Chapter 4 The Thousand-Mile Candle and the Everlasting Flame 2: The Goddess Truly Saves All Beings...

Mingying held the wedding invitation and watched Chen Li's departing figure: "I feel like I've seen her before."

Mingyan frowned: "You've never left Yunchuan, how could you have seen her?"

Feng Yi explained to the two unsuspecting people, "Miss Ming must have mistaken someone else. This Miss Chen is originally from Suzhou. Her family runs a cloth shop. After her parents passed away, her relatives coveted her family property. She took her parents' letters and went to Liuzhou alone to seek help from the Zhu family, to whom she was betrothed. The Zhu family kept their word and helped her reclaim her family property. At that time, there was a flood, and Miss Chen even set up a porridge stall to relieve the flood victims. The people all praised her for her kindness."

Mingying asked curiously, "So, this Miss Chen is also resilient, decisive, and a woman of both wisdom and business acumen. Isn't her marriage to Young Master Zhu a genuine one?"

Xiao Jingze toyed with the teacup in his hand: "Perhaps it was that Young Master Zhu who used his kindness to force her into marriage, and she had no choice but to deal with him."

“But I don’t think Miss Chen is indecisive. If the two of you have no feelings for each other, how can the old engagement stand?”

“The goddess naturally has the confidence to cancel the engagement, but Miss Chen’s parents are both dead. She is an orphan. Without the help of the Zhu family, how can she protect the cloth shop’s business?”

Feng Yi looked completely bewildered: "What do you mean, cancel the engagement?"

Mingyan glanced at him and said, "You should just eat your food."

Mingying lowered her eyes in deep thought: "If that's really the case, I can also help her."

Mingyan rolled her eyes speechlessly.

Xiao Jingze laughed: "The goddess truly saves all living beings."

Mingying looked at Feng Yi: "Young Master Feng, where is Miss Chen's fabric shop?"

The four stood at the entrance of Chen's Cloth Shop, with ladies and young women coming and going, making Xiao Jingze and Feng Yi seem out of place.

Mingying had already pulled Mingyan inside, and Feng Yi, seeing that Xiao Jingze's expression was normal, followed them in as well.

The shop had a wide variety of fabrics, and the brocades on the wooden shelves were arranged in order of color. There were also perfumes in the cabinets. Feng Yi looked around and exclaimed, "Even the Jin family only got five pieces of this brocade, and this Chen family's cloth shop actually has three pieces."

A young lady overheard this and asked, "Is what this young man is saying true?"

"Of course it's real, this brocade..."

Before he could finish speaking, the young lady waved her hand and said, "I'll take all three bolts of cloth."

A lady, seeing that the two men were unfamiliar, and one of them was particularly handsome and dignified, asked with interest, "Where are you from, young man? I have a daughter who is intelligent and kind-hearted..."

Feng Yi interrupted her with a smile: "Madam, this young master is already engaged. Look, that is his fiancée."

The lady glanced at Mingying with regret: "Very well, the young master and the young lady are such a good match, I wish you both a long and happy marriage."

Feng Yi secretly praised himself for his unparalleled wit, but then he saw Xiao Jingze looking at him with a half-smile, scratching his head: "Is there a problem with what I said?"

Xiao Jingze ignored him and walked calmly past the crowd. When the girls of Liuzhou saw such a handsome young man, they stopped looking at their clothes and huddled together whispering, their eyes occasionally glancing at the two of them from behind.

Mingying, unaware of what was happening behind her, went straight to the shop assistant and asked, "Is Miss Chen here?"

Chen Li spotted them from the second floor. She had changed into a royal blue palace dress and gracefully descended the stairs, holding a round fan: "Miss Ming, is there anything important?"

Mingying blinked: "Could we find another quiet room? I have some questions that I need Miss Chen to answer."

Chen Li nodded, her eyes sparkling: "Come on up."

Just as Mingying was about to follow, a young man in brocade robes suddenly appeared at the door and ran towards the three of them: "Wife! Wife!"

The ladies and young women inside the room covered their mouths and laughed.

Xiao Jingze stopped him with his folding fan, and Chen Li quickly said, "This is Zhu Lang."

Young Master Zhu looked aggrieved: "Yesterday you said you were free today, and today you said you'd be free tomorrow. If I don't come, I'll have to wait until the wedding to see you."

Xiao Jingze glanced at him in surprise and put the folding fan away.

Young Master Zhu ran up to Chen Li, who tapped his forehead with her fingertip and laughed, "Alright, so many people are watching you. I still have to entertain guests here. We can talk about other things when we get home."

