Chapter Forty-Five: Something Fishy

  Qin Dai Xin's first outing ended like this, except for herself, Ruyi and Chunli all felt that the trip was a complete failure. The hard-won time was wasted just like that, they walked for half a day without even drinking water, let alone eating. Speaking of eating, it's inevitable to mention that old man again, a table full of dishes, more than ten jars of wine, he actually finished everything in less than an hour, what a pity those tens of taels of silver.

  "Miss, this time is really not worth it. We didn't gain anything, but we spent a lot." Ruyi, the stingy housekeeper, started to nag and calculate the accounts endlessly, almost counting on her fingers one, two, three, four, five...

  Yu's complaints, Qin Dai couldn't help but think she was being petty. But then again, the monthly allowance in the mansion wasn't much to begin with, and everything she spent was money Yu had carefully saved up. This person didn't have a good grasp of money, spending it lavishly without restraint. Yu, on the other hand, knew how to live within her means, pinching pennies whenever possible, and thinking of ways to help Qin Dai manage her finances.

  No wonder Ruyi was like that. Thinking about the difficult days at Xia Qian Zhuang, wasn't everything still done by the two maidservants themselves?

  She's not short of money either, just the amount she snatched from Gong Sun Jin is enough for her to squander for a while, let alone the five thousand taels given by that person named Duan Rui. However, all this money can't be seen now, it's fine when she spends it secretly, but when she asks where the money came from, what can she say?

  Poor Ruyi, it seems your heart will have to ache a little more...

  What's wrong with this thing? Why can't I get it right? Didn't that old man leave her a waistband with a secret compartment?

  At the wine house, Qin Dai Xin already knew what was inside. Although she was excited, she had to keep it from the two maids so they wouldn't see it. In their eyes, it was just a waistband made of animal skin. If they really knew what was inside, wouldn't they be scared silly?

  "Alright, stop making that face, people who don't know might think I've done something to you. Is dinner ready? I'm starving."

  Even if there are 10,000 things that aren't pleasant, isn't the master's stomach still important? The three of them have been busy since morning and haven't eaten yet! Qin Dai rarely paid attention to formalities, so she simply had someone bring the food in and the three of them ate together.

  The fish was minced into a fine paste, wrapped in small wontons, and served in a delicious broth. The texture was smooth and silky. The three of them each ate a large bowl, finally feeling full.

  "Go take a look at Auntie's place."

  As the sky grew darker, Qin Dai thought about tomorrow's trip to Pu Fa Temple and was afraid that Su Shi might have something else to entrust her with, so she decided to go ask in person. Just as she finished dressing, she heard Xiaotou say that Fang Jiao had arrived.

  "Miss Three, where are you going?" Fang Jiao saw that she seemed to be leaving and hastily asked.

  "As it happens, our young lady is going to visit her aunt's house for a bit." Chun-li added.

  "It turned out to be like this, truly a mother-daughter bond. The aunt was just about to invite Third Miss over for a visit." Fang Jiao was delighted as if she had gained something, and genuinely felt happy for Madam Su. After all these years, Third Miss finally understood.

  "Let's go!" Qin Dai Xin walked with Ruyi and Fangqiao towards Lan Garden. As they passed by the flower garden, Qin Dai Xin heard someone talking about her from a distance. She quietly approached, letting the two maids stop as well, and listened carefully.

  "It's really true, they say she was born with a jinx!" an old woman said with great certainty.

  "This can't be said casually." Another old woman was trying to persuade her, but her tone also revealed a hint of curiosity.

  "This is not nonsense, you see her, she almost lost her life when she fell from the carriage, and now that she's back for just a few days, she's been stabbed. Now it seems even Su Niang has been implicated, what's going on? How could they be startled by a worm in the middle of winter? That thing is from the immortal family, not someone to be trifled with."

  "Oh, right, right, right. That must be what it is."

  This is a more secluded part of the garden, with many strange rocks and artificial hills. They must have thought that no one would find them here, so they hid here to talk, but unexpectedly Qin Dai Xin overheard their conversation.

  The two old women said a few more words and stopped chatting. A rustling sound came from behind the fake mountain, and the two of them walked slowly away, treading on dry leaves.

  "Miss, why didn't you catch those two in the act? Now everyone has left, and we won't know which courtyard they came from to spread rumors." Ruyi was somewhat agitated. If this wicked thing were caught, it should be beaten with dozens of boards first, then sold to a tooth peddler.

  Fang Qiao also said: "I don't know which courtyard's inferior goods, with a mouth full of nonsense, can casually talk about such things? Slandering the master behind his back is already a capital offense, and fabricating rumors is an even greater crime." A woman's reputation is more important than her life, and having a fatal flaw in one's destiny is a matter of life and death.

  How could I not know?! With Qin Dai's skills, whoever has heard or seen people and things before, how could they forget?! The old woman's voice was familiar, she already knew who it was.

  "Never mind, isn't the mouth on someone's face? This matter can't be helped, the more you care about it, the more people will make a fuss about it. In the end, whether or not you're born with bad luck, it'll become a reality, what's the point? Now the important thing is to stop this rumor from spreading, we can't let Madam Su know. 'You two mustn't tell Auntie about this, understand?'"

