When Chen Anzhi came back from outside, Lu Shu ran over to report that Fang Qingyi was feeling unwell. Chen Anzhi hurried to Anxiangyuan and invited a doctor with great fanfare. The whole palace was alarmed.
Finally, the doctor prescribed a prescription to protect the fetus, and advised Fang Qingyi not to worry and to be at ease and take care of the fetus.
"You were fine before, why do you have a stomachache today? Are you too tired to do it? Or did you eat something cold?" Chen Anzhi sat down on the bed next to Fang Qingyi, his face full of worry.
Fang Qingyi lowered her head and said nothing. Lu Shu said, "Our master didn't feel well after coming back from paying respects to the lady today."
"Green Shu!" Fang Qingyi stopped Green Shu from speaking.
Lu Shu shut up and walked out with the prescription written by the doctor.
"Greetings? Why do you want to greet her?" Chen Anzhi was immediately furious. "Who are you? Who is she? Why are you going to greet her when you are pregnant? How can she, a person who came from the grassland, be worthy of it?"
"Don't say any more..." Fang Qingyi tugged at his sleeve, "Be careful, there are ears on the other side of the wall. If this gets out, it will be bad after all... I just think it's a bit unbecoming of me not to greet her once after I entered the house."
Chen Anzhi suddenly thought of the concubines who had changed their tastes since they had been clinging to You Yuji. They now wore colorful clothes that were inappropriate. He was silent for a while, then spoke again: "Just go there once to show your ability. Don't go there to suffer injustice in the future."
Fang Qingyi nodded.
"You have to be extra careful when you are pregnant." Chen Anzhi paused, "Did you eat anything when you went to her place today? Or did she say something to make you feel wronged?"
Fang Qingyi looked up at Chen Anzhi in surprise: "Cousin, are you suspecting..."
She placed her hand on her abdomen fearfully, and immediately shook her head quickly: "Don't think too much, cousin. Madam is kind to people. This is known to everyone in the mansion. I ate some cakes, and the ingredients may have made me feel uncomfortable. But I went there on a whim, and Madam didn't know about it in advance."
She kindly advised, "Don't worry, cousin. I will be more careful to protect our child. Madam is so kind, she will definitely not want to harm our child."
After a long time, Chen Anzhi reluctantly nodded.
Fang Qingyi lowered her eyes and gently stroked her bulging belly.
She didn't want to wrongly accuse You Yuji today, nor could she. Being able to plant the seeds of doubt in Chen Anzhi's heart was enough.
"Cousin, I want to go to the temple to pray for our child tomorrow."
"Tomorrow?" Chen Anzhi frowned. "There is something going on in the palace tomorrow. Several cousins will have to go to the palace. I'm afraid I can't accompany you."
"It's okay. She's still young and not that heavy, so she's not that delicate. Just go by yourself." Fang Qingyi said.
Fang Qingyi persuaded him a few more times before Chen Anzhi agreed.
Fang Qingyi leaned against Chen Anzhi tenderly, but she sneered in her heart. She didn't want to go to the temple to pray for the child, but she knew that according to the old custom of Siguo, You Yuji would go to the temple to pray for her deceased father tomorrow.
On the twenty-eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, according to the custom of the Si State, sacrifices are offered to deceased relatives on this day. Being away from home, without the grand sacrificial activities of her hometown, You Yuji still changed into plain clothes and planned to go to Wan'an Temple.
You Jiamu will come to the Jinnan Palace to pick up You Yuzhi early in the morning.
"When will my sister come back?" Si Que stood at the door of the small room, looking at You Yuzhi who was changing clothes inside.
"Maybe it will be evening." You Yuji was tying her hair. She turned around and smiled gently at him.
It didn't have to be that late, but today, in addition to going to Wan'an Temple to offer sacrifices to her father, she also needed to do one more thing -
She planned to send Si Que away tomorrow night. He "died" on the 29th day of the twelfth lunar month. To avoid taboos, the mansion would keep everything simple, making it easier for her to operate. Although she had already arranged the house, the carriage, and even the people responsible for digging the grave and carrying the "corpse", she was still a little worried and planned to go and see it in person today and walk the route in advance.
