"Ever since my brother saw you that day, he has been in love with you and can never forget you. He is a reserved person. If he hadn't been transferred to Shanxi this time, he wouldn't have been in a hurry to ask mother to come and propose marriage. Everything I said is true. If I lied to you in any way, I will be struck by lightning..."
"Okay, okay." Xia Tong interrupted her oath, turned her head with a complicated expression and looked at the rockery not far away.
Thinking that she was being shy, Lin Qin immediately came over, holding her arm and chattering, "As long as you become my sister-in-law, we will be closer in the future, right? Besides, my brother is outstanding in both character and talent. If he dares to bully you in the future, I will definitely help you get revenge!"
Lin Qin was still lobbying with all her confidence, but Xia Tong felt mixed emotions. Indeed, Lin Yi looked OK, and she had never heard of any conspiracy against him. He left a good impression on her. However, the Duke's Mansion was so complicated. If she married there, she would have to smile and allow her husband to take a concubine. Otherwise, she would be considered ungenerous. She would most likely spend the rest of her life in palace fighting. This was simply a nightmare.
Although she is not the heroine and does not seek to become a queen, she at least needs freedom. When she has saved enough money and runs away, she can open a small shop. If that doesn't work, she can even support a few gigolos. How cool that would be.
"This kind of thing is not a joke. Don't say anything more. Let's go back." Xia Tong put away her beautiful fantasy, stood up and walked back seriously.
"Hey...Sister Tong, please wait for me..." Lin Qin stomped her feet and hurriedly followed.
When she returned to the old lady again, the Duke's wife seemed to be preparing to leave. She didn't know what she talked about with the old lady, but the looks in their eyes were particularly strange.
"Sister Tong, I'm leaving now."
Lin Qin was still saying goodbye, while Xia Tong bowed slightly to the Duke's wife and said, "Tong'er respectfully sends you off, Madam."
The woman's every move was neither flattering nor tactful. The more the Duke's wife looked at her, the more satisfied she was. No wonder the old woman was so reluctant to let go of the girl.
After watching the two people leave, Xia Tong followed the old lady away, because she saw that the old lady didn't have anything to say to her.
After everyone left, the inner room returned to silence and the tea had gone cold. When Nanny Liu came in with another pot of hot tea, she saw the old lady rubbing her forehead with a tired look on her face.
"Should we tell the Minister of State about this?" Nanny Liu asked tentatively.
The old lady waved her hand and said calmly, "No hurry, let's drag the Duke's Mansion first. And according to the information I received, the Queen will take Princess Mingyue to Guanglu Temple to pray for blessings the day after tomorrow. When I take Tong'er there, I will definitely meet her. Let's see how the Queen reacts."
Finally, an old voice sounded in the room again, "No matter how good the Duke's Mansion is, it can never compare to the Crown Princess."
——
After hearing what Lin Qin said, Xia Tong started to try to get the old lady's opinion overtly and covertly when she came to pay her respects the next day. If that was true, she would definitely run away immediately. However, the other party was tight-lipped, and she, a scumbag, could not compare to the master of house fighting.
But the old lady still revealed some clues, that is, she treated her even better and gave her all the good things, which made her more uneasy and panicked.
But not long after, the old lady wanted to take her out, saying that they were going to the Guanglu Temple outside the city to pray for blessings. She didn't care about praying, but she also sent someone to give her a set of lotus-colored floor-length Wangxian skirt made of Shu brocade. Although it didn't look dazzling, the workmanship was extremely delicate. She also insisted that she wear it. This was not praying for blessings, but clearly she had other intentions.
But since she was under someone's roof, Xia Tong had no choice but to obey. Then she realized that the old lady wanted her to be dignified and gentle, and she must have wanted her to meet some important person.
At the same time, Xia Min and Xia Ning were also traveling together. In the huge carriage, the old lady was quiet, but Xia Min always looked at her with hatred, so she simply closed her eyes and pretended to rest.
"You can copy Buddhist scriptures more often if you have nothing to do. Especially you, Min'er. You need to calm down your impetuous personality, otherwise you will only hurt yourself."
The old lady suddenly spoke. Xia Tong didn't say anything, but Xia Min nodded reluctantly.
Guanglu Temple can be considered a national temple. On weekdays, many people go there to burn incense and worship Buddha, but they can only do so in the outer hall. As a powerful family, Xia Tong and her friends are naturally given preferential treatment. The inner hall is specially for these wealthy people to worship Buddha, but when they arrived outside the inner hall, they found a group of imperial guards guarding there, which shows that there must be someone from the royal family inside.
Moreover, some ladies from other families who came to burn incense were guarding there, but they were not allowed to go in. When they saw the old lady coming, the green-clad palace maid who was guarding outside the hall was the first to greet her.
"I greet Old Madam Xia. Your Majesty and the Princess are currently worshipping Buddha inside. I'm afraid it will take another hour."
The palace maid was the one I had seen in the Queen's Palace last time. It was obvious that the old lady had brought me here today with preparation.
"It's okay. I haven't paid my respects to the Queen for a long time. It's a coincidence today." The old lady smiled humbly.
