City God
Lu Tongxue remained well-behaved in the carriage for a short while before asking how far it was to the City God Temple. Upon learning that it was two more streets away, she grumbled about the long journey.
At this moment, amidst the clamor of voices on the street, the faint sound of gongs could be heard. The guards outside the carriage announced that they should make way for the prefect.
The carriage stopped, and things quieted down outside. Then, a gong sounded, followed by cheers.
Mu Qing listened with curiosity and let Lu Tongxue lift the curtain again, so they both leaned closer to the window and looked out of the car.
A procession of ceremonial guards, accompanied by the sound of gongs, marched down the road. Several servants ran ahead, scattering candies along the roadside, and many people crowded to collect them. The gong-beaters occasionally bowed and announced that the lady of the house had given birth to a son, and the master was returning home and urgently needed passage.
When the prefect traveled, even passersby who didn't want to pick up the candy had to give way. The streets were clear and the official sedan chair moved quickly, and soon it passed by the Lu family's carriage.
Following a blue official sedan chair was a green official sedan chair, with a junior official accompanying them.
“Oh, that’s the Imperial Censor’s personal attendant.”
After Lu Tongxue finished speaking, she quickly covered her mouth and glanced at Mu Qing.
At the moment, there were no other imperial censors in Weizhou City, so Mu Qing couldn't help but look at her.
Lu Tongxue blushed. "I happened to see that Imperial Censor Zhong's attendant when he was walking around the mansion."
Mu Qing was filled with anxiety after being stood up last night. Thinking that Zhong Linlan was in the sedan chair passing by, she hoped that the sedan chair would pass by quickly and did not want to make a sound. She simply nodded.
Seeing that her cousin didn't ask any questions, Lu Tongxue guessed that since her cousin had a fiancé like the young prince, she wouldn't care about a mere censor. Although she had only paid a little attention to the censor because he was good-looking, she hadn't overstepped her bounds at all. But explaining things clearly would be difficult, so not asking would save her from embarrassment.
The cheers outside the carriage gradually subsided, and the sounds of congratulations to the prefect on the birth of his son faded into the distance with the official sedan chair.
"Sister Qing, how old is the Prefect's wife?"
Mu Qing subtly patted his chest and said, "The Prefect's wife celebrated her fortieth birthday last year."
Lu Tongxue suddenly realized, "Giving birth at forty, no wonder it's such a big deal."
Mu Qing thought for a moment, "That's not entirely the case. The prefect's eldest son died young, so he had finally gotten a son after a long time."
Lu Tongxue became curious and gossiped a few more times, learning that the prefect's family had a young lady who would be turning fifteen in a few days, and she secretly made a note of it.
Amidst the festive atmosphere, the Lu family's carriage slowly made its way to the City God Temple, stopping in an open area. Six or seven guards in sturdy uniforms surrounded the carriage, keeping others at bay. Two young ladies wearing veils alighted from the carriage, surrounded by several maids and servants carrying baskets and boxes, attracting the attention of passersby.
"Godmother, what families do those two young ladies come from to have such a grand display?"
A beautiful voice, standing out ethereally and melodiously amidst the cacophony of voices.
Mu Qing heard this and looked at the girl speaking through the veil. She saw that the girl was also wearing a veiled hat, with a moon-white dress peeking out from behind her. She was arm in arm with a simply dressed old woman, and they looked like they had just come out of the City God Temple.
Because of her words, the old woman leaned forward to look at the sign in front of the carriage, and her voice suddenly became deep: "It's... from the Lu family."
"The Lu family," the girl murmured, turning her body towards the Lu family's ornate carriage as if examining it closely.
Her figure appeared and disappeared among the passing pedestrians, vaguely graceful and charming.
Mu Qing glanced at it, then turned around and walked hand in hand with Lu Tongxue toward the City God Temple.
