Qin Buxun followed Winter Solstice to Liuying Palace. Bai Suyan had already woken up. Separated by a screen, he pulled the golden thread to check her pulse and asked about her condition, "It's normal. She'll be fine after the extravasated blood is discharged. Is she awake? If she's awake, pack up and leave the palace with this old man. "
Xia Zhi asked uneasily, "Now?"
Qin Buxun glanced at her and asked, "Are we going to wait until Miss Mu returns to Mu Province?"
Xia Zhi shrunk her shoulders and didn't dare to say another word. Winter Solstice bowed and said, "Daren, please wait for a moment." After saying that, she went into the inner chamber. Bai Suyan was still soaking in the medicinal bath. In the previous situation, Xia Zhi didn't dare to touch her. Now, she was pursing her lips and removing the golden thread from her master's wrist.
"Niangniang, do you feel better?" Winter Solstice pulled a bath towel and covered Bai Suyan's naked body.
Bai Suyan used Xia Zhi's strength to get up from the bathtub. She smiled weakly, "It's okay." She had used too much energy to insert the needles earlier. Now, her steps were a little unsteady.
The twins quickly helped her dry her body. Then, they took out the clothes that had been scented with sandalwood in the morning and helped Bai Suyan change into them to cover up the bitter smell of the herbs.
After taking care of everything, Winter Solstice held her master's hand and said, "Be careful." Bai Suyan held her master's hand back. Then, she pulled Xia Zhi's hand and put them together, "You too. The people in the palace are all clever and clever!"
On the way back, Qin Buxun gave her an envelope. It was sent by her secret guard. In the seven days that Bai Suyan was gone, everything that happened was written in the envelope. She had to read and remember everything to avoid any mistakes.
Bai Suyan was in disbelief when she saw that Jing Jing had drowned. "How could this be?"
Qin Buxun had already read the news. "The girl had an accident on the third night after you left. According to Luoxia, the girl went to fetch water that night and never came back. We went to the small kitchen to look for her, but she was nowhere to be found. The next day, a nun went to the temple and found her body in the stream by the road."
Bai Suyan suddenly remembered the 'peace lot' that Jing Jing had asked for: 'The white horse and the stone monkey travel to the west, the big and small scriptures flow to the east.'
At that time, he had mocked her for having bad luck. Unexpectedly, his words had come true. Now, she had really fallen into the water and drowned.
Qin Buxun continued, "Originally, the nanny who was with her advised Miss Mu to return to the manor first, but Miss Mu insisted on not going back. She even wanted to perform a religious rite for this girl in the nunnery. Instead, the time for the vows to be repaid was extended, so the relationship between master and servant was not in vain."
At night, she met Luoxia at the back of the mountain. Luoxia made a fist salute. After Bai Suyan excused herself, she asked, "Was Jing Jing really drowned?"
Luoxia was silent for a while and said, "Yes, she was drowned. But I'm afraid that someone else did it. I wanted to investigate it secretly, but no matter where I went in the past two days, a nun would appear out of nowhere and make it difficult for me to move. I'm incompetent."
Bai Suyan looked at the Liumi Nunnery not far away. It had a cross pattern and the Guanyin Hall in the center was brightly lit with candles. There was a faint sound of chanting in the wind. The pure and simple girl had now become a dead person. Was it because God couldn't tolerate it, or was it because the complicated people couldn't tolerate it?
Luoxia said again, "Ah, by the way, I found a broken reed pipe by the lotus pond the day before yesterday."
"Reed pipe?"
"I found it by chance when I was looking for earrings for Miss Mu. Because the reed pipe was stained with rouge, I guessed that there might be some connection between the two."
Jing Jing was already fourteen years old. It was the age when love was budding and blooming. She also began to care about her appearance. Every day, she would spend some time dressing up.
Maids were not allowed to put on makeup. Firstly, they were afraid that they would steal the limelight from their masters. Secondly, they were afraid that they would have evil intentions and seduce their masters and ruin the reputation of the manor. But it was still okay to draw eyebrows and put on lipstick.
A few days before she came to return the vow, Mu Guiyi saw Jing Jing staring at a box of lip leaves on her dressing table in a daze. Mu Guiyi was very envious and secretly kept the ones she had used. When she returned to her room, she didn't take them out to use. She just put them in a small box and looked at them. She felt that Jing Jing was very cute and gave a new box to Jing Jing, which made Jing Jing very happy.
Luoxia said, "The lip leaves were newly produced by an old brand in the capital. She used it as a maid, so it left an impression on me. I won't remember the color wrong."
Bai Suyan was silent. She also knew the box of lip leaves. It was the new lychee red called Concubine's Smile. It was popular in the city. Mu Guiyi also liked it very much and used it every day. There were indeed many noble ladies in the nunnery who used Concubine's Smile. But no noble lady would do such a rude thing as picking up a reed pipe. So, only Jing Jing could do it.
"You've worked hard. Go back early."
"I'll take my leave." After a bow, Luoxia turned and left.
Bai Suyan returned to the Liumi Nunnery. Because someone died, those noble ladies felt it was bad luck and left early. She didn't meet anyone along the way. Standing in the corridor, she looked at the hall where the double-faced Guanyin was enshrined. Several rows of nuns were sitting around a coffin, knocking on a wooden fish and chanting. As for whether they were sincere or not, only they knew.
After standing for a while, Bai Suyan went to the west courtyard where Mu Guiyi temporarily lived. When she passed by the lotus pond where the accident happened, she couldn't help but stop.
