Chapter 8 The Beggar

  The eagle's peak is precipitous and steep, the dragon palace is quiet and desolate.

  Watching the sunrise over the vast ocean from the tower, with the gate facing the Zhejiang tide.

  Osmanthus falls in the moonlit night, heavenly fragrance wafts outside the clouds.

  The tower of Luoyang is far away, and the wood is taken from a distant spring.

  Frost is thin and flowers bloom more, ice is light and leaves have not withered.

  Early years still distant and different, searching for a match to wash away troubles and noise.

  Awaiting entrance on Tiantai Road, looking at the remaining stone bridge.

  Tang Dynasty poet Su Shi's "Inquiry about Lingyin Temple"

  Lingyin Temple is located in the northwest of West Lake in Hangzhou, between Feilaifeng and Beigao Peak at the foot of Lingyin Mountain. It is one of the most famous Buddhist temples in Jiangnan region with a history of over 1,400 years since its establishment during the Eastern Jin Dynasty. In the spring two years ago, Emperor Kangxi visited Lingyin Temple to pray for blessings during his third southern tour and personally wrote the horizontal inscribed board "Cloud Forest Chan Temple".

  It's the mid-July now, and in a few days it will be the birthday of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva. Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva is also known as the Lord of the Underworld in Buddhism, who governs the underworld. On his birthday, it is advisable to make vows to help ten million lonely souls escape from suffering, because countless pilgrims come to do good deeds and hold Buddhist rituals.

  The beggar who brought Cao Guang to Hangzhou, surnamed Xing, was originally a rascal from the streets of Suzhou. He had formed a gang with several brothers and ranked second among them, using begging as a cover to make dirty money. During various Buddhist festivals at Lingyin Temple, these rascals never left empty-handed, not only kidnapping children and maiming beggars but also robbing and murdering lone incense burners. Because they changed locations after each crime, they have remained at large until now.

  On the second day after Cao Can arrived in Hangzhou, he began his life of begging at Lingyin Temple. His body was originally not good, and after being tossed about for several days, traveling thousands of miles, his leg was broken, and he came down with a high fever.

  Xing Er put Cao Guang on the road to Lingyin Temple by West Lake, and knelt down beside him. He rubbed his eyes with his sleeve. The cuff was smeared with ginger, which made his eyes red and swollen, matching the sick child lying nearby, just like a pair of father and son in distress.

  The grown-ups cried pitifully, the children looked miserable, which made the people who came to worship Buddha very sympathetic. In one day, the copper coins and silver fragments added up to six or seven taels of silver.

  After sunset, Xing Er returned to the old nest, and several other brothers also had a good income. Old Seven bought a package of steamed buns and threw them on the ground, which was the meal for the children for the day. These children were their tools for cheating money, and they couldn't just die like this. Except for Cao Kun, who was unconscious with a high fever, all the other children crawled over like little dogs, using their dirty little hands to grab one or two steamed buns.

  The rascals left two people behind, and the others took the money they had begged for today to go whoring and gambling. In the house, there was a little boy about Cao Guang's age, with a dirty face that was black beyond recognition. His right arm had been broken by those people, but his left hand was still intact, holding two steamed buns, which he brought over to Cao Guang.

  Cao Guang's mouth was burning, and his voice couldn't come out. He opened and closed his mouth, looking pitiful. The child thought Cao Guang wanted to eat something, so he tore off a small piece of steamed bun and stuffed it into his mouth. Cao Guang was dizzy and couldn't swallow. The little boy then took a large bowl, soaked the steamed bun in cold water, and slowly fed it to Cao Guang's mouth.

  Cao Gong was ill and knew he was hungry, so he swallowed it randomly.

  The other kids finished their buns and stared at the little boy's. The little boy glared at everyone, with his hands on his hips: "Want to fight?" His eyes were wide open, like a small rooster ready for battle.

