Chapter 158 Bait

Before dawn on the Ghost Festival, Jiang Yuzhu accompanied her family in a horse-drawn carriage to the Huguo Temple to pray for blessings.

Halfway through the journey, it suddenly started raining.

The rain was so heavy and fast that it made the carriage rattle.

Jiang Yuzhu picked up a cup of hot tea, looking gloomy, and asked Hongli, "How far is it?"

Because of her bad experience in the past, Jiang Yuzhu was afraid of the bamboo forest in Huguo Temple. Also, the lunar calendar did not allow for travel, so she backed out.

Hongli opened the car window and looked out. Rain splashed out of the window and wet the tablecloth on the small table.

Finally, unable to judge, Hongli asked the driver and he replied, "Madam, there is about a quarter of an hour left."

The Ghost Festival is a big day for memorial ceremonies. Along the way, we saw many carriages and horses running side by side, all heading towards the Huguo Temple.

Along the way, not a single carriage turned back.

"Madam, today the eminent monk from the Huguo Temple is giving a lecture on Zen. It has not been announced to the public in advance. Most of those who have come here are those who have heard the news. They are either rich or noble."

Hongxiu squatted down, opened the partition under the bench, and took out two oil-paper umbrellas.

Jiang Yuzhu leaned against the wall of the car and dozed off, covering her belly with her hands. The warmth from her palms was soothing, and the pain in her belly was relieved. She calculated with her fingers that today was her day.

After finally reaching the foot of the mountain, the wives and daughters of officials were holding colorful oil-paper umbrellas, and the hems of their skirts were stained with water.

On rainy days, a young monk would greet us at the foot of the mountain: "Amitabha, the road is slippery on rainy days, please be sure to pay attention to the stone platform under your feet. However, praying in such bad weather shows your sincerity."

The wind is strong on rainy days, blowing the fallen petals away.

There is water on the steps leading to the Huguo Temple, and if you are not careful, there is a risk of rolling down.

Along the way, there were constant screams from ladies and young ladies, and from time to time someone would fall down, looking miserable.

Jiang Yuzhu had a good sense of balance. She sent Hongxiu and Hongjin to support her mother Chen and mother-in-law Shen, while she pulled her sister-in-law Xiao Chen and climbed up holding the handrail. Although their clothes were soaked when they reached the mountain gate, they had a safe journey.

After changing into a set of plain clothes in the prepared room, Jiang Yuzhu went straight to the front hall.

In the temple, heavy bell sounds were heard, and the echo was long and distant, as if expressing a sense of compassion for the world.

The hall was quiet, and the incense burner on the Buddha shrine was already filled with sandalwood, the fragrance was gentle and lasting.

Jiang Yuzhu burned incense and knelt devoutly in front of the cushion. The person she was worshipping was not someone else, but herself.

Jiang Yuzhu traveled into the book, and she didn't know whether the modern her or the original owner was still alive.

Since replacing the original owner, Jiang Yuzhu has had family, sisters, time and money. She lives the life she has always dreamed of and is very content.

She closed her eyes gently and said to herself: I will take good care of your family for you, and I will also take good care of myself, and I will never let the Jiang family get the ending described in the book.

This was the only thought in Jiang Yuzhu's mind. The only person she couldn't take over was the original owner's sweetheart, her cousin Lu Yunxi.

Even though she couldn't say it out loud, expressing it with her mind in front of the Buddha made her feel as if the invisible shackles that had been weighing on her for a long time were lifted off, making her feel relieved.

Jiang Yuzhu kowtowed again and silently said: May the soldiers of the north return victorious, may there be no more wars in the world, may the country of Da Qi be peaceful and prosperous, may the people live and work in peace and contentment, have enough food and clothing...

Jiang Yuzhu has a small mind, and these wishes are made for her family.

At this time, in the side hall next door, Shen had already kowtowed more than ten times, silently praying: I hope my son Yuanhe and daughter-in-law Yuzhu will live in harmony and have deep love and friendship, and let me hold my lovely grandchildren soon. If my wish comes true, I am willing to spend the rest of my life doing good deeds and accumulating virtue to repay the Buddha's kindness.

In the distance, another bell sounded.

Jiang Yuzhu was calm, as if her heart had been cleansed.

She walked outside the palace gate, held up an oil-paper umbrella, and felt a warm current coming from her lower abdomen. This feeling was extremely familiar.

