In the mountains of Wolong Temple, as the sky gradually darkened in the evening, a light rain began to fall. The rain, carrying a chill with it, hit her face. Guyu closed the window and looked at Shen Miao and said, "Miss, be careful not to catch a cold."
Jingzhe put a cloak on Shen Miao and spoke worriedly, "The mountain road is already difficult to walk on. If it rains all night, I don't know if we can set off tomorrow morning after the incense. The road is muddy and we may have to rest here for another day."
"Rest one more day if you can." Guyu smiled and said, "The scenery here is very beautiful and the environment is quiet. It's always better than..." She swallowed the rest of the words back into her stomach. What she wanted to say was that it was better than those hypocritical people in the Shen Mansion.
Shen Miao sat at the table fiddling with the chessboard. She loved playing chess even more these days, but unfortunately the maids around her didn't know how to play, so she always played alone. Occasionally, Guyu and Jingzhe would find it strange that when their young lady played alone, she would sometimes reveal some strange expressions that made people feel cold.
The door was pushed open, and Aunt Gui walked in with a smile on her face. She held some food in her hands and said with a smile, "Young lady, this is the vegetarian food from the temple. Although it's all vegetarian, the vegetarian food at Wolong Temple is always good. I even specially asked for a bowl of crystal osmanthus soup. The eldest and second young ladies have already tried it, and they both said it was good."
“Oh, put it there.” Shen Miao said calmly.
“Young lady, it’s best to eat it while it’s hot. It won’t taste good if it’s cold.” Aunt Gui picked up the bowl enthusiastically and was about to pass it to Shen Miao.
"Madam, why are you so anxious?" Jingzhe took the porcelain bowl from Madam Gui's hand without leaving any trace, and said with a smile, "Didn't the young lady say you put it there? You still feel a little uncomfortable just now, so you can use it later."
Nanny Gui was a little annoyed, but seeing Shen Miao's noncommittal attitude towards Jingzhe's words, she secretly gritted her teeth. In the past, Shen Miao always took Nanny Gui's words seriously. If Nanny Gui and the maids had an argument, she would always punish the maids first. But since when, the maids Jingzhe and Guyu had gotten Shen Miao's respect.
While he was deep in thought, he heard Shen Miao suddenly say, "Mammy has been with me for fourteen years already."
Nanny Gui's heart skipped a beat and she looked towards Shen Miao. Shen Miao happened to be looking over as well, her pair of clear eyes as always, as innocent as a child, and Nanny Gui was also in a trance.
Before she knew it, the crying baby had grown into a delicate little girl, and then into the graceful young woman before her. Nanny Gui felt a little sad. Back then, when Shen Xin and his wife had been fighting on the battlefield for years, they had asked her to take good care of Shen Miao, and yet fourteen years had already passed in the blink of an eye.
"Madam has always been close to me," Shen Miao said softly, "I remember one night when I had a fever and it was raining outside just like it is now. The palace sent a letter to ask for a doctor but he didn't come. Madam was worried and ran out to look for one herself. As a result, she slipped and fell on the way and broke her head, but she still insisted on going to find another doctor."
Aunt Gui was stunned for a moment, then her expression softened. "Young lady, you still remember these things."
"Of course I remember. Mammy has been with me for more than ten years. My parents have never spent as much time with me as Mammy. I regard Mammy as a relative."
"Young lady, you are embarrassing me," Nanny Gui sighed inwardly. She hadn't expected Shen Miao, who had been so cold to her recently, to suddenly become so close to her today. Amidst her sigh, a sense of pity rose in her heart. People weren't always like this. When the Chen Xin couple first asked her to be Shen Miao's Nanny, her son hadn't married yet, and she didn't have any grandchildren. Naturally, she treated Shen Miao like her own granddaughter. There had been times when they treated each other with genuine affection, but...if one doesn't work for oneself, heaven and earth will punish him. After all, Shen Miao wasn't her biological granddaughter, and the eldest wife had promised that if the matter came to pass, her son and his entire family would benefit.
Riches and honors are sought through risk, and besides, Shen Miao really couldn't bring her anything. Nanny Gui's eyes changed a bit, but she finally smiled and said, "Young lady, the weather is cold and the night is heavy, so it's better to have dinner and rest early. When you feel tired, light some incense and have a good sleep. Tomorrow morning, burn some incense and pray for the master and the mistress. That would be best."
"Thank you for your concern, Ma'am." Shen Miao also smiled, but her smile seemed to contain some ambiguous meaning. She said, "Ma'am, please go down first. I will have dinner myself."
Nanny Gui wanted to stay a little longer, but seeing that Shen Miao was ready to leave without explanation, she could only retreat awkwardly. After leaving the room, she did not go far, but walked to the window and listened carefully to the movements inside.
After a while, Guyu's voice was heard in the room: "Miss, the food is getting cold."
"Let's set the table."
Then, there was the sound of clinking dishes and chopsticks, as if someone had sat down at the table to eat. Jingzhe asked, "Miss, do you think this osmanthus soup is good?"
"Not bad." Shen Miao's voice sounded: "It tastes good."
"Then eat more." Guyu said with a smile.
After listening for a while, Shen Miao seemed to have finished eating. The sound of clearing dishes and chopsticks could be heard from the room, and Guyu walked out with the food basket. Jingzhe said, "Miss, do you want to read for a while?"
"I'm a little tired. Let me watch for a while longer. Go and light the incense." Chen Miao's voice was listless.
Nanny Gui straightened up, breathed a sigh of relief, turned her head to look at the window again, and walked out of the yard. After leaving the yard, she couldn't help but turn back and murmured, "Young lady, don't blame me for being cruel. If the eldest lady wants to deal with you, no one can stop her."
After Aunt Gui left, a man appeared behind her. He looked at Aunt Gui's hurriedly leaving back, and a look of anger appeared on his face.
Inside the room, Jingzhe looked at Shen Miao worriedly, "Miss, Guyu has already left. This servant still doesn't understand what the young lady wants to do."
For some reason, Jingzhe felt a sense of unease, as if something was about to happen in this quiet mountain. She asked, "Young lady, you just put on that trick to trick Gui Mama. Could it be that Gui Mama has some tricks up her sleeve?" Shen Miao's kind words to Gui Mama made Jingzhe extremely nervous, fearing that Shen Miao would obey Gui Mama's orders again as before.
Shen Miao looked at the burning and dancing lamp. The tiny sparks made crackling sounds, forming a sharp contrast with the sound of the rain outside.
Pretending to eat and lighting incense was just a temporary solution. As for why she said that to Aunt Gui, it wasn't because she was soft-hearted.
On the road of revenge, no one can turn back. It's either a favor in the past or an excuse for future mistakes. The wicked never deserve mercy. It's like the words a winner says to a loser in a harem, the words they say before their beheading.
She closed her eyes gently.
“Miss, what are you doing now?” Seeing that Shen Miao did not answer her, Jingzhe had to change the question.
"wait."
"Waiting for what?"
The girl's eyelashes moved slightly and the corners of her lips lifted slightly.
"Wait for the dark and windy night, when the time comes to kill and rob."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
