79 Yún Sì Temple meets old friend (below)

  After having a delicious vegetarian meal, Cai's mother and Qingxu accompanied Guwalgiya in the room to rest, while Majia pulled Yunque and others to take a short rest before continuing to visit several famous scenic spots in the temple under the guidance of Xiaosha, such as Talin, Jindai Poetry Stele, and Pilu Pavilion.

  Standing on the Bilu Pavilion and looking far away, the temple and distant mountains are all in sight.

  The temple's grandeur is right before my eyes, the entire monastery is surrounded by swirling incense smoke. Through the misty smoke, the flags are gently swaying. The distant mountains are serene and hazy, as if in a fairyland. Ma Jia sighed: "It's really beautiful!" She likes to come here to enjoy the view every time. "If Ming Ren and his mother were also here, it would be even better." As she thought this, the beautiful scenery before her eyes suddenly became somewhat dull.

  Yunzhu, standing beside her, gazed at the mountains and sighed in regret. If only she could roam the mountains! The majestic peaks were right before her eyes, where flowers bloomed and grasses thrived, with pine, cypress, and maple forests undulating like waves... who knew how many mountain treasures lay hidden within? Alas, she couldn't collect them into her own space.

  Decades of living a life of luxury and introspection still couldn't completely erase the imprint of her past life. Her habit of collecting food like a little hamster had merely transformed into a more spatially beneficial vegetation. Upon seeing the beautiful scenery, she would get excited... but ultimately, it was just excitement.

  Her dizzy behavior, she wouldn't do it, and the wandering life without dependence has already been enough. To say that, she has extremely caring and loving family members, from childhood, everything she thought of or didn't think of, they all did for her, even now that she is a noble princess, when she suddenly became interested in collecting rare fruit tree seeds as a hobby, not only would they not say "playing with things and losing one's ambition, having lost dignity" but they would even take advantage of her birthday to send the ones they found into the palace for her.

  Life can't always be perfect, grasping what you already have and striving for the results you want is enough.

  "Let's come here together next April when the magnolia flowers are in bloom," said Madam Ma.

  "Ah, when the time comes, let's invite Mingliang and Mingren, and we'll all go together as a family." Yunzhu smiled, her second sister sometimes had ideas that made her laugh, Yunzhu knew that next year this war might not be over yet, but she still agreed.

  As they came down from the Vairocana Pavilion, the two of them walked out along the Mahavira Hall and when they reached the Heavenly King Hall, they suddenly heard someone calling out: "Sister Yunzhu?"

  A girl with shiny black braids and a coral green jade flower on her head, wearing a pink purple cloud brocade cheongsam with a red shoulder cape, was standing under the Maitreya Buddha statue, looking at herself. She smiled and ran over to say: "It's really sister, I was afraid I made a mistake."

  Zhao Jia Yu Gui! Yun Zhu excitedly pulled her: "Long time no see, seems like you've grown taller and prettier!"

  "Really?" She got a positive response, she happily turned around, lifted her small chin, "My mother also said so." At the time of the selection, she was just barely old enough to participate in the selection, and the baby fat on her face had not yet faded. Her figure was also petite and delicate, among the tall and slender Eight Banners beauties, she seemed a head shorter, and was often ridiculed. "However, still not as beautiful as Cloud Pearl sister..." She gazed enviously at Cloud Pearl, who wore a water-green plain satin cheongsam with intricate embroidery, thinking that she seemed even more beautiful than during the selection, especially her elegant and refined demeanor, like a branch of white jasmine wrapped in green leaves.

  "Jade Gui, this is——” A woman in her thirties, wearing a sapphire blue flag uniform with a five-bat hairpin and ruby earrings, walked over with a pale complexion and a face very similar to Jade Gui's. Behind her followed an amah and a maid.

  "Mother, come here, this is the Fu Cha Yun Zhu sister I told you about." Yu Gui pulled the woman's hand and said in a gentle voice, "Yun Zhu sister, this is my mother."

  Yunzhu's appearance outside the palace is lively and lovely, with sparkling eyes and eyebrows that dance when she speaks, even more vivid and charming than during the selection of imperial concubines.