The City God Temple has yellow tiles and red walls, with colorful paintings on the walls depicting the City God's inspection and the punishment of evil in hell. Incense burns in the temple, and wisps of smoke rise everywhere. People can be seen offering incense and making offerings everywhere. When you enter the hall, you can hear prayers and respectful words rising and falling.
The Third Madam caught a cold, and Mu Qing, entrusted by her, performed the ancestral rites on her behalf. He was especially careful, having Ning Gu and others offer incense, fruit, and tea. They kowtowed three times and bowed nine times under the City God's throne, burned incense to wish him a long life, and finally asked the temple keeper to pray for the Lu family's well-being.
After everything was finished and they were about to leave, they saw Lu Tongxue standing still. Because she was wearing a veil, they could not see her expression, but they could see that someone was shaking lots in the direction she was facing.
Mu Qing encouraged, "It's still early, you can draw lots to see your fortune."
Lu Tongxue scoffed, "These are just bamboo sticks, how can they determine a person's fortune?"
"It's good for luck, and it's nice to have some fun."
Mu Qing picked up a divination stick from the table and knelt down below the altar.
“Since Sister Qing wants to draw lots, I’ll give it a try too.” Lu Tongxue picked up a lot and whispered into it, “Give me a good lot, then I’ll believe it.”
Thin bamboo sticks, dotted with cinnabar, rustled as they moved up and down in the shaking stick container.
Mu Qing didn't believe in such things at first, but seeing Lu Tongxue shaking the divination tube so earnestly, he chuckled to himself and also shook the tube earnestly.
A fortune stick jumped out, and just as it was about to fall to the ground, the two characters "下下" (meaning "lower, lower") on the stick were glaringly obvious.
Mu Qing reacted quickly, stuffing the slip back into the draw and shaking the lot again.
A moment later, another divination stick jumped out halfway, with the character "下" (down) just showing on its body. Mu Qing quickly adjusted the direction of the divination stick container, causing it to fall back down.
"Sister Qing, why haven't you drawn a fortune stick yet?"
Mu Qing was slightly distracted when a fortune stick fell out of the container.
"The twenty-first lot, a medium lot." Lu Tongxue picked up the lot and laughed. "Sister Qing, I thought you would draw the best lot, but I didn't expect you to draw worse than me. At least I drew a good lot."
Upon seeing the word "中" (zhong, meaning "win"), Mu Qing breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Winning the lottery is not bad either."
The old Taoist priest sets up a table in the corner, tells the person the number of the divination slip they have drawn, and tells them what they want to ask for, and then the divination slip will be interpreted.
Lu Tongxue went there with great interest, listened to the auspicious words of the fortune teller, and received a vermilion fortune slip indicating her marriage prospects. Back in the carriage, she covered it halfway and looked at it again and again before finally putting it away. When she saw Mu Qing looking her over, she felt a mix of shyness and provocation.
"Sister Qing, why don't you go and interpret the fortune sticks?"
Mu Qing smiled at her and said, "I just heard someone say that those are just bamboo sticks. How can they determine a person's fortune? Thinking about it, I feel there's no need to interpret them."
Lu Tongxue bit her lip. The reason she said those words was because of her cousin in front of her.
Her birth chart indicated a fortunate destiny that would bring good luck and prosperity to her family. Not only was she favored by her grandmother, but she also returned unharmed after being kidnapped as a child. She also had no worries about marriage, as a virtuous young prince designated her as his princess.
There are good destinies and there are not so good destinies. Of course she was not convinced. Why should a person's fate be determined at birth?
However, her fortune slip today was better than her cousin's, which shows that even mysterious matters are subject to change.
Lu Tongxue reached into her purse and touched the fortune slips inside. She pouted and said, "The City God Temple is very effective. It's normal not to believe if you draw a bad fortune slip."
Mu Qing gave a soft "hmm".
There might really be a City God in the City God Temple who knows she's an imposter. She prayed so earnestly just now, yet she drew the worst possible fortune slip, just as the saying on the pillars in front of the hall says: "If you harbor evil thoughts, burning incense will bring you no benefit."
