Cui Shu led Shi Jun around the garden for a turn. Cui Shu had been talkative just moments before, but now she had fallen silent.
Unbeknownst to herself, Cui Shu had already circled the garden several times when Ling Yuan spoke up to remind her, "Miss, have you been possessed by a ghost or something?"
Ling Yuan had grown up by Cui Shu's side, and her tongue had never been one to spare anyone.
Cui Shu snapped back to attention, lowering her gaze to the withered branches and fallen leaves on the ground. She muttered, "I'd rather be possessed by a ghost."
Hearing the desolation in her words, Shi Jun felt a tightness in her heart.
Ling Yuan glanced at Shi Jun, then stepped forward and tugged at Cui Shu's sleeve, speaking in a low voice, "Miss, there's an outsider present. Don't say such nonsense anymore."
Cui Shu let out a long sigh and waved her hand to signal Shi Jun to leave.
As soon as Shi Jun was gone, Ling Yuan's temper flared at once. She huffed, "Miss, I think you've been staying at the marquis's manor for so long that you've forgotten this isn't your own home."
"If you keep speaking without a filter, be careful those words reach your aunt's ears. That's when you'll learn what the great households are capable of."
Seeing Cui Shu's expression, Ling Yuan's anger burned even hotter.
Cui Shu lowered her head, and at some point a fallen leaf had found its way into her hand. She tore at it bit by bit.
She couldn't stay at the marquis's manor any longer.
"Ling Yuan, others may not know me, but you do. Was it my choice to come to the marquis's manor? Did my parents ever ask me? The moment my aunt brought it up, they sent me off to the marquis's manor."
Cui Shu was seething with indignation and was about to continue when Ling Yuan clamped a hand over her mouth.
"My dear miss, everything has already been decided. It's no longer up to you to say whether you're willing or not. The marchioness is your aunt—you'll have someone to rely on in the future, and your husband has a promising future. Dear miss, this is something countless people outside would beg for. You need to hold your head high."
Ling Yuan looked around nervously, terrified that someone might overhear Cui Shu's words.
Cui Shu bit her lip and shot back at once, "Hold my head high for whom? For the Cui family! Do you think I don't know what schemes they're cooking up? Do you think I'm stupid?"
With that, tears rolled down Cui Shu's cheeks.
This marriage—everyone had their own hidden agenda, everyone stood to gain something, and she alone got nothing out of it.
After Cui Shu had requested Shi Jun from Lady Cui, Shi Jun no longer went to the main hall to copy scriptures. Instead, she followed Cui Shu day after day.
In early April, the spring sunshine was radiant. Outside the window, branches cast swaying shadows, and bright light streamed into the room.
Shi Jun sat by the window copying scriptures, while Cui Shu read a book nearby.
Sunlight danced across the pages, and Cui Shu lost interest in her reading. She looked up to watch Shi Jun, who was copying the scriptures with such earnest concentration.
She noticed the slight downward press of Shi Jun's brows, her focused gaze, her light and graceful movements. The dappled golden light made her appear soft and gentle.
Cui Shu set down her book, propped her chin on her hand, and asked Shi Jun, "How did you and my cousin get together?"
Shi Jun's fingertips paused slightly. She slowly raised her eyes and met a pair of pupils that the sunlight had turned amber.
Cui Shu's gaze was curious and sincere, as though she didn't regard Shi Jun as a rival in love or a future threat at all.
Shi Jun was rather reluctant to answer that question. There was no "getting together" between her and Xie Changxi—it was simply a decision Xie Changxi had made unilaterally.
She couldn't even utter a word of refusal.
Suddenly, she thought of the fate of Tang Zhisheng and Luluo, and a chill ran through her heart.
Seeing that Shi Jun remained silent, Cui Shu didn't press further. She simply watched her quietly for a while longer.
Finally, Shi Jun set down her brush.
"Miss Cui, I've finished copying the scriptures. I need to return these to the lady." Shi Jun rose and folded the scriptures neatly.
Cui Shu stood up along with her and said with a smile, "I'll go with you."
Shi Jun nodded.
With Cui Shu accompanying her, Lady Cui would always be a bit more lenient toward her. Besides, Cui Shu bore her no ill will.
Lady Cui was reclining on a short couch by the window, a cup of tea that had long gone cold resting on the low table beside her. She held a volume of Records of the Han in her hands, her gaze calm and composed, having not turned a single page for quite some time.
When she heard Mama Wei lift the curtain and enter, she slowly raised her eyes, shifting her gaze from the book to sweep over her. Mama Wei knew her temperament well and didn't waste words, only saying with a smile, "The young miss from the Cui family has come, along with Yingyue."
"That girl Shu'er—why is her temperament so soft and weak? Does she truly think that's how harmony is maintained in the inner quarters?" Lady Cui furrowed her brows.
