Chapter 36 Birthmark
The lady pointed to the kang (heated brick bed) beside her and said with a gentle smile, "Sit down and let's talk."
Gu Jiao sat down on the kang (a heated brick bed), with a small table between them, on which were placed several delicate pastries.
The lady pushed the snacks in front of her: "Are you hungry? Have something to eat first. The vegetarian meal will be here soon."
"Hmm." After climbing the mountain for so long, Gu Jiao was indeed hungry. She picked out a yellow flower-shaped pastry.
Gu Jiao was very quiet.
"Is it delicious?" the lady asked her.
"Hmm." Gu Jiao nodded, then paused and said, "It tastes better than Li Ji's."
"What is Li Ji?" the lady asked.
"The best pastry shop in town," Gu Jiao said.
The lady was finally relieved. In fact, she made these pastries herself. She would make pastries to pass the time when she had nothing to do at home. It was just a pity that her son was weak and sick and could not eat them, while her daughter was healthy but did not like to eat them. This made her wonder if it was because she made them too badly.
Gu Jiao's eating manners weren't feigned; she genuinely found the food delicious.
The lady found a sense of accomplishment in Gu Jiao and couldn't help but take a few more glances at her. Gu Jiao had a birthmark on her face, which she had noticed earlier.
What a fine girl! What a pity! The lady lamented inwardly.
Then she noticed Gu Jiao's hands, which were hands that had been working for many years, with calluses on the palms and scars on the backs of the hands.
The lady thought of her daughter and was glad that her daughter was born into a noble family and did not have to suffer the hardships of ordinary people. Otherwise, she, as her mother, would have been heartbroken to death.
Gu Jiao sat in the madam's room for a while and ate the whole plate of chestnut cakes. At this time, the abbot also returned to the temple.
Gu Jiao did not forget her business. After bidding farewell to the madam, she went to the abbot's meditation room.
The abbot was quite old, with a gray beard, but he was very vigorous, probably due to his years of cultivation and martial arts practice.
Gu Jiao succinctly stated her purpose: "...I wonder if the abbot is willing to sell?"
After speaking, she waited for a long time without receiving a reply from the abbot. She looked closely and saw that the abbot was staring intently at her face...
Gu Jiao was about to ask, "Is there something on my face?" But then she remembered that there was indeed something on her face.
"Abbot?" Gu Jiao reminded her.
"Ahem!" The abbot snapped out of his daze, cleared his throat, and sat up straight. "You just said... you wanted to buy the mountain?"
Gu Jiao: "Yes."
The abbot asked, "How old are you this year?"
Um?
Isn't this topic being changed a bit too quickly?
"Can't someone so young buy a mountain?" Gu Jiao asked casually.
"Ah, no, no! Amitabha, young benefactor, please don't misunderstand!" The abbot said, raising one hand in a gesture of respect. "Junior Brother Jingxin, who is in charge of the temple's finances, is away and will not return for another two or three days. Why don't you come back in a few days?"
"Alright, I'll find a day before the New Year to come again." Gu Jiao said, then got up to take her leave.
The abbot's gaze remained fixed on her birthmark.
Gu Jiao frowned slightly: "Abbot, although I don't care what others think of me, you are a monk. Isn't it a bit inappropriate for you to always focus on other people's flaws?"
The abbot quickly apologized, "This old monk was rude; please forgive me, young benefactor!"
Even after Gu Jiao left, the abbot remained in a daze for a long time.
A disciple stepped forward and asked, "Abbot, what's wrong?"
"I just remembered something," the abbot said.
"What is it?" the disciple asked.
The abbot sighed and said, "That happened many years ago."
That night he drank too much and was about to apply a cinnabar mark to the newborn baby, but his hand trembled and he accidentally applied it to the baby girl's face...
The next day, when he woke up, he remembered the foolish thing he had done and hurriedly went to apologize to the Lady Hou. He found that the child in the Lady Hou's arms had a clean and white face and there was no trace of virginity mark at all.
Because he had drunk too much, he wasn't entirely sure about his memory. Since the baby's face didn't show any signs of it, he figured he must not have done it.
So many years have passed, and he had completely forgotten about that incident. But seeing that little girl just now brought back a flood of memories, and he began to wonder again if he had really put the virginity mark on her face that night?
No, he ordered the daughter of a marquis, but that girl just said she was a villager from the foot of the mountain.
After leaving the abbot's meditation room, Gu Jiao went to find the lady from earlier, only to be told that she had already gone down the mountain.
"These boxes of pastries were given to you by the lady of the house. Please accept them." The monk who was cleaning the meditation room handed a large bundle to Gu Jiao.
Gu Jiao held the pastries in her hand and weighed them, realizing that the lady had left all the pastries for her.
Gu Jiao sighed softly; she hadn't returned the clothes to her yet...
The clothes Madam gave Gu Jiao were beautiful, but not suitable for walking on mountain paths; they'd probably snag after just a few steps. This wasn't due to poor quality; after all, people who could afford such fabric didn't need to walk.
On the way back, Gu Jiao walked quite fast. She was a little worried that the old lady wouldn't get along with the neighbors. After all, the old lady had a bad temper, was picky, and was the type who was extremely unsociable.
To her surprise, Gu Jiao was dumbfounded as soon as she entered the door.
What's going on? Why are there so many people? And they're all women?
Gu Jiao and Xiao Liulang did not take the initiative to interact with the villagers. In the past, they would only come to their house if someone wanted to write a letter of recommendation. The highest record was three a day, but no more.
So why doesn't Gu Jiao understand why their main room is suddenly so crowded?
The old lady sat majestically in the chair at the head of the table, while Luo Ershu's wife, Luo Ershenzi, stood respectfully beside her, holding a pot of tea.
On the other side was Guifang, the young wife of Aunt Zhang. Guifang was carrying a tray with melon seeds and a teacup on it.
Gu Jiao was even more puzzled. Wasn't Sister Guifang just out of confinement?
The remaining people seemed to be too unqualified to get close, so they stood on the opposite side, jostling each other, just like a rural version of a palace drama!
"Alright, go back now." The old lady put down the melon seeds and waved her hand.
Everyone stepped back, and before leaving, they all bowed to the old lady in a crooked and disorganized manner.
When the imperial concubines bow, it's a pleasing sight to behold, but when a group of village women with headscarves bow, it's a complete train wreck!
Gu Jiao was completely stunned and grabbed Xue Ningxiang next to her, asking, "What has my old lady done now?"
Xue Ningxiang said with undisguised admiration, "Auntie is telling stories about opera to the villagers! She tells them so well!"
Gu Jiao's lips twitched: "What's this about bowing?"
Xue Ningxiang thought for a moment before realizing what Gu Jiao meant: "Oh, you mean this? My aunt taught me that. She said that's how people in the theater are!"
People in theaters wouldn't do that!
The old lady was blatantly trying to trick everyone into bowing to her.
Gu Jiao was puzzled. Where did this old lady come from? Is she so troublesome?
Small Theater ①
Old lady: Setting rules is my specialty!
*
Small Theater ②
Jiaojiao: You might not believe it, but you are my medicine.
Mukuro:......
(End of this chapter)
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