Although it was called a pond, it was actually a relatively deep puddle for tourists to make wishes. It was just over the waist, and a rockery took up half of it. In the summer, there would be a cluster of lotus flowers and leaves. Because it was still cold in the mountains, there was a patch of reeds growing instead.
This pond couldn't drown people at all. It was barely possible for a person to squat in it, unless he was hiding from someone. Could it be that Jing Jing ran into someone, saw something or heard something she shouldn't know? She hid in the pond in a hurry and was finally found out so she was killed?
When she was lost in thought, a series of footsteps suddenly came from behind. Bai Suyan suddenly became nervous. Her fingers seemed to inadvertently pinch the cuff of her sleeve. A silver light flashed in the moonlight.
"It's so late. Why are you still walking in the nunnery?"
Lowering her hand, Bai Suyan let her sleeve fall down to cover the silver light. She turned around and saw an unfamiliar aunt. She was very young and had delicate features. A mole under her eye added some charm. She smiled and said, "Master, it's just that when I went back and saw the empty bed, I felt a little sad when I thought about the people who were still alive a few days ago and disappeared in the blink of an eye."
The unfamiliar aunt said, "My condolences, benefactor."
Bai Suyan was about to leave, but the aunt said, "But it's not peaceful recently. It's better for benefactor to walk less at night. If you really can't sleep, there's the Heart Sutra in each room. Benefactor can read it a few times to calm down."
"Thank you for your advice." Bai Suyan smiled. She changed the topic and asked tentatively, "It's so late and you're still walking in the nunnery. Aren't you afraid?"
The aunt still looked calm, "Huai Shi is an outsider. The world is empty. What's there to be afraid of?"
This is Huai Shi?!
Bai Suyan carefully looked at the aunt again under the moonlight. She was much different from the portrait that Luoshuanga gave her. She thought about it again. Huai Shi was only fifteen years old when she got married. Now she was only twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old. Her facial features had all grown up, but there was still a faint shadow of the past.
Probably because her gaze was too strange and focused, Huai Shi asked, "What's wrong? Benefactor just saw this poor nun during the day, but you don't recognize me tonight?"
Bai Suyan withdrew her gaze and said, "I don't recognize you. I feel that under the moonlight, you don't look like a person of the secular world."
Huai Shi said, "Benefactor, you flatter me."
Bai Suyan said, "Since it's a coincidence to meet you here, could you tell me about this matter of life and death?"
Huai Shi cupped her hands and said, "If benefactor has any doubts, this poor nun shouldn't leave. But it's late and the dew is heavy. Benefactor, please rest early. This poor nun will still be waiting here tomorrow."
Bai Suyan said, "I'm being rude. Then please rest early too." Then she put her palms together and bowed.
Huai Shi watched Bai Suyan knock on the arched door and her figure disappear behind the closed door. She turned around and left. Her whole body was shrouded in the moonlight. Half of her body was in the darkness, like a strange ghost.
When the old woman guarding the door saw her, she asked curiously, "When did you go out?"
Bai Suyan was stunned and said perfunctorily, "I couldn't sleep in my room. I wanted to go out for a walk. I didn't want to disturb Mama, so I climbed over the wall and ran out. I didn't want to run into the nunnery when I came back. Climbing over the wall is a bit impolite.
Please forgive me. "The courtyard wall wasn't very high. There were flower beds built along the wall, so it was easy to climb over.
The old woman didn't want to care too much and sent her back. She grumbled, "Don't make trouble in these troubled times."
When Bai Suyan pushed the door and entered, Zhaozhao and Huang Mang were hiding a box behind them. They watched her set up a bronze mirror, spread out the rouge and face powder, and then poured a basin of water. Under the dim light, the familiar lychee red on her lips appeared brown like blood.
She closed the door as usual. As she slowly approached, Zhaozhao became more and more nervous. She slowly closed her hands behind her back and clenched the small box.
Bai Suyan walked to her side and saw Zhaozhao trying to hide it. She sneered, "You dare to covet the things of the dead. You really don't want to live too long."
After a moment of panic, Zhaozhao tightly pursed her lips and lowered her head. Bai Suyan directly reached out to grab it. It took some effort to pry open her hand. A small box carved from red sandalwood with lychee patterns printed on it was in Zhaozhao's palm. It was Mu Guiyi's gift to Jing Jing.
Zhaozhao's face was burning when Bai Suyan looked at her with a faint smile. But she still stubbornly looked at her, as if there was nothing wrong with being stubborn.
"This box of Fei Zixiao, Jing Jing can't bear to use it. It's her favorite thing. Aren't you afraid that she will ask you for it at night when she comes back?"
Zhaozhao's pupils shrank when she heard this. She seemed to imagine Jing Jing's ghost asking her for it. Her breathing became heavy. She breathed in and out a few times and said dryly, "I … I just … said it like you don't want it?"
"What?" Bai Suyan was stunned.
"Fei Zixiao," Zhaozhao seemed to have made a big decision. She gritted her teeth and said, "I'll give you half!"
Bai Suyan was so angry that she laughed, "Give me half? Is this yours? What right do you have to deal with it? You're really shameless. "She put Fei Zixiao on the bed. She was going to put it in the coffin when she went to pay respects tomorrow.
"I'm shameless. How are you virtuous?" Zhaozhao seemed to have been hit where it hurt, "We're all servant girls. How are you nobler than me?"
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