Ch. 23: Burn

Something unknown, be it hope or fear, flickered in Pushan Nun's eyes. "Burn?"

Lin Xiao was bewildered by the direction the conversation was turning in, from the bargain to her benefactor's sudden, violent claim.

System couldn't help but chuckle at her shock. "Master, even your most ardent disciple is frightened by your pathology!"

Meifeng ignored it as usual, her gaze locked on Pushan Nun's elegant face as it sifted from pure shock to deep introspection, and ended with a sullen, "Not possible."

In Pushan Nun's mind, she equated that which must be burned as women's society, a metaphorical burning instead of physical. She hated having been forced as a new widow into becoming a nun just because the greatly weakened Shen clan did not value the daughter she had painstakingly given birth to. She hated being implicated by the crimes of the men of the Shen household. And most of all, Pushan Nun just hated that she couldn't return to her original maiden home and leave the sterile, dull life of a nun behind.

But Pushan Nun knew that she was a hypocrite. Hadn't she once benefited from the trappings of womanhood as a wealthy young miss from a prestigious family? And for all those that did and continued to do so, they had not yet seen the ugly side of the bright silk clothing, porcelain dishes, and noble suitors.

Meifeng nodded calmly. "It isn't possible in our generation. Not in so short a time. And I'm not so selfless as to bring everyone along with me on the journey. To put it simply, I just want this world. And I'm willing to burn anything in my way to get it."

Lin Xiao gaped like a pufferfish, although she still obediently refilled Meifeng's cup of tea, which the young girl leisurely took a sip from as if she weren't discussing a topic that could get her beheaded by the local government if overheard.

Pushan Nun, although she was a powerful yet humble nun now, had grown up in a noble family. The underlying thread of Meifeng's words could be easily pieced together by Meifeng. If a woman wanted the world, she could only get it through her husband. And the only man who could be said to own the world was...

Pushan Nun flicked up an eyebrow. Meifeng met her gaze steadily, confirming the inevitable direction Pushan Nun's thoughts had flowed. She leveled a critical gaze at the calm, little girl before her who, she had to admit, had a bearing second to none. Her face was lovely enough for an ordinary woman, highlighted by charming eyes sparkling in the dim room like dark, alluring gems, although they seemed to hold too much cleverness for a young girl's own good.

There was no denying that if she managed to get herself to the right place at the right time, she could become a powerful man's concubine. But to become a legitimate wife, a prince consort, or even the empress? The idea was quite ludicrous. It was all just a poor girl's pipe dream who longed for wealth and status.

Pushan Nun felt quite calm as she went in for another sip, feeling like she had a handle of Meifeng. Meifeng smiled at the glint in her eye.

"Little girl you are out of your depth. Do you know what will happen to you when Madam Fang finds out who was really playing with her beloved son? Do you know what Yonghe Temple will do to you for the loss of their reputation today? You do not know what you've gotten yourself into." Pushan Nun felt rather sorry to see such a vivacious young girl on the verge of death. She recalled wistfully that indeed if her young daughter she had been forced to give to pig farmers had not died of fever in her first winter, she would be close to Meifeng's age.

"Oh," Meifeng sighed quietly, looking almost as if she were about to reconsider everything she had said.

Lin Xiao felt burning anxiety at what Pushan Nun had said, turning to Meifeng with wide eyes.

"Benefactor, is this true?" she asked with slight panic, ready to be fanned by the flames of whatever Meifeng would answer.

"I see," Meifeng suddenly continued as if she'd reached a great epiphany. "That you thought I was not speaking literally about the fire."

"Huh?" Pushan Nun and Lin Xiao spoke in tandem, although the younger Lin Xiao was much louder and emphatic.

"Yonghe Temple will be no more after today, this place you've called home for all these years. Would you like to seek out another temple to continue your clan-imposed exile or will you return to your maiden home in the capital with the excuse of marrying off your newly discovered daughter?" Meifeng finished, her words the equivalent of a firecracker in the night sky.

The sound of a shattered clay cup broke the peaceful air of Pushan Nun's secluded courtyard.

The severe calm Pushan Nun rigidly imposed over herself since she had shaved her head broke, the expensive cup slipping from her stiff fingers onto the bamboo matt covering the floor before bouncing to the hard floor. The last shard bounced to a stop right by Meifeng's worn straw shoes, her deft hands quickly pocketing the long, thin piece.

"Madam, are you alright?" a maid suddenly rushed in, her serving nature evident although she donned a nun's garments as well. It could be seen that this was one of Pushan Nun's dowry maids from when she had first gotten married.

"Cui Lan, step out," Pushan Nun suddenly said harshly. The maid appeared dumbfounded, casting a suspicious glance at the two girls sitting across from her mistress, but dutifully left once more.

Meifeng interestingly did not appear too pleased or gloating, as if her winning gambit were just a passing phrase. A delicate finger rubbed the edge of her cup thoughtfully as she leveled another unreadable look at Pushan Nun, one that the woman was growing to become wary of and simultaneously grateful towards.

"Shall we finish our plans now, Mother?" Meifeng asked in her sing-song voice, dragging out the last word with a mesmerizing smile. "Wen Chuyi will soon seek me out to get his heart broken."

There was nothing else Meifeng could've given Pushan Nun to make her say yes, even if she had managed to pluck the moon from the sky as a gift. The older woman was far from a fool and Pushan Nun's mouth felt dry as she knew that there was no way she could say no to the tantalizing deal the young girl with strange eyes was offering her.

