Chapter 646: You have a good relationship as mother and daughter
When the Xin Guogong Mansion came to Baiyun Temple to perform a water and land Taoist ceremony, they naturally cleared the area in advance.
Baiyun Temple was peaceful and quiet at this time. The abbot of Baiyun Temple and the Taoist nuns who were practicing in the temple were all waiting to welcome us at the gate.
When the sedan chair of the female members of the Xinguo Mansion arrived at the gate of the temple, Jiao saw Yu Mingzhu standing next to the master of the temple.
Yu Mingzhu was wearing a grey Taoist robe, which made him look much thinner. The grey robe was airy and stuck to his body when the wind blew, making him look even thinner.
Jiao was so sad that she couldn't help but take a step towards Yu Mingzhu.
Yu Mingzhu was in tears and looked at Jiao with admiration, and it seemed that she was about to cry.
But she just stood there without moving, all alone, her Taoist robe almost blown away by the wind, making her look completely lonely.
Jiao's eyes suddenly filled with tears and she almost cried in front of everyone.
However, in front of the whole family, Jiao, as the mistress of the household, still held back her tears and did not lose her composure.
She looked at Yu Mingzhu deeply with heartache.
At this moment, the old lady of Duke Xin had already started greeting the abbot of Baiyun Temple.
"Don't worry, the water and land dojo in the main hall has been arranged." The master of the temple extended his hand and made a "please" gesture, "Would you like to go to the guest house to rest first, or go to the main hall first to see if there is anything missing in the small temple?"
The water and land Taoist temple is no small matter. The Xin Guo Mansion will hold it for three consecutive days in Baiyun Temple. The stewards from the Xin Guo Mansion have already come to Baiyun Temple to take care of everything.
The old lady of Duke Xin is old, so naturally she needs to rest first.
Mrs. Wei and Xingxing were guests invited by the old lady of Duke Xin, so naturally they and the old lady of Duke Xin lived in the best guest house.
After the two old people went back to the house to rest, Xingxing was full of energy and planned to take a stroll in Baiyun Temple.
Now that Baiyun Temple has been booked by Duke Xin's Mansion, it is naturally very safe.
It was a coincidence that just as Xingxing was taking Zhaoying out of the yard, she saw Jiao hurriedly taking her closest aunt Jingchun out of the side yard.
Xingxing didn't intend to spy on Jiao's life. She paused, chose another route, and went to visit Baiyun Temple.
I don't know if it was a coincidence, but Xingxing was walking along that road, admiring the stone tablets and ancient trees in Baiyun Temple. When she was about to climb the stairs to a pavilion on a higher ground to rest, she heard faint crying sounds coming from a courtyard separated by a wall.
"Mom, I miss you so much..."
"Zhuzhu, my dear Zhuzhu, you have suffered..."
Xing Xing's expression froze.
Unexpectedly, she ran into Jiao and Yu Mingzhu, a mother and daughter, who were talking to each other.
She didn't want to listen to the two people's nonsense, and was about to speed up her pace to bypass this place, but unexpectedly, Yu Mingzhu mentioned her again:
"...Mother, I saw Yu Xingxing. Isn't this the water and land dojo of our Xinguo Mansion? Why bring an outsider like her?"
Through the wall, Jiao's voice was a little turbulent as she tried to persuade Yu Mingzhu: "...Zhuzhu, don't worry about them. Your grandmother has really liked her recently, so there's nothing wrong with bringing her here."
Yu Mingzhu's voice became more and more aggrieved: "Mom, grandma has become more and more indifferent to me... But grandma used to love me very much. Could it be that she was instigated by someone?"
Xingxing, who was about to leave, couldn't help but raise her eyebrows when she heard this.
She could tell that Yu Mingzhu was hinting to Jiao that the old lady of Duke Xin suddenly treated her badly, and it was she - Yu Xingxing - who was trying to sow discord between the relationship between the grandfather and the granddaughter!
Xingxing pulled the corner of her mouth silently.
Really interesting.
Yu Mingzhu is trying to shirk all responsibility for the things she has done.
Has she forgotten why she came to Baiyun Temple to practice meditation?
But Jiao just fell for it.
Jiao's words were full of comfort: "Don't worry, Zhuzhu. No matter what others say, your grandmother loves you as her own granddaughter. You see, in the past, our land and water temples were all built in those big temples. This time, mother really missed you so much that she mentioned to your grandmother that she wanted to build the land and water temple in Baiyun Temple. Your grandmother must have known very well that I wanted to come to Baiyun Temple and find a reason to take you away...but your grandparents still agreed. What does this show? It shows that they also love you very much."
