Miss Cousin Wants to Become a Monk

Chapter 3 Madam Cui

Cui Xijun brought the newly embroidered handkerchief to Madam Cui, "Grandma, look at the double-sided peonies I embroidered. Is it better than before?"

Cui Xirong came over to look at it and joked: "Sister Xijun, if you hadn't said anything, I would just think that there are rooster combs stacked on top!"

Cui Xining curved her lips and said righteously: "Nonsense, it doesn't look like a cockscomb. It's obviously a fluttering moth that lost its wings and fell on Xijun's embroidered surface!"

Cui Xijun hugged Madam Cui's arm and pretended to be angry: "Okay, you guys dare to join forces to make fun of me. Grandma, please help me teach them a lesson."

Madam Cui listened to the laughter of her granddaughters with a fond smile on her lips, "Okay, okay, don't make fun of Xijun because she can embroider like this. You should praise her, praise her."

Upon hearing this, Cui Xiyao, the youngest, quickly handed the sesame cake in her hand to Cui Xijun, "Sister Xijun, this is a cake specially left for me by grandmother. If you embroider well, I will reward you on behalf of my grandmother."

Cui Xijun scratched her nose, "Since grandma left it to you, I don't want it. You just eat it all." She pouted and acted coquettishly, "Grandma is only nice to Xiyao and doesn't prepare pastry for us."

Madam Cui hugged her and said, "Everyone has something. Stay for dinner later. Everyone has something."

Madam Xie entered the door and saw that the room was very lively. She said with a smile: "Since Mother has put aside food, you can't miss my share." She then took Xie Miao out from behind her and said, "A-Miao is here too. She was just sick but she said that she wanted to come and pay her respects to Mother."

Xie Miao's eyes swept across the people in the room and finally stopped on Madam Cui. She smiled happily and said, "Hello, Grandma, A-Miao is here to say hello to you."

After bowing, she greeted everyone else in the room one by one.

Madam Li and Madam Wu were quite friendly. The smiles of the Cui ladies became lighter, especially Cui Xijun, whose eyebrows were immediately covered with a layer of frost.

Madam Cui said lovingly: "Okay, okay, you have been sick for a long time, are you feeling better? Come to grandma, let me take a good look."

Xie Miao obediently stepped forward and took her hand to give her a closer look, "Thanks to my aunt's careful care, I have recovered almost completely."

Madam Cui patted her hand and said, "You are still a little thinner." Then she ordered the maid: "Let the kitchen stew the ginseng soup and give A-Miao a tonic at noon."

Cui Xijun's expression became even more disdainful.

She came to act like a spoiled child to her grandmother before she even recovered from her illness. How contrived!

Xie Miao saw everything in her eyes. In her previous life, she would have pretended nothing was wrong and behaved like a coquettish girl to Madam Cui and she would have received her love and care. But now she is Xie Miao, who had been the mistress of the Xie family for several years and she has long looked away from these illusory love.

To be fair, Madam Cui is an excellent person. The Cui family was not allowed to have concubines so she was responsible for the three houses of the Cui family. Madam Cui did not manipulate her daughters-in-law based on her status but was willing to give her housekeeping rights to her daughters-in-law. However, the eldest daughter-in-law, Madam Li was frail and sick, and the third daughter-in-law was too gentle so the housekeeping power fell to the capable and astute Madam Xie.

Madam Cui valued Madam Xie and she felt pity for Xie Miao, who lost her father and mother when she was young. She had some sincere love for her. For this reason, Cui Xijun often lost her temper. She couldn't see clearly that the love received through marriage ties could not be as good as that of a biological granddaughter.

Cui Xijun opposed Madam Xie and also dislikes Xie Miao. This will last for many, many years.

Xie Miao didn't care, she came for other things, "Grandma, Xie Miao wants to say goodbye to you today."

Madam Cui said: "Oh? Say goodbye? Where are you going?"

Xie Miao said: "I want to stay at Qingxin Temple for a few days."

Madam Xie continued: "I see that A-Miao has been feeling out of sorts lately so why not go and stay in the nunnery for a few days, listen to the Buddha's Sanskrit and recuperate her health."

"That's fine." Madam Cui took off the small-leaf red sandalwood beads she had worn for many years and pushed them onto Xie Miao's wrist. "You go and stay in peace for a few days. Grandma is waiting for you to come back."

Xie Miao certainly knew the value of this string of Buddhist beads. In her previous life, this string of Buddhist beads was also given to her by Madam Cui. Unexpectedly, it was five years earlier in this life.

She was polite and thanked her obediently, "Thank you, Grandma."

*

After a group of people had a lively meal, Xie Miao and several juniors left first.

When there was no one around, Cui Xijun sneered impatiently: "It's really hard for my Cousin Xie. Even though she is sick, she insists on paying her respects to my grandmother. Those who don't know would think that she is my grandmother's granddaughter and they only met halfway."

She smiled coldly, not hiding the malice in her words.

Cui Xining, as the eldest and most stable among the sisters, frowned slightly and said, "Xijun."

Cui Xijun said nonchalantly: "Sister, forgive me. My grandmother gave her the Buddhist beads that she has worn for five or six years. I said this out of jealousy."

After saying that, she ignored everyone and left with her maid.

Cui Xining was very helpless towards this cousin and said apologetically to Xie Miao: "Xijun is quick to speak, cousin Xie, please don't argue with her."

Xie Miao smiled and said, "I won't take it to heart."

Although Cui Xijun lost her mother when she was young, she had a harmonious family and was loved by her father and brother. It is not surprising that she developed a wilful and impulsive temper. In the Cui family, everyone loves and tolerates her which is her blessing.

Xie Miao was once very envious. If she could, she would also like to be someone like Cui Xijun. But at the same time, she also knew that an unyielding temper would bring disaster to Cui Xijun and even the Cui family. Even though her good brother Cui Muli would always smooth things over for her, the damage caused was still irreparable.

This is Cui Xijun's life and she should bear it by herself.

Cui Xining led Cui Xiyao and Cui Xirong out, her goose-yellow skirt spreading out like ripples.

Xie Miao couldn't help but feel sad when she thought about Cui Xining's ending in her previous life and then thought about herself and Cui Xijun.

Everyone in the world is suffering, who can overcome it?