  "Ah?" She had always thought that Yunzhu's whole body was elegant and refined, with an unspoken nobility, but when her daughter said this, she suddenly remembered who this person was, and hastily pulled Yu Guiren to make a bow: "Wulan Tana has met the Fourth Lady, I'm really sorry for the disrespect."

  "Please get up, madam. This is a foreign land, no need for excessive courtesy. This is my second sister-in-law, Ma Jia. Yin Lan."

  "Hello." Ulan and Majia smiled at each other in a friendly manner.

  Yu Gu's eyes widened and she secretly winked at herself, Yun Zhu saw that her attitude towards herself was not pretended, and she also felt a little happy. "Madam brought Yu Gu to worship Buddha?"

  "Yes, Ama followed the army to the northwest, so she came to burn incense."

  Yunzhu was about to say something when another exclamation came from the entrance of the hall: "Yunzhu? Ah, pay respects to Fourth Madame, Fourth Madame is auspicious."

  Yunzhu silently looked at the high bulge in Balin's abdomen, thinking that this time when the Qing Dynasty sent troops to conquer the northwest, he followed Hongli under the pretext of caring about his old friend, only to learn that Chahar had withdrawn its troops because Helan's father, Boten, was "ill", and it was unknown whether he had recovered or not.

  Hongli knew He Lan's little thoughts, and he didn't have a good impression of her anyway. Now that her father, the general manager of Chahar, was retreating at the critical moment, it was simply... unbearable!

  He grumbled and complained to Yunzhu, saying that this father and daughter were not reliable, and it's better to have less contact with them in the future, lest they get annoyed. Yunzhu knew he was thinking of her own good and didn't argue back, only saying: "I just casually asked, after the selection I haven't seen her again."

  "If we meet again, don't even bother to acknowledge her!" Hong Li sneered. Hong Ding's marriage to this woman was a misfortune; not only were the palace maids by his side thoroughly dealt with, but he also didn't get any help in politics. This Emperor Bao Tan is now letting things slide, but once the war is over, he will definitely be purged. If Hong Ding doesn't want to be implicated afterwards, he must go to the battlefield and fight it out.

  "No need for courtesy." Yun Zhu's eyebrows relaxed as she casually asked, "It's been several months, why are you still coming here to burn incense?"

  "It's been five months." He Lan stroked her high belly, with a hint of pride in her eyes. Although Hong Ding was only a third-rate guard, he was still a member of the imperial family, and after this battle, he would surely be promoted to general or even prince. Moreover, she was the only mistress in the entire mansion, which was something others couldn't compare to. "I heard that the incense here is good, so I came to pray for blessings... hoping to give birth to a little prince..." Her bright eyes glanced subtly at Yunzhu's abdomen.

  Next to her, Ma Jia's family saw clearly, and she was angry in her heart. She was most aware of the pressure on women after marriage for a long time without giving birth. This woman actually dared to be presumptuous in front of Yunzhu, secretly ridiculing Yunzhu for not having children yet?! Coldly smiling, she said: "Is Balin Numu still doing well? I heard he was ill? I thought the lady came to resolve her own mother's disaster."

  Li Rongbao was also the general manager of Chahar before, and he retired due to illness. This Balinmiao Bu Tan is the general manager who rose up after him, but when the Qing dynasty sent troops to conquer the northwest, he "fell ill", and the reason is well known to everyone. Interestingly, one of their daughters married the fourth son of the emperor, and the other was also given to a noble prince as a concubine... Fate is wonderfully similar yet vastly different in status.

  "Pfft!" Yu Gu couldn't help but burst out laughing, and was glared at by her mother-in-law, who pulled her along to continue burning incense in front of Yun Zhu. This kind of rivalry between noblewomen was best avoided by the families of minor officials like theirs.

  Her face turned pale, her heart was annoyed. She didn't know beforehand that her father would do such a thing... After sending the letter back home and asking, she learned that it was her father's newly married aunt who cried and complained, deeply reluctant to part with her, and the child in her belly couldn't be born without a mother... It was clear that she was afraid that Butan would go to war, and her own flesh and blood would not be preserved, and she herself would be oppressed by the elder woman and fall into dust.