Seeing the interaction between the two, Feng Yi felt a pang of jealousy: "If you were to marry Miss Ming, would you end up like this too?"

Xiao Jingze said coldly, "Your brain is probably just as bad as his."

Young Master Zhu's gaze swept over the four people, lingering on Xiao Jingze for a moment: "These must be the three cultivators, but why is there an extra one?"

Chen Li glanced at Ming Ying: "Although Miss Ming is not a cultivator, she must be an outstanding person to be able to travel with the three of you."

Mingying felt even stranger.

Young Master Zhu didn't ask any more questions. He reluctantly said goodbye to her, and Chen Li led the four of them to the side room: "Whatever Miss Ming wants to know, Chen Li will answer without hesitation."

Mingying suppressed her doubts and asked earnestly, "Miss Chen, is there any difficulty you are facing? If you are unwilling to get married, I will certainly do my best to help you."

Chen Li paused, then chuckled, "Miss Ming is overthinking it. Although Zhu Lang may seem foolish, he is actually sincere and kind to me. The Zhu family does not want women to show their faces in public to run a cloth shop, and it has always been Zhu Lang who has supported me. Zhu Lang and I are truly in love."

"Then why..."

Chen Li shook her head, her face filled with worry: "It's not that I'm not sincere towards Zhu Lang and that I'm hiding anything, it's just that the Heart-to-Heart Mirror will reveal what people fear in their hearts, and I don't want to mention this to anyone, I..."

Chen Li choked up and covered her face, weeping.

Mingying handed over the handkerchief, and Feng Yi comforted her, "Miss Chen, don't worry. We came here for this very reason. We will definitely subdue the troublesome magical artifact that day."

Xiao Jingze remained expressionless. He had seen plenty of lies, and Miss Chen's acting skills were clearly inadequate.

Chen Li wiped away her tears and took Ming Ying's hand: "Miss Ming is kind-hearted. I don't know how to thank you all. Chen's Cloth Shop also has ready-made clothes. Please feel free to choose. Consider them a gift from me, Chen Li."

"Miss Chen, you're too kind. I didn't do anything."

“I feel a connection with Miss Ming and I sincerely want to be your friend. Moreover, I need a suitable dress for the wedding in two days. Miss Ming, please accept Chen Li’s kind offer.”

Mingyan pulled the two hands apart: "We appreciate Miss Chen's kindness, and we will naturally buy it at the original price. Miss Chen, please don't refuse."

Seeing that the two insisted on not trying to persuade her anymore, Chen Li stood up and smiled, "Miss Ming is like the autumn moon and a new lotus leaf. There is a dress in the cloth shop that would suit Miss Ming very well."

This clumsy excuse would be strange if Miss Chen had nothing to hide. Xiao Jingze tapped the table: "Miss Chen knows this... Miss Ming?"

"I have never met Miss Ming before. I just find her to be gentle and kind and would like to make her my friend."

Mingying's eyes crinkled into a smile: "That's wonderful, Mingying would also like to befriend you."

The two held hands, like old friends. Chen Li's smile became even more genuine: "I'll get the clothes; if there are any parts that don't fit, we can alter them."

Chen Li closed the door. Xiao Jingze looked at Ming Ying's innocent expression and raised an eyebrow: "Can't even the goddess see such an obvious problem in her?"

Mingying's smile remained unchanged: "So what if I can tell? Miss Chen meant no harm. It's just that I really can't remember when I last saw her."

Mingyan had no recollection of this person: "Didn't you say Miss Chen was originally from Suzhou?"

"Miss Chen called me Miss Ming when we met, but I never told her that my surname was Ming. Moreover, the four of us were traveling together, yet she knew that I was not a cultivator. Back then, Miss Chen came to Liuzhou from Suzhou. It is possible that she passed through Yunchuan on the way."

Feng Yi thought it made sense: "That seems to be true."

Xiao Jingze scoffed lightly: "So, did the goddess figure out which believer this was?"

Mingying looked helpless: "I really can't remember. Could you please stop calling me Goddess? Didn't you just call me Miss Ming?"

"The goddess was ordained by the Imperial Preceptor, something that other cultivators would beg for but could not obtain. Miss Ming seems quite averse to it?"

Mingying lowered her head and straightened her sleeves: "What kind of goddess am I?"

Chen Li led several people in, interrupting their conversation. The table in the room was wide and long, with clothes of different styles laid out. She pointed to the first one and introduced it with a smile: "This is a set of clothes I prepared for Miss Ming, called Thousand Mile Candle."

Mingying walked closer and asked, "Is that Mingyue?"

Chen Li smiled and said, "Miss Ming, why don't you give it a try?"

