As they spoke, Yun'er pushed open the door and walked in. She curtsied and reported, "Eldest Miss, Miss, Cousin Miss sent someone to ask. She is going to Anshan Temple tomorrow to offer incense, and wonders if you would like to go along and join the liveliness."
Cui Yunchu asked, "Isn't her wedding approaching? Why the sudden trip to offer incense?"
Cui Yunfeng said in a low voice, "Tomorrow is our aunt's death anniversary. Grandmother used to go too, but her health hasn't been as good in recent years."
On such an important day, the Cui family definitely had to send someone to pay their respects together. "We can't let Cousin go alone. Let's accompany her."
Cui Yunchu nodded.
She had no objections; staying in the manor would leave her with nothing to do anyway.
"I heard that His Highness the Crown Prince might also go," Yun'er said.
Cui Yunchu and Cui Yunfeng exchanged a glance.
A future son-in-law paying respects to his deceased mother-in-law was normally nothing unusual. However, the Crown Prince was, after all, the heir to the nation. Let alone paying respects to the dead, even when Grand Tutor Tang saw him, the dynamic of ruler and subject came first.
With the Crown Prince making this trip, everyone in the capital would know how exceptionally highly he regarded the Crown Princess.
And by extension, how highly he regarded the Cui and Tang families.
Cui Yunchu had always deeply admired Tang Qingwan's carrot-and-stick methods.
One moment she could be arguing with the Crown Prince until the heavens and earth turned upside down, and the next, she could have him eating out of the palm of her hand.
After Yun'er finished reporting, she looked a bit hesitant and continued, "Miss, there is one more thing."
Holding a wooden box in her hands, she hesitated to step forward.
"What is it?" Cui Yunfeng asked.
Yun'er then said, "Lord Zhou sent someone over with this." She handed the wooden box over and continued, "He also said that he has a day off tomorrow and would like to invite the two misses for an outing outside the city. The meeting place is also Anshan Temple."
When it came to matchmaking meetings, naturally, the man's side had to take the initiative. Or, the man's female relatives would use various excuses like admiring flowers, hosting banquets, or tasting tea to give the two young people a chance or two to interact.
As for Zhou Yuanmo, he came from a poor background with no one in his family to plan for him. It was said he only had an elderly, widowed mother who was not even in the capital, so he could only rely on himself.
But he was still a man with a sense of propriety, having invited Cui Yunchu to go along as well.
"What a coincidence," Cui Yunchu said.
Cui Yunfeng remained silent, casting her eyes down to look at the wooden hairpin carved with a Chinese rose inside the box.
"Miss, should we accept?" Yun'er asked cautiously.
"Accept it. If we don't, how will I explain it to Father and Grandmother?" Cui Yunfeng closed the wooden box, handed it to Yun'er to put away, and instructed her to give a reply to Zhou Yuanmo's messenger.
Hugging her legs, she curled up on the bed in a daze. "Eldest Sister, do you think that Top Scholar Zhou is quite decent?"
Cui Yunchu was slightly startled.
Cui Yunfeng continued, "The one Father selected shouldn't be a bad person."
Women always harbored fears about their future marriages, especially in Cui Yunfeng's case, which was no different from a blind marriage.
"Grandmother has even prepared the dowry list. It's probably a done deal with no room for reversal."
Cui Yunchu stayed silent for a few breaths before answering Cui Yunfeng's previous question. "Probably. I hear that after getting married, the hardest people to deal with are the mother-in-law and sisters-in-law. Lord Zhou has no siblings, and his mother isn't in the capital, so your days should be quite carefree."
"Really?" A layer of mist covered Cui Yunfeng's eyes.
Cui Yunchu nodded firmly.
"Then tomorrow I will ask Father to find someone similar for you."
Cui Yunchu widened her eyes and immediately shook her head vigorously. "That man is dirt poor. You have a long string of dowries to rely on, but what do I have? Should I hug that box of books and starve to death?"