  What's wrong with your brain!

  She was so humiliated in front of Hong Ding that she didn't dare show her face for a long time. If it weren't for the fact that she was pregnant, she wouldn't have had such a glorious life in the mansion now. She forced a smile and said, "Of course, I also want to dispel the disaster... I won't disturb Fourth Madame anymore."

  Yunzhu smiled and returned to the Xingyuan under the crowd's escort. How He Lan is doing now and what will happen in the future, she doesn't put it in her heart.

  "What's there to be proud of?!" The fourth prince's wife, who is now a mother of a son and shares the same surname as Fucha, appears to be gentle and elegant on the surface, but who knows what anger is hidden in her heart?! Helan sneers inwardly, resentfully withdrawing her gaze, only to raise her head and meet the seemingly all-knowing smile of Maitreya Buddha. Her heart again flashes with a few strands of melancholy. When she was young in Chahar, she also had an innocent and happy time with Fucha Yunzhu. It's just that such pure friendship gradually disappeared in the frequent warnings from her parents and comparisons, and she began to feel jealous and resentful - why wasn't she as good as Fucha Yunzhu?!

  She is more beautiful than Fucha Yunzhu, good at riding and shooting, with a lively and cheerful personality, and has the style of a Manchu lady!

  Originally, Li Rongbao went to Beijing to report his illness and retire, Yunzhu followed her family back to the capital, her own Ama finally became the general manager of Chahar, in charge of all military and political affairs in Chahar, she was also the pride of heaven in Chahar, everything should have returned to calm.

  But the reality was not as beautiful as she imagined. Her mother did not treat her with the same doting care that Lady Fucha showed to Yunzhu, and instead favored her own brother. And Ama, whose eyes had always been fixed on power and beauty...

  The draft is the dragon gate, jumping over the infinite natural scenery to become a superior person. If you can't jump over it, you can only become a pawn for the family's marriage and expansion of power, just like her mother.

  She listened to the teachings of her mother and worked hard to learn etiquette and cultivate her talents. She knew that as long as she didn't make any mistakes, it was only a matter of time before she would be promoted from the fourth rank to the third rank, which was equivalent to the position of general manager... With this compromise, her mother could barely meet the standards of a high-ranking official, and with the military and political power of Chahar in her hands, it was likely that the emperor would allow her to enter the selection process. If she performed exceptionally well, even if she couldn't be paired with the crown prince, she might be appointed as the legitimate wife of a royal prince.

  She was confident when she came to Beijing, and in the capital, she made plans with the ladies of the imperial family and had dealings with them, borrowing power to enter the circle of noblewomen, preparing to show herself off and become a shining star among the Eight Banners' noble daughters. She didn't expect to meet Yunzhu at a gathering of Eight Banners' noble daughters hosted by Princess Fukang, nor did she expect to win the favor of Princess Fukang, all because she had an elder female cousin who was the wife of Prince Zhenguo.

  If Yunzhu acted like a disappointed Eight Banners noblewoman, then, as long as she was a bit more ordinary and not so outstandingly elegant, perhaps they could still maintain their friendship... But seeing the full-faced praise of Zhuang's wife and the envious or jealous glances of the other noblewomen, she couldn't help it.

  In fact, she knew that from the moment she opened her mouth to let Yunzhu recite another poem, hinting that her poem might have been written by someone else beforehand, things between them could never go back to what they were before!

  Although she sensitively perceived the complex eyes of San Fu Jin Dong E and Hong Xi Fu Jin Guo Luo Luo, which revealed displeasure, secret joy, and sarcasm, she had some ominous premonitions. What could be done now that everything has been done? Even if Fucha was a prominent Manchu clan, Yunzhu's father and brother were only second-grade ministers and guards with idle posts. How could they compare to her, the daughter of a general manager who held significant military and political power locally? Now she no longer needed to be careful in serving Fucha Yunzhu or consider her feelings everywhere.

