Union

Chapter 155 Chinese New Year
The 29th day of the twelfth lunar month was spent in Chen Yanzhou's anxious yet helpless state.

In stark contrast to his anxiety, Yunying had a very comfortable day.

In particular, during the day she received a letter from the second master, delivered by a servant.

The letter was very short, only half a page, and it was clear that it was written hastily in a busy schedule.

He didn't write anything particularly noteworthy, just his itinerary for the next few days, and that he probably wouldn't be able to visit her before the New Year. He also subtly invited her to the capital to see the lanterns; he had arranged a courtyard for her, found maids, and even selected several fabrics to have clothes made for her, asking if she wanted to come and visit.

When Yunying saw this, she really felt that the Second Master was no different from the bad boys outside who seduced those naive young girls.

What era are we living in? They're still using this kind of thing to tempt people. Don't they think it's childish?

Yunying, who disliked childishness, was naturally not easily coaxed by the Second Master, and naturally would not go down the mountain.

However, it was this letter from the Second Master that disrupted the overly detached atmosphere that Yunying had been indulging in.

In an instant, Yunying's mind cleared, and she suddenly realized that the past few days seemed to have passed by in the blink of an eye, as if time had simply vanished.

Is this what people mean when they say, "One day in the cave is equivalent to a thousand years in the world"?
Yunying didn't know if that was true or not, but she knew she had to go out for a walk as soon as possible.

The Buddhas in this temple possess boundless Buddhist power. She had only stayed there for a few days, yet she wanted to purify herself of all worldly desires and forget all the good things about the Second Master…

Just as Yunying was lost in thought, Aunt Wang, who did the chores for Yunying, brought in the food.

You can cook your own meals at the temple or get food from the dining hall. But both ways are the same: you cannot eat meat in front of the Buddha.

Aunt Wu was worried that Yunying had gotten tired of the food at Linghui Temple these past few days, so today she specially bought some vegetables and cooked them herself to change Yunying's palate.

Fortunately, Aunt Wu was a good cook, and the rice porridge was cooked until it was sticky and sticky, which Yunying found to her liking. In no time at all, dinner was over.

Aunt Wu was a very efficient person. She cleared away the dishes and chopsticks, and then fetched hot water for Yunying before saying to her, "Miss, I'd like to go down the mountain tomorrow."

"Going down the mountain?"

“Yes, tomorrow is my daughter’s thirtieth birthday. Although my daughter-in-law is at home taking care of things, I used to do everything myself. Now that I’m leaving, I’m afraid my daughter-in-law won’t have any experience and won’t be able to prepare the New Year’s Eve dinner properly in her first year.”

At this point, Aunt Wu felt quite embarrassed.

When she accepted the job, she promised to stay by Yunying's side at all times.

She originally thought she wouldn't be able to stay for more than two days. No matter whose daughter she was, she would have to take her back before the New Year, and then her job would be over.

But today is already the 29th, and Miss Yunying is still living peacefully at Linghui Temple. It's clear that she's going to spend the New Year on the mountain.

Aunt Wu was troubled.

She wanted to earn some money to supplement her family's income, but she also didn't want to miss the New Year's Eve reunion with her family. It only happens once a year, and the thought of her family worrying about each other over a few taels of silver was quite distressing.

But now, she's almost thirty, and Miss Yunying is still living in the temple. What should be done?
Aunt Wu first suggested that she go home and take a look, and if it didn't work out, she would come back.

Seeing Yunying's stunned expression, Aunt Wu casually suggested, "It's boring up here on the mountain anyway, why don't you come with me to my house? Oh, that's a good idea. I happen to have a second daughter at home, a few years younger than you. You two can probably get along well, and you can even sleep together tonight. Yunying, what do you think? Let's go down the mountain and take a look."

Yunying reflexively refused, "No, I'm not going. Aunt Wu, you should go home. I'll give you a day off tomorrow, so don't come over tomorrow."

It's unreasonable to visit someone's home on New Year's Eve!

Upon hearing Yunying's words, Aunt Wu became even more enthusiastic. "If you give me a day off, I can't leave you here alone on the 30th of the month, can I? Otherwise, not only will you not be able to have a good New Year, but I will also feel guilty. Please, for my own good, come home with me."

Aunt Wu was indeed sharp-tongued and quite persistent. When Yunying refused, she kept nagging. She even said that since she had taken the money, she had to do the job properly, and that she couldn't let Yunying stay on the mountain alone, otherwise she would ruin her reputation and no one would dare hire her again.

They went on and on, talking until Yunying was dizzy and confused. In the end, she didn't even realize when she had blurted out that she would go home with her the next day.