  The other children seemed to have learned a lesson from the boy's bitter experience and did not dare to be presumptuous, so they just muttered to themselves and swallowed their saliva.

  The boy fed Cao Ge half a bun and ate the rest himself.

  Cao Gong ate something and slowly came to, his legs transmitting intense pain. Although he had lived two lives as a human being, where had he ever suffered such hardships? The pain was so severe that his nose and eyes were streaming with tears. He closed his eyes, his heart filled with boundless hatred, vowing that if he escaped from here, he would personally kill those scoundrels. Again, he began to hate Gu San and Cao Yin, one for being greedy and the other for being a fool. Suddenly, he felt a coarse cloth gently wiping away his tears on his face. He opened his eyes, and a small black face appeared before him.

  The boy saw Cao Guang wake up, feeling a bit embarrassed, scratching the back of his head with the hand that hadn't been broken. Cao Guang remembered that someone had fed him something to eat just now, and seeing an empty bowl beside the boy with some leftover porridge-like substance inside, he knew it was him, and felt very grateful in his heart.

  Although he woke up, Cao Kun only had one feeling, which was pain. He thought that this life might be spent as a cripple or mute, and he would rather die like this. However, how could he bear to die like this? His previous life was already short-lived, and this life had only lived for a few days.

  It won't work, to survive, Cao Kun lifted his arm and touched his forehead, which was burning severely. He had to think of a way to save himself, those rascals were hopeless.

  The boy saw Cao Gong's movement and stretched out his dirty little hand to touch his forehead: "Wow, it's burning badly!"

  Cao Guang's throat was parched, and he made a drinking motion. The boy was quite quick-witted and brought over a bowl with half a bowl of water to feed Cao Guang.

  Cao Gong's tears were about to fall, and he felt that this child was even more intimate than the old lady at this moment. After drinking water, Cao Gong patted his forehead again. The boy should have taken care of patients before, using a wet cloth to gently place it on his forehead.

  Cao Cong had already become numb from the pain and felt much more comfortable on his forehead, so he fell asleep again in a daze. The little boy didn't close his eyes until Cao Cong was fast asleep, then curled up beside him.

  Jiangning, Weaving and Dyeing Office.

  It has been ten days since Cao Kun's incident, and Cao Yun is so anxious that he has added a lot of white hair to his temples. At that time, after the land road pursuit was fruitless, he and Zhuang Chang thought about whether Gu San had taken the waterway, and they inquired in detail, and really found out that on that day at noon, there was a man with a height similar to Gu San's who took a sick child to Suzhou.

  Cao Yin personally led his men, rushing to Suzhou on horseback, and inquired at various pawnshops and casinos, but only found some clues. Cao Yun's accessories were redeemed, and he also knew that Gu San had won money at the casino, but the trail ended there. It wasn't until several days later that Gu San's body floated out of the pond that he learned of his death. The Li family also received the news, and the servants and guards of the two families searched the city and countryside of Suzhou like a net, but still found nothing, and Cao Yun's whereabouts remained a mystery.

  Mr. Li was worried about his son, who had fallen ill. The old lady on the other side was still keeping it a secret, thinking that her grandson was with his maternal grandmother in Suzhou and would mention it several times a day.

  Zhuang Chang knew that on the surface, Cao Yin was fine, but in his heart, he was anxious and couldn't calm down. After all, Cao Yin was his only son born when he was over 30 years old. He had the intention to use the power of the Grand Council to make things happen, but he also knew that Cao Yin was a straightforward person who would absolutely not agree with such self-serving behavior. So, he secretly mentioned this matter in a confidential memorial to the Emperor. When Emperor Kangxi went on his southern tour and met Cao Yun, he naturally knew that Cao Yun was the eldest grandson of Madame Sun, and even if he didn't take Cao Yin's face into account, he would still be considerate of Madame Sun's face.

  Hangzhou, Lingyin Temple.

