The Marquis's line has ended? The pregnant maid is pregnant again!

Day two.

The Thousand Buddhas Festival has begun, and the parade in Chang'an has started.

The banquet for the Thousand Buddhas Festival is held in the evening, and invited family members and officials from prominent families are required to attend.

During the day, the main event was His Highness the Crown Prince carrying three sticks of incense representing fortune, prosperity, and longevity, leading civil and military officials to Xiangguo Temple to pray for blessings.

The next day, the officials' wives and children would present the Buddha statues and scriptures sent from their own residences to the Empress, and then follow the Grand Master Minghe of Xiangguo Temple to complete the entire sacrificial ceremony.

After the sacrificial ceremony, the presented Buddha statues and scriptures were baptized and then burned in the incense burner.

The daytime Thousand Buddha Festival ceremony is now complete.

Early in the morning.

Granny Kang then went to each courtyard to collect Buddha statues and Buddhist scriptures.

Shen Qinghe's courtyard was no exception.

"Miss Qinghe, please give all the Buddhist scriptures and statues to me!" said Granny Kang, who had great confidence in Shen Qinghe's embroidery skills and dedication.

"Tomorrow, the old lady will bring the Buddha statue and Buddhist scriptures to present to Her Majesty the Empress."

Shen Qinghe asked Qing'er to fetch it.

Just as they were about to hand over the Buddha statue, Qing'er noticed something was wrong, and her face changed drastically: "Sister... Sister, look! What happened to this Buddha statue?!"

Shen Qinghe glanced up, her expression remaining calm, and asked Granny Kang, "Granny, besides me, who else in the bamboo garden submitted embroidered Buddha images for the Thousand Buddha Festival today? Were they double-sided embroidery, depicting Guanyin Bodhisattva and Bhaisajyaguru Buddha?"

"Let me think about it," said Granny Kang, "Guanyin Bodhisattva is commonly embroidered; several courtyards have Guanyin Bodhisattva embroidered on them. But Medicine Buddha is quite rare." After thinking for a moment and asking the maid beside her, Granny Kang came to a conclusion:

"Miss Yun'er."

Shen Qinghe frowned. Shen Yun'er would steal her Buddhist scriptures, and she was no exception.

Shen Yun'er's needlework skills are terrible. If she wants to replicate Shen Qinghe's path from her previous life, she must embroider a Buddha image that will amaze and please the Empress.

Where can Shen Yun'er find a quick and easy place to learn something on short notice?

She wasn't surprised, but she was curious about how Shen Yun'er knew the location of the Buddha statue.

Shen Qinghe often went to the kitchen to cook for herself and Qing'er. Qing'er also kept an eye on Lvxiu and Fangyu, hoping to steal something.

But even if Shen Yun'er wanted to steal, she should at least know where the place was, otherwise how could she do it without anyone noticing?

How did Shen Yun'er know the location of her Buddha statue?

She quickly realized why Wu Xiaoniang had suddenly visited yesterday!

She snorted coldly; it turned out that the two of them had somehow gotten together.

Indeed, that's how people are; the enemy of my enemy is my friend.

Fortunately, she had taken precautions. Since Shen Yun'er dared to steal, she would see if she had the ability to catch her!

Shen Qinghe followed Granny Kang to the old lady's courtyard.

Upon entering, they found Shen Yun'er and Qin Shi there as well.

Madam Qin was talking to the old lady and admiring the Buddha statue.

Granny Kang looked at Shen Yun'er in front of her and said, "Please hand over the Buddha statue, young lady."

Hongdou, who was next to Shen Yun'er, immediately brought out a large wooden box to hand over to Granny Kang.

At this moment, Shen Yun'er turned to look at Shen Qinghe beside her, smiling happily: "Sister must have handed in her Buddha statue too, right? Sister's embroidery is definitely better than mine."

Shen Yun'er's wrist was grabbed by Shen Qinghe.

Shen Qinghe stared at Shen Yun'er: "Sister, are you sure you really embroidered the Buddha statue in this box yourself?"

