Chapter 120

Chapter 120 "...Cousin?"...

Gu Zhishou was sixteen years old when she got married, and the marriage was very rushed.

She chose her husband herself; he was a newly appointed scholar who passed the imperial examination at the age of nineteen. Although his ranking wasn't very high, he was young and had a long life ahead of him, so she wasn't worried about his future achievements.

Her husband's official position was decided before they met: a county magistrate in the Northwest, a place she had never heard of before.

With the appointment made and time pressing, the wedding ceremony was not grand, but merely a formality. The bride and her dowry went together, and once she arrived, she began to prepare. After the homecoming ceremony, she set off for the northwest overnight.

The night before her wedding, her mother held her and cried all night. When she was about to leave, her mother cried all day again.

She didn't cry because she was in a hurry to leave and there was no time to lose.

No matter where I go, as long as I leave Xingdu, I will never come back.

Sure enough, he didn't return for six years.

Her mother, longing for her daughter, would send her two letters every month, hoping she would come home to visit. She ignored them. Sometimes, when her mother got angry, she would scold her in the letters, saying she was unfilial and that her heart was made of stone. The letters were stained with tears, and although they had dried long ago, the traces of the tears could not be erased. The lingering effects were hard to calm, which made her shed tears as well.

But they just won't go back.

Even after her husband was transferred to a position only 600 miles away from home, she still didn't go back.

Madam Mu was at her wits' end with her daughter, and could only keep writing letters, weeping and pleading with her.

My niece, who had been separated from me for many years, has finally been found and brought home—a truly joyous occasion.

The letter was sent out before the person was even seen.

Aren't you going to come back and see your sister? Don't you always think about her? Now that she's back, how can you not come back to see her?

Crane Fairy, her little sister—no, her fourth sister. The title of little sister has changed, but Crane Fairy, her little sister…

When I left Hindu, I was determined never to return except to mourn my relatives. But that was Crane Fairy.

Crane Fairy, the most lovable child, but with a tragic fate. She thought she was long gone, and whenever she thought of her, she would cry, her tears enough to form a lake. She never imagined that she would see her again in this life.

I definitely have to go back; I have to see them one more time!

"Is it Crane Fairy? Is it really Crane Fairy?"

"Big sister..."

My sister "came back to life" and stood perfectly fine in front of me.

"Heaven has opened its eyes, heaven has opened its eyes..."

She hugged her younger sister and cried, and her younger sister hugged her and cried too. The two of them hugged and cried, and others couldn't help but cry along with them. It was a scene of utter misery.

After she had cried enough, someone spoke up to comfort her and told her to stop crying. Then, the maidservants were instructed to help her wash her face.

Even while washing her face, she held her younger sister's hand tightly and wouldn't let go.

After washing my face, I talked to my sister; there were so many things I wanted to know.

Knowing this, I couldn't help but cry again.

The First Madam also had many things she wanted to know, so she went up and took her daughter's arm, saying, "Don't make your sister cry anymore. She's cried too much these past few days. She just came back from outside and hasn't rested yet. You too, you must be exhausted from traveling all this way. Look at you now... You should go and rest too. Once you've rested, you and your sisters can talk together. Your second and third sisters have been thinking about you."

Shanlai quickly replied, "Auntie is right. Sister, please rest first. We can talk again when you're rested."

Without a moment's rest on the road, Gu Zhishou was indeed exhausted. The only reason he had been able to keep going was because of the joy he felt at seeing his sister. It would have been better if he hadn't talked about it, because once he did, the joy dissipated and he couldn't gather it back up. His limbs and bones suddenly ached.

Madam Rong also spoke up, telling everyone to go and rest.

This rest lasted for almost a day and a night, during which I slept continuously.

After getting enough sleep, she got up and went out for a walk. Just then, the gifts her husband had prepared for her homecoming arrived, so she carried the gifts and went here to pay her respects and pay her respects there, keeping her busy for several days.

When she left Xingdu, she felt like a stray dog, so pathetic, that she was reluctant to return. Even just hearing people mention Xingdu made her feel anxious and uneasy. But now that she was back, she felt no discomfort at all; everything felt good. She thought it was time to let go.

So there's no rush to leave.

The most important thing about returning this time is, of course, my younger sister Hexian, whom I lost and found again. But the other sisters are not like roadside weeds either, and since we haven't seen each other for many years, we have a lot to talk about, especially the youngest sister, the fifth sister, whom I'm seeing for the first time.

There are five sisters, the eldest sister holding the youngest sister, a group of them sitting together, always having all sorts of things to talk about.

The second and third sisters no longer compete with each other as they used to when she was at home, which is a good thing. Gu Zhishou felt a sense of relief.

Things are getting better and better at home.

On this day, she still asked her long-lost sister all sorts of questions. When she heard that her sister had once again encountered danger in Xishan, and that she would have been doomed if it weren't for her third sister's rescue, she was so frightened that she clasped her hands together and chanted Buddhist prayers to thank Buddha for his protection. Later, she heard that her sister was actually a disciple of Abbot Hongche of Huguo Temple and had even created murals for the side hall of the Mahavira Hall of Huguo Temple. She couldn't help but marvel at the deep connection between her sister and Huguo Temple.

"I must go to Huguo Temple to burn incense and donate to the temple, and pray that Buddha will continue to bless me."

Shanlai, remembering his promise to Hongche, said he would go together.

Two of them wanted to go, and the other two naturally said they wanted to go too, so in the end, all five sisters went together.

