Second Mistress Luo lost her words. She didn't expect that Gao Dashan's wife would come here specially to report this to Madam Luo. After all, He Danggui didn't share the same surname with them. She was always living cowardly and miserably, even the servants despised her. Why would anyone suddenly speak for her?

The complexion of Ding Rong's wife changed. She actively knelt down and kowtowed to apologize to Madam Luo, "Madam, Second Mistress Luo didn't know that we didn't send the sedan of our mansion. It's all my fault. I was too self-a.s.sertive and wanted to pick Third Miss up as soon as possible, so I asked Gao Dashan's wife to walk all night with me. It was the dinner time before our departure, so I dared not bother you and Second Mistress Luo's meal. Therefore, I couldn't get the pa.s.s to use the house's sedan. I was inconsiderate of this matter, so I wronged Third Miss. But if Third Miss thought the sedan was not good, she could bring it up at that time, and I would definitely get it paid with my own money to hire another sedan which matched her status. But the situation was that she didn't even show herself up but asked us to get back!"

Second Mistress Luo supported her and said, "Ding Rong's wife is a woman with position too. Could she wrong a child? Even if we ignored Fortune-teller Li's advice, but now Yi is obviously not willing to come back to Luo's Family. Maybe she still resents that we didn't arrange any funeral service for her at home but took her to a remote Taoist temple instead."

Seeing Madam Luo sip her lips and say nothing, Second Mistress Luo thought she had convinced her, so she continued, "Madam, I mean, now that Yi wants to stay there longer, what about delaying a year or a half to pick her up so that she can exercise her feral temper which was cultivated from the farm? In this way, she would have a gentle temple and it's nice for her future marriage. Unlike Chuanxiong, in every marriage, she shared unpleasant relations.h.i.+p with her husband. First Master, you stand for the First Branch; Mei Qiao, you stand for the Third Branch; Since Madam Luo said I'm prejudiced against Yi, I won't say anymore. You two come up with a suggestion to persuade her."

After Second Mistress Luo finished this, she was complacent in her heart. Because it was her who chose the representatives of the First Branch and the Third Branch, and they definitely would agree with her. Although Ms. Zhao and Ms. Dong from the First Branch disagreed with her, Qian respected her very much. Every time he always smiled to her when they met. Concubine Mei of the Third Branch wasn't loved by Third Lord. Because Third Lord started the business of pilose antlers and tiger-bones in the north 2 years ago, and he took his wife and 2 concubines except Concubine Mei. Concubine Mei didn't have any backup in the family, so she definitely dared not offend her, the woman in charge in this family!

As expected, Concubine Mei felt Second Mistress Luo's eye settled on her face, so she hurriedly took her stand, "Second Mistress Luo is right and I fully agree with her. In addition, it's not that we are not going to pick Third Miss up, we just want the nuns in the Taoist temple to lecture her for her feral temper. I heard those Taoist nuns have their own ways, and those who were controlled by them all became well-behaved as cats. Although Third Miss doesn't know our good intentions, she will understand it's all for her own good when she gets married. Maybe she will appreciate us by then."

"How glib!" Second Mistress Luo couldn't help applauding in her heart, and she thought, "Her perfect excuse is better than mine. Since Concubine Mei can understand the situation clearly, why not award He Danggui's monthly allowance to her?" She cast a disgruntled eye at Luo Baiqian and thought, "Your behaviors are not good enough just now, but you must know how to express your opinion now."

Luo Baiqian wanted to follow Second Mistress Luo's words and did her a favor, but he had his own difficulty. He had to offend her this time and managed to remedy her later. Bearing this in his mind, he forced himself and said, "Third sister is the youngest aunt's only daughter, so I can't be hardhearted to see her not be able to come back home. Most of our biddies have the experience to teach those women who prepared to be the concubines of the Emperor before. It's easy for them to teach the third sister, let alone third sister is already well-behaved like a cat in my eyes. If we educate her more, she will act like a mouse."