The palace maid just smiled and said nothing, but she still glanced at the three people behind the old lady. Everyone knew whether it was a coincidence or not, but she unconsciously looked at Xia Tong for a second longer. Her eyes flashed, and she stopped talking and retreated.
There was still at least another hour left, and Xia Tong didn't want to just stand outside. Fortunately, the old lady didn't mean to let her wait, but asked her and the other two to go somewhere else to rest.
It was no secret that the Xiahou Mansion had a beautiful fourth daughter. The ladies of other noble families outside the palace also came over eagerly, surrounded the old lady and said with a smile: "That must be the fourth daughter who just returned to the capital, right? She is so beautiful. The old lady is so lucky."
"Yeah, I wonder if the fourth young lady is engaged?" another assistant minister's wife couldn't help but ask jokingly.
Faced with a group of people's inquiries, the old lady just smiled and avoided the subject. Ever since her fourth granddaughter returned to Beijing, she had no idea how many people had come to propose marriage to her, openly or secretly. But she had to consider even the Duke's Mansion, let alone other families.
The Guanglu Temple was very large, and Xia Tong spotted many dignitaries coming here to worship Buddha. In addition to going to the inner hall, there was also a century-old tree over there, and those people also wanted to go there to worship. She didn't believe in these things, so she just found a yard to sit down, and asked Qing'er to find something for her to eat.
But she hadn't been sitting there for long when she saw Xia Ning coming over with a stack of hand-copied Buddhist scriptures. After seeing her, she was obviously relieved, "Tong'er finally found you."
"Does grandma want to talk to me about something?" Xia Ning frowned slightly. It wasn't even an hour yet.
There was a sycamore tree in the courtyard, and the fallen leaves covered the entire ground. Xia Ning approached with a faint smile on her beautiful face, "No, I met Miss Lin from the Duke's Mansion earlier. She said she had something for you and asked you to go to Meiren Jiao."
There was a beautiful field of flowers in the temple, which was in full bloom at this time and was extremely beautiful. Hearing this, Xia Tong couldn't help but look at her cousin intently, but there was no other flaw on the other's face. She just thought it was too much of a coincidence, how could Lin Qin be here too?
One must be on guard against others. She always felt that there was something fishy going on. But Qing'er was not here now. What if something happened if she went there alone?
"I heard that there are often poisonous snakes at Meirenjiao's place. I'm a little scared. How about you go with me, cousin?" She blinked with a timid look on her face.
Hearing this, Xia Ning paused for a moment, then looked at the Buddhist scripture in her hand again, seeming to be in a dilemma, "But I still have to give this hand-copied Buddhist scripture to the abbot on behalf of my grandmother."
"How about this, cousin, let me get your things and I'll help you deliver the Buddhist scriptures?" Xia Tong smiled. She was now very sure that there must be something fishy going on.
After saying this, Xia Ning hesitated for a while, but finally nodded and teased her, "Why are you so timid? How can there be so many poisonous snakes in the daytime?"
Unexpectedly, the other party actually agreed. Xia Tong couldn't figure out what the other party was up to for a moment. After taking the Buddhist scripture, she could only watch the other party walk away.
After looking through the Buddhist scriptures, I found that the old lady's handwriting was quite beautiful. After all, she was from a wealthy family. There was no other way. People who had done a lot of bad things definitely needed some spiritual beliefs, so those dignitaries would continue to spend money in this temple.
No matter what the trick was, it wasn't her turn to go there, so Xia Tong took the Buddhist scriptures and went to find the abbot. She asked a young monk and then walked into the courtyard deep inside the temple.
The abbot of Guanglu Temple is still very prestigious and is believed by almost everyone, but Xia Tong is not interested. When she went over, she found a familiar figure guarding outside. When she saw the sword in the other's hand, she inexplicably felt a chill on her neck.
"Miss Xia?"
The man's voice was dry, without any emotion. Xia Tong glanced inside the room, and began to sweat unconsciously. Then he weakly handed over the Buddhist scripture in his hand, "I... I'm here to give something to the abbot. Since... since there's someone inside, can you pass it on for me? Just say that the old lady of Xiahou Mansion copied it personally."
Looking at the beautiful woman in front of him, the man holding the sword remained calm and reached out to take it. He didn't want anyone to disturb his master's important business.
Unexpectedly, the other party was so easy to talk to. Xia Tong thanked him and turned around and left as if there was a flood or a beast behind him.
But at this moment the door was suddenly opened from the inside, and a tall figure gradually walked out of the room.
Xia Tong walked very quickly, fearing that she would be discovered. She didn't want to see that pervert again, and her desire to survive was still very strong.
As she was walking, she suddenly felt that there was something wrong with the shadow on the ground. She turned her head slowly and unconsciously, only to be met with a cold and handsome face.
"you--"
She was so scared that her face turned pale. She hurriedly took a few steps back and leaned against the column in the corridor. Sweat broke out on her forehead unconsciously. She didn't understand when the other party caught up with her. She didn't even notice it!
There were only a few monks passing through the corridor. The man walked in front of her, glanced at her out of the corner of his eye, and said in a low voice, "Why don't you leave?"
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