Marrying a treacherous official

Under Chunxuan's prompting gaze, Xi Kui hurriedly knelt on the prayer mat and kowtowed to the Bodhisattva to confess her sins.

"My daughter has spoken rudely and offended Guanyin Bodhisattva. I beg the Bodhisattva for her great kindness and forgiveness this time. Amitabha."

As she spoke, she clasped her hands together and sincerely repented before the Bodhisattva.

Yunji calmed down a little, and Chu Dai gently prayed to the Bodhisattva again.

This time, she knelt before the gods and Buddhas for a long time, using all the sincerity of her life, and once again begged the Bodhisattva for mercy, to bless Gu Jinyu to succeed in the imperial examination and for a smooth and peaceful life for the rest of his life.

Chunxuan carefully handed the divination tube to the lady.

Yunji knelt down and bowed three times. He then picked up the divination tube again and shook it devoutly until one of the divination sticks fell to the ground.

Chunxuan silently prayed for the best fortune slip, and then picked up the Guanyin fortune slip and solemnly handed it to the lady.

Yunji flipped through the fortune slips and carefully examined them, holding her breath.

"Three waves surge at Yumen Pass, a thunderclap sounds from flat ground; look where the incense is burning, and you'll be able to pluck a laurel branch from the moon palace—the best fortune in Chinese astrology."

When Chunxuan saw the words "the best possible fortune" written on the back of the divination slip, she said happily, "Madam can rest assured now. With the Bodhisattva's blessing, Young Master Yu will surely pass the imperial examination this spring."

Xi Kui followed suit and flattered, "Lingshan Temple is the most effective place to pray for success in the imperial examinations. Young Master Gu has entered the imperial examinations at such a young age. After passing the examinations, he will surely become an outstanding official."

"Thank you for your kind words."

Yunji held the auspicious fortune slip in her hands, bowed three times to the gilded Bodhisattva statue, and murmured with deep gratitude, "Thank you for the great kindness of the Bodhisattva."

When Chunxuan saw that her wife had obtained such an auspicious blessing, she was immediately moved.

While the First Madam was visiting the Abbot, she knelt before the Bodhisattva, clasped her hands together in prayer, and closed her eyes, praying to the Bodhisattva for a good marriage.

Someone quietly knelt on the prayer mat beside me.

A moment later, the man's incessant prayers could be heard:

"I wish to believe in Guanyin Bodhisattva for the rest of my life, just to ask the Bodhisattva to bless my father and mother so that they can have enough to eat every day and eat white rice every meal, and for my elder brother to marry a beautiful wife soon and give my father and mother a little grandson."

"And I want to grow up quickly, become a first-class maid in the Madam's room, receive a monthly allowance of two taels of silver, and become the hope of the whole family."

Chunxuan's peaceful prayer was interrupted by Xikui's voice, and she looked at her helplessly.

"Xiao Kui, are you done talking?"

"It'll be ready soon."

As she spoke, Xi Kui kowtowed three times deeply to the Bodhisattva. After standing up, she put her hands together and silently murmured, "May the Buddha have mercy, Amitabha."

Chunxuan had never seen anyone so loudly begging the Bodhisattva for blessings. "Xiaokui, the Bodhisattva hears your heartfelt words; there's no need to tell anyone else."

Xi Kui gazed pitifully at the offerings on the altar and said softly, "But Mother said that poor families don't have incense to offer, so they have less connection with the Bodhisattva. They have to speak their prayers out loud so that the Bodhisattva can hear them."

Chunxuan never expected it to be for this reason.

She lowered her head in shame, and then murmured her request to the Bodhisattva shrouded in the smoke of incense.

May the Bodhisattva bless me so that I may find a good man and stay with him until we grow old.

"If you find out who your husband is, Sister Chun, you must tell the Bodhisattva as soon as possible, so that the Bodhisattva won't have to start all over again when it comes to doing your job."

Yuuki encouraged her from the side.

Chunxuan glared at her angrily and said fiercely, "Don't even think about extorting me."

"Sister Chun, sincerity is key."

Xi Kui looked at the Bodhisattva statue on the lotus throne and said, "You've hidden something from the Bodhisattva, so how can you expect the Bodhisattva to bless you?"

Chunxuan was unable to refute this, so she could only secretly threaten her, saying, "You absolutely cannot tell anyone about this."

Xi Kui nodded to her repeatedly, "Okay, I won't tell anyone."

Chunxuan closed her eyes tightly and shyly uttered the man's name, "Huo Xi".

When she opened her eyes and saw the lady and six guards standing in front of her, she was so ashamed that she wanted to kill herself.

Yunji pretended not to hear Huo Xi's name and didn't ask Chunxuan a single question from beginning to end.

She asked the abbot for all the auspicious divination slips and their corresponding poems on paper, intending to copy them onto Kongming lanterns. She planned to then invite the ladies of the officials surrounding the East Villa to join her in releasing these lanterns into the sky.

As dusk fell, the group returned to the west wing of the villa by carriage.

As Yunji stepped down from the carriage, she was greeted by Cui Shuhua, who was standing under the porch holding a bunch of red plum blossoms and smiling radiantly at her.

"My eldest sister-in-law is back."

"Where did you pick these red plum blossoms? They bloom so beautifully."

"There is a plum grove on the back mountain. Seeing the red plums blooming so profusely, I cut a few branches and brought them over to my elder sister-in-law."

Cui Shuhua presented the red plum blossoms to Yunji.

Yunji brought the red plum blossoms into the room and instructed Xikui to find a plum vase to put the flowers in.

She was a meticulous person, and couldn't help but ask a few more questions, "Who did you go with to pick the red plums?"

Cui Shuhua replied, "My personal maid, and the two guards who accompanied me."

Yunji instructed Chunxuan to lay out paper and grind ink on the desk, preparing to transcribe the poems and texts from the auspicious divination slips, leaving Cui Shuhua standing aside without saying a word.

Cui Shuhua panicked for a moment, wondering if she had done something wrong to displease the First Madam.

"Eldest sister-in-law, should I not have gone to pick red plums in the back mountain?"

"It is inappropriate to go out with the Lady of the Marquis's guards."

Yunji gave her some pointers, saying:

"Don't forget how that portrait ended up in the hands of the Lady of the Marquis. Although the guards are people of the manor, their indentures are still in the hands of the Lady of the Marquis. Second Miss, you must always be vigilant against them."

Cui Shuhua nodded, deeply impressed.

Yunji picked up his brush, dipped it in ink, and wrote a series of characters on the Xuan paper in one stroke.

"To prevent what happened last time from happening again, if it were me, I would definitely have my concubine beg the Marquis to keep the indentures of the maids and servants in the courtyard firmly in my hands."

"Hua'er will heed your teachings, sister-in-law."

Cui Shuhua understood something: "No wonder my elder brother insisted on arranging six guards for his sister-in-law before he left; he had already thought of this."

Yunji hesitated to put down her pen, unable to defend herself.

"Eldest sister-in-law, after that fright, I've come to a realization."

Cui Shuhua said with deep remorse, "I will no longer covet those unattainable people. I only care about my mother and want to live well with her."

Yunji truly didn't know what to say this time.

With a mix of trepidation and curiosity, Cui Shuhua asked, "Eldest sister-in-law, may I learn how to do things by following your side?"

Yunji readily agreed, "What do you want to start learning?"

Cui Shuhua said thoughtfully, "How to conduct oneself in society."

Yunji corrected her, "No, what you should know most right now is how to protect yourself."