  Back at her residence, her maternal grandmother found out what she had done at the Golden Lotus Festival and was shocked and furious: "You, you, is this something a well-bred Eight Banners noblewoman would do? Such things, how can they be kept hidden for long? Who wouldn't understand them in private? Did it need you to take the lead? It will only make people mock you for being narrow-minded, jealous and envious of others' talents, and completely lacking the demeanor of a noble!"

  The old lady had gone through the period of the Nine Dragons' struggle for the throne in the Kangxi dynasty, and seeing the various cruel measures taken against political enemies since the current emperor's ascension to the throne, she was grateful that her husband was not from the main branch of the Guo Luo family. She also avoided being involved in the struggle for the throne because of her low official position, and at the most critical moment, she decisively married off her daughter who had been discarded by her husband to the Balinmiao family under the Mongolian Plain Blue Banner... Far away from the political whirlpool, it can be said that she was wise and bold with a unique perspective. However, she never expected that her own daughter would raise her niece to be a arrogant and narrow-minded woman who couldn't see the situation clearly and offended people recklessly just because of her temper. Could the Fuca family afford to offend others?! Was Ma Qi, who had been steadily promoted from the previous dynasty, serving as the Grand Secretary of the Wuying Hall and the Baohe Hall in turn, and was promoted to be a baron and the Crown Prince's Protector, a kind person?!

  "I'm just saying, what's the big deal? Being secretive and hiding things isn't exactly the style of a Manchu lady!" Helan already had some regrets in her heart, but she still stubbornly retorted, "So what if I offend the Fuca family? I'm not afraid. The Fuca family is only relying on Ma Qi and Ma Wu anyway, they're already old..."

  The old lady's eyes turned black, and the Fu Chai family's power in the inner guard and the military was not limited to Ma Zhiwu. Not to mention that Ma Si Ke's sons and grandsons occupied the lower-level military positions in the inner guard and various large military camps, Ma Wu's eldest son Bao Zhu was already a third-rank protector of the imperial guards, Ma Qi's eldest son Fu Qing was a third-rank commander-in-chief, and his legitimate son Fu Liang, although still young, was also a second-class imperial guard. There were also several sons of Li Rongbao...

  "What do you know?!" The old lady was furious, resenting that her daughter hadn't given the nanny proper upbringing. She hadn't even made it clear about the pros and cons of being in a noble family in the capital, and she herself had been careless, thinking there was still half a year's time and not asking for clarification. "Do you think you are from the Guo Luo family or the Guo Luo family during the previous emperor's reign?"

  Seeing her niece still looked like she didn't quite understand, she almost couldn't catch her breath. Could it be that Mongolian bloodline is so brainless? Then how did Empress Xiaozhuang grow up? She simply grabbed her and took her into the inner room to give her a lesson in political analysis.

  ……

  Helan smiled wryly. Only then did she understand what the so-called Manchu aristocratic surname was all about. They were of the same breath, connected by branches, and shared honor and loss together. Even in low tide, there would be a time to rise again. Even if they didn't seem impressive, behind them was a vast network of relatives and backers. Some families, although bearing a great surname, were just side branches with no power or influence, and offending them wouldn't matter much. But Li Rongbao's branch wasn't as unimpressive as it seemed on the surface. This branch was the most successful among the Fuca tribe, having been rooted in the Imperial Guard since the founding of the Qing dynasty, with a profound influence that was difficult to shake.

  It's a pity that I mistakenly took Li Rongbao's resignation as the Chahar General Manager due to illness as a sign of their family's decline... and also underestimated the degree of unity in the Fuca family.

  She understood the ups and downs of the imperial court, that the Fuca family was a clan favored by the emperor, and that the once illustrious Guwalgiya family had become an object of avoidance for the eight banner nobles... She decided to lower her head to Fuca Yunzhu, wasn't the situation more powerful than people?

  It wasn't until then that she understood why her parents had constantly warned her about getting along with Yunzhu when they were young, and realized the struggles of her father's heart. Without family support, he wanted to climb up... otherwise, how could it be done quickly?!

  Unfortunately, Fucha Yunzhu seems gentle and kind, but is actually distant from others. Once she betrays someone, she will never be close to them again... In the palace selection of imperial concubines, no matter how enthusiastic she appears, she always wears a faint, proper smile.

