After Transmigration, Her Whole Family Are Villains

Chapter 224



Chapter 224

On the second day after the beginning of winter, it began to rain.

It was the first big rain since autumn, falling into winter.

The mountains were shrouded in curtains of rain.

Yet Jiang Changtian still went out.

He brought a little bottle with him—his little girl wearing a black cloak and carrying a sword.

The little girl always said she wanted to roam the jianghu and right wrongs.

She had probably read too many storybooks.

Where does a woman relieve herself when wandering the jianghu?

Living on the road would ruin her skin, making it dark and weathered.

Walking so much would make her feet large and legs thick.

And with no fixed abode, she'd have to carry her own bags. Carrying luggage for a long time would broaden her shoulders and roughen her hands.

Female warriors often end up looking strong, dark, and coarse—more muscular than men, with an androgynous appearance.

They don't look very feminine at all.

But Jiang Changtian didn't say this to his daughter. People need to have dreams.

Let her enjoy her fantasy.

If she really wanted a jianghu, he could create one for her.

The rain stopped around noon.

But the roads were still very slippery.

Jiang Mianmian walked very carefully.

The soles of her shoes were too slippery at this time.

Jiang Mianmian was a bit worried about her father. Although sometimes her father looked so handsome that she forgot his age.

But considering ancient times, her father was solidly middle-aged to elderly.

Jiang Mianmian took a few steps and looked back, calling out: "Father, slow down."

"I'm fine, watch yourself."

Then Jiang Mianmian slipped with a whoosh and fell down.

She landed on her bottom in the mud.

The black mud was especially noticeable, but it didn't hurt.

Jiang Changtian picked up his daughter and said: "Watch where you're going, not your father."

"It doesn't hurt at all," Jiang Mianmian said with a laugh.

But it gave Pangya quite a scare.

Pangya wanted to carry her mistress, but Jiang Mianmian didn't let her.

Zhang Kuibiao wanted to carry the old master, but Jiang Changtian refused as well, saying thanks, but he wasn't old.

Usually, if Mianmian didn't go out, Zhang Kuibiao would accompany Jiang Changtian. He looked strong and fierce—if he belonged to someone else's household it would be scary, but since he was their own, it gave a sense of security.

Mianmian got up and held her father's hand as they continued on.

Fortunately, there was only a short stretch of muddy road, probably due to a recent landslide leaving a lot of loose soil.

The path ahead was grassy. Stepping on the grass wasn't as slippery.

Though after walking for a while, their hems and shoes would get wet.

The grass that was stepped down would slowly stand back up after people passed. Time would repair it, and soon there would be no trace of travelers.

When they were past the muddy section, Jiang Mianmian took out her sword—or rather, unsheathed it. The posture was quite important too. It had to look cool, and she had to be careful not to cut anyone nearby.

There was a certain angle to it. If you didn't get the angle right, you might not be able to pull it out smoothly, which would ruin the cool effect.

If the motion was too big, you could easily hurt your allies. Before even facing the enemy, you'd be at -1 ally.

Jiang Mianmian didn't know if her swordsmanship was any good, but she had already mastered the basics of looking impressive: unsheathing the sword.

Jiang Mianmian drew her sword and began striking at the flowers and grass along the path.

Though it was winter already, so there were fewer flowers and more grass.

The sword made a swishing sound as it cut through the grass tops. It sounded nice.

She was like an industrious pathfinder, swinging her sword nonstop.

Originally Jiang Changtian had been in a bad mood about going to the temple, because he was going to see his elder brother.

But watching little Mianmian in front of him, mud-stained but happily swinging her sword with a big smile, Jiang Changtian's hard, dark heart unconsciously softened and became cheerful.

He listened to her unconsciously making sound effects for her sword.

"Hya! Ha!"

The corners of Jiang Changtian's mouth had already turned upwards.

Jingzhou originally had many temples.

There were two extremely large temples, Shangqiu Convent and True Return Temple.

After Shangqiu Convent was gone, True Return Temple became the biggest taxpayer in Jingzhou overnight. The taxes from True Return Temple alone were enough to support the urban development of an entire prefecture.

