Chapter 4

Chapter 4

“A birthday gift?”

After hearing what the servant from the Pei Clan said, I instinctively glanced at the brocade box on the table containing the lake brush.

Did Pei Ling’an know I was looking for a lake brush?

No wonder the shopkeeper of Wenqu Hall had suddenly come to my door that day, saying the shop had come into a high-quality lake brush that was not only of excellent make but also incredibly cheap.

I had actually thought it was a stroke of luck falling from the sky.

As it turned out, it was Pei Ling’an who had dropped it.

“Indeed.”

The servant, a woman with slanted eyes, followed my gaze. She made no effort to hide the contempt in her expression. “Young Master’s birthday is in half a month. Lady Shen, you must hurry. If you don’t finish copying the Scripture of Purity and Tranquility a hundred times, your sincerity will go to waste.”

I nodded with a beaming smile.

“Don’t worry, Auntie. I will certainly put my heart into the transcription.”

The servant gave a perfunctory bow and turned to leave.

I walked out of that dilapidated small courtyard and turned into a simple yet warm room.

Mother was sitting by the window, meticulously embroidering an image of Amitabha Buddha.

I didn’t want to disturb her, so I tiptoed over and used the scriptures to prop up the leg of a wobbly desk.

Mother saw me anyway. “Why are you using books to steady the table?”

“Pei Ling’an sent them. They’re bad luck. I’ll leave them here to air out for a few days before giving them to the monastery.”

“Childish,” Mother said, shaking her head. As she held her needle, her eyes grew slightly red again. “It’s Mother’s fault for being useless. If I were stronger, you wouldn’t have to curry favor with him.”

Before she could start crying, I moved close with practiced ease and tucked my cold hands into her embrace. “Mother, my hands are cold. Warm them for me.”

Mother immediately forgot all her sorrows. “How did they get so cold? Is your clothing too thin? I’ll go find Abbess Ji in a moment and ask her to get you another winter coat…”

My mother was indeed a beautiful and fragile woman.

She lacked the iron fist needed to protect the private assets my father had left behind.

But she also had the heart of a bodhisattva. Once, seeing a young girl fainting from hunger by the roadside, she had helped her up, fed her hot soup and rice, and even given the girl her own clothes to wear.

That girl later entered the Daoist path at Qingju Monastery and became the head of the monastery.

For many years, she remained grateful for my mother’s kindness. After my father passed away from illness, she personally offered a Lamp for the Deceased for him. Otherwise, my mother wouldn’t have traveled all this way to Qingju Monastery to pray for blessings.

Nor would I have met He Qingxiao.

“So, all of this is thanks to you, Mother.”

I leaned my head on her shoulder, rubbing against her like a cat. “Even the fact that we can eat our fill and wear warm clothes now is because of your kind heart!”

The night we arrived, the Pei Clan and the Shen Clan had sent people one after another.

The Pei Clan demanded that the Abbess not show me any leniency just because I was from an official’s family. The Shen Clan was even more direct-they wanted the Abbess to be harsh with me, to deny us enough food and warmth, and to make me wash the socks and shoes of the priestesses.

On the surface, Abbess Ji appeared to follow the orders of the Pei and Shen families, but in secret, she converted the reward money into winter clothes. In the name of my mother and me, she distributed them to the priestesses and the poor people at the foot of the mountain.

Having received these favors, the priestesses were deeply grateful to us and treated us with great affection. Life at Qingju Monastery was not only far from bitter, but actually more free than it had been back at the Shen Family home.

After watching Mother embroider the Buddha image for a while, it was time for my daily search for He Qingxiao.

The weather had turned cold, and I was reluctant to move. However, with the end of the year approaching, Lord Pei would soon be returning to the capital. I had no choice but to brave the wind and snow every day to find He Qingxiao.

Ah, in ancient times, scholars tied their hair to a beam or pricked their thighs to stay awake; today, I trudge through the snow to chase a husband.

I bundled myself up tightly and walked to the monastery gate, clutching a hand warmer.

After walking just a few paces, I saw someone sitting in a stone niche built against the cliffside outside the monastery, intended for people to take shelter from the wind. The young man held a book, reading by the natural light. Though his head was bowed, his back was ramrod straight.

I blinked in surprise.

“Master He?”