The Hexagram Need (需) - Upper-Middle Hexagram

Chapter 5 The Need Hexagram (Upper Middle Hexagram) - The Reset Bagua Mirror

She didn't mind kneeling before anyone.

But why should we perform such a grand ceremony for Rong Yan?

She lived a life of luxury in the Rong family, while this lowly concubine's daughter was considered lowly and worthless. Now, she had only gained temporary advantage by becoming the eldest son's wife, yet she was expected to kneel before her.

"This... Third Aunt, I will observe proper etiquette. Yanyan is my younger sister, so shouldn't the older sister kneel before the younger sister?"

Grandmother Xie's face darkened, clearly displeased by her words.

She raised an eyebrow and glanced at her. "I think your sister's manners are more proper than yours. Now that you've entered my Runan Marquis's mansion, you should respect your husband and call her sister-in-law. She'll be honored. Forget those rules you had in the Rong family. This is the Runan Marquis's mansion."

Once she uttered her words, even the Lady of the Marquis dared not refute them, let alone Rong Shu.

Rong Shu had never been inferior to anyone in the Rong family, nor had she ever suffered any verbal grievances. Her eyes immediately reddened, mainly because it was the first time someone had told her that she was inferior to Rong Yan.

Moreover, the person who said this was Xie's grandmother.

It seemed as if she was recalling her childhood, when her grandmother had praised her for her intelligence, and she felt a mix of emotions.

She glanced back at Xie Zhezhi and saw that he was still smiling gently at her, without saying a word in her defense. She felt even more annoyed. This young master didn't know how to help her! She could only keep quiet and slowly kneel down, bowing deeply to everyone.

In a moment when no one was watching, Rong Yan bent two fingers and tapped the back of the chair lightly, returning the kneeling salute.

Fang's mother presented a wooden tray containing Rong Yan's white handkerchief.

When Lady Hou lifted the cloth, she found that there was no blood on it, and she frowned.

After Madam Fang whispered a few words in his ear, Madam Hou's gaze turned sharply towards Rong Yan.

Rong Shu had a keen eye and immediately noticed that there was no blood on the spot, which pleased her.

Everyone fell silent immediately, and no one dared to speak up.

Du Chunhong was about to say something in support, but Rong Shu interrupted her.

"Sister-in-law, you are also a woman. Do you know that not bleeding on your wedding night is a great disgrace? Father and Mother have always taught us daughters about the virtues of womanhood. I never thought that after ten years in the Taoist temple, you would abandon even the virtues of womanhood? Our Rong family would never raise such a person. You dare to allow premarital adultery in your damned Taoist temple?"

Upon hearing this, both the grandmother and Madam Wang slammed their hands heavily on the table, startling everyone in the hall.

"What's going on?!"

Rong Yan ignored Rong Shu's words completely, giving her no response whatsoever.

Rong Shu felt as if all her strength had been wasted, like hitting cotton, which made her even more frustrated.

Rong Yan calmly rose and knelt down. "Please forgive me, Mother. My husband is weak and unable to support the heavens. He should recuperate and rest until he can fulfill his mission of having children."

As soon as she spoke, the entire room fell silent.

Which woman in this room hasn't experienced sex, being a married woman? This is clearly implying that the eldest son can't get an erection.

After a while, Grandmother Xie's expression changed, and she coughed lightly, "Alright, this matter can't be rushed. Everyone should go back to their own courtyards and rest as soon as possible."

Madam Wang's face darkened, and she vented her anger on her daughter-in-law, Rong Shu, saying, "You're so quick to speak! Don't you know the occasion with so many people around? What nonsense are you spouting!"

Rong Shu was about to explain when she saw Xie Zhezhi wave his hand and quickly dismiss the crowd. Rong Shu glared at Xie Zhezhi in anger, but Xie Zhezhi patted her shoulder reassuringly.

Rong Shu gritted her teeth and pinched her hands for a while before finally smiling. "I'm sorry, sister-in-law. I misspoke. Please don't blame me."

Rong Yan gave a fake laugh, "How could that be?"

Xie Zhezhi replied sincerely, "Thank you, sister-in-law. My wife was a bit rude."

After saying that, he pulled Rong Shu away.