Perhaps, for her, praying to God is not as good as praying to people.
Lu Tongxue was disappointed and turned to look out the window. Seeing the lively scene, she became happy on her own. When she heard her cousin instructing the driver to go to a certain shop, she suppressed her curiosity and kept quiet.
Before long, the carriage stopped outside a shop with the words "Chengranzhai" in gold lettering on the plaque above the entrance.
Mu Qing put her veil back on. "Sister Tong, I'm going to Chengranzhai to buy incense. Would you like to come with me?"
Seeing that she seemed to have forgotten what she had said before and that her tone was completely unbearable, Lu Tongxue also put her displeasure aside, happily put on her veil, and got off the carriage together.
Chengranzhai is a small, simple and elegant shop, displaying exquisitely crafted Buddhist items such as incense, candles, scriptures, and wooden fish drums. There are not many customers in the shop, and they are all dressed in Buddhist lay robes.
Lu Tongxue was puzzled. Did her cousin think that Taoism was not good for her, so she came to Buddhism instead? But then she saw her walk straight to the counter and ask the shopkeeper if the incense she had ordered had arrived.
The shopkeeper, twitching his goatee, nodded and had a waiter bring over a square doucai porcelain box. He lowered his voice and said, "This is agarwood transported from the South China Sea. There won't be a better box in the entire Weizhou."
The wood chips in the box have a pleasant, light fragrance, a bright luster, and are as thin as paper.
Mu Qing didn't understand, "Why are they all so thin?"
"This item is precious and should be used with care. Thin slices are also easier to grind into powder for convenient use. Miss Lu probably doesn't usually like to use incense, but are you going to give this agarwood incense to Princess Duanjing?"
How did you know?
Princess Duanjing is the young prince's mother. When Mu Qing was caught preparing gifts for her future mother-in-law, she felt a little shy and withdrew her fingertips.
The shopkeeper smiled and said, "Miss Lu, please rest assured, Princess Duanjing will surely like this incense."
Seeing that he was quite confident, Mu Qingan felt relieved and paid the bill.
Lu Tongxue watched from the side, secretly astonished. It was rumored that a single piece of agarwood cost ten thousand coins, so how could a whole box only cost fifty taels? Had they paid a deposit of several hundred taels beforehand?
Then the shopkeeper, as if afraid of being overheard, covered his mouth and whispered something.
Lu Tongxue pricked up her ears and vaguely heard him instructing her cousin not to tell anyone about the transaction, and not to mention that the agarwood was bought from his small shop, as that would cause him trouble, and so on.
"Sister Qing, don't be fooled by him." Lu Tongxue slammed her hand on the counter. "Who sells things in such a sneaky way?"
After the transaction was completed, Mu Qing held the incense box in her hand and said, "I've bought things here before, and this shop owner is trustworthy."
How do you know he's trustworthy?
Mu Qing didn't want to explain. She had heard from the young prince that his mother liked things from Chengranzhai, so she secretly came here to buy gifts to give to people, hoping to please them.
"Anyway, I can trust him," Mu Qing said confidently.
Lu Tongxue stomped her feet in anger. She had finally decided to show some kindness, but her cousin didn't believe her and trusted an outsider instead? To make matters worse, she didn't recognize Jia Nanxiang and couldn't tell the truth from the lies, nor could she expose the shopkeeper's deception.
The shopkeeper bulged his eyes and said in a sarcastic tone, "The customers of my little shop are all hermit cultivators. I only made an exception to do this business because Miss Lu is so sincere. Some young ladies shouldn't be too cunning and ruin my good intentions."
Mu Qing quickly thanked her, then led the stomping Lu Tongxue out of the shop and coaxed her to go shopping at other shops.
The shopkeeper watched them leave, then waved to his assistant and told him to tell the young prince that Miss Lu had already bought the incense.
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