Su Lan arrived at the residence in the evening.
Madam Xu sat inside the house, her brow furrowed in worry. When she heard Jinxue’s words, she casually took the servitude contract, waved her hand, and let Su Lan go without giving a second thought to anything else.
Jinxue knew that Su Lan had been bought by Zhu Xingxu, and respectfully led her to Zhu Xingxu’s courtyard.
Su Lan kept her head lowered, following silently behind Jinxue without making a sound or looking around.
Upon entering the room, Su Lan saw Zhu Xingxu, whom she had seen during the day, now sitting in the center of the room waiting for her.
Jinxue politely excused herself and left.
Su Lan looked at Zhu Xingxu, her eyes reddening.
She slowly knelt down.
Zhu Xingxu hurriedly pulled her up.
“What are you doing!”
Su Lan held Zhu Xingxu’s hand, her eyes wet with tears. “I have wronged you…”
Zhu Xingxu guided her to sit at the table.
Jinzhu, unaware of what had happened between them, poured her some tea and stood aside, curiously watching Su Lan.
Zhu Xingxu raised a hand to wipe away her tears. “What do you have to apologize to me for?”
Seeing that Zhu Xingxu was still as kind as before, Su Lan lowered her head and sobbed softly. “I’ve come to terms with it… I shouldn’t have blamed you.”
Zhu Xingxu smiled. “It’s all in the past, don’t dwell on it. From now on, just focus on your duties in the Zhu residence.”
Su Lan nodded, then stood and began looking for chores around the house.
“What can I do?”
Zhu Xingxu pulled her over and handed her a peach.
“Don’t worry about work for now, eat this first.”
Su Lan quickly protested, “I… this isn’t appropriate…”
Jinzhu spoke up, “Just take it. Miss Zhu is like this; you’ll have to get used to it!”
At first, Jinzhu had also felt uneasy about Zhu Xingxu’s gestures of kindness.
Over time, she dared not spoil Miss Zhu’s mood too often and could only accept it.
Gradually, Jinzhu grew grateful toward Zhu Xingxu.
She had heard that in other households, noble ladies and young masters often mistreated their servants.
Zhu Xingxu smiled at her. “Just eat it.”
Su Lan finally took the peach, her eyes red again.
Zhu Xingxu quickly patted her back.
“Don’t cry, this is a new life ahead. Crying all the time won’t help.”
Su Lan nodded, holding back her tears.
Jinzhu guided her downstairs to settle in and asked if she had had any prior connection with Zhu Xingxu.
Su Lan knew that a noblewoman having once been a maid should not be publicized, so she laughed it off.
Jinzhu was innocent and didn’t think much of it, only happy to have someone else to help serve Miss Zhu.
The next morning, Jinzhu came to wake Zhu Xingxu.
“Miss Zhu, wake up. Today we are going to Zhenguo Temple with Madam Xu.”
Zhu Xingxu yawned and got up, suddenly remembering the trick she had played on Madam Xu yesterday.
She collapsed back onto the bed.
A single lie had such serious consequences.
She really just wanted to sleep…
Jinzhu called for Su Lan to help her wash up and change clothes.
“Miss Zhu, are you wearing the blue dress again today?”
Zhu Xingxu nodded vaguely, yawning again.
Su Lan helped arrange her hair, while Jinzhu lit some invigorating incense in the censer, letting the rising smoke waft beneath Zhu Xingxu’s nose.
The pungent smell made her cough a few times but at least kept her from feeling so sleepy.
Jinzhu and Su Lan taught her the proper etiquette in the residence, though today Zhu Xingxu went alone.
This suited her; she preferred being on her own.
After breakfast at Madam Xu’s, Zhu Xingxu boarded the carriage at the main gate.
The carriage rocked slowly as it moved, and Zhu Xingxu leaned against the wall pretending to nap.
The motion was truly hypnotic.
When they reached the foot of Zhenguo Temple, the carriage stopped.
Although it was still early, many carriages had already arrived. Several noblewomen and madams were familiar to Zhu Xingxu.
There were also numerous townspeople, all there to offer incense.
The reigning emperor, when a prince during the previous emperor’s reign, had once been betrayed by his brothers and narrowly escaped.
Mingyue Temple, the predecessor of Zhenguo Temple, had sheltered him, protecting him from pursuit.
Moreover, the brother who had betrayed him was devoted to Buddhism, so the current emperor deliberately promoted Daoism after ascending the throne.
After his coronation, he had decreed that Mingyue Temple be renamed Zhenguo Temple.
Zhu Xingxu, having studied history in the modern world, was familiar with these events.
It was all merely symbols of imperial authority.
To reach Zhenguo Temple, one had to climb the Sky Ladder.
Zhu Xingxu looked up and nearly fainted.
The densely packed steps stretched before her eyes, making the temple at the top seem tiny.
It was her first visit, and no one had told her about the steep climb.
Madam Xu saw nothing wrong and even believed that climbing herself would demonstrate sincerity.
Reluctantly, Zhu Xingxu climbed step by step, her cheeks flushed and breathing heavy when she reached the top.
She hurried inside, eager for water.
Madam Xu stopped her.
“First, you must pay respects to the Three Purities.”
Inside Sanqing Hall, she knelt on a mat as instructed.
She knelt properly, bowing her head, silently hoping the Three Purities would allow her to return to the modern era soon…
After she finished, Madam Xu let her drink water.
Outside the hall, a table for offerings to nobility was set up, with a Taoist priest sitting beside it, eyes closed, resting.
Zhu Xingxu approached and asked if she could drink.
