Chapter 003 Filial Son and Wise Son

Liang led Liuli to the Buddhist hall. Along the way, they were silent, clearly affected by the conversation earlier. Liuli's expression was solemn, as if lost in thought.

The Buddhist hall was located north of Anxi Hall, at the foot of a small hill in the backyard. As they arrived, the servants of the Qi and Nie families were preparing to enter the hall.

Liuli walked at the back, seemingly almost in line with everyone else. Some people were sitting on benches on the sides, while others were gathered and chatting. Old Master He was listening to the stewards' reports, and the He brothers were inspecting the details. Those who had noticed Liuli all looked at her in silence, as if they had all agreed not to show their curiosity.

Liuli was used to this. The He family had a long tradition of strict education— at least it was true for the generations above Old Master He. There had never been a precedent of a child being born outside the family. Now, there was a living example walking in, so it was no wonder that everyone found it unusual.

However, while there was curiosity, no one dared to show it in front of so many people. After sizing her up, everyone tacitly pretended not to have seen her.

Liuli had already noticed that Yu Hua, who still looked like a young girl, was accompanying Madam Yu at her side, blowing on a freshly brewed cup of tea. The steam rising from the teacup mirrored the resentment rising in Liuli's heart. But this was not the time to settle scores. She had to take it slow and stay calm.

No one introduced Liuli to pay her respects, and even Liang, who didn't mind making a scene, walked away on her own.

Fortunately, at that moment, a person walked out of the Buddhist hall and called out, "Master Yongxin has arrived! Please take your seats, everyone!"

Everyone found their positions and knelt in front of the Buddha statue. The steward pointed to the last cushion at the end for Liuli and said, "Miss Xu, please take your seat." He also handed her a scripture book and pointed to a young girl of about ten on her left, saying, "If you can't read, you can ask Miss Ba for help."

Miss Ba, Huanhua, glanced at her with a slightly displeased expression, then lowered her head to read the scripture.

The sound of the wooden fish began behind the Buddha's case. The He family's Buddhist hall was already grand and solemn, and with dozens of people present, it seemed even more dignified. When Liuli first entered the He family eight years ago, she had been full of hope to fulfill the He family's long-cherished wish, to cure the illness of the old lady, and then to be named as a member of the He family, to be their filial son and grandson. Therefore, she had never dared to look up and glance around.

Now that she knew the outcome, she could no longer be so devout. As she read a certain passage, she raised her head and saw a sea of heads in front of her, quite a spectacle. Sitting next to the Buddha's case was a person wearing a monk's robe, with closed eyes and murmuring words. Liuli was pondering about him when he suddenly opened his eyes and his gaze fell directly on her. There seemed to be a faint glimmer of light in his eyes, which made Liuli feel a bit stunned.

"Do you not recognize this character?" Huanhua said softly beside her. Liuli turned to see her disdainfully pointing at the character "nirvana." In the Buddhist hall eight years ago— or rather, in her previous life's Buddhist hall— Liuli had never had any interaction with her, and she knew that Huanhua looked down on her. But now, she didn't mind acknowledging her feelings.

"Miss Ba, what character is this?" Liuli asked.

"'Nirvana,'" Huanhua wrote the character stroke by stroke with her finger, seeming to be pleased with Liuli's eagerness to learn. She explained, "There is a legendary phoenix in the Western world that undergoes a fiery rebirth every few hundred years. Each time it emerges from the flames, it becomes more beautiful and resilient, bringing good news to the world. People call the phoenix's rebirth 'nirvana.'"

Liuli nodded as if she understood and said, "I see. Thank you, Miss Ba."

Huanhua looked somewhat satisfied, pursed her lips, and lowered her head to read the scripture. However, she seemed a bit distracted after the interruption, and her reading became a bit stuttered. She glanced at Liuli, who smiled at her. Huanhua pursed her lips again and whispered, "What's your name?"

"Liuli, my nickname is Liuli."

"It sounds like a servant's name," Huanhua frowned. Then, somewhat unwillingly, she asked, "Do you have a formal name?"

Liuli thought for a moment and shook her head. After Madam Xu entered the capital, she had instructed Liuli that she had to keep an extremely low profile and be extremely patient in order to have a peaceful life. So, she even had to keep her formal name, "Yizhen," a secret. But Madam Xu was wrong. Even if Liuli bowed her head to the dust, there was no one in the He family who would give her a way out.

Of course, it was still necessary to keep a low profile. The name Yizhen was indeed too ostentatious for a illegitimate daughter.

Huanhua made a sound of understanding and seemed to want to say something more, but she saw the person kneeling in front of her turn around, so she bit her lip and stopped.

The chanting of the scriptures continued until a quarter past noon, nearly two hours in total, during which even the few who needed to leave for the restroom were few. It was not that the descendants were sincere, but rather that Old Master He's authority was so great.

Lunch was arranged in a side hall, and now that the old lady and the eldest branch were jointly in charge of the household, with the old lady falling ill, Madam Yu naturally took care of the internal affairs. When everyone returned after washing their hands, the steward from the main branch led everyone in arranging the meal.

Huanhua took a few steps and saw that Liuli hadn't moved, so she exclaimed, "Why aren't you going?"

Someone tugged at her sleeve.

Liuli saw that Biyun and Old Master He had finished their conversation in the distance and were walking over, so she said, "Miss Ba, please go ahead."

Biyun walked over and greeted "Miss" before pointing to the maid in green next to her and saying to Cuiying, "This is Cuiying from the old lady's courtyard. She used to serve in the old lady's courtyard, but now she will be following you, Miss."

Cuiying bowed, and Liuli returned the gesture, calling her sister.

The seating arrangement for this meal was originally the same as the one for reciting scriptures, based on seniority among the legitimate and illegitimate children. The younger grandchildren, including Eighth Miss, were supposed to sit at one table. However, when Liuli took her seat, she saw that Huanhua had followed her mother, Madam Qi, to the table of the main mothers in their respective rooms.

Huanhua's mother was originally Aunt Liu. He Pusong was also a legitimate son, but he married late. When he was young, a monk had predicted that he would bring disaster if he married before the age of twenty, so he only married the fourth daughter of the Right Assistant Minister of War, Qi Mingding, when he turned twenty. Yijin had been raised by her grandmother since childhood, was well-educated, and had a cold temperament, which matched well with the five-year-older, steady He Pusong.

Yijin had been married to the Qi family for exactly thirteen years, but had not borne any children. She had once suggested a divorce, but He Pusong had firmly refused. The old lady had no choice but to send two maids to her, and a year later, Ning gave birth to a son, who was raised by Aunt Liu. Later, Ning also gave birth to a son, and He Pusong proposed to adopt the younger son, Tingfu, to the Qi family. At the same time, Aunt Liu had also given birth to a daughter. After thinking it over for a night, Yijin decided to raise Aunt Liu's daughter, so from then on, Huanhua also had the qualifications to sit on an equal footing with the legitimate young ladies.