When Aunt Wu heard Yunying agree, she beamed with joy. Without waiting for Yunying to change her mind, she finalized the decision.

"Okay, then it's settled. After breakfast tomorrow, your aunt will take you to her home."

That's how it was settled.

The next day, after breakfast, Aunt Wu really did pester Yunying to come down the mountain.

Yunying didn't know where she got the confidence to follow a stranger down the mountain, and even wanted to spend the New Year at someone else's house, and even stay overnight at someone else's house.

Logically speaking, this is something that someone as conventional as her should never have done.

But perhaps it was because Aunt Wu was too persistent, or perhaps it was because she trusted Mo Xue's judgment in choosing people, or perhaps it was because the past few days of getting along had made her genuinely accept Aunt Wu as a person. She wasn't afraid at all and actually followed Aunt Wu to the village below Linghui Temple.

But once she entered the village and saw the people coming and going, Yunying suddenly had second thoughts.

But now that they'd come all this way, and some familiar faces had come over to greet Aunt Wu, it was too late to go back.

Yunying was pulled to the Wu family home by Aunt Wu's repeated calls that "This is a distant relative of mine, and he is celebrating the New Year at my house today."

The Wu family consists of seven people: Wu Da Niang and her husband, an elderly mother, the eldest son and daughter-in-law with a five-year-old grandson, and Wu Da Niang's "second daughter".

The family of seven lived in a spacious courtyard house. The courtyard was kept very clean and tidy, and the smiling faces of adults and children filled the room. Yunying had a very good first impression of this family.

The Wu family came out to greet her after hearing Aunt Wu's voice, but they never expected that the first person they saw when they went out would be a fairy-like girl.

Looking next to the girl, there stood their mother.

The second daughter of the Wu family immediately panicked, "Mother, whose daughter have you tricked into coming to our family? My aunt asked you to find a suitable girl for my cousin to meet, could this be the one you found? Mother, how much do you think highly of my cousin? With a girl this beautiful, my cousin would look like a toad compared to her."

The second daughter of the Wu family kept talking nonstop, completely baffling Aunt Wu.

When Aunt Wu came to her senses what her second daughter had said, she immediately glared at her and said, "Go somewhere cool and stay somewhere else. Why are you everywhere? This is Miss Yunying, the one I've been taking care of at the temple recently. Miss Yunying is spending the New Year with us tonight, so please take good care of her."

While introducing Yunying to her family, Aunt Wu muttered under her breath, "What a fraudulent girl, arguing about finding a match for your cousin? It's all a lie."

After all the commotion, Yunying smoothly integrated into the Wu family.

After a while, Aunt Wu placed the New Year's gifts that Yunying had brought in front of everyone, and asked the second daughter and the old lady to chat with Yunying while eating something to fill their stomachs.

Yunying wasn't hungry, but she still gave a piece of osmanthus cake to Aunt Wu's eldest grandson.

The child is only five years old, a time when he is both lively and fun.

Perhaps because he lived at the foot of Linghui Temple and had seen many strangers, this child was not shy at all, and kept giggling in front of Yunying.

Yunying handed him some pastries, and Garlic Head took them with a smile, opening his mouth to take a big bite. Yes, this little boy's nickname is Garlic Head, and it's said that his grandfather gave him that name.

Because his grandfather ate fresh garlic, he sneezed so badly that his pregnant daughter-in-law, who was pregnant with Garlic, broke her water. So, when the baby was born, he simply named him Garlic.

While eating the cake, Garlic asked Yunying, "Sister, where did you come from? Sister, why don't you go home for the New Year? Sister, where are your family..."

Aunt Wu was unaware of these questions and naturally wouldn't bring them up. Although the Wu family was puzzled that Aunt Wu had brought her "employer" in during the New Year, they knew that once someone entered the house, they were a guest and could only treat them well. They couldn't keep asking questions that others couldn't answer.

Only Little Garlic, still a child and unable to read people's expressions, would ask these questions so innocently.

But Yunying didn't know how to answer Xiaosuantou's question for a moment.

She could only mumble, "My sister's family lives very far away, extremely far away, and we won't be able to see them for a while..."

Seeing Yunying's somewhat forlorn expression, the old lady of the Wu family quickly came to her rescue. She fed her sweet malt candy and dried fruit.

As Yunying ate, the old lady mentioned that she was the one who fried the meatballs this year. However, they were overcooked and a bit too salty.

The family chatted about all sorts of random things, one person saying one thing and another saying another, yet it was incredibly lively.

As the occasional sizzling sound of oil wafted from the kitchen, along with the aroma of various dishes, Yunying felt a sense of disorientation under the flickering candlelight.

