Chapter 29: Saving the Puppy A dark figure slowly walked out of the woods...
The Yan Dynasty had a custom of burning incense and praying for blessings on the first day of the Lunar New Year.
On the first day of the new year, after washing up, the Chu family got on a car and went to the nearby White Horse Temple to burn incense.
Originally, Wu arranged for the four girls to ride in one carriage, herself and her son to ride in one carriage, and the old lady to ride in one carriage alone. However, the eldest daughter Chu was not happy about it no matter what. In the end, she had to arrange for the old lady to ride with her grandson, and herself and her daughter to ride in one carriage.
In the carriage, Chu Jinhe had a cold face, holding the hand warmer and remained silent. Wu said helplessly.
"Forget about Miss Lu, but why are you competing with the Second Miss? Don't you know what the Second Miss is like? She's always been the type who doesn't think before she speaks or acts. Why bother taking her carelessly words to heart and getting angry at herself?"
Miss Chu twisted her handkerchief and said nothing. Yesterday at the dinner table, she felt that her second sister was deliberately gossiping, praising her openly but criticizing her secretly. But now that she came to her senses and thought about it carefully, she felt that what her mother said was not unreasonable. She didn't have that kind of brain. However, it was the first time that she was bullied by Chu Yufu, and she was still very unhappy.
Then, Wu continued, "Speaking of which, He'er, you should pay more attention to your family. Two years ago, you gave the Diamond Sutra, last year it was the Heart Sutra, and this year it was the Medicine Buddha Sutra. It's worth changing things up. Look at the second girl. Although she only gave sachets, each one has a different purpose. It seems like she puts more thought into it."
"Mom, do you think I'm not as good as my second sister? I gave you the Buddhist scriptures because grandma likes them! If grandma likes them, then daddy will like them too, right?" Chu Jinhe suddenly looked up at her mother, and her speech was unusually fast and urgent.
"Yes! My second sister has been in the spotlight recently, dealing with my cousin and the old lady of the Marquis' Mansion. So, everything I do is wrong? Not only did Dad give me the cold shoulder, but Mom also wants to criticize me?"
What are you talking about! Wu frowned and was about to lose her temper, but when she looked at her daughter's red eyes, she couldn't help but take a deep breath and softened her voice.
"How could you think that, kid? Medical skills are nothing but low-level stuff, not something you can put on the table! How can the second girl compare to you?"
"Her reputation now is half due to her medical treatment and saving lives, and the other half is because she is obedient and willing to work hard for the elders. That's why I specifically told you that although she may be stupid, she is also very obedient and down-to-earth. As time goes by, there will always be people who remember her kindness. In addition to your mother's share of your future dowry, your father and grandmother will also contribute. If you spend more time on them, in the end, you will benefit the most."
After a while, Chu Jinhe stirred the handkerchief and hummed softly.
Wu reached out and adjusted the jade hairpin on her temple, smiling, "Alright, calm down. There are many people going to the temple to burn incense today. You should be careful. You might meet a young man who catches your eye."
Chu Jinhe's face darkened slightly when her mother mentioned this.
She hadn't seen Prince Zhao since the last cold-relieving party. Even though she knew her second sister always went to the Marquis' Mansion, she couldn't bring herself to visit him rashly. In this way, she would have the intention but not the ability to do anything.
Wu knew her situation well, so she told her that there are many better men out there and she shouldn't hang herself on one tree. If she couldn't find a partner, she could look for other men while she was still young.
But there are only a few talented people in Beijing who are of her age, talented, good-looking and have good family backgrounds...
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The White Horse Temple has always been renowned for its authentic fortune-telling divinations, attracting a constant stream of pilgrims, especially today. Behind the temple walls, wisps of green smoke rise to the ninth heaven, and the area surrounding the temple is bustling with activity.
The carriage stopped in front of the temple gate. A group of people got off and walked in one after another with their servants. They first went to the main hall to burn incense and kowtow. Then Grandmother Wei told everyone to disperse. Those who wanted to ask for a fortune could go and ask for one, and those who wanted to visit other halls could go and visit. She herself was going to find the abbot to discuss scriptures. As long as they gathered at the temple gate before noon, they could return home.
Lu Jiaan and Chu Yufu walked towards the back hall, ready to draw a fortune stick. However, the White Horse Temple was very large, and all the places looked similar. As they walked, they got lost and couldn't find the right way for a long time. Just when they were getting anxious, they turned a corner and suddenly saw a familiar face!
"Brother Zhao!" Lu Jiaan's eyes lit up.
Zhao Chunheng was walking forward with his servant. When he heard the voice, he turned around and smiled immediately: "Sister Jia'an, Second Miss, what a coincidence."
Chu Yufu looked at her cousin who was in high spirits, and then looked at Prince Zhao who was also smiling, and suddenly remembered a line from a song: Even if it is a match made in heaven~
As the two sisters approached, Lu Jiaan smiled sheepishly and said, "This White Horse Temple is too big. We wanted to go to the back hall, but we wandered around and around and didn't even know where we were. Is Brother Zhao here to burn incense, too?"
Zhao Chunheng smiled and said, "Yes, my mother is in the main hall. I'm going to hide away for some peace and quiet. Why don't I take you there?"
Chu Yufu pointed to an unknown temple beside her and said, "I've never seen the Buddha statue in this temple before. I want to go in and take a closer look. Cousin, go with the prince first, and I'll be there soon."
As she spoke, she winked at Lu Jiaan, with a hint of teasing in her smile.
Lu Jiaan's face flushed instantly. He looked at Prince Zhao and said shyly, "Well, you, you come here quickly."