Shanlai went to see Hongche alone, while Gu Zhishou led his three younger sisters to burn incense and look at the murals.

Hongche was still the same as always, looking neither sad nor happy, and still not talking much about sex. He had been doing the same thing day after day for decades, so Shanlai didn't bother him. After saying a few words, he got up to leave. Anyway, he was back, and he probably wouldn't leave again. There would be plenty of opportunities to meet.

As usual, Hongche did not send a gift.

However, he stopped Shanlai when he was about to leave.

Hongche always carried a string of beads in his hand. Whether he was talking or chanting scriptures, he would always fiddle with it slowly and deliberately. No one knew how long it had been with him or how many Buddhist chants he had heard.

He wanted to give this string of beads to Shanlai, or rather, to the newborn.

Shanlai accepted it without hesitation, saying that he would need his master's help in the future.

Knowing that everyone was looking at the murals in the Mahavira Hall, Shanlai left Hongche's place and headed towards the Mahavira Hall.

I ran into an old friend on the road.

Shanlai no longer wears a curtain, afraid that he won't be able to see the road clearly and will fall and sprain his ankle.

Without any obstruction, everything is clearly visible.

So she pointed in the distance and said to the maid beside her, "See that young woman holding a child, wearing an apricot-yellow dress? Go over and ask her which family she belongs to. Once you have the information, come back and don't say anything more."

He had a vague idea in his mind, because there was another face he recognized next to him, but he was afraid of misunderstandings, so he asked the maid to ask.

The maidservant went away for a while and came back to say that she was a female relative of the transport commissioner, Lord Qiu, and the wife of his eldest son.

Shanlai then asked, "What about the child she's holding? Is it hers?"

The maid said yes, she was the daughter of the eldest son of the Qiu family, a posthumous child, and was highly regarded by Mrs. Qiu.

Upon hearing this, Shan Lai couldn't help but laugh, but it was a forced smile.

The transport commissioner, Qiu Jia.

Shanlai's three older sisters all knew about her connection with this family.

She's like this again.

Gu Zhishou, being the eldest sister, was the first to speak, asking, "Why are you asking about his family? Is something the matter?"

Shan Lai shook his head. "It's nothing."

That's what they say, but it doesn't seem to be the case.

"Are you even keeping this from us?"

"It's really nothing, just that young mistress is an old acquaintance of mine."

"An old acquaintance? Shall we invite him over to talk?"

"No need. We're just nodding acquaintances, there's no real friendship between us. If we meet, I'll just ask. If we don't meet, I really won't remember that I exist. Now that I've changed my status, I'm afraid we'd both feel awkward if we were to talk."

Since she said that, no one else could say anything more.

"I see. Then let's leave her be."

Shan Lai nodded and hummed in agreement, "Never mind her."

How could we not care?

I just don't want to make a scene, afraid of implicating others.

It's unbelievable that Bitao became the young mistress of the Qiu family, and Miss Qiu's sister-in-law. She's quite capable; a mere maidservant could become the principal wife in a high-ranking household, with everyone calling her "Madam." Although she's a widow, living off her husband's memorial tablet, she is, after all, the principal wife of a third-rank official. What a stroke of luck! I wonder if Miss Qiu helped her out? Or did she have another opportunity later?

No rush, there's plenty of time to figure it out.

But I couldn't resist sneaking over to take a look from afar.

She looks so different; I almost didn't recognize her.

It was fate.

We must not let fate down.

She stood in the wind, and the maid, worried that standing there for too long might cause her harm, urged her to go back.

It's time to go back. We can't see anything anyway, and the person can't escape, so why waste time here?

She walked slowly back to the place where her sisters were sitting and drinking tea. When her two older sisters saw her, they asked in confusion, "Why did you come back alone? Where's our eldest sister? Wasn't she looking for you?"

I didn't see my older sister.

Although it was already mid-spring, the weather was still a bit cold. Shanlai was pregnant and couldn't afford to get sick. Gu Shouzhi was a sensible person, and seeing that the wind was getting cooler, she thought of taking her sisters back home.

Shan Lai had gone out under the pretext of changing clothes, but hadn't returned for a long time. Gu Shouzhi sent people to look for her, but the maid came back and said she couldn't find her.

My sister has people with her, and more than one. Nothing will happen. If something does go wrong, they have plenty of people following her around. How could they not know?

So I'm not too worried, and I don't want my two younger sisters to go looking for them. They've already gone out and are wandering around. If they look for one, they'll have to look for another, which will only cause more trouble.

Therefore, Gu Zhishou went to find it alone.

"Did my older sister really come looking for me? I haven't seen her anywhere along the way."

strangeness.

Gu Chunling and Gu Songnian also found it strange.

"You really didn't see it?"

"Maybe she's lost. Our family doesn't come this way often, so the girl probably doesn't know the way either."

Now that they couldn't afford to waste time, Gu Songnian took his younger sister's hand, and the four of them went out to search.

We can't search for them openly, lest it cause unnecessary trouble.

I searched everywhere but couldn't find it. I asked the maids and servants, but they said they hadn't seen it either.

It makes people frown.

What could have happened? Why are they nowhere to be seen? Could something really have happened?

I couldn't help but feel anxious.

What if something goes wrong?

In my haste, I walked a little faster and gradually went further away.

When they reached the pine forest, Shanlai heard some strange noises and paused for a moment.

She was an experienced person and knew what that sound was.

In this situation, you should definitely turn around and leave.

but……

She gestured for the maid to stop moving, and then slowly walked over herself.

"Big sister?"

"……cousin?"