Xie Miao has no time to care about what other people are thinking. She is now in her own way, swimming in the vast ocean of scriptures every day, and her body and mind have been sublimated.
When she returned to Cui Mansion, she did not change her schedule at Qingxin Temple. She still spent an hour in the morning and afternoon reading scriptures and copying scriptures. Except for greeting Madam Xie and Madam Cui, she hardly left the courtyard the rest of the time.
To make matters worse, Xie Miao became a vegetarian.
There is no small kitchen in Haihua Garden, and all meals are provided by Cui Mansion's kitchen. The master's meals are all three meat and two vegetarian dishes, but Xie Miao only eats the two vegetarian dishes now, and gives all the meat to the four girls.
In this regard, Lan Xia felt a thunderbolt from the blue: She has lost all her lust for words. Is her Young Lady going to become a Buddha immediately?
Fu Lu also noticed something unusual. The Young Lady's ascetic look really... looked like a monk.
It was just a matter of fasting and chanting Buddha's name while staying at Qingxin Temple. Why is it still like this after returning to Cui Mansion?
Fu Lu and Lan Xia were so anxious that they pulled their hair and wanted to ask Madam Xie for help, but Xie Miao noticed in advance and warned them severely.
"My aunt is busy with grandma's birthday. It would be too uninteresting for you to bother her with my trivial matters." She smiled sweetly as she spoke, but her eyes were filled with cold light, as if to say: If you dare to complain to my aunt, see how I deal with you two dead girls. I might expel you from the house. Don't think that I don't dare!
Fu Lu and Lan Xia had no choice but to succumb to their master's abuse of authority, but they were wailing in their hearts: They were really afraid that when they wake up tomorrow morning, the Young Lady would have her hair shaved to become a nun. How could this be fixed?
A few days later, Xie Miao, who wanted to cut some thread, found that the scissors in the room had disappeared without a trace.
Xie Miao: ?
In contrast to the uneasiness of the two maids, the newcomers Guiyuan and Lizhi gradually became more fond of Xie Miao.
They found that the legendary pretentious, stingy and shabby cousin didn't seem so unbearable. She has a good temper, has few things to do, and most importantly, saves meat for the maids at every meal!
What a wonderful Young Lady this is!
The two little girls quickly turned against each other after being bribed with meat. They were disdainful of cousin Xie Miao in the beginning, but when they met, they started to smile.
So the daily life in Haihua Yuan is: Xie Miao is wearing a plain robe, reading scriptures and copying books, the two eldest maids are sighing, and the two little maids are smiling heartlessly.
*
However, Fu Lu and Lan Xia were overly worried. Xie Miao did not plan to become a monk now - after all, she has to wait until Madam Xie gives birth to her younger brother and her attention has been diverted, otherwise Madam Xie might skin her alive.
Besides, she still has something she must do by then...
Xie Miao lowered her eyelids, suppressing the coldness in her heart, and thought about another thing.
Dingyuan Marquis Mansion.
She knew very well that even if she lived another life, there would be very little she could do. She is a woman, living in the backyard of the Cui Mansion, and a cousin from a distant place. She is not in the centre of power, and she has no status or financial resources. If she wants to turn things around, it would be overestimating her own abilities.
She couldn't help but think: What if it was Cui Muli who was reborn?
He is very deep in the capital and is very scheming. If he can understand the future, he can help Dingyuan Marquis Mansion avoid disasters and avoid the cholera in Da Qi.
Why wasn't he the one who was reborn?
Xie Miao put down the writing brush in her hand and rubbed her solemn eyebrows. She huddled her small body in the armchair.
What can she do? How to do it? What can be changed after doing it?
Xie Miao thought countless times and asked and answered herself countless times.
What can she do? ——What can be done is to remind Dingyuan Marquis Mansion of the upcoming disaster in a secret way.
How is she going to do that? ——She couldn't tell Madam Marquis Dingyuan, and on Zhou Niannan's side, after the encounter at Qingxin Temple, she clearly realized that with his prejudice against her, no matter what she said, he would not listen carefully.
Over and over again, she didn't want to waste time on him. She tried the thankless thing twice. If she tried it again, would it be shameful to think that she has no self-respect?
As a result, there seems to be only one candidate left.
Xie Miao's headache worsened and she bit her lip lightly. She felt like a beast trapped in darkness. She finally found some light, but when she got closer, she suddenly discovered that it was a hunter holding a torch and looking at her with a smile.
Although bright, it is extremely dangerous.