As everyone got up to leave, Madam Wang saw that the Marquis was also about to leave, and hurriedly called out to him.

After enduring for so long, Madam Wang finally opened fire, "My lord, yesterday was your son's wedding day, yet you spent the night in a concubine's quarters. If people knew, wouldn't that be outrageous!" Madam Wang was dissatisfied with the Marquis's actions, and today, taking advantage of the tea ceremony, she finally caught him and gave him a thorough scolding.

Lady Wang came from a prestigious family; her younger sister was the late Empress Wang, who entered the palace at seventeen and became empress. The loss of her three sons within five years led to her falling ill with depression, and she passed away at the age of twenty-two. Otherwise, the Wang family would certainly be even more prosperous today.

Therefore, even the Marquis treated Wang with great courtesy at home. He was naturally a womanizer and knew that he had mistreated Wang over the years. In addition, he had just taken a new concubine who was the same age as Rong Yan. Recently, Wang had been in a bad mood, so he could only be more patient with her.

"If a woman acts like this, it would seem like an old man bullying a young man to me. Besides, what prestige do I have with her? I have my own reputation."

Madam Wang rolled her eyes at him. "You have a reputation and ability, but this newly acquired concubine is a woman from a family of entertainers? Your 'reputation' is known throughout Bianjing, who doesn't know it?"

"That's enough! You're the most noble, I won't argue with you, and you have no right to interfere with what I do!" With that, he stormed off. When he saw that his mother was still waiting behind the door, his face flushed red, and he turned and left.

Wang felt wronged. She was of noble birth and had personally gone into business for the sake of the Marquis of Runan's mansion, which not only humiliated her status but also caused her to worry about a few coins every day. She was often in debt and her life was exhausting. To make matters worse, her husband was a womanizer, which made her feel heartbroken.

“Mistress, you know the Marquis’s temperament. Instead of nagging him, we should teach those little brats a lesson.”

Lady Hou sighed. "How could I, a lady of high birth, go to see those lowly people? I can't talk about it anymore, it just makes me upset. We women have such a hard life. Tomorrow is my homecoming day, how are your preparations?"

Fang's mother, still resentful of the humiliation she suffered at Rong Yan's hands that morning, said maliciously, "What do you think... we should do?"

Lady Hou looked at Mama Fang with some confusion. Mama Fang smiled and said, "It's not a big deal for the Rong family to give a Taoist temple as part of their dowry, but it's highly inappropriate for the temple to hold a funeral right before such a joyous occasion. Since they say they don't care about these things, we can ask Mama Wang to go and deliver a funeral procession. She's still in mourning, so we can send them a funeral procession too. Let them see what bad luck is like. Otherwise, the Rong family will start riding roughshod over the Marquis of Runan's mansion. Let them know that we're not to be trifled with."

"Won't this approach make people think that our Runan Marquis's Mansion is being a bit petty?"

“Oh, Madam, you’re too soft-hearted. The new bride has just entered the house, you must set your authority. It’s just a small punishment.”

"Alright, then you can handle it."

"Yes, madam."

Rong Yan, who had just left the room, met his third uncle and aunt outside the house, who had found a chance to escape. All three of them had tears in their eyes when they met.

Considering their inappropriate identities, the group did not go inside to meet.

He explained his situation in just a few words.

It turns out that the three of them arrived in the Song Dynasty on the same day, but they didn't end up in the same household.

Upon hearing that their daughter had been sent to a Taoist temple for a full ten years, Du and Xie Qisheng gritted their teeth in hatred.

They had enjoyed a life of luxury in the Marquis's mansion for so many years, while their daughter had suffered in that impoverished Taoist temple for so many years. They originally thought that only the two of them had transmigrated, never expecting that their daughter would also transmigrate here.

Overwhelmed with mixed feelings of joy and sorrow, feeling that she had not fulfilled her responsibilities as a parent, Du Shi burst into tears on the spot. In the end, it was Rong Yan who persuaded the two of them.

“This is not your fault. I cast a divination many years ago, which was meant to refer to today’s events. However, I couldn’t interpret the divination at the time, which is also my own karma. I have not been able to fulfill my filial duties for the past ten years, and you have suffered as a result.”

Xie Qisheng's eyes were red, and he couldn't say a word for a long time. Seeing that more and more maids were coming and going, the group silently dispersed without saying a word.