She was tying her hair up and stopped thinking.
She hadn't told Si Que about it yet. She would tell him tonight when she got everything ready. She didn't know if he would be happy. He should be happy, right? He should smile at her.
"Sister, what are you thinking about so deeply?" Si Que walked over, picked up a strand of hair that had fallen from You Yuzhi's fingers, and used her hands to help her tie her hair.
You Yuji looked at Si Que in the bronze mirror and slowly curved her eyes. She praised: "A Que's hair-tying skills are very good."
"I learned it naturally from watching my sister tie her hair every day." Si Que put his hand lightly on You Yuzhi's shoulder, bent down to take the hairpin on the table, and carefully put it on her hair.
He admired You Yuji in the bronze mirror, and then looked at her in the bronze mirror with her face turned to the side. She placed her palm on his cheek and asked him to turn his face to her.
Si Que's gaze shifted from her in the bronze mirror to the real her.
The next moment, You Yuji leaned over and kissed his cheek. When she stepped back, she gently patted his other cheek with her hand.
"Wait for sister to come back." She kissed his chin again lightly, pushed him away, took the fox fur from the shelf, turned around and walked out.
Si Que frowned and stood where he was.
"This vixen..." He raised his hand and touched the face that she had patted. The displeasure in his eyes turned into a smile in an instant, "That's fine."
Si Que walked out of You Yuji's small room, played with Baisui for a while, and called Ting Yun in: "Where does that Fang-something live? I need to go over there and get a lantern."
Tingyun understood half of what she heard. But she didn't ask more questions. She was used to it anyway, and half of what she understood was enough for her to reply. She said, "Your Highness, Concubine Fang lives in the Anxiang Courtyard. But she is not in the palace at this moment. Because she had a miscarriage yesterday, Concubine Fang left the palace early this morning to pray for the child in her belly."
Not at home.
That's fine. It seems more convenient to do it outside the mansion. It just so happens that You Yuji is not at home today, so he won't be discovered by her if he goes out.
But where should the human head lanterns be hung? On the city wall
Si Que threw the dried fish that Bai Sui had been teasing for half a day to it with an expressionless face.
You Yuji came to Wan'an Temple and looked at the sacrificial fire burning a little further in front of the temple. There were many people around the fire and she was slightly surprised. It seems that the integration policy of Emperor Chen has played a significant role. Now there are more and more people from other countries in Chenjing. Even the old rituals of the Si people can be so grand.
"Sister!" You Jiamu personally placed a footstool for You Yuzhi.
You Yuji stepped down on a footstool and told the servants to bring all the sacrificial utensils.
"lady?"
You Yuji stopped and looked back, only to see Fang Qingyi holding Lu Shu's hand and getting off the carriage. She walked towards You Yuji and said with a smile, "I didn't expect to see Madam right after arriving at Wan'an Temple. What a coincidence."
You Yuji glanced at Fang Qingyi's carriage parked under the tree and said, "The carriage is bumpy, be careful."
"He's very well behaved, he's fine." Fang Qingyi placed her hand on her abdomen, "I came here today to pray for his safety."
You Yuji nodded gently and continued to walk forward. Fang Qingyi also stopped talking and followed silently.
You Yuji walked towards the fire where the ritual was being held. She couldn't help but take one more look at Fang Qingyi's belly and frowned, saying, "There are a lot of people over there, be careful about getting squeezed. It's not good to get smoked by the fireworks."
"I've heard about the special sacrificial rituals of the Si Kingdom before, and I've always been curious about it. Now that I've seen it today, I think of my sister. Madam, don't worry. I'll just watch from a distance and leave soon." Fang Qingyi said.
You Yuji said no more.
Madam Jing put on a stern face and leaned close to You Yuji's ear and said, "Madam, I'm afraid Aunt Fang is up to something bad! I don't know what evil idea she has in mind!"
You Yuji nodded slightly and said nothing.
As she got closer, she heard the mournful music of the sacrifices in her hometown, and You Yuji suddenly felt bitter. She looked at the slowly burning flames from afar, and she suddenly saw her father smiling at her.