  Or it's really "the old master can't starve to death, the blind house sparrow", Cao Gong's fire slowly retreated. He mocked himself in his heart, it seems that people really can't be spoiled, this small body in Jiangning Weaving Bureau, wearing brocade and eating delicacies, if they get heatstroke, they can die and let themselves attach to their bodies, but when they arrived in Hangzhou, they became disabled, every day a steamed bun and half a bowl of clear water still lived well.

  The wound at the broken bone was festering and inflamed, with blood and flesh mixed together. Two or three days later, Cao Guang suddenly saw white maggots in the wound, which made him feel nauseous to the point of vomiting. However, thinking back to what he had read in his past life, these maggots ate away at the rotten flesh and were beneficial for healing the wound, so he let them crawl around until he felt pain, then removed them.

  Day after day, the beggar's life was dull. Cao Gong could only lie on the ground, motionless. His eyes became sharp, gazing at the passing incense guests, secretly planning in his heart. His throat still couldn't speak, it seemed that wanting to open his mouth to ask for help was impossible.

  One of the begging children died, and it was said that he was holding onto a tourist's leg for help, but was kicked away by the tourist like a broken rag. That night, Pizi took out the child's tongue in front of the other kids, and then beat him to death with sticks, throwing his body into West Lake.

  Cao Guang knew that if he didn't escape, even if he didn't die, his legs would be crippled. At night when no one was around, he used the firelight from the stove to write a plea for help in blood on the inside of his clothes. Next, he had to find someone with a good heart to ask for help. This person couldn't be too weak, or else if they were timid and afraid of trouble, it would all be in vain.

  When Cao Kun first entered this world, he still had a glimmer of hope in his heart, thinking that relying on the great tree of the Cao family would allow him to live a stable life for several years. After all, it was still more than 20 years before Yongzheng came to power and the Cao family was confiscated, and it wasn't time to worry about the rise and fall of the Cao family yet. These ten or so days of experience made him realize that relying on no one is better than relying on oneself, and also made him aware that in ancient society, human life is as cheap as a blade of grass. Without the title of Weaving Bureau Prince, he was no different from those children in the same room, all weak and powerless.

  The child who took care of Cao Guang was called A Ping, and judging from his accent, he was a person from around Hangzhou. Cao Guang's legs were inconvenient, and every day, it was A Ping who snatched buns for him to eat and fed him water. Cao Guang looked at him and thought of Cao Cong, both lovely little brothers, thinking that if they could escape safely, they would definitely repay him.

  Let's not mention Cao Kun for now, but talk about Gu Na, who lived with Zhuang Chang in the Cao family. He was the first to know of his father's death. Zhuang Chang liked him because he was clever and young, and didn't want him to harbor resentment towards the Cao family due to his father's affair. Therefore, he didn't conceal the true cause of Gu San's death from him. When Gu Na heard that his father had died in a gambling den, he wasn't surprised at all, nor did he shed any tears. He simply said that since he was after all the son of that man, he should wear mourning clothes for three days.

  After returning from Suzhou in disappointment, Cao Yin met with Gu Na once and told him the location of his father's burial site. He also mentioned sending him to a distant academy to study. He is not a saint, if his son returns safely it would be fine, but if something unexpected happens, how can he remain calm and composed while watching the son of his enemy wandering around in front of him? Gu Na remained silent, waiting for news from the capital, asking Cao Yin to be patient and not anxious.

  Li lived in Cao Guang's mansion, day and night with tears washing her face, her eyes were about to cry out. Zhao Jia watched over her, and the two sisters-in-law's past grievances dissipated like smoke. Cao Guang saw that the eldest son's descendants were struggling, and his only nephew's life or death was unknown, so he quietly told his wife that if Cao Yun really had a chance, he would adopt his own son to the eldest son. Although Zhao Jia was reluctant in her heart, she saw Li was truly pitiful, so she reluctantly agreed.