Chapter 120: As Expected, I’m Naturally Cold-Blooded
As the engagement party drew near, the Lancaster residence gradually grew more lively.
Caleb Lowell’s visits also became more frequent. After all, there were many things that needed to be coordinated and discussed.
But no matter how late it was, he would never stay overnight at the Lancaster’s, insisting on leaving.
Alvin Lancaster felt that all this back-and-forth travel was too tiring. Moreover, just last night, Caleb Lowell’s car had been sideswiped by a delivery truck in the early morning hours.
Although it was just a scare and no one was hurt, it was still frightening enough to think about after the fact.
"It’s really no big deal if you stay over. Didn’t you used to stay over all the time?"
Although he had sprained his ankle again, it was fortunately just a soft tissue contusion, and he had been able to get rid of his crutches in the last couple of days.
He just walked with a slight limp and couldn’t go fast.
Otherwise, showing up to his sister’s engagement party in a wheelchair would be way too embarrassing.
Julian Lancaster’s brow furrowed slightly. He didn’t approve, but he wasn’t so cold-hearted as to forbid someone from staying over after they’d almost been in an accident.
He was just about to say it was fine, but before he could get the words out, another voice cut him off.
"Oh, no, he can’t. That would be breaking a taboo. It’s bad luck," Jane Lancaster refused.
Caleb Lowell overheard the conversation, his feelings mixed.
Even if Jane Lancaster had invited him to stay, he wouldn’t have, since he didn’t want to break the taboo either.
But the fact that his fiancée wasn’t concerned for his safety, only about whether it was auspicious or not, made him feel a little upset.
It seemed that ever since that day at the bridal shop, when he hadn’t immediately taken her side, she had been holding a grudge and was now giving him the cold shoulder.
Caleb Lowell took a deep breath. The two of them hadn’t spent any quality time alone together recently. They were about to be engaged, yet an invisible barrier seemed to have formed between them.
"Jay, let’s go to the temple tomorrow," Caleb Lowell suggested, walking over to her.
Alvin Lancaster’s eyes lit up. "Great, great! I wanted to go too!"
He felt his luck had been a bit off this year and that he really needed to go pray.
’Oh, and Big Brother too. Even though his stomach problems have gotten much better with the medicine he’s been taking, Sister’s prediction is still a sword of Damocles hanging over his head.’
"Big Brother, you should come with us. The whole family can go pray together. We can ask The Buddha to bless our family with peace and good fortune."
Julian Lancaster knitted his brows but agreed without much thought. "Alright."
He had already arranged most of his work to prepare for his sister’s engagement party, so he could spare half a day for a trip to the temple.
The wealthier people were, the more superstitious they tended to be. For business owners like them, wasn’t it an annual ritual to visit a temple and pray for booming business?
Caleb Lowell turned his gaze back to Jane Lancaster.
A faint smile touched Jane Lancaster’s lips. "Of course. Everyone has been going to the temple to pray for me for the past three years. I should go to fulfill a vow."
’He probably wants me to see all the Longevity Tablets he’s dedicated to me.’
’After doing so much, it wouldn’t do for the person in question to be completely clueless. He has to show them off to really ’wow’ me.’
Caleb felt as if a bucket of cold water had been dumped over his head.
——
As the weather grew hotter, the ancient thousand-year-old temple became a welcome, free place to cool off.
Jane Lancaster followed the others to wash her hands with mountain spring water. The water was bitingly cold, dispelling much of the heat in her heart.
Then, they took incense sticks and went to pay their respects one by one.
At nearly every shrine hall, Mama Knight eagerly led her to see the lamps the Lancaster Family had dedicated to her.
"Every single lamp here was personally lit by the Eldest Young Master, with the Second and Third Young Masters. They would kneel for hours in prayer before offering them up."
Recalling these past events, Mama Knight couldn’t help but sigh wistfully. "Back then, the knees of all the young masters’ pants were worn through."
Jane Lancaster felt not a single ripple in her heart. She was completely unmoved.
’I really am cold-blooded by nature. I can’t feel moved at all. I even feel a bit conspiratorial, suspecting some people are just putting on a show.’