How wonderful, the whole family can have a reunion for the New Year.

It's just unknown whether she'll ever have the luck to reunite with her family for the Lunar New Year again.

The food was quickly served, and amidst the lively sounds of firecrackers, the most important meal of the Lunar New Year's Eve began.

Yunying ate little, but she always had a smile on her face.

The dinner lasted a full hour.

Soon after, Yunying didn't need to help clean up. Aunt Wu and her daughter-in-law quickly cleared away the dishes and brought up peanuts, melon seeds, and candy.

Everyone gathered together, chatting and laughing, and staying up all night to welcome the New Year.

During this time, we inevitably talked about the good and bad things of this year. The good thing is that the family harvested well this year, and we can buy two more acres of land next year; the bad thing is that our second daughter has come of age, but her marriage is still not settled, which is quite worrying.

Halfway through the conversation, Little Garlic couldn't stay awake any longer and fell asleep, so Brother Wu and his wife carried him back to their room.

After that, Aunt Wu wouldn't let her daughter-in-law come out, and even made her son stay in the room with her.

After the young couple came out of their room, Aunt Wu smiled and said to the old lady, "I think the eldest daughter is pregnant again. She felt nauseous while eating fish today, but she managed to avoid it. You might be holding a great-grandchild again next year."

The old lady's voice rose slightly with delight, "Really?"

"real."

"We need to keep a close eye on it; we can't let anything happen."

"What could possibly happen? The eldest son's wife is perfectly healthy..."

“Nothing will happen at home, but what if you go out? You must have forgotten that almost twenty years ago, there was a wealthy lady here who had her belly cut open and her baby taken away.”

The second daughter was startled upon hearing this, "Grandmother, are you talking nonsense?"

The old lady shook her head. "It's a true story."

Seeing Yunying's horrified expression, Aunt Wu quickly explained, "The old lady is getting on in years and has misremembered. That's not how it happened. The lady was probably having a normal delivery, but after giving birth, she suffered severe bleeding that wouldn't stop. In those chaotic times, everyone was only concerned with the adults, and as a result, the child was taken away somewhere..."

"Huh? Is that how it is?"

The second daughter was startled, but Yunying's heart clenched when she heard the story. Whether it was because she was born into a better era that gave her an innate ability to empathize, or because she also had a deep-seated fear of childbirth, Yunying felt very uncomfortable when she heard this topic, and even felt a slight urge to vomit.

She quickly peeled an orange and popped it into her mouth.

The orange peel is bright yellow, but the orange segments you peel and put in your mouth have a unique sweet and sour taste.

The perfect amount of sourness suppressed the urge to vomit, and Yunying felt much better.

……

Unlike ordinary people staying up all night to celebrate the New Year, there is a palace banquet tonight, and all nobles, high-ranking officials, and imperial relatives are welcome to attend.

The Rongguo Duke's Mansion was among the high-ranking officials and nobles, so naturally they were also among those who entered the palace.

It was only mid-afternoon, and everyone in the household was already dressed and gathered in Xiao Feng's Wenhua Garden, ready to depart at any time.

Madam Feng glanced at her daughter, who clung to her like a boneless rag doll, and considered letting her stay home to rest. But if her daughter were to be absent from such an important occasion, the rumors circulating in the capital that the fourth young lady of the Rongguo Duke's mansion suffered from a chronic illness would likely intensify.

But if she brought her daughter along, she would be so sleepy that she might fall asleep halfway through the banquet.

Madam Feng looked worried, and Zhang Luxi said, "Mother, don't worry, I'll take care of Xi'er."

Upon hearing this, Madam Feng gently patted the back of her eldest daughter-in-law's hand, saying, "Thank you for your trouble."

"It's nothing. I'm the eldest sister-in-law, so it's only right that I take care of my younger sister."

Between words, the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law glanced at Lin Shuqing.

But Lin Shuqing didn't react at all from beginning to end.

Seeing this, Madam Feng lost all hope in this daughter-in-law.

Lin Shuqing returned from Tingchan Temple yesterday afternoon.

After returning home, he didn't come to his mother-in-law's house to explain what he had been doing for a day and a night, acting as if nothing had happened.

Such disrespect and disobedience have thoroughly damaged the dignity of Madam Feng.

So much so that now, when Madam Feng sees Lin Shuqing, she instinctively frowns.

But as soon as she turned her head away, Madam Feng looked back at her.

She wondered if it was just her imagination, but after only a day or two, Lin Shuqing seemed to have lost a lot of weight and looked rather thin.
Was she seeing things, or was there something wrong with her clothes?