Seeing the witch come out, Mrs. Xu, who was waiting outside, immediately came over to greet her.
"Auntie, how is my third sister?"
The witch waved her hands repeatedly, "Madam, I'm sorry I can't help Miss Xu San's situation. I won't take a penny from you. Goodbye."
Mrs. Xu was anxious and quickly grabbed her clothes. "If you leave, what will happen to my third sister? How about drawing a few more magic talismans and letting her take them?"
The witch shook her head and said, "Talismans are not simple. If you use them repeatedly, their effectiveness will be greatly reduced.
There is a great karma in Miss Xu San's life that I cannot resolve, and it is not something that an old woman like me can get involved in."
Seeing the witch leave, Mrs. Xu looked distressed, "What should I do?"
Several maids looked at each other, and one of them stepped forward boldly and spoke.
"The third young lady is still in the boudoir. If the news of her being possessed by a ghost gets out, it will damage the reputation of the Xu family and will not delay the marriage of the second and fourth young ladies.
Why not... send Miss San to the manor and tell everyone that Miss San is ill and is recuperating there. When Miss San gets better, bring her back."
Madam Xu's expression changed several times, and finally she sighed and said with a tired look.
"Second sister's marriage cannot be ruined, so I can only resort to this last resort, and I am sorry to inconvenience Third sister."
After Madam Xu left, two servants entered the room and bowed while suppressing their fear.
"Miss San, I'm sorry, but Madam said you're not feeling well, so please go to the farm and rest for a while."
Xu Chunniang felt relieved. Although it was a little different from what she had imagined, she finally got what she wanted and was going to be sent to the farm.
It’s just that mother… I’m afraid she was scared by her
She sighed and stood up, "Let's go."
Seeing that the Third Young Lady was so cooperative, the two maids breathed a sigh of relief and led Xu Chunniang towards the back door, where a carriage had already been prepared.
The carriage drove all the way to the suburbs, and the road gradually became deserted, with large tracts of farmland appearing.
When they arrived at the farm, the two old women explained to Xu Chunniang.
"Miss San, I have already made an appointment with the housekeeper. You can stay at the manor and rest assured. When you are well again in a few years, Madam will come to take you back to the manor."
Xu Chunniang jumped off the carriage and glanced at the farm in front of her.
Compared to the magnificent Xu Mansion, this place looks so much more shabby.
However, there are not as many rules here as in the Xu Mansion, and no one will force her to get married.
She vowed to live without glory and honor in this life. She could calm down and think carefully about the nine reincarnations she had experienced.
After the two maids finished their conversation, they immediately returned home in a carriage.
The housekeeper of the manor was unaware of the true situation and thought that the third young lady was really there to recuperate.
"Miss Third, I have already cleaned up the yard for you. The farmhouse is simple and cannot compare to the mansion. I hope you can bear with me."
Xu Chunniang nodded, said nothing more, and walked into the yard.
After some time, the housekeeper discovered that the third young lady who came to the manor to recuperate was a very easy-going person.
She was a quiet person, never making things difficult for the servants.
No one knew what kind of disease she had contracted that led to her being sent to the farm.
Time flies, and three years have passed in the blink of an eye.
On this day, Mrs. Xu, who was in the Xu Mansion, sent someone to ask about the third sister's recent situation.
When Mrs. Xu learned that she was still like usual, locking herself in the yard and rarely interacting with outsiders, she sighed softly.
"It's been three years, and Third Sister's illness doesn't seem to be getting better. Is this fate?"
When the married fourth sister returned to her parents' home and heard the news about the third sister, her eyes became red and she clamored to go see her.
"Mother, Third Sister loved me the most in the past, she will definitely not harm me, I will just watch from a distance."
The fourth sister vaguely felt that her third sister had definitely not gotten involved with any dirty tricks.
Madam Xu nodded. "It's okay to go and take a look, but be careful when talking to her, so as not to irritate her."
The fourth sister nodded heavily, and after leaving Xu’s house, she took a carriage and headed towards the suburbs.
When they arrived at the farm, the fourth sister felt a lump in her throat when she saw the dilapidated blue bricks and the moss-covered eaves.
Has my third sister been living in a place like this all these years
She pushed the door open and followed the housekeeper's instructions into a courtyard, only to see Xu Chunniang sitting in front of a stone table in the courtyard, smiling at her.
"Fourth sister, you are here."
The fourth sister was extremely shocked. She glanced at the two tea bowls on the stone table and walked forward in a daze.
"Third sister, could it be that you...had already guessed that I would come?"
Xu Chunniang smiled slightly, picked up the teapot on the table, and added tea to the two teacups.
After three years of meditation, she figured out many truths.
These days, she had originally planned to leave Zhuangzi and travel around.
But before leaving, he felt something in his heart, so he waited a few more days, and sure enough, his fourth sister showed up.
"Please sit down. It seems that you have married. How have you been these years?"
The fourth sister had mixed feelings. The moment she saw her third sister, she was almost certain that her third sister was not sick at all.
She sat down at the stone table, picked up the tea on the table and took a sip.
It's strange to say, but normally, she always looked down on this kind of coarse tea, thinking it was too astringent.
But when I drank it today, I felt it had a different taste.
She looked at the tea leaves floating in the tea bowl, and after a while she said, "It's not good, nor is it bad. It's not quite what I thought before."
Xu Chunniang poured her more tea and said leisurely.
"All living things are like chess pieces. When the stars in the sky turn, their fates have already been quietly determined. Only by jumping out of the chessboard can you control your own destiny."
Fourth sister didn't understand these words at first, but now she vaguely understands them.
As a daughter of the Xu family, the third sister should have been like her, marrying into a good family and raising children.
Now, she is alone, living far away in a village.
The houses in the farm were simple, but the third sister seemed more comfortable than when she was at home.
On the other hand, although she married into a marquis's family, wore fine clothes and enjoyed delicious food, she had no control over her every move in the mansion.
Everyone sighs that she has a good life and enjoys all the honors, but when the night is quiet, she knows how she feels.
The fourth sister put down the tea bowl and sighed softly.
"Third sister, I don't have a choice anymore. I really miss my childhood, those carefree days.
Unfortunately, there is no going back."
Xu Chunniang shook her head slightly. "The moment the chess piece jumped out of the chessboard, its fate had already changed and shifted. Nothing is eternal and unchanging."
The fourth sister seemed to be thinking about something. What the third sister said made sense, but... could she really do it
She thanked him earnestly, "Third sister, thank you for telling me this. I will think about it carefully."
"What I can do is extremely limited. Your destiny ultimately depends on yourself. When the glitz fades away, you will eventually return to your true self."
After taking these words into account, the fourth sister left.
After her fourth sister left, Xu Chunniang also prepared to travel far away.
She has figured out a lot of things, and now it's time to go see everything in this world with her own eyes.