Madam Luo turned her anger into delight and laughed, "Qian reads my mind. Yi is more well-behaved than her mother. It's no need for her to be taught by the Taoist nuns!"

Second Mistress Luo hid her grudge and tried to redeem, "I'm not saying Yi was not good. I just pointed out the thing that she wasn't willing to come home was not right. She should be punished for this, and her cousin sisters could take this as a warning as well. But since the First Branch can't accord with the Third Branch, it's not suitable for me to say more. How about we pick her up 1 or 2 months later? And let her know Luo's Family is her savior. Any help we offer her is our kindness, and she should be grateful but not disobedient."

Madam Luo shook her head and sighed. Finally, she waved her hand, "I don't want to blame you this time for your hard work and contributions to this family. Also, it's pitiful that you lost your brother recently. Ah, everything troubles me. Yi is a poor child. Why don't you love her more as her uncle's wife? By the way, Yi has already told Gao Dashan's wife to deliver the reason why she would live in the Taoist temple till the 17th of this month. I conceal her reason all the time for saving your faces. Since you always blame her for this, let me tell you why."

Luo Baiqian was puzzled, "Why?"

Madam Luo looked at Second Mistress Luo, Concubine Mei and Ding Rong's wife, and then asked slowly, "Do you remember anything special about September 17th of the lunar calendar?" Seeing the three of them looking at one another, she turned to Luo Baiqian, "Qian, what about you? Got any idea?" He also shook his head and thought, "Every year, September 17th is a common day. It's n.o.body's birthday, either. What's special about this year?"

Madam Luo shook her head and told them, "Yi got an Immortal's instruction in her dream. This year, the September 17th of the lunar calendar is the year of Jixu, the month of Jixu and the day of Jiyin. And she needs to have a bath, burn incense, and bow to Heaven and Earth and Sanqing Immortals for the elders.h.i.+ps' health. The day is also memorable to Luo's Family. Ding Rong's wife, you just said that one should never forget the origin. Why don't you go back to think about what's special about September 17th for your Madam, Second Mistress Luo? Of course, all of you can think about it. I will offer a reward to whoever got the answer."

Those people were all confused. What on earth was Madam Luo's exact idea?

Madam Luo got out of the soft couch. s.h.i.+ Liu hurriedly ran to support her. When they walked to the gate of the wing-room. Madam Luo said with her back facing towards them, "Mei Qiao also said that the living condition in the Taoist temple is miserable. If anyone had a chance to live a better life, no one would choose to be a vegetarian and recite scriptures in a Taoist temple which is located in a mountain. However, Yi is a filial child. She is willing to suffer more to ask the immortals to fulfill her wish—peace and safety for Luo's Family. I'm not Chuanxiong's biological mother, nor Yi's real grandmother. You all blame me for favoring her and her mother too much. But isn't it true that all I get from you were tons of trouble and problems? And yes, I do like a filial and sensible child. Second Mistress Luo, I want someone to bring Yi back to Luo's Family very ceremoniously, a gorgeous sedan I mean. And she can stay in the West Lateral court she used to live before."

Second Mistress Luo nodded with a yes. s.h.i.+ Liu supported Madam Luo and entered the wing-room, followed by Gan Cao and Deng Cao. They put down the bead curtain behind them and the rest bowed and left in order.

Luo Baiqian walked out in confusion, thinking about what had Luo's Family to do with September 17th.

Second Mistress Luo pa.s.sed by him but she didn't stop, leaving a whisper of a cold sneer, "Oh, I happen to forget. Your father and Yi's mother both have the blood from the same mother, which made Yi and you cousins. And you two are much closer than others. How jealous I am!"

Pa.s.sing by a lotus garden, Second Mistress Luo picked some and crushed them into pieces in her palm, "A house on ice water is quite unreliable! No men can be relied on!"

Ding Rong's wife agreed, "If there are any men that women can depend on, a pig could climb up on a tree! I wonder why Madam Luo got angry with us for those irrelevant people. Everyone in Luo's Family relies on you. It won't change anything if she comes back. Madam, I'm sure you have ways to make her suffer and take all the pain alone."

