Chapter 17: Meeting the Noble Ladies Again

 

                

Upon returning to Guangming Nunnery, Shen Shaoguang discovered noble lady visitors who were familiar faces—Pang Erniang, and the lady who had worn the autumn-scented robe with gold embroidery at the riverside pavilion during the Dragon Boat Festival.

They had likely already paid their respects to Buddha, as Master Yuanjue was now guiding them through the temple's murals, explaining Buddhist stories with the measured patience of a practiced teacher.

Since they had met before, Shen Shaoguang stepped forward to pay her respects.

Master Yuanjue smiled warmly at the two ladies. "This is Devotee Shen." She had already mentioned Shen Shaoguang during their earlier tea.

She then turned to introduce the others: "This is the Fifth Lady of Minister Qin's family. You already know Second Lady Pang."

The three women smiled and bowed to each other with practiced grace.

Yuanjue's eyes crinkled with pleasure as she addressed Shen Shaoguang. "We just drank the jasmine tea you sent last time, and both devotees praised its elegant fragrance and sweetness. You always say I'm 'overpraising' you…" Her tone carried the intimacy of long acquaintance, comfortable and unguarded.

Shen Shaoguang smiled with pressed lips, accepting the praise without protest.

Fifth Lady Qin studied Lady Shen with quiet interest. Though Guangming Nunnery wasn't a major temple, Master Yuanjue was no ordinary person. She had heard from her grandmother that Yuanjue's teacher was the former Princess Anqing, who had wielded great influence at court in her early years before suddenly renouncing the secular world and taking the tonsure in Luoyang. Yuanjue was her last disciple, accompanying her on extensive travels across provinces. For Master Yuanjue to hold someone in such high regard, Lady Shen must possess some extraordinary quality.

Fifth Lady Qin tilted her head thoughtfully. "Lady Shen's face seems quite familiar, perhaps we've met somewhere before?"

Shen Shaoguang smiled and furrowed her brow slightly, thinking: Perhaps when you were thirsty and wanted to buy my sour plum drink? But she only said with a gentle smile, "This must be fate then."

Pang Erniang and Shen Shaoguang shared the same unspoken thought—they had indeed met by the river that day, but then Shen had been selling food, while today she was "Lady Shen," which was why Fifth Lady Qin hadn't recalled.

"I once had several encounters with the Fourth Lady of Governor Shen's family from Dengzhou, perhaps you share some facial features with your clan sister."

Shen Shaoguang was truly unfamiliar with her clan members in Luoyang and didn't know what generation this Governor Shen belonged to, though she was certain he wasn't a close uncle. "I've drifted in the world for long and haven't returned home in years, so I truly don't know if I resemble my sisters," Shen Shaoguang said with an easy smile that masked any discomfort.

Being able to speak so composedly about her difficult circumstances showed she was no ordinary person. How could Fifth Lady Qin not notice that Shen Shaoguang's plain clothes, though made of fine Yizhou silk gauze, had been washed many times and were old, and she only wore two small silver hairpins? Yet there was no shame in her bearing, no apology in her manner.

Shen Shaoguang also found herself warming to this Fifth Lady Qin, who was neither arrogant nor pretentiously sympathetic toward her as a poor woman but treated her as an equal. Even if it was just a gesture, it was comfortable—especially compared to Pang Erniang's initial attitude of thinly veiled condescension.

Thinking of Pang Erniang, Shen Shaoguang turned to her with genuine curiosity. "How have you been these many days, Second Lady?" On the day of the Dragon Boat Festival, perhaps stung deeply by her "friends," Pang Erniang had moved back home after returning. They hadn't seen each other in many days, and Shen Shaoguang wondered how she had ended up among these noble ladies again—particularly with her "love rival."

In Shen Shaoguang's opinion, Fifth Lady Qin was truly more suitable for Assistant Magistrate Lin. Setting aside family background, just considering their personalities, Assistant Magistrate Lin appeared somewhat cold-hearted, and being the Capital District's Assistant Magistrate at his age suggested he was deeply calculating. Pang Erniang, however, was shallow as a small stream, wearing everything on her face—their styles completely clashed.