To her, Cui Muli was the hunter. She didn't want to have anything to do with him anymore, but it seemed that he was the only one who could help.
He is deeply scheming, backed by Cui Mansion, and is in the Ministry of Justice. He has a close relationship with the Dingyuan Marquis Mansion. He is the number one scholar appointed by the Emperor and will become the youngest Prime Minister of Da Qi. After being in trouble in the previous life, he was able to turn the tide and survive.
What's more important is that regardless of his origin, he can tolerate flattery and ridicule. If she surrendered to him, even if he knew it was her, Xie Miao, he would put aside his personal emotions and deal with business matters.
After a while, she waved her hand in the air, as if she was driving away some annoying mosquitoes.
When a boat reaches the bridge, it will naturally go straight, and when a carriage reaches the mountain, there will be a road. If you really want to ask Cui Muli for help, that will happen later. The top priority is to wait for the Emperor to announce the news that the Empress is pregnant, and whether the porridge provided by the Dingyuan Marquis Mansion can avoid the chaos of the refugees.
All she could do was wait, wait patiently.
*
With only five days left before Madam Cui's birthday, Haihua Yuan welcomed an unexpected guest.
"Second Miss?" Lan Xia opened the door and was stunned for a moment.
Cui Xining stood at the door wearing a lotus-coloured thin cotton jacket and a fragrant vine-covered undershirt.
"Is your Lady here?" she asked.
"Yes, yes, of course." Lan Xia nodded, noticing that the two maids behind her were holding two pieces of cloth in their hands, and asked with a little hesitation: "The Second Young Lady is here to see my Young Lady?"
Cui Xining nodded, "Yes."
But she didn't say much.
Lan Xia was surprised: several direct daughters of the Cui family had never set foot in Haihua Yuan under the influence of Cui Xijun. This is the first time since she had lived in Cui Mansion for three years!
She quickly ushered people in, "Second Miss, please come in. Miss is copying scriptures in the study. Please wait a moment."
Guiyuan and Lizhi, who were working in the courtyard, said respectfully, "Hello, Second Miss."
Fu Lu also came out of the house, greeted Cui Xining and said, "Second Miss, please wait a moment. I will go and report right away."
She knocked on the study door politely and said, "Miss, the Second Young Lady is here. She is in the yard."
The person in the room said: "Invite her to the study."
When Cui Xining entered the study, a burst of ink fragrance hit her nostrils.
Xie Miao stood behind the desk and put the writing brush on the pen holder. She wiped her fingertips with a wet cloth, and looked up at her, "Second Cousin is here?" Her face was full of confusion, and expressed without hesitation: Why are you here?
Cui Xining paused and said with a smile, "I'll give you something."
Two maids walked out from behind, and Xie Miao saw clearly that they were holding two pieces of brightly coloured cloth.
Cui Xining said: "This is the brocade that my uncle brought from Jinzhou. I think the colour matches you very well. I wonder if you like it?"
Xie Miao was quiet and said, "I like it." She probably understood why Cui Xining came here.
Cui Xining smiled and said, "As long as you like it."
She thought, Xie Miao really understood. She understands the sudden and unspeakable, almost inaudible and overwhelming guilt in her heart.
If you don't encounter some things, you can treat them as if they don't exist. But that day when they met, the Cui family's admonitions were like several mountains, weighing heavily on her heart.
A gentleman is virtuous, and does not neglect good deeds because they are small, and does not do evil deeds because they are small.
It is true that Xijun is the only one who really makes things difficult for Xie Miao, but they who have been standing by and watching are not accomplices? She acquiesced in Xijun's malice towards Xie Miao and condoned people's disrespect and slander towards Xie Miao.
If you think about it carefully, Xie Miao has never done anything evil. She just wants to win over a man who doesn't match her status...
A vague figure flashed through Cui Xining's mind, and her heart skipped a beat, suddenly feeling a bit of empathy for the desolation.
"Second Cousin?"
Cui Xining came back to her senses and smiled apologetically. She walked a few steps inside, and curiously looked at the case full of scriptures, "Are you copying scriptures?"
Xie Miao's sleeves were stained with some ink. She tried to wipe it off, but gave up after no success. "For grandmother's birthday, I want to copy the Sutra of Infinite Life a hundred times for her."
Reading the "Infinite Life Sutra" a hundred times cannot be completed in one or two days!
Cui Xining said sincerely: "You are very thoughtful. Compared with you, the thing I plan to give seem a bit vulgar."