  She was somewhat disappointed that she had been given to Hongding as his legitimate wife, and would have preferred the son of Cheng Xian Wang or Chun Xian Wang. And Yunzhu, who had actually been paired with the Fourth Prince Hongli... what good fortune, her own humble nature couldn't compare to Yunzhu's carefree one.

  However, everything has its pros and cons. Can she deal with the concubines like she did? No, she needs to be virtuous. Can she make sure that the Fourth Prince only has her as his wife? It's impossible. As for herself, without in-laws to restrict her, although temporarily lacking power and wealth, she doesn't have to worry about food and clothing, nor does she need to attract so many "格格" or "侧福晋" due to the emperor's favor...

  It must be said that after Yinzhen's death, many of his sons and daughters were either left to the mercy of Yongzheng or ignored.

  Suppressing the jealousy in her heart, she told herself that as long as Hong Ding could make a name for himself this time and return from the northwest, and as long as she could give birth to a son with this pregnancy, there would be glorious and happy days ahead...

  "What is the donor looking for?" When I went to Guanyin Temple to draw a lot, I met Zhao Jia. Yu Guilai mother and daughter stood at the interpretation place, and He Lan subconsciously stopped her footsteps.

  "The Little Girl's Fate in Marriage."

  As expected, she curled up her lips in disdain.

  "This hexagram is named 'Wei Water Fishing', derived from the story of Jiang Taigong fishing, not for fish, but for the ambition to be a ruler. King Wen heard about his virtue and went to invite him as a teacher. Getting this hexagram means that one only needs to wait quietly for the right moment, and things will naturally come together, resulting in a good marriage."

  Nothing to do, another Fu Cha. Yun Zhu? He Lan hummed and stepped forward. However, he couldn't help but think that Zhao Jia Yu's father, although not a high-ranking official, had the title of Qi Wei, and this time he went to the northwest, it's possible that he would make a name for himself and come back with a promotion, and maybe even marry into the royal family... But, it wouldn't be better than himself, right? As long as he was there, his Ama E'niang would definitely rise higher and live a better life.

  "It's all right, imperial consort."

  As she came to, the maid and servant girl had already arranged the offerings of fruit, incense, and candles. Helen knelt carefully on the cushion, clasped her hands together in prayer, then took the divination tube handed to her by the maid, reciting her own prayers as she shook it three times, causing a slip to fall out. She handed the tube back to the servant girl beside her, picked up the slip and saw that it read: News from afar is hard to fathom, don't be too anxious or demanding; if you try to grind a stone into a mirror, you'll only know the futility of your efforts.

  What does it mean?! Her face turned pale, and her heart suddenly felt like a huge stone was pressing down on it, making it hard to speak.

  "Milady!" The maid beside her quickly supported her, "What's wrong?"

  "I'm fine." She helped her grandmother stand up, hesitated for a moment, and then walked to the divination area.

  An old monk with a completely white eyebrow and a face full of wrinkles opened his drooping eyelids and asked, "What are you looking for?"

  "Good luck."

  "This signature 'Ginger Woman Seeking Husband', all things will be auspicious if you stick to yourself. A thousand plans are useless, a waste of effort." Just looking at the signature text can also understand the general meaning, but this female patron still insists on coming to explain, it's clear that she is a person who thinks deeply and loves to calculate... The old monk slightly shook his head, looked towards He Lan, only to see her face pale with cold sweat, her forehead already showing a faint blue color. Silently sighing, he twirled the Buddhist beads in his hand, closed his eyes again and recited the scriptures."

  No, it won't! The baby in her belly is fine, many people say that the fetus is a little brother, and also, Hong Ding will be safe and sound in the northwest, he will build merit and return, her Ama will also be fine...

  Helan's head ached more and more, cold sweat broke out on her forehead, she was supported all the way to the carriage, after returning home, she fell ill and did not get up. This is in stark contrast to her previous healthy state where both mother and child were safe and sound. All the imperial physicians who examined her said that she was overthinking, told her to relax and ensure a smooth pregnancy, but it had no effect at all.