Not Your Typical Villianess - Chapter 193

Yu’an Temple

Kun* *Kun* *Kun*

Su Liya bent slightly to the side and skillfully massaged her aching thigh gently. She glared at the back of Zhu Fengyin’s head, she glanced around the room once more before rolling her eyes. Everyone in the room looked so serious praying, it was irritating. Their seriousness made her look bad, Shu Liya immediately updated her previously abandoned list of things she hated about transmigrating into the past.

The prolonged prayer time rose to the top of the list right before the horrible bath culture for the lower class. She has been kneeling for so long that she could barely feel her legs. She stiffed a sigh and continued glaring darkly at Zhu Fengyin who knelt behind her.

“Why did I let Zhu Fengyin convince me to escort her here? Seriously of all the places, she could use as a secret hideout did she have to pick a temple… Ah, my knee hurts. Oh merciful Buddha, please let this session be concluded, if I kneel any longer my skin might just become permanent fixtures to this mat’

Buddha must have gotten tired of her complaints which seemed to come every minute because the season was concluded some minutes earlier and everyone stood. Su Liya immediately got off her knees and lead backwards such that she was seated on her butt. Her two maids rushed forward when they saw their mistress’s sorry expression.

“Madam,” they said helping her up gently, Su Liya let out a heavy breath and leaned heavily on Rong Rong. Rong Rong took a step back due to the sudden weight but quickly adjusted and held her up. Zhu Fengyin glanced at Su Liya and shook her head, “have some shame, Yaya. How is it that you are finding it more difficult than I am even with my pregnancy”.

“You are used to these extra-long prayers, I on the other hand are not. It also doesn’t help that I am about as religious as a child”, the last sentence she muttered under her breath. Rong Rong smiled as she heard that, her mistress’s thought process was amusing.

Zhu Fengyin said nothing and instead shook her head as she was approached by the Abbott. Su Liya immediately stood straight as the Abbott got closer. “The temple is too serious, Fengyin. Even the Abbott looks a little scary and very uptight. No! I cannot handle this man in high doses.”

Zhu Fengyin looked narrowed her eyes at Su Liya and muttered, “Behave, Liya or I will make you come back every day!”

“Every day? Oh lord no! Don’t do this to me. I promise to be good Fengyin”.

Zhu Fengyin balls up her fist and lifted it slightly in threat, “You had better behave or else!”

Su Liya clicked her tongue and smiled softly at Zhu Fengyin “easy girl, let us not get so worked up.”.

Zhu Fengyin glanced at her, ” You Little….. Abbott, I enjoyed the mantra.” She grabbed Su Liya’s hand and pulled her forward, “let me introduce you to my sister-in-law Princess Qin, Yaya this is the Abbott of this temple”.

Su Liya didn’t wait to be told twice, Zhu Fengyin’s painful pinch was all the tell she needed. She exchanged a respectful greeting with the Abbott and stepped back to give Zhu Fengyin and the abbot some space to talk. Su Liya looked around the room with her eyes silently, there were a few madams present in the room.

Few of them raised their hands and greeted her silently as her eyes met theirs. They looked like they wanted to come over and have a talk with them. They were forced to entertain visitors these past few days thanks to the recent ongoing political unravelling. Everyone wanted to save their political positions by associating with the Lu Family.

“Yaya” Zhu Fengyin called softly.

Su Liya looked away from the landscape painting hanging on the wall opposite her that momentarily caught her attention. She turned back to Zhu Fengyin and answer “mm”.

“It is time to head to the meditation room for private spiritual counselling with the Abbott”, Zhu Fengyin said smiling.

“Oh, okay” Su Liya nodded, smiling nervously. She fell into step with Zhu Fengyin and followed the abbot’s lead. The madam standing around the room sighed as they watched their targets leave. They had waited patiently for a chance to approach the two young madams but it seemed that their wait was a waste since their target left before they could approach them.