  Both of them knew it was bad and should have answered "yes".

  Qin Dai Xin was leaving when Su Shi had just finished dinner and saw her coming, unable to express his delight.

  "Let Fang Jiao go and invite you, just to inform you about tomorrow's trip to Pu Fa Temple!"

  "Why bother asking someone else? Fang Qiao smiled and said: "When I went, Third Miss was just packing to come over here!"

  Su heard this and was also delighted: "We really are thinking alike."

  "Aunt, how's your body? I see you look very good, as if nothing's wrong." It's said that the first three months are the most delicate, but now Madame Su's complexion is rosy and her expression natural, not looking like anything's wrong or painful.

  At this time, Su was leaning on the soft pillow on the kang, her hair scattered behind her back, with a soft satin quilt covering her body. Perhaps due to having just finished eating, her face was rosy and had completely lost the pale color from when she was frightened.

  "It's already a lot better." She didn't want her daughter to worry, so she didn't say much more.

  "Tomorrow at the temple, I don't know what to do?" Qin Dai's heart was somewhat looking forward to tomorrow's trip to Pu Fa Temple, after all, she had never been there before and couldn't help but feel a little eager.

  "There's nothing special to do, just take a walk around and have a look. As long as you sincerely worship in the main hall and pray for blessings for our Qin family, that's enough." Madam Su handed over a pouch and said: "There are 100 taels of silver inside, which is my donation to the temple for incense oil money. You can just hand it over to Master Wuben at the temple on my behalf."

  In fact, every year when Su Shi went, apart from donating money and praying for blessings, she would also recite scriptures in the quiet room. It's just that she was worried that Qin Dai Xin didn't have such patience, so she didn't specifically ask her to do so.

  "Aunt, I've got Father's agreement to go to the Universal Dharma Temple. He even gave me a thousand taels of silver to donate to the temple." Qin Dai felt that she should at least mention this matter to Madam Su.

  "A thousand taels." Su smiled and didn't say anything. This thousand taels of fragrant oil money, was probably to buy a clear conscience! But could this money really make him feel guiltless?

  "It's getting late, you should go back and rest! Be careful with everything tomorrow." After all, it was where her daughter had the accident in the first place, and now that she thought about it, Madam Su still felt a bit apprehensive.

  "Aunt, don't worry, I still need to go to Old Lady's place and tell her about my trip to the temple tomorrow." Qin Dai Xin handed the handbag to Ruyi and said a few more words to comfort Su Shi before leaving Lan Garden.

  The two walked towards the old lady's courtyard, but suddenly found that the mansion became lively, especially the old lady's courtyard. Fang Shi had been to her courtyard many times before, and every time she felt like she was visiting a museum. Except for the fact that the courtyard was ancient and majestic, she thought it lacked vitality and was suffocatingly dull. Qin Dai didn't know if it was because of the old lady's eccentric personality or some other reason, but she felt that everything in the courtyard seemed lifeless, and even the servants were extremely cautious, as if they were suppressing their breathing.

  But today, this courtyard suddenly came alive, with everyone's face bearing a flattering smile. Who has such great magical power?

  Qin Dai Xin didn't understand, but she wasn't stupid enough to show everything on her face. So when Liu Mama came out, she also didn't show too much surprise and dissatisfaction.

  "Mother, I'm here to pay respects to my grandmother, would you please let her know?" Qin Dai's words were polite, but in her heart she had already rolled her eyes. It wasn't like this was the imperial palace or anything, why did they have to make such a fuss like it was the Cining Palace?

  Plump Liu's mother said directly: "Today, the young lady brought back her younger brother and is now talking in the house! The old lady said that the girls are all grown up, it's not good to see their cousin like this every time, so let me stop them. The second and fourth misses have returned, and the third miss should return too!"

  Is Fang Wanru back? And is she still with that colored kid of hers? Good riddance if she's not.

  "Mom, if that's the case, I'll just go back. But I still have something to do, can you help me pass a message to grandma?"

  "What's going on, Third Miss?" Madame Liu was a bit displeased, but thinking about what she had just heard, she became suspicious again - could it be that the young lady had been telling the truth?

  "Tomorrow is the seventh day, I want to go to Pu Fa Temple." Qin Dai simply told her about going to Pu Fa Temple and specially emphasized helping Qin Congwen donate incense oil.

  Liu's mother heard and did not let Qin Dai enter, but only let her stand outside the door to wait, and she herself went to ask.

  It wasn't until half a day later that I saw Plump Liu's mother again, with her broad figure.

  "Third Miss, the old lady said that since Master agreed, you can go. Just be careful and come back early, don't lose face for the Qin family." She was a bit puzzled, why did the old lady clearly resent Third Miss for using Master to pressure her, but after whispering with Auntie for a few sentences, she agreed?

  "Thank you, Mother." Qin Dai got the reply and didn't bother to say more. She turned around and left the old lady's courtyard, heading towards her own Changxiao Garden.

  Lost the face of the Qin family? Where did this come from? She just went to Pu Fa Temple to burn incense, what else could she possibly do? Qin Fengge is here, Gong Sunjin is also here...

  P.S: Wish you all a Merry Christmas!