How could Prince Zhao not understand that it was Second Miss Chu who was giving them some space? He clasped his fists and said with a smile, "Thank you, Second Miss." It would have been fine if she hadn't thanked him, but after he thanked her, Lu Jiaan's face turned even redder.
The few of them parted ways. They went forward, while Chu Yufu went to the right and walked into the side hall.
In the small side hall was a stone Buddha that she had never seen before. After looking at it carefully, she felt that the Buddha looked kind and benevolent, with a solemn appearance. She thought that since she was already there, she might as well pay her respects.
So he knelt on the cushion in front of the stone Buddha and kowtowed three times respectfully.
What she was thinking about most recently was her marriage to General Pei after the New Year. More than half a month had passed since Chu's father mentioned the marriage to her, but she still felt a little dazed, as if she were dreaming.
Was the renowned Zhenbei General from the book going to marry her? Was she really going to marry a stranger she had never met? Was he handsome or ugly? Was he easy to get along with?
Why.
She straightened her back, clasped her hands together, and made a silent wish: I pray to the Buddha to bless me and let me marry a husband of my dreams. I don’t ask for a harmonious marriage, but I ask for mutual respect, and for me to have enough food and clothing and spend the rest of my life in peace and stability.
After she made her wish, Lan Zhu reached out to help her up and asked with a smile, "Miss, you've been kneeling for a long time. What wish did you make? I guess it's about your future son-in-law!"
She actually guessed it!
Chu Yufu cleared her throat and raised a finger, shaking it: "Don't say it, don't say it, it won't work if you say it!"
After leaving the side hall, she randomly picked a winding path and walked slowly forward. Lan Zhu said, "Miss, aren't we going to look for our cousin?"
Chu Yufu casually fiddled with the dead branches by the roadside and said, "The man is in love with me and I am interested. It's a rare opportunity for us to be alone. Let's go over there—"
She was halfway through her words when she suddenly stopped and froze in place with a frown on her face. Lan Zhu was about to ask what was wrong, but before she could finish her words, she heard a 'woooo' sound coming from the woods not far ahead.
"Girl, there seems to be something in the woods ahead!"
It was the faint cry made by a baby animal.
Chu Yufu grabbed the hem of her skirt with one hand and Lanzhu with the other, and trotted towards the woods. Soon she saw the owner of the voice -
A cream-colored puppy that exhales more than it inhales.
Next to the vermilion courtyard wall, a small yellow dog, not much bigger than a palm, was huddled in a pile of weeds and shivering. The pile of weeds was surrounded by snow.
"Oh! Puppy!" Lanzhu was surprised!
Chu Yufu lifted her skirt and tucked it between her legs. She squatted down and poked the puppy with her fingers. She felt a chill in her touch: "So cold."
She looked around but couldn't find the big dog. She couldn't help but touch the little dog's head and said, "If it weren't for the big dog to take care of it, this little guy wouldn't survive..."
The puppy seemed to feel the warmth and rubbed her fingers with its wet nose with all its strength.
"Poor little thing, how about I raise you?" Chu Yufu had no resistance to this pitiful and cute little thing.
"But how do we take it back?" Lan Zhu asked. The upper body of the puppy was still barely visible, but its belly was stained with mud, and its hair was wet and stuck in clumps.
The two looked left and right but couldn't find any small bamboo basket or tattered linen or anything like that.
After a while, the puppy's cries grew weaker and weaker, and its eyes slowly closed. Seeing this, Chu Yufu suddenly became determined and reached out to pick it up, holding it in her arms and wrapping it in her cloak!
"Ah! Girl! This is new clothes!" Lanzhu exclaimed.
"I can't care less!" Chu Yufu said as she walked out of the woods, preparing to put the puppy in the carriage to warm it up first. There was a hand warmer in the carriage that she brought out in the morning!
"Girl, please walk slowly. Be careful of the slippery road..."
As the master and servant walked further away, a dark shadow slowly walked out of the woods and stared at the slender figure for a long time.
Chu Yufu and Lanzhu asked a few monks before returning to the main road. They hurried back to the carriage, put the puppy in the carriage, and placed the hand warmer next to it. After a while, the puppy seemed to have gained some strength and rubbed its body against the stove.
About a quarter of an hour later, the fourth girl, Chu Linglan, came back. She thought she was the first one to come back, but when she lifted the curtain, she saw that there was already someone in the car. She first greeted her second sister, and then noticed the puppy lying on the car floor.
When she learned that this was the dog her second sister had just picked up from the temple, she avoided the puppy's dirty fur, stretched out a finger and carefully rubbed its head, her heart melting: "It's so small."
Near noon, the Chu family members returned one after another, and the carriage set off for the mansion.
When the car stopped outside the second gate, Chu Linglan and Cousin Lu did not go back to their own yard, but all followed to Zhuyu Courtyard to see the puppy.
As soon as they came back, the yard became busy.
The maids were busy helping Chu Yufu change her dirty clothes, make tea, make bath water for the puppy, go to the big kitchen to get goat milk for the puppy, and also find old cloths to make a nest for the puppy.
After working hard for more than an hour, the puppy finally ate its first bite of food. As its body warmed up, it finally stopped shivering and was able to stand up tremblingly.
All the little girls in the yard were very happy.
In the afternoon, Chu Linglan left only when someone from Aunt Bai's courtyard came to urge her to leave, looking back every few steps. But no one urged her cousin Lu, so she simply asked the maid to get some casual clothes to change into, and prepared to stay with her second cousin for a day. Anyway, she would be alone if she went back, which would be boring.
In the warm room, Lu Jia'an lay on the edge of the couch, one hand lowered to gently stroke the puppy's head, and said absentmindedly: "Second sister, um... let me ask you a question. Who do you think is more beautiful, me or your eldest sister?"
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