For a moment, she considered turning down the deal, just to see how Meifeng would react. But even then, she did desperately want this offer and a chance to reunite with her aging mother. And she had a feeling that if she did turn it down, this odd girl would find a way to get what she wanted from someone else, leaving Pushan Nun to burn down with the rest of Yonghe Temple. Thinking of how the girl had gained entry into the temple through her own hands, as if she had invited a demon into her own home, Pushan Nun felt mildly uncomfortable.

Pushan Nun cleared her throat once, then twice, unsure of what to say.

"What was the purpose of young master Wen?" she finally asked hesitantly, not turning down the offer but not outright jumping onto it. She reached for her cup, before recalling the shattered pieces of it beside her.

Meifeng gave Pushan Nun a bright, genuine smile, the first since they'd arrived.

"Nothing but a distraction."

"...N-Nothing? Our love was nothing?" If a needle pierced Wen Chuyi's heart, it wouldn't hurt as much as the smiling girl before him.

It was a few hours after Wen Chuyi had to peel his screaming mother off an innocent nun, only for her to behave like a hound after blood and start tearing through the younger nuns of Yonghe Temple. The maid that he had brought along the trip had been dragged off shrieking, but he could hardly be bothered for a woman he'd shared but a few nights with. All his thoughts had been consumed with finding the girl he'd placed at the tip of his heart, her joyful laugh when he found her ball bringing him elation until he had told her how he felt.

Meifeng's eyes had never looked so clear and dazzling as she leaned in close, the scent of the river hanging from her skin and clothes as she repeated, "You were just a distraction."

"But I... but we..." Wen Chuyi stumbled out, feeling as if his head were stuffed with cotton.

Meifeng chided softly, speaking to him like she would a child. "But we what? Played a few games together? You gave me a present?" The vividly colored ball was tucked under her arm, a sudden eyesore for the newly heartbroken young shaoye. "I'm a prospective nun. Young master Wen, you are getting too far ahead of yourself!"

It was the same saucy tone he fell in love with, but every word that came from those cherry lips was akin to a dagger to the flesh.

"Meifeng, you are too deceiving!" he growled, a burst of anger briefly overwhelming his heart that was caving in on itself. He reached out to grab her, but he was a man who had grown up in the lap of luxury, content in indulging himself every day. Without breaking a sweat, Meifeng sidestepped her weak attempt, even smirking in passing.

"Me?" she whispered softly, drawing in close without him releasing. Her jade-like neck was curved towards him as she spoke near his ear. "How I would've faired in your backyard, you know better than I. If you really loved me, as you say, how could you condemn me to that fate? This kind of love, I would much rather go without."

What Meifeng was speaking of, Wen Chuyi knew perfectly. For in fact, though he was dull-witted, he was not so slow as to not know what his mother did to the women he kept. But none of them held his interest beyond a few weeks or months fancy, thus he did not mind turning a blind eye as long as his mother let him play freely.

An immense wave of guilt washed over the derelict young man, perhaps for the first time in his life considering the consequences of his delinquent behavior. He could see the disappointment and mock in Meifeng's eye, much like his father who was always disappointed in his lackluster performance in his studies.

Despair at the mirrored sight between the people he cared for the most pushed him down to his knees, the slightly pudgy young man falling to his knees in the snow. Lin Xiao, who was a lookout a few steps back, gasped quietly at the sight.

"For you, I could stop her!" he pleaded earnestly. "For you, I would!" He felt as if something precious was about to slip through his fingers, no matter how hard he tried to hold it.

Meifeng looked down at the man before her, feeling faint chagrin although her face didn't show it. She wouldn't have thought that conquering this philandering playboy would be so easy, it was almost a letdown now that she held the shattered pieces of his heart in her hands.

"Forget it." Wen Chuyi's world stopped at the lifelessness in that statement, a far cry from the usual ways she spoke to him. It was a tone he used when speaking to a lowly rough servant and those beneath him, when someone was barely worthy of being acknowledged. He looked up, feeling severe pain in his chest when he saw that he wasn't mistaken.

There was... nothing in Meifeng's eyes. No anger, no hate. No happiness or glee. It was like looking into a bottomless well and throwing down a stone, without ever hearing the plop of the stone meeting water below. It seemed that like the other women in his life, he was barely even a passing fancy for Meifeng.

Meifeng had already turned heel, ready to pack her meager belongings before she watched the sun set on Yonghe Temple for the final time. But she let a few last words hang in the air, the message lingering in Wen Chuyi's ears long after Meifeng and Lin Xiao had blended into the white scenery.

"Too bad, if only young master Wen weren't so weak compared to his lioness of a mother. You wouldn't even find my bones if I went with him! Lin Xiao, tell me I made a wise decision did I not?"

"You did, young miss." Lin Xiao softly affirmed.

When Wen Chuyi finally stood up, a gentle snow had already dusted his shoulders. They were shaking as he stood, but not from the cold. A bizarre, frightening emotion puppeted the young man's body as he stood mechanically, slowly moving in the direction of his mother's guest courtyard with something dark on his mind.

Two pairs of eyes watched the discouraged, unsettlingly calm man turn away from where he and Meifeng had stood with interest.

"Who would've thought we'd find such interesting characters in this rundown temple?" he mused with amusement, his dark eyes glinting with an unknown emotion.