqi’s direction. When she got closer, Ren Yaoqi discovered Xiao Jinglin had well-shaped sword-like eyebrows, darker than ordinary women’s eyebrows. But because her features were very gentle, the eyebrows didn’t make her look crude at all – instead, they gave her a special quality that ordinary women lacked.

Noticing Ren Yaoqi’s gaze, Xiao Jinglin looked over. Her eyes lingered on Ren Yaoqi for a moment, then she walked over.

“Which family are you from?” Xiao Jinglin asked expressionlessly. Her tone definitely couldn’t be called friendly, though no malice could be heard either.

“The Ren family of White Crane Town, Ren Yaoqi,” Ren Yaoqi replied with a smile.

Xiao Jinglin seemed to tilt her head in thought, then nodded.

Then, to everyone’s surprise, she took Ren Yaoqi’s hand: “Come with me. I invite you for tea.”

With that, she pulled Ren Yaoqi along.

The maids and matrons behind Ren Yaoqi were stunned for a moment, then hurried to follow.

Estimating Xiao Jinglin’s status and seeing that Ren Yaoqi wasn’t struggling, they didn’t dare say anything.

Xiao Jinglin’s steps weren’t particularly large, but Ren Yaoqi found it somewhat difficult to keep up with her pace.