"What are you going to give?"
"A bracelet of eighteen green emeralds."
"...Uh." It was indeed ordinary, but Xie Miao still said: "No matter what you give, grandma will like it."
She did not pursue and gratify her as much as before, but Cui Xining was relieved in her heart and couldn't help laughing: "Since you said this, it means that my gift is indeed perfunctory. I heard that a new batch of treasures have been brought into Baochang Pavilion. Are you free tomorrow to accompany me to pick out a birthday gift for grandmother?"
Xie Miao is unwilling. Xie Miao didn't want to go.
The ladies of the Cui family were not treacherous or evil people, and their rejection of her was only verbal, which might have caused some trouble, but after all, Xie Miao had lived two lives, so she didn't care about this trivial matter at all. She has no intention of pursuing anyone's fault, nor does she have any intention of having a close friendship with anyone. Now she is alone, copying scriptures and chanting Buddha's name. Unknowingly, it is very comfortable.
She was about to refuse when she accidentally met Fu Lu's face.
"Miss." Fu Lu twitched the corners of her mouth and showed a fake smile, "You haven't gone out for five days."
If the Young Lady refuses to go out with the Second Young Lady, this servant will immediately go and tell the Second Lady - this is what she said in her eyes.
Xie Miao looked away nonchalantly and said tactfully: "Cousin Xijun..."
She didn't finish her words but it is understood.
Cui Xining said: "Sister Xijun has an appointment with Panyan tomorrow. It's just you and me going out." She paused for a breath and then said: "She has been too temperamental in the past, and I will take good care of her in the future."
*
On the morning of the next day, the two took the maids and travelled by carriage to Baochang Pavilion.
The carriage used by the daughters of Cui Mansion was very comfortable. The spacious interior could accommodate six or seven people. There was a small table in the middle with snacks and tea.
Xie Miao drank tea for a while, raised the corner of the carriage curtain, and looked at the scene on the street.
At the beginning of winter, the ground is white and the wind is cold. Street vendors are wrapped in thin coats and go out early to set up stalls to make a living. The smell of food, water vapour, and the sound of people came one after another. There are fireworks in the market, full of vitality.
Different from the wealthy families, these people may have never gone to school and do not have much money. They are small and noisy, tenacious and ordinary, living on the same land.
They soon arrived at Baochang Pavilion.
There were two young men with handsome faces standing at the door. When Cui Xining and Xie Miao got off the car, they stepped forward diligently and said, "These two Young Ladies, please come in."
Baochang Pavilion is a century-old store that specializes in making rare items. After entering the door is a long mahogany table, covered with red velvet cloth. On top were carved mahogany boxes of different sizes, filled with gold, silver, pearls and emeralds, a dazzling array. On both sides stood ten-foot-tall cabinets filled with curiosities, porcelain and jade bottles, and everything else.
Xie Miao was a frequent visitor to Baochang Pavilion after marrying Cui Muli in her previous life, and knew the unwritten rules of Baochang Pavilion.
The first floor is for welcoming guests, the second floor is for entertaining guests, and the third floor is for keeping guests.
The first floor welcomes visitors and anyone can enter. It is worth seeing but nothing more.
On the second floor, you can entertain guests and enjoy fragrant tea. The treasures are carefully selected and reserved exclusively for you.
If there are guests on the third floor, the shopkeeper will have to go into battle in person. He will use his sharp tongue to present treasures to make the guests happy.
As for how to tell which floor a guest goes to? That depends on the clerk's sharp eyes. For example, Cui Xining is wearing plain soft satin worth twenty taels of silver per meter from Jushang Pavilion today. What is exposed on her wrist is a jade bracelet with excellent water quality and no impurities. She is wearing ganan incense beads from Baochang Pavilion in her hair. The incense is inlaid with jewelled hairpins, and even the two maids behind her are exquisitely dressed and elegant.
The two young men turned their eyes to Xie Miao.
This lady is dressed plainly and elegantly, not flashy, but has a unique temperament. There was a slight smile on her lips, and she glanced around casually without stopping at anything. The jewels did not dazzle her eyes. She seemed to be accustomed to the glory and wealth that others longed for, or perhaps she had already seen rare treasures and was indifferent to common goods.
A kind of noble temperament that has read thousands of sails and is difficult to impress.
Almost instantly, the two young men looked at each other in tacit understanding and bowed down. They extended their right hands towards the winding staircase, and said respectfully: "These two Ladies, please go to the second floor."