diskusbooks Chapter 286 Bowing
Chapter 286 Bowing
Yang Hua insisted on personally bringing Luo An to find the Goddess Temple, not allowing Luo An to refuse, because Luo An was unfamiliar with the area and she was afraid he would get lost.
The houses by the sea are ordinary, even somewhat shabby, with the words "Goddess Temple" written above the door. An uninformed person would surely think it was just a fisherman's joke.
Yang Hua, carrying a fruit basket, walked ahead of him and knocked on the door: "Young man, are you there?"
Luo An asked curiously, "Is someone inside?"
"A young man lives here year-round. The weather's bad today, so he probably won't go swimming in the sea." Yang Hua looked up at the sky and continued knocking: "Young man, are you there? I'll push the door open and come in."
There was no response, so Yang Hua gently pushed the door open and peeked in: "No one's here, but there are a lot of things."
Rice, oil, salt, writing implements, books, quilts, mattresses, and other items were scattered all over the floor, and they all looked very new.
Luo An stood at the doorway and immediately saw the goddess enshrined on the altar. The goddess was quite old, and only seven or eight parts of her resemblance to his grandmother could be seen. But her gentle features were exactly the same as the feeling his grandmother gave him in his dream.
Yang Hua looked at the unpacked inkstone and writing materials and asked, "Where did you go? And in such a hurry, you left without even packing your things?"
Luo An glanced at the things scattered on the ground, a stark contrast to the empty temple of the goddess in his dream: "Who lives here?"
Yang Hua raised her hand to show herself: "A young man, about my height, very handsome, like a girl. He was very young when he first came to the temple, before my younger brother was born. My parents thought he was cute and always wanted to adopt him as their son, to be my younger brother."
Luo An's heart stirred slightly: "Where did that young man come from?"
Yang Hua placed the fruits and vegetables in the fruit bowl on the table: "I don't know. I was only three or four years old then, how would I know so much? You insisted on coming to the Goddess Temple because you wanted to ask where the Goddess Immortal Mountain is? Now you can ask it yourself..."
Since he was already here, he had to at least put on a show. Luo An clasped his hands together, bowed, and asked, "May I ask, Goddess, where is the immortal mountain?"
Luo An looked at the goddess, and the goddess looked at Luo An. They looked at each other, both seemingly innocent.
Yang Hua chuckled and said, "I told you a long time ago, but you wouldn't believe me. Now you believe me, right? Let's go back."
As the two emerged from the temple of the goddess, they saw the sea churning and surging, as if the dragon god were enraged.
Yang Hua said, "It seems the weather won't be good for the next few days. Why don't you stay at my house for a few more days and go home when the weather gets better?"
Luo An took out a jade pendant and handed it to Yang Hua: "Thank you for saving me, but I have to go back."
Yang Hua refused, saying, "How can anyone stand by and watch someone die? Where do you live? Is it far from here? Will you come back here again?"
Luo An said, "My home is in Bianjing."
"Bianjing?" Yang Hua exclaimed, "I heard Bianjing is full of gold, is that true? What are you doing in Bianjing? Is Bianjing very lively? Have you seen the Emperor and Empress? Is the Crown Prince really that handsome...?"
Yang Hua bombarded her with questions, finally asking, "Can you take me to Bianjing?"
Luo An asked, "What are you going to Bianjing for?"
Yang Hua said, "It would be good to go and see what the commotion is like. If we happen to run into the Crown Prince, wouldn't we have a chance to enter the palace?"
Luo An asked, "What are you doing in the palace?"
Yang Hua said, "To be a palace maid."
Luo An breathed a sigh of relief: "I thought you were going to become an empress or the crown princess."
Yang Hua rubbed her chubby cheeks: "I wouldn't dare to dream of that. I'd be content just to become a palace maid. Do you know how much a palace maid earns each month?"
Luo An said, "For newcomers to the palace, two taels of silver will suffice."
Yang Hua exclaimed repeatedly, "So many? I'll go, I'll go, I want to go!"
Luo An said, "Bianjing is far from your home, and your parents will miss you."
Yang Hua said, "It's alright. I'll save up money and buy a house in Bianjing. When my younger brother passes the imperial examination, he'll also go to Bianjing, and then we'll bring our parents over."
This arrangement sounds perfect, but how can you expect to buy a house in Bianjing with only two taels of silver a month?
Yang Hua thought it over and over and realized it made perfect sense. She pulled Luo An forward, saying, "I'll pack my things and we'll go back to Bianjing together. Once I'm in the palace and become a favorite of the Emperor and the Crown Prince, I'll definitely protect you..."
Yang Hua walked ahead, and only turned back when she realized she couldn't pull him anymore: "Why aren't you moving?"
Luo An slightly twisted his wrist to break free from Yang Hua: "If you persuade that young man from the temple to go to Bianjing, I will guarantee you a place in the palace as a maid and even give you a house."
Yang Hua said, "Isn't he not here?"
Luo An said, "I can wait. You go home and pack your things first. I'll wait for you and that young man at the temple."
Before Yang Hua could react, Luo An returned to the Goddess Temple. He sat on the prayer mat and stared at the statue of the goddess in a daze.
Luo An had seen two portraits of his grandmother. One was in the palace, painted by the late emperor. His grandmother was very young then, wearing a light purple gauze dress, standing on the beach with the sea and sky merging behind her. She was truly breathtaking.
Another painting, "Heaven and Earth," was drawn by my father from memory after he grew up. It depicts a woman in white standing amidst a field of blood-red datura flowers. At that time, my grandmother was a little older, and her gentle temperament surpassed her physical appearance.
If the person enshrined in the temple is indeed my grandmother, and if my grandmother really is a goddess from the celestial mountain...
Luo An muttered to himself, "So what if she's a goddess? She can't even protect herself, let alone her descendants. Trapped by worldly conventions and bound by emotions, she still stands on her altar receiving worship... Humph..."
Luo Anben did not believe in gods or Buddhas, and his grandmother had passed away when his father was young. He had never met his grandmother and could not say that he had a deep relationship with her.
In addition, Luo An has never been able to understand his father's actions over the years, and now that the past is flooding his mind, he has lost respect for his elders.
Luo An picked up a stick and poked at the ashes. There were still tiny embers in them, so it seemed the person hadn't been gone long.
A handsome young man, smaller than Yang Hua but bigger than Yang Shu, was already in the temple when Yang Hua was three or four years old, while he was at most two or three...
How did he grow up safely? Is the local culture really that simple and honest...?
As Luo An was lost in thought, a heavy sigh suddenly rang in his ears, sending chills down his spine.
Luo An suddenly looked up and shouted, "Who's there?"
Luo An waited for a while, but apart from the howling wind, there was no living person.
Luo An subconsciously looked at the goddess statue: he had clearly seen the goddess statue exuding kindness and gentleness before, but now he saw sadness and pity.
Luo An blinked to make sure he wasn't seeing things, and immediately a chill ran down his spine, and he broke out in a cold sweat. He clearly felt his soul leave his body, float in mid-air, and look down at his physical body.
His actions seemed to be beyond his control. Luo An knelt before the goddess statue and bowed three times respectfully: "Grandson greets grandmother."
As Luo An bowed his head in worship, he felt dust falling down, landing on his head, face, and the ground.
After Luo An finished bowing, he wiped his face with his sleeve, but when he looked up, he was stunned again: the goddess statue had turned into dust, falling down layer by layer...