Chapter 15 Family Temple
The Xiao family temple is located in the northwest corner. In the past, apart from the old lady Xiao going there to fast and worship Buddha, her three older brothers were punished by being sent to the temple to copy books and reflect on their mistakes when they were young because of their naughtiness. Now that the old lady Xiao has returned to Jiangnan to recuperate, the three young masters have all grown up, and few people go there except for festivals.
In her past life, Xiao Yuxuan was drowned in a pig cage by the Xiao family in the lake in front of the family temple, and died unjustly with the stigma of being a harlot.
This time, looking at the ancient and quiet ancestral temple, the resentment and hatred in her heart settled into a calm.
She had longed for kinship with the Xiao family, then for love with Xie Tingzhou, and later for the affection of her children, the boy who died before he was three years old and was only given a nickname.
But in her past life, she cared too much about others, and all her efforts were in vain, even bringing about her own utter ruin.
Now, she will treat others the way they treat her. In her past life, no one loved her, so this time she will love herself.
“Young lady, why don’t you speak to the master on his behalf and ask him not to go to the family temple? Tomorrow is Madam’s birthday, and many ladies and young misses have been invited. If you’re not there, they’ll gossip about you behind your back…”
Chunwen followed behind her, carrying the things she would need for the next few days, and complained softly.
Xiao Yuxuan glanced at her and said, "Go back to Lanting Pavilion. Bi Sui is enough here."
Although Chunwen was snobbish, she wasn't stupid. If she was dismissed now, Madam Xiao would definitely make trouble for her later. She shook her head vigorously.
"Miss, I misspoke! Please don't send me away! Wherever you go, I'll go!"
Xiao Yuxuan looked at her: "What are people gossiping about? Where did you get that information?"
Chunwen was taken aback. Her eyes darted around, and she said nervously, "No, I was just worried that such a thing might happen..."
In her past life, she was infamous and thought that Xiao Yuyao had ruined her reputation after Xie Tingzhou's death. It turns out that it all started from that moment.
It's ridiculous that she had just returned to the Xiao family, with no friends or relatives, and no one had ever told her the truth. She was like a fool whose eyes and ears were covered, being completely fooled.
“Go back to Lanting Pavilion. I’ve come to the ancestral temple to reflect on my actions. I don’t need too many maids to serve me, as that would make me seem insincere. Mother won’t blame you.”
She rubbed her temples and led Bihui straight into the family temple.
The door slowly closed in front of Chunwen. She stood outside the door, and despite the warm spring breeze, she trembled involuntarily, feeling as if she had missed something very important.
The side room was a meditation room, but it hadn't been used for a long time, and the maids were lazy and the room was covered in dust.
Bi Sui put her things down, wiped a chair clean, and moved it next to Xiao Yuxuan.
"Miss, please have a seat while I clean this place."
The master's anger towards the daughter won't subside so quickly; the daughter will have to stay at the family temple for at least a few days.
But she believed the girl must have her own plans; if coming here would bring no benefit whatsoever, the girl certainly wouldn't have come.
Whether it was her imagination or not, ever since the girl woke up from her fever that day, she seemed much calmer and more reserved than before. Perhaps she had truly been hurt by her masters and was learning to fight for what was rightfully hers...
Xiao Yuxuan didn't sit down. Now that she had recovered from her injuries, her mind was clear, and the things she had experienced in her previous life were happening one by one in her memory. She wanted to write them down before she completely forgot them.
Together with Bihui, she tidied up the small meditation room. Bihui laid out paper and ground ink for her, and she slowly began to write on the paper.
**
The lamp wick popped a few times, and Xiao Yuxuan rubbed her eyes.
Out of caution, she only wrote down a few keywords: birthday banquet, palace banquet, theft, wedding, disaster...
Her gaze fell on the last word, "disaster".
In her previous life, two months before her coming-of-age ceremony, a large number of refugees displaced by war flooded into the capital. The refugees suffered heavy casualties from diseases, but did not receive timely resettlement and assistance, and an unprecedented plague broke out in the capital.
The eldest princess and the crown prince died in this plague, along with her uncle—the only relative who stood by her side and cared for her.
The eldest princess had no children. Her husband died five years ago while saving the crown prince. After that, the crown prince often accompanied the eldest princess. When the plague broke out, the two of them died one after another. Only then did the fourth prince have the opportunity to compete for the position of crown prince. Xiao Yuyao also rose to become the crown princess and then the empress.
The eldest princess… she recalled the kind-faced eldest princess sitting in the carriage during the day.
She smiled and praised herself for her skillful hands, her expression sincere. Apart from her colleagues in the embroidery workshop and the servants who had to flatter her, no one had ever taken her embroidery skills so seriously, and had not regarded it as a skill that was not worthy of being called elegant.
After her uncle's death, her maternal grandparents' family, except for her eldest cousin, all sided with Xiao Yuyao and worked together with the Xiao family to help the fourth prince ascend the throne.
She just turned fourteen last month, and there are still nine months until that future plague.
She needs to find a way to save her uncle and the crown prince before the epidemic breaks out. It won't be so easy for Xiao Yuyao to become the empress and then humiliate and torment herself.
"Girl, it's late. You've been writing under the lamp for so long. Be careful not to hurt your eyes."
A clear female voice rang out, and Xiao Yuxuan looked up, only to see Hongzhu, who shouldn't have been there.
What brings you here?
"My injuries have mostly healed, so I came here to serve you, young lady."
Although Hongzhu is small, she speaks and acts very seriously, even more so than Bihui.
"And... thank you for the coral bracelet you gave me, Miss. I will do my job well and live up to your kindness."
The little girl revealed her slender, fair wrist, on which a string of bright red coral beads caught the eye, making her skin appear radiant and precious.
Xiao Yuxuan understood; Bi Sui was quick and had already sent the items out.
What she didn't know was that, in order to let the other two know that the young lady cared about them, Bihui immediately sent her familiar sisters to deliver the gifts to them as soon as she arrived at the mansion.
If Pei Xing'er hadn't been forced by Doctor Pei to copy medical texts and forbidden from leaving the house, she would have come to express her gratitude in person.
“You are only ten years old, which is the age when you should eat well, sleep well and grow well. I have my own plans for coming to the ancestral temple. You will suffer these few days with me.”
"This servant is not afraid of hardship. As long as I can live well, whether I suffer or eat sweet food, it makes no difference to me."
Xiao Yuxuan touched her hair.
"Alright, I'm done writing. You and Bihui should go and get some rest. You don't need to keep watch tonight."
This was the first time Hongzhu had been so gently patted on the head by a girl. Feeling a little embarrassed, she wasn't good at showing her vulnerable side to people, so she stiffly replied "yes" and left.
The ancestral temple was simple and unadorned, and Xiao Yuxuan slept on the hard bed, yet her heart was at peace.
Tomorrow will be peaceful, without Princess Wen Yue's harassment or the ridicule from my mother, Xiao Yuyao, and the other ladies.
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