Madam Jing knew from You Yuji's expression that she was thinking of her father again. She was worried that You Yuji was not in the mood to care about Aunt Fang, who was full of grudges. She whispered to Zhenxu to keep a close eye on Fang Qingyi, then turned around and took the servants to put the sacrificial utensils that had been prepared long ago into the fire.
This is an old ritual of the Siguo. Although it is set up in front of Wan'an Temple, it is different from Buddhism and Taoism after all, and there are no monks from Wan'an Temple here.
Fang Qingyi didn't come here today to observe the old rituals of the Si State.
Zhenxu was ordered to stare at Fang Qingyi, but Fang Qingyi was very honest and did nothing. As she said, she only watched from a distance for a while and then went to the Wan'an Temple in front.
Before leaving, she asked Lu Shu to pass a message to You Yuji, and she was waiting for You Yuji to come over to the teahouse in the temple to have tea.
In order to express their gratitude to Wan'an Temple, those who participated in the ceremony today would go to Wan'an Temple to add some incense after the ceremony. It was not that Fang Qingyi made a special invitation, as You Yuzhi would have gone there anyway.
Fang Qingyi walked into the solemn Wan'an Temple, looked at the tall and compassionate Buddha statue, and sincerely wished that her wishes would come true and that she would get rid of the people she wanted to get rid of. She also hoped that this baby would be a boy.
She lowered her brows and placed her hands on her belly.
Although she had asked her mother to help her find a pregnant woman who was about 13 months pregnant, she still hoped that she could give birth to a son...
Fang Qingyi breathed a sigh of relief. After burning incense, she went to the tea room prepared by Wan'an Temple for pilgrims. She sat in the tea room, and the sandalwood and tea fragrance made her feel peaceful. She couldn't help but think of those beautiful days in the boudoir, how simple and happy the days were back then. Growing up, she had more troubles, and was involved in the affairs of men and women. One wrong move led to another. She wished that time could go back to the time before she and her cousin had an affair. But nothing can go back...
She looked out from the half-open window, her sight passed over the wall of Wan'an Temple, at the fireworks rising in the distance, silently waiting for You Yuji.
After the ritual utensils were burned, You Yuji and You Jiamu bowed solemnly to the rising flames, and then walked towards Wan'an Temple. She was very grateful to Wan'an Temple for holding such a ceremony for the people of Si.
This place is not far from Wan'an Temple.
You Jiamu looked at the Wan'an Temple which was about to arrive, and quietly pulled the corner of You Yuzhi's clothes.
"What's wrong?" You Yuji tilted her head slightly and asked in a low voice.
You Jiamu smiled and said, "Sister, there is a happy event that you must not know!"
"What's the matter?" You Yuji's eyes were still slightly wet, and she couldn't think of what the happy event You Jiamu was talking about would be. Obviously, she was a little depressed at the moment, and she was not willing to guess.
The smile on You Jiamu's face froze, and he began to hesitate again. He suddenly felt a little scared, afraid that his sister would blame him for taking the initiative.
You Yuji looked at his expression, frowned, and changed her tone to a more serious one: "Jiamu, what's the matter?"
"You'll know in two days!" You Jiamu stepped forward first.
You Yuji saw that she had reached the threshold of Wan'an Temple. The monks saluted her with their hands raised. She hurriedly returned the salute politely without bothering to ask You Jiamu any more questions.
You Jiamu looked at his elder sister kneeling in front of the Buddha, and the carefree look of a child was no longer in her eyes.
Brother Yuan Yi will arrive in two days. He likes my sister so much, and he will definitely save her and get her out of Jinnan Palace.
Even if he was scolded by his elder sister for acting on his own initiative, he didn't care as long as he could save her.
You Yuzhi didn't know about the letters her brother had sent to Si State recently. After she finished worshipping Buddha, she wanted to leave Wan'an Temple. After all, she had to go to several places today.
However, before leaving Wan'an Temple, she still went to the teahouse.
As soon as You Yuji reached the door of the tea room, she heard Fang Qingyi's scream. Fang Qingyi rushed out and the owner of the Poison House was standing in the tea room.
The author has something to say: If this chapter has more than xx comments, I will double update it tomorrow.