"Mother...wuwuwu, mother, you still love me the most."
Xingxing stood silently by the wall, listening to the mother and daughter hugging each other and talking to each other.
She didn't know why, but she felt a little sad when she heard Jiao's words "no matter what others say".
Doesn't this mean that he tacitly agrees with Yu Mingzhu's guess that she was the one who instigated the old lady of Duke Xin?
Not to mention Xingxing, even Zhaoying was a little angry when she heard this, and she muttered in a low voice with grievance: "You mother and daughter have a good relationship, so what? Why do you have to bring up our princess in your conversation..."
Xing Xing gently patted her hands that were taking pictures, and no longer cared what the mother and daughter behind the wall said, and continued to climb towards the pavilion on the high ground.
While sitting in the pavilion, the slightly chilly mountain breeze blew on my face. It was a little cold, but mostly refreshing and calming.
Xingxing felt that the slight discomfort she had just felt was instantly blown away.
After staying in the pavilion on the mountain for a while, Xingxing picked some herbs from nearby before going down the mountain.
However, Xingxing felt that she might have a conflict with Jiao and Yu Mingzhu, the mother and daughter. When she was going downstairs, she unexpectedly met the mother and daughter again.
When Jiao saw Xingxing looking at her calmly, she felt a little guilty for a moment.
But the one who reacted the fastest was Yu Mingzhu. Yu Mingzhu stepped forward, bowed straight and saluted to Xingxing: "My Lord, although I had no ill intentions before, I did misunderstand you unintentionally. I have been practicing in the mountains these days and have thought a lot. It is true that I did something wrong, and my words and actions were wrong. I hope you will forgive me."
This apology was much more sincere than the previous ones.
Jiao was so moved by Yu Mingzhu's understanding that tears welled up in her eyes.
Zhaoying took a step forward, smiled slightly and bowed as a greeting to Yu Mingzhu: "Hello, Miss Yu. There is something I need to remind Miss Yu. Our eldest lady is no longer a princess, but Princess Fusui, who was personally conferred by the emperor."
Upon hearing that Xing Xing was named a princess, Yu Mingzhu almost couldn't maintain her facial expression!
Princess?!
She had only been away from Beijing for a few months, and this peasant from a mountain village had first been granted the title of a county lady through speculation, and now she had been granted the title of a princess! ?
Yu Mingzhu was so angry that her whole body was shaking slightly. She pinched her own palm to calm herself down and remind herself not to act rashly and make mistakes.
Yu Mingzhu forced a smile: "...I was practicing in Baiyun Temple, and I didn't know about the princess's big happy event! I haven't even congratulated the princess yet."
Xing Xing was impatient to play along with Yu Mingzhu, so she simply asked Yu Mingzhu directly: "You have apologized and congratulated me, do you have anything else to do?"
Yu Mingzhu's face froze. She was extremely embarrassed by Xingxing's direct question.
When Jiao saw this, she felt sorry for Yu Mingzhu again.
She thought, if Xingxing is really her biological daughter, then Zhuzhu and Xingxing are sisters. Why is the relationship between sisters so strained?
Jiao couldn't help but want to mediate: "...Princess, Zhuzhu has no other intentions, she just wants to reconcile with you."
Yu Mingzhu also forced a smile and nodded, "Yes, Princess, there may be some misunderstandings between us..."
Xing Xing looked at Yu Mingzhu deeply and asked calmly, "Is this really a misunderstanding?"
Yu Mingzhu was again embarrassed by Xingxing's words.
Jiao was also anxious: "Princess!"
Xing Xing frowned and interrupted Jiao: "Madam Jiao, I'm tired. I'll go back to my room to rest first."
Having said that, Xing Xing left without even looking back.
Yu Mingzhu was deeply aware that Yu Xingxing really didn't take her seriously!
She was so angry that her eyes turned bloodshot!
"Princess..." Jiao looked at Xingxing's back as she walked away. For some reason, she felt a little nervous. But after she took a step forward, she couldn't help but look back at Yu Mingzhu.
Yu Mingzhu let her eyes turn red and cried, "Mom, am I already so annoying?"
Jiao was instantly heartbroken. She hugged Yu Mingzhu and tried to comfort her.
…
Xingxing's mood improved only after she had been away from the greasy mother and daughter for a long time.
In front of the guest house where the old lady of Duke Xin and Mrs. Wei were staying, she patted her own face, not wanting to frown and bring her bad mood to the two elders.
When Xingxing walked into the guest house, she was already smiling as usual.
Nanny Qingluan was leading the maids to clean as quietly as possible.
In fact, the courtyard in Baiyun Temple is quite clean, but in the eyes of the wealthy families, it has many shortcomings.