Mingying left happily, carrying the dress. Chen Li then had another dress brought out: "This is the one I recommended for Miss Ming, named Changmingyan."

Mingyan glanced over casually and immediately took a liking to it. She awkwardly looked away; Chen's Cloth Shop was indeed something special.

She nodded, unlike Mingying who was carefree: "Thank you, Miss Chen. I don't need to try it anymore; I will buy it."

After introducing the two women's clothes, Chen Li stopped talking and waited outside for Mingying to come out.

Soon after, the door was gently pushed open, and moonlight poured in, bathing the newcomer in a pale golden glow. Her clothes were not elaborate, and the material was neither silk nor gauze, but rather a veil woven with half a ray of moonlight. The collar and cuffs were adorned with silver threads, and the belt fluttered gracefully with her steps, making Mingying appear even more fair and ethereal, like a jade-faced Guanyin statue.

Chen Li looked at Ming Ying with a complicated expression. It had taken her countless days and nights to weave this dress. After it was finished, she always felt that something was missing, something she couldn't quite put her finger on. So she held it and witnessed countless nights of it, and finally, today, her wish was fulfilled.

Feng Yi could hardly look away: "My goodness, is this a goddess descending to earth?"

Mingyan remained silent. Even though she had seen Mingying dressed in elaborate goddess attire before, the person in front of her now seemed like a complete stranger.

Xiao Jingze paused for a moment, his smile unusually fading, and looked at her with an unreadable expression.

Mingying walked out with an air of superiority. Seeing that no one in the room was speaking, she tilted her head and smiled, "What's wrong? Are you all amazed by how beautiful I am?"

The familiar feeling returned. Mingyan had almost suspected that she had been switched while changing clothes, and bluntly commented, "You're going to a wedding banquet, not to get married. You should change your clothes."

Chen Li quickly retorted, "No, this one."

Mingying's gaze shifted between the two of them: "Then I'll choose another one. I can wear this one at another time."

Chen Li insisted, "Ms. Ming, I hope you will wear this to my wedding banquet."

This was a strange statement. Mingying looked at her for a long time before her lips curved into a smile: "Since it is the bride's request, then Mingying will respectfully comply."

Chen Li looked relaxed, as if she had resolved a major issue: "The two gentlemen can choose for themselves. I have other matters to attend to, so I will take my leave now."

Mingying walked up to the three of them: "What did you all choose?"

When Mingyan saw the dress she was wearing, she felt that all other clothes paled in comparison. She pointed to the red dress next to her and said, "This is the one."

Mingying gave a positive review: "It looks great, it suits you very well, but..."

Mingyan thought that although this dress wasn't the most beautiful in the world, it was definitely the second most beautiful. Seeing this, she glared at her and asked, "But what?"

"But Mingyan, why do you always wear red clothes? Peach red, vermilion red, jujube red, pomegranate red, rouge red, begonia red, I have only ever seen you wear red."

Seeing Mingyan's puzzled expression, she added an explanation: "Maybe my thinking is a bit strange. I just think that if I'm about to die in ten years and I'm lying in bed reminiscing about the regrets of my life, and I end up thinking that I've never worn clothes of other colors, wouldn't that be a bit of a pity?"

After saying that, she couldn't help but laugh out loud: "Okay, you probably won't have this moment anymore."

No one on the field laughed. Mingyan picked up her dress and said, "You sickly girl are always thinking about all sorts of things. I'm happy to always wear red clothes. I do what I like, so I won't have any regrets like you."

Xiao Jingze looked at Ming Ying for a moment, then smiled slightly: "What Miss Ming said makes some sense."

"Right, right?"

Mingying's eyes lit up, and without hesitation she ran to a light blue and white flowing robe and strongly recommended, "You should wear this, I think it suits you perfectly."

Xiao Jingze seemed to realize something, and asked with a strange expression, "Is this all the taste you have?"

Seeing that he was not pleased, Mingying looked left and right and chose another black brocade robe: "This one is also good. It suits your temperament better than the previous one."

Xiao Jingze didn't want to dwell on it too much: "This one will do."

Feng Yi poked his head out: "Miss Ming, what do you think I'm suited for?"

Mingying returned to the blue-white robe: "This one is especially beautiful, like a clear mountain stream or a flowing waterfall. Young Master Xiao has no taste. Young Master Feng must try it on; it will surely suit you perfectly."

Feng Yi was quite pleased: "Then I'll choose this one."

Xiao Jingze watched the two of them talking back and forth, and remained silent for a long time. He thought to himself, "She can talk so much about just one piece of clothing."