Caleb Lowell’s steps faltered. He felt a pang of discomfort. ’How can she even suspect her own family?’
He saw Julian Lancaster walk out of the hall and followed him, placing his incense stick in the burner at the main hall’s entrance.
Jane Lancaster walked to one side and paused, startled, when she saw Mama Knight’s name as the supplicant under one of the lamps.
’Mama Knight prayed for me back then, too?’
Jane Lancaster hurried to the front hall and, sure enough, found the lamp in a corner.
Alvin Lancaster limped over. "Mama Knight, when did you offer up a lamp? How come we didn’t know?"
Mama Knight said, "Every year when Mrs. Everett organizes everyone to come to the temple and pray for the Young Miss, I offer one up for her. But I don’t have much money, so I can only add one each year."
But this was the largest temple in Stratton, with many halls big and small. To offer a lamp in every hall, and to add new ones every year, would cost a considerable amount of money.
’Mama Knight’s salary for all these years has probably been spent on this.’ Jane Lancaster frowned.
"Why didn’t you ever ask me for reimbursement?" Alvin Lancaster was also stunned.
The Lancaster Family was rich, so of course, no amount of offerings was too much. But the staff were just employees with families to support; the sentiment was all that mattered.
Mama Knight waved her hands repeatedly. "Why would I need reimbursement for this? I wanted to do it myself. It has nothing to do with the Lancaster Family."
Jane Lancaster shot Alvin Lancaster a look.
’The big spender is probably thinking of Mrs. Everett, but she wasn’t sincere. She was just trying to get money out of you.’
’But you’re no different from Mrs. Everett. It’s all just for show. One does it for money, the other to buy peace of mind. No wonder you two got along so well.’
Alvin Lancaster: "..."
He was actually completely unable to refute it.
Before walking out of the main hall, he glanced back at the everlasting lamps.
In truth, most of those lamps had been dedicated in the first year. Later, Big Brother went abroad, their third brother became famous, and he himself was busy with investments and opening shops. They rarely set foot in the temple.
Even when he did come, it was during the first lunar month with the company’s senior executives, and they would pray at the Hall of the God of Wealth for good returns on their investments.
Time had faded the scars, and the profound grief they once felt had gradually been forgotten.
Only the everlasting lamps, paid for by their donation, still burned brightly day after day, tirelessly illuminating the feelings of the past.
——
After they finished paying their respects, the group walked to the rear of the temple mountain.
An old abbot with profound knowledge of Buddhist teachings lived here, and Julian Lancaster would occasionally come to listen to his sermons.
An Acolyte came out, recited "Amitabha," and said the abbot was currently with a guest, asking them to please wait in a meditation room.
Alternatively, there was a hall nearby for requesting Longevity Tablets, which they could go see.
Caleb Lowell suddenly said, "I’m going to the restroom."
He didn’t want to hear his sincere feelings being trampled on. He just wanted to avoid this part of the visit. After speaking, he walked away without a backward glance.
Caleb Lowell walked to a secluded meditation room and was surprised to see a familiar face. "Chloe Dave?"
He walked toward her. "What are you looking at?"
Following her gaze, he suddenly froze.
Inside the dimly lit room, Luna Morgan was copying a scripture, her expression one of utter concentration.
Chloe Dave felt she had to explain. "Luna found out about your car accident yesterday. She came to the temple first thing this morning to pray for an Amulet for you."
Caleb Lowell’s sharp eyes noticed what looked like bloodstains on her fingertips. "What happened to her hand?"
"Oh, she’s writing a peace sutra in her own blood to pray for you and Jane Lancaster." Chloe Dave’s tone was as level as she could make it. There were some things she had been holding in for years, things she had long wanted Caleb Lowell to know.
"She started doing this three years ago. Back when you saw her copying scriptures like you and accused her of putting on a show, she thought it meant she wasn’t being pious enough, so she decided to write a Blood Scripture."
A complex mix of emotions churned within Caleb Lowell. He stood there watching for a long time, not even noticing when Chloe Dave had left.
When he saw the person in the room finish writing and stand up, he turned and walked away.