Mama Wei knew that Lady Cui was not entirely pleased with Cui Shu, so she echoed, "My lady, how could the young miss's upbringing and experience compare to yours?"
In Lady Cui's branch of the family, only daughters had been born—no one to carry on the family line. Though she had married into the marquis's manor, her natal family's roots had been severed.
If not for the sake of the Cui clan, why would she have Xie Changxi marry beneath his station?
Mama Wei had served Lady Cui for a long time and could naturally discern her mistress's thoughts.
Lady Cui muttered a complaint to herself, then had Mama Wei bring the two young women in.
After entering the room, Shi Jun handed the completed scriptures to Mama Wei, while Cui Shu went to sit beside Lady Cui. Lady Cui asked her a few questions first, then finally turned to examine the scriptures.
The handwriting was neat and compact—passable.
Seeing that Lady Cui had not made things difficult for her, Shi Jun said, "My lady, I've been copying these scriptures for several days now. I was thinking of sending them to Daxiangguo Temple so the masters there might review them. Moreover, I sincerely wish to pray for your blessings. Perhaps you might allow me to copy scriptures at the temple itself, so that the Bodhisattva may see your devotion."
Upon hearing this, Cui Shu cast a meaningful glance at Ling Yuan. Ling Yuan's brows knitted tightly, but before she could signal with her eyes, Cui Shu had already picked up the thread and spoken on Shi Jun's behalf.
" Aunt, after these past few days, I've found her to be a proper and well-behaved one. Now that the happy occasion is near, Aunt, please let her go—it saves her from lingering about the residence, and besides, I wish to offer prayers for you as well, first for the Cui family, and second for the Marquis's household."
Cui Shu spoke while watching Lady Cui's expression.
Seeing that Lady Cui's face remained calm, she continued: "The Great Xiangguo Temple is said to be most efficacious. Aunt, do grant this. Besides, my cousin has been busy with official duties of late, and I hardly see him—so let me instead go to burn incense and offer prayers for the Marquis's household."
Shi Jun felt puzzled inwardly, unable to discern why Cui Shu always spoke up on her behalf.
If Cui Shu feared that she would one day become Xie Changxi's concubine—well, she was but a helpless orphan with no one to rely on. What could she possibly use to contend with this niece who was bound to Lady Cui by blood and bone?
Had Cui Shu sought to make things difficult for her, there would be no shortage of pretexts. Yet Cui Shu was wholeheartedly helping her—why?
Since Cui Shu had spoken, Lady Cui was unwilling to rebuff her niece's request.
Moreover, she had never been pleased to see Shi Jun in the first place; she had only kept her around to establish authority over her own niece.
Lady Cui said: "Very well, since it is so, you shall go to the Great Xiangguo Temple each day to copy sutras."
Shi Jun had originally wished to leave the residence precisely to gather information. Lady Cui had never liked her and naturally did not want her lingering about before her eyes. And Xie Changxi, busy with official duties, had no leisure to keep watch over the affairs of the inner quarters.
In any case, so long as she could leave the residence, her plan was already more than half accomplished.
At dusk, Xie Changxi had returned early from his duties today and was already in his study.
Shi Jun entered carrying a teacup. Xie Changxi caught a glimpse of her sleeve from the corner of his eye and knew at once who had come.
"Did you not have the fabric I bestowed upon you earlier cut into garments?" Xie Changxi asked casually.
Shi Jun said in a calm voice: "Too ostentatious—it would be ill for both this servant and you, my lord."
If she truly had those fabrics made into clothes, the entire household would surely spread word that she had climbed a high branch.
Xie Changxi said: "How considerate of you. Use what was given to you—who in the Marquis's household dares speak idle words about you? If you hear any, simply tell me."
"My lord, I have told the lady that I shall go to the Great Xiangguo Temple these coming days to copy sutras, and on the way, to pay respects at Ahe's grave and offer prayers for her."
Shi Jun stood with her head bowed, her voice calm.
Xie Changxi heard the indifference in her tone—neither grief nor joy. In that moment, he realized that Shi Jun had never once smiled with happiness.
From the very first day he saw her, she had been weeping, and afterward she wore only this placid expression. Could it be that there was nothing in this world that brought her joy?
"Is something weighing on your heart?" Xie Changxi set down his scrolls and looked up at her.
Whatever a maidservant might ask for, he would be glad to grant—at most, some gold, jade, or valuables.
Gold and jade to win a beauty's smile—that, too, would be elegant.
Just then, a sudden gust of wind rose outside the window, and a fine drizzle began to fall, the air carrying the earthy scent of grass and mud.
Shi Jun sensed the tender affection in his gaze, and alarm bells rang loudly in her heart.
Startled, she felt a chill run through her from the wind, cold seeping through her front and back.