Chapter 66: Unaware of Being a Guest in One's Own Dream

  That little Shaoyi nodded solemnly and walked away with a straight back, I hastily said: "I don't know how to address the young master? Mei Cai will come often in the next few days, if there's anything she doesn't understand, please enlighten her." "Master is just Master, no need for small or big."

  That little Sha Mi turned his head and said seriously: "The female Bodhisattva will be called Little Monk Cai Tiao Fa Shi!"

  "What's 'Cai Tiao'?" The name didn't sound like a typical monk's name, but it was refreshingly unusual. "It's Master Cai Tiao." The young monk said expressionlessly before returning to the place where he had been meditating earlier, and warned as he left: "You absolutely cannot enter here!"

  I nodded repeatedly and watched him enter the courtyard with a lotus pond. After entering another yard, I saw the majestic horse and was amazed.

  Today's female guest is naturally a noble family, said to be a high-ranking official in the local area. Entering the inner courtyard, there was a crowd of women wearing gold and silver, as beautiful as flowers and jade, surrounding an elderly lady with a stern expression who sat at the head.

  That old lady wore a crimson skirt, with a neat bun on her head adorned with eight treasures and golden hairpins, although she had some silver threads mixed in, but still looked spirited. A pair of phoenix eyes with some dust, even more so that people admire the demeanor from the bottom of their hearts, this family's bearing is indeed extraordinary, it is the momentum of a family that eats timely meals.

  Several maidservants helped me lay out the plain cloth on the table, and in a silvery bell-like voice said: "Old lady, please have some vegetarian dishes prepared by the temple, they look very clean."

  The old lady looked at me and smiled: "The temple is thoughtful, in order not to disturb, it has specially invited the little girl to deliver food and drink."

  "How old are you? What does your family do?"

  I hastily replied, and the old lady smiled: "You look quite clever, these few days of vegetarian diet must have been hard on you."

  I hastily made a bow and said, "It's fate that we met." The old lady smiled and said, "Looking at her, I think she has a bit of resemblance to our family's Yihuan."

  "The old lady said this, and indeed had a few points of resemblance to Miss San."

  An eighteen or nineteen-year-old maid smiled and said, everyone laughed and looked at a young lady who was about the same age as me.

  That young lady wore a big red light gauze skirt, with a snow-white goose egg face, apricot eyes and peach cheeks, very pretty, originally a clever and nimble appearance, but now her eyebrows were furrowed, as if she didn't like to hear it, frowning and saying: "The old lady was just joking, you all took the opportunity to tease me, can't I also be a lowly person, throwing my head out to show off, giving everyone food?"

  Those women heard that and hurriedly lowered their heads without speaking. The maid who had just spoken knelt down, repeatedly saying she didn't dare.

  The old lady smiled and said, "You child, aren't you speaking like a little kid? As the young lady of the Ning family, you naturally have your own background, and no one is comparing you to anyone else. You just happen to resemble her slightly in terms of appearance, so why are you getting angry?"

  "With that stupid and clumsy look, as if you were dug out from the ground, I don't dare to be with you." Miss Yi Wan frowned at me, her face full of disgust.

  "It's because you're spoiled, your two older sisters, which one is as reckless as you?" The old lady smiled: "Don't be angry, I heard that Ci Bei Temple has a master who specializes in making exquisite drums, his craftsmanship is extremely high, let me find that master and ask for an opened drum, to use Buddhist compassion to suppress your evil spirit."

  I took a look at myself and triggered a series of ugliness, so I quickly bid farewell and left. Thinking to myself, this young lady really has a big attitude.

  Just out of the Moon Gate, I saw that in the courtyard where the monks lived, the first yellow lotus flower had bloomed, standing tall and proud, delicate and beautiful. I couldn't help but stop and take a look, but behind the dense green leaves, it seemed like someone was lurking.

  I was stunned for a moment, thinking that the little Taoist priest had warned me not to be rash, so I'd better not stir up trouble and quickly left. Just then, the figure moved and ran into the monks' courtyard in an instant, disappearing without a trace. I doubted my own eyes, wondering if I had seen things. That silhouette was clearly that of a young girl wearing a light green dress!

  How could there be little girls here?

  I scratched my head, couldn't figure it out, and had no choice but to go home first.

  These past few days, I've been going to the temple every day to deliver vegetarian dishes. A young maid saw me and, probably having nothing better to do, started chatting with me in the courtyard: "I also heard that a little maid gave birth to someone who looks quite like Third Miss; I suppose it's you?"

  I hastily said: "Sister is joking, Mei Cai is just a coarse and rustic little maid, how dare she be mentioned in the same breath as Third Miss? This is all old lady's joke, can't be taken seriously."

  That maid smiled and said: "I heard that on that day, Third Miss got angry with you over a single sentence. Don't take it to heart, Third Miss doesn't know how she accumulated good deeds in her past life, but this life she was born into a wealthy family as the most favored miss, in the entire Ning Manor, and even the entire Xichuan, who doesn't show respect for her?"

  "Ah, I see," I laughed: "It's an honor for me to be mentioned in the same breath as a lady like that, it's really a blessing for me."

  "But you've seen the third miss yourself, haven't you? Doesn't she have a bit of resemblance to you in her eyebrows and eyes?" The demonic king's concubine, Xiao Fei: R278rmV

  "You just don't have her good fortune, that's all. This young lady is quite clever and resourceful."

  I hastily said: "Sister, you're overpraising me, how could I, a humble dish of preserved mustard greens, dare to be compared to such an elegant lady? The young lady is like a goddess, and it's too presumptuous to compare me to her, no wonder she got angry."

  Thinking that it's not good to talk about this behind her back, she changed the subject and asked: "Sister, do you know how long your group will be staying at Cibei Temple?"

  "Hmm, about that," the girl said, tapping her chin with her index finger, looking quite charming: "It'll probably take around ten days to half a month! Even if it's just for Master and the others to see, Xikou is far away, but it's a rare outing, so it counts as a trip to enjoy the scenery. If we don't have fun, it would be a waste."

  I asked again: "Xichuan is rich and naturally has temples with spiritual power. Your family, being a big household, must not be easy to move around, and the old lady should be sitting at home. Why did you make a long journey to come to Ci Bei Temple?"

  The maid smiled and said, "Well, this is quite a strange thing. Our old lady has always been devout and reverent to Buddha, but she had never heard of this Ci Bei Temple until one day, she dreamed about it." "You mean she dreamed about this Ci Bei Temple so far away?"

  I was amazed: "Is this really possible?"