The priest did not open his eyes but nodded slightly.
She poured a cup and drank quickly, finishing it in two gulps.
Hearing the sound, the priest frowned and opened his eyes to look at her.
Zhu Xingxu poured another cup.
The priest observed her for a moment and murmured, “So it is like this…”
She finished the second cup, seemingly hearing him speak.
“What did you say?”
The priest withdrew his gaze, shook his head, and closed his eyes again.
After a long while, he said nothing further.
Zhu Xingxu walked carefully, constantly looking back, feeling somewhat strange, but returned to Sanqing Hall to find Madam Xu.
If she wandered off, Madam Xu might not find her, which would cause trouble.
Madam Xu was speaking with the temple master.
The master’s white beard matched his hair, full of life, giving him an aura of Daoist transcendence.
Madam Xu frowned as she listened.
Zhu Xingxu stood beside her.
The master noticed Zhu Xingxu and his gaze flickered briefly but he said nothing.
Zhu Xingxu felt even stranger.
Madam Xu, unaware of the flicker, told her, “To resolve the grievances upon your body, we will stay here tonight.”
Stay?
That would be fine…
Knowing they would spend the night at the temple, Zhu Xingxu suddenly felt exhausted and asked the question she most wanted to know.
“Where will we stay?”
She just wanted to lie down for a while.
Having climbed such a high mountain, she was completely drained.
Madam Xu gently patted her hand. “The master is here; we must not be disrespectful.”
Zhu Xingxu lowered her head.
The master chuckled and stroked his beard. “No matter. Miss Zhu, you are straightforward; you need not be restrained.”
Seeing the master unbothered, Madam Xu relaxed and had Jinxue lead Zhu Xingxu to the side room.
Zhenguo Temple often accommodated pilgrims, so there were many rooms, each elegantly furnished.
Since it was not a festival, there were few guests, allowing Zhu Xingxu and Madam Xu to each have a room.
As soon as she entered, Zhu Xingxu collapsed onto the bed.
She left the door half-open, letting the natural mountain breeze drift in.
Slowly, she fell asleep. When she woke, it was already noon.
She was very hungry and got up to find food.
Passing by Sanqing Hall, she glanced inside.
That glance froze her in place.
In the center, the Primordial Celestial Venerable held a wooden plaque with a Vermilion Bird totem.
Her heart raced; she wondered if this was what she had been searching for.
She had been so focused on bowing earlier that she hadn’t noticed it.
With pilgrims still entering, Zhu Xingxu quickly moved on.
As she walked, her mind lingered on the Vermilion Bird plaque.
How did it come to be there…?
Putting aside how to climb up, it was held in the hands of the Primordial Celestial Venerable, and surely could not be taken easily.
What could an ordinary girl do to obtain it?
Zhu Xingxu entered Madam Xu’s room to find the table already laid with dishes.
Since it was not the first or fifteenth of the lunar month, there were a few meat dishes.
She ate absentmindedly, and Madam Xu then asked her to accompany her on a walk.
Stepping outside, they encountered Fifth Prince Pei Xie.
Madam Xu’s face paled.
Zhu Xingxu pressed her lips together to prevent herself from laughing.
Pei Xie walked toward her slowly.
When he saw Zhu Xingxu, he seemed to catch the faint scent of citrus and grapes.
Madam Xu hurriedly bowed. “Your Highness, greetings.”
Zhu Xingxu followed suit. “Your Highness, greetings.”
Pei Xie looked at her jeweled headpiece and smiled inwardly but kept his expression neutral.
Standing a bit farther away, he did not catch the scent.
“Stand up.”
Madam Xu nervously tried to push Zhu Xingxu away, keeping some distance.
She still remembered that the Fifth Prince had said he did not wish to see her again.
Zhu Xingxu, confused, was pushed aside, stealing a glance back at Pei Xie.
He could not understand their interaction but only looked at her curiously.
Madam Xu quickly diverted his attention. “Your Highness, are you here to pay respects to the Three Purities as well?”
Pei Xie nodded and conversed with Madam Xu.
Zhu Xingxu could only sit by the pond in the temple, watching them from afar.
They exchanged a few words, and Madam Xu relaxed slightly.
She worried that Pei Xie might see through them.
But why was he here?
Zhu Xingxu did not believe he had come to pray.
In the past few days, she recalled more about the story in the book.
Pei Xie’s personality doomed him to be a secondary male lead, never the main hero.
His obsession to obtain everything was extreme.
Returning from his fief, he would try to connect with the Third Prince, pledging loyalty.
He would support the Third Prince’s claim to the throne, going to great lengths, even infiltrating the Li residence as a servant.
Eventually, he died during a mission, seeing to it that the Third Prince’s only rival could never rise again.
Once all was settled, he chose to die in the mission rather than face the Third Prince’s possible suspicion.
For Pei Xie, life was just this fleeting, nothing to hold onto.
Such a person, Zhu Xingxu did not believe, had any real faith.
As she lingered by the pond, someone gently tapped her.
She turned to see a woman with a bright, cheerful smile.
She wore a light purple dress, her hair adorned with only a few pins, and her bare face revealed fine downy hair.
From this woman, Zhu Xingxu immediately recognized two glaring words:
The Female Lead.
Smiling warmly, she asked Zhu Xingxu, “May I ask if you have seen the temple master?”
Zhu Xingxu shook her head.
The woman looked slightly disappointed but quickly composed herself, thanked her, and walked away.
If the female lead was here, then the Third Prince was also nearby?
Suddenly, Zhu Xingxu had a foreboding feeling.