From Nanny Qingluan's critical perspective, the dust on the window was intolerable, and the debris in the middle of the stone pavement was also intolerable.
Xingxing stuck out her tongue and ran to Mrs. Wei's room.
After arriving in the capital, Mrs. Wei became a genuine old noblewoman. Her son, daughter-in-law, grandchildren and granddaughters were all filial to her. Everything went smoothly at home, and she also developed the habit of taking a nap.
When Xingxing came in quietly, Mrs. Wei was still sleeping and hadn't woken up.
Xing Xing sat quietly on the couch by the window outside and took out the storybook to read.
When Mrs. Wei woke up from her sleep, Xingxing had already read half of the notebook.
The maid helped Mrs. Wei wash and brush her teeth, and combed her hair which was a little messy from sleeping.
The room was filled with a faint scent of sandalwood. Mrs. Wei looked at her granddaughter who was leaning on the couch outside reading a storybook, and she felt peaceful and happy in her heart.
Such comfortable days were something she had never dared to imagine or even dream of ten years ago.
…
When Mrs. Wei and the old lady of Duke Xin got up from their lunch break, several daughters-in-law of Duke Xin's mansion, headed by Jiao, were already waiting in the main house of the guest courtyard to pay their respects to the old lady of Duke Xin.
The group went to see the water and land dojo in a mighty procession.
At this moment, the main hall of Baiyun Temple was very quiet, with only a few Taoist nuns adding oil to the eternal lamp in the main hall.
Yu Mingzhu is one of them.
She concentrated on holding the long oil bottle and slowly pouring oil into the eternal lamp. Under the dim candlelight of the main hall, she looked so pure and holy.
The old lady of Duke Xin paused.
Jiao looked at the face of the old lady of Duke Xin and said, "Zhuzhu, come to your grandmother."
Mao Fuqi's face turned slightly pale.
Yu Mingzhu acted as if she had just discovered that Madam Xin and her companions were coming. She put down the oil bottle and came over to pay her respects to Madam Xin.
Her eyes were red, as if she missed the old lady of Duke Xin very much.
"Grandma..." Yu Mingzhu bowed deeply.
The old lady of Duke Xin looked at the girl kneeling on the ground and paying her respects for a long time. She couldn't help but sighed deeply: "Get up."
Although the old lady of Duke Xin always felt that she was not close to Yu Mingzhu, after all, they had a relationship of grandmother and granddaughter for so many years. Seeing her once pampered granddaughter like this, she couldn't help but feel a little bit sorry.
Yu Mingzhu did not stand up. She turned to Mao Fuqiu, who was one step behind the old lady of Duke Xin, and bowed deeply to her.
This scared a lot of people.
Mao Fuqiu took a step back subconsciously.
But Yu Chongjie was so distressed that he stepped forward to help Yu Mingzhu: "Zhuzhu..."
Yu Mingzhu shook her head gently at Yu Chongjie and said to him, "Brother, you can't spoil me like this anymore. I was wronged by my sister-in-law in the past, and I have deeply reflected on it. I pray for my sister-in-law in front of the statue every day, hoping that she will get better soon."
Both Jiao and Yu Chongjie had an expression of emotion on their faces.
Even the ladies in other rooms were impressed: "Zhuzhu is so sensible!"
Only Mao Fuqi, with a slightly pale face, remained silent. It was unknown what she was thinking about. After a long while, she said, "Thanks to you, I am indeed feeling much better now."
Yu Mingzhu smiled with relief: "That's good..."
She staggered and almost fainted.
Jiao's heartache was not concealed, and she almost immediately went over to support Yu Mingzhu: "Zhuzhu!"
A nun next to her sighed and said, "Your daughter is really practicing sincerely. She gets up before dawn every day to do her homework, and after finishing her homework, she prays for her family in front of the statue. I also asked her why she was so pious, and she said that she had done something wrong in the past, and this is to atone for her sins... But she is still a little girl after all, and the conditions in this temple are also very harsh, how can her body bear it..."
After hearing this, Jiao couldn't hold back her tears any longer and they fell.
She hugged Yu Mingzhu and looked at the old lady of Duke Xin pleadingly: "Mother..."
The old lady of Duke Xin frowned for a long time before she relaxed: "...Send Mingzhu back to her room to rest first."
Jiao almost cried with joy.
She knew her mother-in-law's temperament. Although she looked kind and easy to talk to, she was actually determined and could not be changed even by ten oxen.
She was willing to send Mingzhu back to her room to rest and did not reject her request, which meant that there should be no problem in bringing her Zhuzhu back home!
How could Jiao not be happy?