Su Liya let out a heavy breath as they left the vicinity of the prayer room. Zhu Fengyin’s lips twitched as she saw the relieved expression on Su Liya’s face. She moved closer and mattered, “I guess I wasn’t the only one that felt the predator eyes on me back at the prayer room.”.

Su Liya shivered, “geez that was… Those women are determined, this has to be the temples’ busiest day outside of normal festivals.”

The Abbot turned around and replied, “Yes, your highness. The other guests were quite adamant about getting her grace’s prayer schedule. They insisted on coming every day when we refused their requests”.

“Don’t let there visit any you, in a few days they will move on” Su Liya left her maids by the door and walked into the meditation room with Zhu Fengyin.

“Chonglin is with the prisoner, your grace. Please get going, I will stand guard here”.

“Okay,” Zhu Fengyin replied. Su Liya glanced at her eyebrow raised as she heard that, she glanced around the to bit found no semblance of a secret door. Zhu Fengyin just rolled her eyes, grabbed Su Liya’s arm and dragged her behind the altar and through the secret passage leading ti the holding cell. She let go of Su Liya’s hands as she stopped just outside the room where Chen Yao was kept.

Su Liya looked around the secret passage, “wow! The architecture in here is really good, how long did it take you to build such a masterpiece”.

Zhu Fengyin narrowed her eyes, “if you like the architecture that much, I could lock you up in here that should give you enough time to admire the architecture”.

“Yeah, please don’t” Su Liya replied. She walked closer and whispered to her, “you said that you capture the person behind those anonymous letters”.

“Yes, it was Chen Yao” Zhu Fengyin whispered.

“How odd, I thought it would be someone older,” Su Liya said.

“Me too, I want to question her myself and find out why she is targeting the Lu family. It can’t be because of second brother-in-law rejected her?”

Su Liya glanced from the closed door to the door opposite it, “this might not be a good place to talk, let’s go in there” she gestured to the door behind them with her head.

Zhu Fengyin looked at her eyebrows raised but got nothing other than a nod towards the door behind them. “Fine!” She sighed and walked into the room. Su Liya followed behind her and shut the door behind her. She pulled a sear forward for Zhu Fengyin, after cleaning it with her handkerchief. She gestured for Fengyin to sit.

Zhu Fengyin rolled her eyes and sat on the seat, “what is it?”

“Fengyin you had Chen Yao Locked in here for four days right?”

“Yes, why do you ask”.

“Call your man in, I have some questions”

Zhu Fengyin took a whistle out of her sleeve a blew it once. A few seconds later there was a knock n the door, “come in” she said frowning slightly at Su Liya.

Su Liya unlocked the door and stepped back while Chonglin walked in silently and shy the door behind him. “my Lady!” He said bowing.

“Chonglin, Yaya has some questions for your concerning the Prisoner”

Chonglin bowed to Su Liya, “please ask your Highness”

“About the prisoner, how was her mannerism since she has been here?”

Chonglin tilted his head ti the side, “she has been over rude and demanding like a typical young miss from a noble family. She bragged to be connected to the Crown Prince”.

Su Liya wiggled her eyebrows at the surprised Zhu Fengyin as she replied, “Did she now,” to Chonglin she said, ” put her maid in a separate room and question her on her young Mistresses Behaviour these past few months. You should start with asking her if her mistress has been very sick recently”.

“Yes,” Chonglin bowed as them before leaving. Su Liya locked the door behind him.

“Do you suspect that the person in Chen Yao’s body might not be the real Chen Yao?” Zhu Fengyin sat up.

“Yes, we met Chen Yao during all of madam Jiang’s unwanted visits, does she seem like the kind that would mastermind a campaign against the Ku family just because of a rejection?”

Zhu Fengyin shook her head, “no, the Chen Yao back then is too shy”

“You mean spineless, it is just us. Don’t bother mincing words. I thought about those letters while at Ningzhuo, they all seemed too detailed. Almost like the sender witnessed the whole thing, I don’t think that she is still the Chen Yao we met five months ago”

“If you are right then things just got complicated”.