But then she reconsidered. Perhaps that's exactly why they matched. A calculating, cold-faced gentleman paired with a naive innocent? This pairing had quite an appealing contrast. While listening to Master Yuanjue explain the story of "The Monkey Scooping the Sea" depicted on the mural, Shen Shaoguang found her thoughts drifting to the romance dramas she had watched in her previous life. As she thought about them, melancholy crept over her—back then she had despised their vulgar logic, but now she couldn't even watch one more episode.

Fifth Lady Qin had come on her family's orders and needed to make offerings again in the evening and the next morning, so she would stay overnight. Master Yuanjue invited her to stay in the master's quarters together, but Fifth Lady Qin didn't want to disturb the master's peace, so she arranged to stay with Pang Erniang instead.

Yuanjue smiled with approval. "That's good too, you young ladies can keep each other company."

She added, "In the evening, lanterns will be hung in the ward. Though not as lively as the Lantern Festival, some of the lanterns are worth seeing. You can go out to look, but make sure to take attendants with you."

All three ladies agreed with smiles.

Since arriving in this world, Shen Shaoguang had been confined in the palace—how could she have seen this era's lantern festivals? Although the Ghost Festival wasn't like the Lantern Festival where the curfew was lifted and the whole city celebrated all night, only allowing them to walk around the ward, for someone as sheltered as Shen Shaoguang, it was still immensely attractive.

Ayuan, with her childlike nature, was delighted to hear that Shen Shaoguang would take her out to see the lanterns in the evening. "In previous years, no matter what festival it was, Lady Xu never let me go out, only telling me to watch the house. If I sneaked out to take a peek, I'd quickly run back, afraid of being caught. Once Lady Xu came back to get something she'd forgotten and caught me—she beat me severely with a broom."

Shen Shaoguang patted her head sympathetically.

Ayuan smiled without bitterness. "The beating didn't hurt much, but she starved me for three days. That time made me suffer from hunger."

Shen Shaoguang patted her head twice more, smiling slightly with understanding. She too had been beaten and starved. When she first arrived in the palace, dragging a sickly ten-year-old body, unable to sort out the original owner's memories, with no relatives to protect her, how could a confused visitor from another world not make mistakes?

Thankfully, it was all in the past now.

While Shen Shaoguang and Ayuan were reminiscing about past hardships in their room, Fifth Lady Qin and Pang Erniang were discussing old acquaintances in theirs.

"You're young, so you might not remember well. That Lady Cui was two years older than me, with a very calm and gracious nature, and her beauty and talents were the finest among the ladies of our generation—none of us could compare." Fifth Lady Qin's voice softened with memory. "Later, when Minister Cui fell from grace, by law his family members were to be sent to the palace…" She sighed lightly, the sound carrying genuine sorrow. "Who would have thought that someone as composed as her would take her own life, truly…"

Fifth Lady Qin, considering that Pang Erniang was the Virtuous Consort's sister and had deep connections with the royal family, swallowed the words "principled and virtuous" that had nearly escaped her lips.

Pang Erniang's face turned pale as she unconsciously played with the pearl tassels on her hair ornament, which matched the pearls on her newly changed mud-gold robe and brocade belt—presumably a coordinated set.

"I hadn't heard that Assistant Magistrate Lin was engaged to Lady Cui?" Pang Erniang bit her lip, voice uncertain.

"Indeed, they weren't officially engaged. I heard the families had just come to an agreement when Minister Cui's incident occurred."

Just as Pang Erniang was about to breathe a sigh of relief, Fifth Lady Qin continued, her tone matter-of-fact yet laden with implication: "But Assistant Magistrate Lin held Lady Cui in his heart, otherwise why hasn't he married to this day? And in the first year or two after Lady Cui's passing, Lin rarely attended any banquets…"

Pang Erniang lowered her eyes, and even the lotus flower ornament newly pasted on her forehead seemed to have lost its earlier vibrancy.

As Shen Shaoguang led Ayuan out of their room, passing through the hall, she happened to overhear the last few sentences.

So Assistant Magistrate Lin was such a devoted person?

The revelation surprised her. In her mind, she'd already categorized him as the calculating, cold-hearted type—but perhaps she'd been wrong. A man carrying a torch for a dead love all these years… that complicated things considerably.

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