True Return Temple not only paid taxes enthusiastically, but many people, envious of the strong men always exercising at the temple gates, also left the secular world to join in working out and getting pumped up.

True Return Temple not only paid taxes enthusiastically and actively supplied society with literate, strong talents, but also actively returned excess land. After all, with fewer people, they certainly didn't need so much land. What comes from the people should be returned to the people.

The taxes from True Return Temple supported the urban construction of an entire city.

The land returned by True Return Temple supported half the population of a city.

As the largest temple setting an example, how could the other hundred-odd large and small temples not follow suit?

The Buddha is merciful, excellent, excellent!

Because of this, Commander Jiang was affectionately called "Old Demon Jiang" by the Buddhist community in Jingzhou.

The affectionate Commander Jiang brought his little daughter to a small temple in the mountains.

At the temple gate, they saw a tall man with long hair sweeping with a broom.

The area in front of the temple wasn't particularly large or small.

But after the start of winter, there were many fallen leaves.

After the rain, the ground was wet and the leaves stuck to the surface, making them very difficult to sweep away. The more you swept, the more they seemed to stick.

He kept sweeping one stroke at a time.

It seemed the goal wasn't important; the process was what mattered.

The sweeping monk's main focus was on sweeping beautifully, not necessarily on getting things clean.

The young monks at the temple heard someone had come and were about to go out to look, but when they saw Old Old Old Demon Jiang, they wished they could immediately close the temple gates and turn tail to run.

They went to report to the abbot.

But the abbot scolded them: "Others call him Old Demon Jiang, but since he came to Jingzhou, apart from Shangqiu Convent disappearing and the big monks at True Return Temple getting thinner, the common people have all gotten fatter. What does that have to do with small temples like us? We used to be oppressed by True Return Temple and Shangqiu Convent, barely seeming like proper temples. Now things are a bit better, we occasionally even get worshippers. It's much better than before. Would you rather eat greasy leftovers or clean food you made yourself?"

The abbot tidied his kasaya robe and went out to greet the visitors.

Jiang Changtian watched his elder brother in his faded old monk's robe, earnestly sweeping. He said, "Brother, I'm going to the capital. I came specially to say goodbye."

Jiang Huaisheng continued sweeping.

"Mother and Wan'er have already arrived. I heard Wan'er is even playing tricks, pretending to be a female immortal who can divine the future. Brother, you know how I despise supernatural nonsense. Don't worry, when I get to the capital, I'll teach her a good lesson for you."

Jiang Huaisheng kept on sweeping.

"I hear your wife has become Heir Apparent Han's concubine. Speaking of which, brother, you still owe your wife a divorce certificate. She needs to divorce you first before she can marry someone else. Marrying directly is certainly not right, even if he is the emperor's nephew. The emperor was wrong in this matter. When I get to the capital, if I have the chance, I'll definitely seek justice for you. But brother, you've become a monk now. Monks renounce all worldly ties. Have you written the divorce certificate? I can deliver it for you."

Jiang Huaisheng continued sweeping, vigorously sweeping at a leaf on the ground in front of him. He had swept so hard that the leaf was shredded by the bamboo broom bristles.

The abbot came out.

He was a thin old man.

"Evil entrust—"

Oh no, slip of the tongue.

"Amitabha Buddha."

"What brings Commander Jiang here?" the abbot asked respectfully.

"I came to visit my elder brother. He's become a monk at your temple, but there's one thing you've done poorly. Even if he's my elder brother, since he's become a monk he should look the part. Keeping his hair and beard is unseemly. The government has issued regulations forbidding temples from taking on lay disciples as affiliates to evade taxes."

"Yes, yes, yes. Layman Huaisheng has great potential for enlightenment. We've already chosen an auspicious date to give him the tonsure. We never affiliate lay disciples here. We pay taxes based on headcount and absolutely do not evade taxes."

Commander Jiang asked: "Which auspicious date?"

The abbot counted on his fingers and said: "Today."


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