After a busy day, Rong Yan finally felt refreshed after washing up.

When she rested on the chaise lounge, the room was terrifyingly dark. It was said that Xie Chengzhi used to dislike leaving a warm lamp on, so the maids had all turned it off.

The door was pushed open again, then quietly closed again.

Hearing the claw sounds coming from the ground, Rong Yan said without turning his head, "Bai Qiong, be good, go to sleep."

Bai Qiong jumped onto the chaise lounge and lay down against her back. She was lying on the chair alone, which was originally quite spacious, but now that there was a fox, she felt a bit cramped, but it made her much warmer.

Just as she was drifting off to sleep, she suddenly felt Bai Qiong raise his head and look towards the inside of the bed, but she was too sleepy to keep her eyes open.

The quilt was filled with goose down feathers, making it soft and light, and it warmed up quickly.

The strong wind inside rattled the doors and windows, and he slowly turned over.

As the winter snow melts, the cicadas begin to sing.

Rong Yan found her standing on the steps of the Taoist temple, but the moss had receded, the damp ground was now completely dry, and the area in front of the temple was spotless.

She walked to the front of the temple and pushed open the gate of Hebai Temple.

The door slowly opened, revealing a coffin inside.

The coffin, which had been placed in front of the door, suddenly stood up, revealing the ashen-faced Taoist priest lying inside.

She didn't take a step forward, but found the door behind her. At that moment, the door behind her suddenly closed, and the coffin slowly moved towards her!

Her expression remained calm as she watched the Taoist priest's face draw closer and closer until it was within arm's reach.

Suddenly, Gou Xiang reached out his right hand and pulled her into the coffin.

The Taoist priest from Gouxiang was gone, leaving only her lying inside; the coffin lid was already closed.

Even in the confined space, she could feel the air getting thinner and thinner.

She reached out and pushed the coffin lid, but it didn't budge. With another push, she found it was sealed shut.

She eagerly reached out and pushed, and the coffin lid wobbled. She closed her eyes and used all her strength to push it open.

In that instant, she clearly felt a pair of hands pulling her, as if not wanting her to push them away!

Suddenly opening my eyes, I was surrounded by a cold, clear atmosphere. I heard rapid breathing around me, and the dark scenery gradually cleared up. Along with the breathing, wisps of white smoke rose from my eyes.

She was standing in the front courtyard of Qu Shen Courtyard, the third watch had just struck, and she looked at the scene before her, still shaken—

Just a step away from her was a well.

She woke up in the chilly dewy sun, and found a thin layer of sweat on her back.

He was just one step away from falling into the well.

If it weren't for a force pulling her back just now, she wouldn't be standing here right now.

She looked around blankly, but there was no one there. Not even the night watchwoman was by her side. Could it be that her own psychological defenses made her mistakenly believe that someone had saved her?

She's probably sleepwalking again.

This problem hadn't recurred for a long time, but it flared up frequently ten years ago. After it got better, it never recurred again, but I never expected it to flare up again today.

It seems that the change in living environment made her uneasy, and the shock and joy of seeing her biological parents triggered her sleepwalking.

Back in my room, I wiped the cold sweat from my forehead and shook off the blanket, intending to go back to sleep, but then I realized that the blanket in my hand felt strange.

There was something in the hidden compartment. She got up, lit a lamp, and used scissors to pry it open. She found it was a talisman.

Upon opening it, it turned out to be a cursed charm that brought misfortune and ruined peace.

Did this person intend to harm her, or...?

Her gaze drifted to the person resting quietly with their eyes closed under the bed curtains; their complexion was even rosier than yesterday.

Rong Yan sighed, got up and lit the Seven Star Lamp.

She altered the feng shui layout of the room, breaking the bad luck and misfortune.

This only happened yesterday morning, yet we found out about it so quickly.

Clearly, this person is keeping a close eye on me at all times.

Since Xie Chengzhi's safety is now a foregone conclusion, this talisman must be aimed at him.

Unexpectedly, when she looked up and glanced at the screen, she was startled.

The mirror on the screen that faced Xie Chengzhi, which she had clearly asked Yu Ling and Hua Li to get rid of, has now returned to its original position!