Qin Wenyan looked at her with a smile, then suddenly remembered something. He turned and gave an order to the servant boy beside him, who hurried off in another direction after hearing it.
Before long, when the boy returned, he was carrying a large bundle of medicinal herbs.
Qin Liangyu was slightly surprised and asked him, "What is this?"
"When Cousin Gu came to Grandmother's courtyard today and heard about your fall into the water, not long after he returned home, he sent these over and instructed me to pass them to you."
He paused for a moment. "The reason I asked you to come to Grandmother's courtyard this time was also to give these to you."
Qin Liangyu understood his meaning.
She had already shown a bit too much of her sharp edge these past two days. If he were to openly send her medicinal herbs, who knew what trouble might arise. Delivering them under the guise of the Old Madam's name was actually not a bad idea.
Qin Liangyu swept her gaze over the herbs. With her discerning eye, she could immediately tell that these herbs were all valuable and precious—no small amount of thought and effort must have gone into selecting them.
Recalling Gu Kezhi's consistently gentlemanly conduct, she did not stand on ceremony and said to Qin Wenyan, "Then please trouble Fourth Brother to thank Cousin on Liangyu's behalf."
…
Two more days passed. Qin Liangyu was idly watching Lu Yi embroider beneath the corridor when a matron from Madam Fang's side came to the courtyard to summon her, saying they were to go together to Zhengqing Temple.
Qin Liangyu was puzzled inwardly, but she could not refuse. No matter how strained their relations appeared on the surface, Madam Fang was still the mistress of the household.
However, when Lu Yi began packing her things, she grew worried.
Qin Liangyu was not favored in the household, so naturally no one paid attention to her clothing and provisions. At the moment, she could not even find a suitable set of clothes.
When she had gone out to buy medicine that day, she could wear whatever she pleased. But a place like Zhengqing Temple attracted many distinguished guests—she could not afford to be careless there.
Seeing Lu Yi's furrowed brow, Qin Liangyu spoke gently to ease her worries, then pointed at a moon-white garment. "That one will do. I think it looks passable."
"But this one is a bit wrinkled, and the sleeves are also a little short."
"Let it be for now. Oh, by the way, what about those medicinal herbs from a few days ago? Find them for me. Tomorrow, if I get the chance to leave the residence, I can exchange them for some silver."
Lu Yi hesitated. "But those were sent by the young master from the Gu family. If…"
"Those herbs were prepared for me in the first place. Rather than letting them sit around in the courtyard, it's better to make full use of them. Cousin hasn't visited the residence in a long time—how would he remember these herbs? Go on."
It was only in these past two days that she had come to understand that although her original self seemed to have a decent private relationship with her Fourth Brother, no one else knew about it, and her days had been quite destitute. Now that she wanted to live better within the household, she naturally needed money for favors and connections—yet she could not even scrape together two taels of silver. That was why she had set her sights on those herbs.
As she walked out of the courtyard gate, Yuezhi was sweeping the ground outside with a face full of indignation. When she saw Qin Liangyu, she did not even offer a salute, pretending not to see her.
Qin Liangyu noticed this and called out to her, telling her to go clean out the storage room.
Yuezhi was utterly incredulous upon hearing this. She knew all too well what the storage room in this courtyard looked like, having been there for so long.
Qin Liangyu barely owned anything to begin with, and the storage room had long since gathered dust. Telling her to clean it out—wasn't that just asking her to roll around in a pile of dirt?
These past two days, she had already been treated coldly, and she was about to put on a displeased face when she saw her own mistress—who had always been kind and timid—speak softly and slowly: "Yuezhi, do you not want to work anymore? Have you forgotten the shame you brought upon yourself in front of Cousin that day? If this happens again, I will have to go speak with Grandmother and Mother about it."
Having said this, she left with Lu Yi. Yuezhi stood in the courtyard watching their retreating figures, a trace of venom flashing in her eyes.
When Qin Liangyu arrived outside the manor gates, only the carriage driver was waiting there.
Before long, Qin Liangyu saw Qin Yi emerging while supporting a stern-faced Madam Fang. Qin Qiong had not come along at all.
This was quite strange. Based on her observations over the past few days, this concubine-born girl was extremely fond of currying favor and often hovered around Madam Fang. Even Madam Fang's own daughter, Qin Qiong, was not so eager. Now seeing that Madam Fang had brought only the two of them, she inwardly grew wary.
When Madam Fang came out, she merely raised her eyes and swept a faint glance over Qin Liangyu, as if the confrontation from that day had never happened, then ordered the two of them: "Let's go."
There were two carriages waiting outside the gates. Madam Fang rode alone in one, while Qin Liangyu and Qin Yi shared the other.
The journey passed without incident.
Speaking of Zhengqing Temple, it actually had quite a distinguished history.
The previous dynasty's emperor revered Buddhism, and Zhengqing Temple was built during that time. Within the temple resided the renowned Abbot Kongzhi, who was said to have mastery over celestial phenomena and the eight trigrams, possessing remarkable supernatural abilities.
Because of Abbot Kongzhi's reputation, many high-ranking officials and nobles frequently visited Zhengqing Temple. It would not be an exaggeration to say it was the most revered temple in all of Dayong.
The group alighted from their carriages and waited for some time before a monk finally came to receive them.
"Madam, distinguished guests arrived at the temple today, and there were matters that needed attending to. That is why we were delayed until now."
Madam Fang nodded and returned a bow, saying only that it was of no consequence.
It turned out she often came to this temple to worship Buddha, sometimes staying for as long as half a month. She was quite familiar with these monks, which was why someone acquainted with her had come to welcome them.
Qin Liangyu followed at the very back. Madam Fang had the maids she brought take the bundles to the guest rooms, then led them all to the main hall where the Bodhisattva was enshrined.
The temple's incense was extremely thriving, with people coming and going in great numbers. A single glance revealed many nobles and officials among the crowd.
If one spoke of the former Song Chou, she had been raised with every indulgence and had naturally never believed in gods or Buddhas. But now, having been reborn into a new life, she could not help but hold some reverence for such things. She dutifully followed them in offering two sticks of incense before retiring to the guest room to rest.
Zhengqing Temple was not far from the capital, but after sitting in a carriage for an hour, one was bound to feel somewhat weary. Upon returning to the guest room, she prepared to rest for a while.
But just as she entered the room, she heard the heavy sound of the door closing behind her. She turned to pull at the door, but it was shut tight.
Her nose twitched, and she caught an unusual scent in the air.
Scanning the room, she saw that there was unexpectedly a disheveled man on the bed. Qin Liangyu moved closer to look, and a glimmer of understanding crossed her eyes. This man was none other than Wang Ran, whom she had met only briefly a few days prior.
Qin Yi's betrothed, whose birth-date slips had been exchanged.
So that was it.
She had wondered why Madam Fang, who had clearly already burned bridges with her that day, would still invite her to come burn incense together.
It turned out she had joined forces with Qin Yi, plotting to harm her.
This matriarch was truly unkind.
She had no choice but to first cover her nose and mouth with her sleeve, then search for the source of the scent.
Buddhist tradition held great reverence for propriety, and no incense burner had been placed on the table. She walked further inside, and her gaze sharpened—beside Wang Ran lay half a broken incense stick.
If another quarter-hour passed and the incense fell beneath the bed, with her and Wang Ran still disheveled inside the room, anyone who saw them would leave her with no way to explain herself.