Upon hearing this, Shen Yun'er's face turned pale. In front of everyone, her eyes filled with tears, she said, "Sister, what are you saying? Of course I embroidered my own Buddha statue! Could it be that you're trying to slander me?!"

Shen Qinghe sneered, in front of Granny Kang and the maids: "Fine, since my sister says she embroidered it herself, then it's my sister who embroidered it. Just admit that you embroidered this Buddha statue!"

Having achieved her goal, Shen Qinghe was about to leave when she heard Shen Yun'er suddenly kneel down before the old lady:

"Madam, I truly did not steal my sister's Buddha statue! Please, Madam, do justice for me!!"

Shen Qinghe never expected Shen Yun'er to be so stupid. The more Shen Yun'er proves herself now, the more advantageous it will be for her tomorrow.

Therefore, Shen Qinghe did not stop Shen Yun'er from making a big fuss about this.

The old lady raised her eyelids slightly and looked at Shen Yun'er: "Why are you crying? Aren't I here to stand up for you? Whether it was stolen or not, just have Granny Kang take out the Buddha statue and compare them, then it will be clear, won't it?"

Having received the order, Granny Kang took out the Buddha statues of Shen Qinghe and Shen Yun'er that she had collected, and displayed the two Buddha statues in front of the old lady.

Can…

The old lady's expression changed drastically when she saw the first Buddha image that was opened. The embroidery on the Buddha image was a mess, and only the outline of the Buddha image could be barely made out.

Let alone presenting it to the Empress, it would be shameful to even show it to anyone.

Qin Shi frowned sharply: "Grandmother, if this Buddha statue is given to the Empress, I'm afraid she will blame our Zhenguo Marquis's Mansion for not doing its duty!"

The old lady clenched her prayer beads in anger: "More than that! This is going to bring trouble to my manor!! Shen Yun'er, who told you to embroider such a Buddha image?!"

Upon hearing this, Shen Yun'er's tears trembled and fell: "Madam, that...that's a Buddha statue taken from my sister's courtyard! The second one is the one I embroidered."

After saying that, Shen Yun'er turned her head to look at Shen Qinghe, wanting to see what evidence Shen Qinghe had.

The old lady glanced at the second picture and was immediately at ease.

She glanced at Granny Kang with a stern face, and Granny Kang nodded.

The old lady could only look at Shen Qinghe: "Qinghe, do you have anything else to say?"

"I have nothing to say, please punish me, Madam," Shen Qinghe said calmly.

"Fine, since you've admitted your mistake, I'll punish you by sending you to the ancestral hall..."

The old lady paused as she spoke.

Shen Yun'er listened intently, her ears practically perking up. She was going to kneel in the ancestral hall every day, and this time she was determined to make Shen Qinghe kneel there for ten days straight!

To everyone's surprise, the old lady's words made Shen Yun'er's expression change: "It's fine if you kneel in the ancestral hall for three hours."

Shen Yun'er was so angry that her eyes crossed. Why did she have to kneel every day, while Shen Qinghe only had to kneel for three hours?

-

Outside the ancestral hall.

Shen Qinghe knelt outside the ancestral hall, while the sandalwood smoke swirled upwards from inside.

The thinnest cushion was below her knees.

Qing'er, who was kneeling beside her, looked anxiously and said, "Sister, look at the sky, it's about to rain. Why don't you go inside and kneel down? Otherwise, you'll get soaked!"

Shen Qinghe glanced at the sky: "According to the time, the young marquis should be back at his residence soon, right?"

"It should be soon, sister. What's wrong? Should I go find the young marquis?" Qing'er was really worried.

"Let's wait until it rains before we go."

As Shen Qinghe spoke, her eyes were calm yet determined. Since she had knelt down, she couldn't let it go to waste.

What's more, tomorrow Shen Yun'er won't just be kneeling!

Soon, the rain started to fall.

The cold rain stung Shen Qinghe's face, making her pale.

Her knees were cold, stiff, and painful when she suddenly heard the sound of footsteps splashing in water behind her.

When Shen Qinghe fainted, the last thing she saw was Lu Jihan rushing towards her.