The people of Da Qi believed that women's menstrual period was unclean and it would be disrespectful to Buddha if they kept the semen.

Jiang Yuzhu said goodbye to her family and hurried down the mountain with only Hongli.

There were sanitary belts and spare clothes in the carriage. Jiang Yuzhu hurriedly sorted them out and made a cup of brown sugar ginger tea with warm water from the kettle to warm herself.

Hongli packed up his wife's changed clothes and asked, "Madam, where are we going back to?"

"Go back to Xie Mansion."

In order to appear pious, Chen and Shen stayed in the Huguo Temple for seven days to worship Buddha, eat vegetarian food, and copy scriptures.

There was no master in the Xie Mansion, so Jiang Yuzhu had to go back to take charge of the situation.

Halfway through the journey, the carriage suddenly slowed down.

Jiang Yuzhu was shaken awake and squinted her eyes and asked, "What's going on?"

The driver wiped the rain off his face with his hand, looked ahead not far away, and said in surprise: "Madam, there is an overturned carriage in front of us, and someone is lying on the ground, but the driver is nowhere to be found."

It was raining heavily and the man lay on the ground motionless, and it was unknown whether he was alive or dead.

There was a depression nearby where puddles of water had accumulated.

If the person is still alive, he may unfortunately drown while unconscious.

When Hongli heard that only a woman had fallen to the ground, he hurriedly opened the car window and looked out.

This was so shocking that Hongli gasped and said, "Madam, the woman lying on the ground seems..."

"Like what?"

Jiang Yuzhu sat up straight, instantly awake and no longer sleepy.

Hongli tried to lean towards the window. The person was wearing a lavender dress. The butterfly on the hem of her dress was half covered by mud and water, so it didn't look very real.

"It looks like Miss Zhao!"

Hongli remembered that Zhao Fendie had made an appointment with his wife to meet at Huguo Temple, but he had not appeared for a long time. Could something have happened?

Jiang Yuzhu's head buzzed and she felt a chill all over her body.

The carriage overturned, where was the driver, and where were the two maids, Biyun and Biyue? Why was Zhao Fendie the only one who fell to the ground, and why was she not noticed by passers-by for so long?

Was it an accident, or was it the barbarian's deliberate revenge?

Jiang Yuzhu quickly grabbed the oil-paper umbrella, jumped off the carriage swiftly, and ran straight towards the woman. Saving people was the most important thing!

At this moment, another carriage passed by and stopped in front of Jiang Yuzhu.

Lu Yunxi was helped down by a servant. In his panic he didn't have time to open an umbrella, and his hair was soon wet by the rain. The wet hair stuck to his forehead, making his face look even paler.

"Cousin, the wind is strong and the rain is heavy. If you want to save people, just tell the coachman and the maid. But you also have to take care of your own health!"

Lu Yunxi looked extremely weak, with worry flashing in her eyes, as if she was worried about her health.

Seeing Jiang Yuzhu stop and look at him, Lu Yunxi smiled slightly, and his forced expression made people feel particularly pity for him.

Facing her "affectionate" cousin, Jiang Yuzhu cried out that she was unlucky!

At the moment, she was saving people, so she didn’t have the energy to talk nonsense, but said: “Cousin, it’s cold on a rainy day, you’re not feeling well, hurry back to the carriage, be careful not to catch a cold!”

Stay away from the God of Plague and you will stay away from trouble!

Jiang Yuzhu was no longer distracted and ran forward with big strides. Seeing this, Lu Yunxi became anxious and broke free from the servant's support and hurriedly followed.

When she got closer, Jiang Yuzhu quickly realized something was wrong.

It was true that the dress belonged to Zhao Fendie, but it was obviously a size smaller on the person in front of her. The hem of the skirt only reached above the ankles, and a pair of men's black boots were revealed under the hem.

Not good! It's not a scam, it's a bait!

In an instant, Jiang Yuzhu's mind became clear. She turned around and ran back. However, she bumped into Lu Yunxi, who was following her, after she took only two steps.

At this moment, the purple-clothed man on the ground jumped up, and in front of the surprised gazes of Hongli, the driver and others, he took out a dagger and put it against Jiang Yuzhu's thin white neck, and said in a hoarse voice: "Don't move, otherwise the Ghost Festival will be your death!"

With a snap, the oil-paper umbrella fell to the ground, and a gorgeous flower bloomed on the ground.