Second Mistress Luo grinded her teeth, "I hate seeing her face. I can see He Jingxian through that face."

"Xiaoyi, you will go back to Luo's Family very soon. Why do you pack up so much luggage? I mean you can dress anything you want when you go back. Why bother buying cloth and making clothes yourself outside?" Zhen Jing carried 2 bolts of black cloth and complained out of exhaustion.

"Zhen Jing, there is something you're not aware of. When I go back to Luo's Family, I would be restricted on my clothing and food expenses very hard. Although it doesn't mean I will have nothing to eat like the life in Taoist temple, I would encounter a different kind of danger. So, we must be prepared." He Danggui had a big bottle of wine in her left hand and a bulging bag of medicinal material in the other hand, which were several times weigh as Zhen Jing's cloth, but she still walked on a very fast speed.

The internal force was quite a wonderful thing that people who possessed it couldn't get exhausted while running or working. He Danggui couldn't help becoming curious about what extend of internal force she really had now, and what kind of martial movement her limit was. Suddenly a thought occurred to her mind, "Why don't I do what Xiang Yu did, like carrying a large bronze tripod that weighs a lot?"

Zhen Jing tilted her head, "Who would limit your clothing and food expenses? How could you be dangerous in your family?"

He Danggui stared at a salted duck egg selling in front of a grocery, and explained to Zhen Jing slowly, "It's hard to explain. Anyway, just remember this: the moment we step into that house, everyone there is our enemy. In Luo's Family, don't talk to anyone you don't know and don't believe anything they tell you. All in all, I'm the only one you can trust and take anything they say as nonsense. Don't eat any unidentified food they send you. Don't leave with anyone before you report that to me. If anyone touches you physically, you yell out loud to scare him or her away…"

When Zhen Jing heard this, she was so surprised that she could put an egg in her mouth. She said, "I didn't expect that your family is such a dangerous place. If so, I need to prepare ahead too."

He Danggui smiled and asked with surprise, "What do you have in mind to prepare, little girl?"

Zhen Jing shook her head complacently, "Don't let the cat out of the bag." She hoped that He Danggui could also constantly ask her out of curiosity.

"Ah, here it is." He Danggui pointed at the front, "Look, the money shop is just ahead. We can rent temporary containers and deposit our luggage there. Later, we could hire a carriage to take us to the gate of the Taoist temple, which could save our time and energy. At the same time, we can deposit these cheques, so we don't need to carry it around and get someone's attention. There are several people who have followed us for a while. They neither hanged out nor went shopping."

"Seriously?! Where?" Zhen Jing looked around in alarm, pressed He Danggui with her elbow and guessed, "Xiaoyi, is it possible that the shopkeeper of Coffin Shop of Jing sent them here? He blamed us for earning his silver and seeing our bodyguard leaving. So, he wanted to take the sliver back!"

"Don't worry, the transaction between Shopkeeper Jing and me is reasonable. Also, the final price is on the basis of the market price. Although I did a little trick to get a little more from him, in this transaction, I can a.s.sure you that he has not lost anything. As long as he fixes up the fragrant wooden coffin and then goes to Yangzhou City to find a suitable buyer, he could earn 300 or 400 liang." As Zhen Jing raised the cloth and prepared to fight, He Danggui could not help laughing and extorting her, "I think the 3 people behind us are just ordinary thieves. They saw we made our deal without hesitation, so they chose to follow up. They don't look like the local villains here. Besides, the law of the Ming Dynasty is so strict that no one dares to rob on the street. Silly girl, put away your cloth first. Listen to me, you can't hurt anyone with cloth. If the bad guys come, you should kick them like this!"

He Danggui kicked up a small stone with her tiptoes casually and it flew straight to a big tree more than 10 zhang (a unit of length in ancient China) away.

"Rub-dub!" After a m.u.f.fled sound, the stone broke through the wood and disappeared into the trunk, leaving only a small dark hole in the tree. Since the stone was flying low, and the sound of breaking wood was not loud, few pa.s.sers-by noticed the scene.