This left Henry Thompson utterly astonished. “Mother, are you just scrambling at the last minute? I remember you barely came to this Buddha hall even once a year before. Do you really think chanting scriptures and worshipping Buddha will help now? And just now, I think you recited that scripture incorrectly.”

“In front of the Buddha, how can you speak like that, Xuan’er?”

The Miller Family was momentarily speechless with anger, but her next words betrayed a guilty conscience: “The abbot of Bao’en Temple said, ‘The sea of suffering is boundless; turn back and you will find the shore.’ As long as I am sincere, the Buddha will not abandon his devout believers.”

Henry Thompson couldn’t help but twitch the corner of his mouth. “Mother, I suppose you gave him quite a bit of incense money this time?”

“Five hundred taels of silver,” The Miller Family said, her face glowing. “I’m also planning to commission a golden statue of the Pure Glazed Bodhisattva at Bao’en Temple. The abbot praised me as a generous and charitable patroness. If I can become a lay devotee, I’ll surely become a bodhisattva in the future.”

Perhaps due to lingering emotions from his previous life, Henry Thompson felt a sharp pain in his heart. Five hundred taels of silver would have been enough for his former self to squander for half a month at the finest brothel by the Qinhuai River.

At the same time, he realized that his mother—a peerless beauty perhaps no less stunning than the legendary Xi Shi or Diao Chan—ended up with his father, that pile of cow dung, for a reason.

The Miller Family truly was beautiful. Even in middle age, she showed no signs of aging. Her face was like a peach blossom, her skin as smooth as congealed cream. Her looks could easily be compared to a certain forty-year-old celebrity surnamed Gao—breathtakingly gorgeous.

“Let me think, Mother, you’ve donated at least ten thousand taels of silver to Bao’en Temple over the years, haven’t you? So, you can’t really call this last-minute devotion—you’re practically hugging the Buddha every day. You’ve truly kept the Buddha in your heart, the most devout of all. What’s that Buddhist saying? ‘The Buddha sits in your heart; don’t seek him on Mount Ling.’ I’m sure Amitabha will bless our family.”

“Yes! Yes! That’s exactly right!”

The Miller Family beamed with joy, then glanced up and down at Henry Thompson with concern. “I heard you got into another fight today, Xuan’er? Are you hurt anywhere?”

“Didn’t Father tell you?” Henry Thompson shook out his robe, indicating he was fine. “See? I’m perfectly all right—not a scratch on me.”

“That’s good, that’s good! Your father did say you were fine, but I can’t rest easy until I see you myself.”

The Miller Family breathed a sigh of relief, then her brow furrowed deeply. “You know about your father’s situation, right, Xuan’er? He said there will likely be trouble both inside and outside the manor from now on, and some bad people have their eyes on you. How can this go on? Why don’t you resign from your post? Just stay home for now, don’t go out. Whatever you need, I’ll have someone bring it to you.”

Henry Thompson thought to himself, how ruthless—his father only urged him to practice martial arts diligently, but his mother wanted to put him under house arrest. He couldn’t help but laugh. “Mother, that’s not right. If I resign as Demon-Subduing Inspector, what will I eat and wear in the future? I can’t rely on the Marquis’s household forever, can I?”

He actually wouldn’t mind being a pampered second-generation official, but the current situation didn’t allow for it.

“So what if I support you?”

The Miller Family suddenly spoke with authority. “This Marquis’s household is so big—can’t it support my son? Don’t worry, Xuan’er. I’m working on something right now. Once it succeeds, I guarantee you’ll have a life of wealth and luxury. Even if it doesn’t, I still have my dowry, and that’s all for you.”

Chapter 10: Primordial Celestial Phenomena Technique

Henry Thompson was momentarily stunned. “Isn’t that a bit much? Big Brother might have something to say about it.”

In his memory, The Miller Family’s dowry was a huge fortune—over thirty shops in Nanjing alone, two hundred acres of irrigated land, and more than a dozen hills planted with mulberry and hemp.

And according to the laws of past dynasties, unless it was a crime of treason, even if the government confiscated property, the dowry money couldn’t be touched.

“He wouldn’t dare! The entire Marquis’s estate went to him and his wife, and I can’t even give my youngest son a little private money?”

The Miller Family put her hands on her hips, fuming. “That ungrateful boy—he got a wife and forgot his mother. Whatever his wife says is right, and whatever I do is wrong? Hmph! I won’t give them another penny.”

Henry Thompson realized what was going on—it was a mother-in-law and daughter-in-law conflict. When the snipe and the clam fight, the fisherman profits—hmm, maybe that’s not quite the right metaphor.

At this moment, The Miller Family changed the subject. “Oh, right! Xuan’er, the Duke Xu’s household will be holding a garden party soon. You have to accompany me.”

“Garden party?” Henry Thompson was puzzled. “Aren’t all the guests women? Why should I go? I’m not going!”

“There will be men too, all young people. Don’t ask why.” The Miller Family said with a sly smile. “If you agree to go, I’ll give you a thousand taels of pocket money right now. I heard from the steward that you’re out of money again, aren’t you?”

“Mother, honestly, why do you always use money to bribe me?” Henry Thompson frowned, looking quite displeased. “When is this garden party, anyway?”

……

When Henry Thompson walked out of the small Buddha hall with a thousand-tael banknote in his pocket, he couldn’t help but sigh inwardly. The saying ‘a loving mother spoils her son’ was indeed true. The Miller Family’s words just now had effortlessly shattered the life goals he had only recently set for himself after arriving in this world.