Cui Yunfeng: "..."
Cui Yunchu went on, "I can't endure hardship; I can only enjoy blessings. So I can only marry a young master from a wealthy, prominent family. They wouldn't care about whether I have a dowry or not. Relying on my face, I should be able to do quite well for myself."
"If I married someone like yours, he would probably be penniless and entirely destitute. We might end up resenting each other, becoming a bitter couple who despise the sight of one another."
The two sisters leaned back together, staring at the pink bed canopy, each lost in silence.
Cui Yunchu asked, "Why do they go to Anshan Temple every year for our aunt's death anniversary?"
Cui Yunfeng replied, "Cousin lit an everlasting lamp for our aunt at the temple. It's said to pray for the deceased, blessing her to have a smooth life in the underworld with plenty of gold and riches."
"Ah? There's such a saying?" Cui Yunchu was somewhat surprised.
"Yes, they also say you can fold the temple's paper into gold ingots and burn them in front of the everlasting lamp, and the deceased will receive them."
Hearing this, Cui Yunchu didn't speak for a long while.
Cui Yunfeng turned her head to look at her, only to hear Cui Yunchu suddenly sit halfway up and ask, "Then if I burn a noble lady's mandate for her, does that count?"
"..."
After a moment, Cui Yunchu lay back down. "Never mind, that's a bit like tricking ghosts."
Cui Yunfeng's mouth twitched.
Cui Yunchu continued, "My own roots are still floating, and my future is uncertain. Even if she lived a good life down there, my heart wouldn't be at ease."
"Say, wouldn't it be great if things between the living world and the underworld could be interchanged? I would definitely make my concubine mother work hard to save up a dowry for me."
"..." Cui Yunfeng remained silent, truly speechless.
The word "dowry" seemed to be a knot in Cui Yunchu's heart, tossed around over and over again.
"Eldest Sister, if you miss her, why not... also light an everlasting lamp for her."
"Can I?" Cui Yunchu's eyes brightened slightly.
Cui Yunfeng hesitated. "Logically speaking, a concubine doesn't have the qualifications. But as long as you bring it up, I suppose Father and Grandmother wouldn't object to your filial piety."
Cui Yunchu furrowed her brows, pondered for a good while, and suddenly asked, "Then why don't you light one for your mother?"
"She passed away early, and I have no impression of her. I don't have the kind of mother-daughter affection that Cousin has for our aunt. Why deceive myself and others, and even lie to the gods and Buddhas?"
Cui Yunchu said, "Then I won't light one either."
"I miss her, but I don't like her. Compared to the dead, I would rather pray for my own peace and smooth sailing."
She had always been a selfish person.
"In all those past years, no one has ever prayed for me. So for the rest of my life, I want to pray for myself."
"Eldest Sister." Cui Yunfeng rested her head on her shoulder. "Tomorrow I will pray for you. First, I'll pray for Eldest Sister's peace and joy. Second, I'll pray that Eldest Sister marries an ideal husband. Third, I'll pray that our Cui and Tang families prosper endlessly."
...
In the end, Cui Yunchu still managed to coax two sets of jewelry and a buyao hairpin away from Cui Yunfeng.
Cui Yunfeng's mouth was full of heartache, but she handed them over very decisively and neatly.
Early the next morning.
Cui Yunchu got up early to wash and dress.
Xing'er happily picked through the jewelry sets requested from Cui Yunfeng and Tang Qingwan, asking Cui Yunchu, "Which set does Miss like?"
Nanny Zhang chimed in from the side, "Miss is beautiful; she looks charming in whatever she wears."
Cui Yunchu cast a faint glance over them and said, "I won't wear any of them. In the solemn grounds of the gods and Buddhas, it's better to be plain and clean."
After all, it was the death anniversary of Tang Qingwan's mother, their legitimate aunt. She still had to take her feelings into consideration.
"Miss has changed," Nanny Zhang suddenly said.
In the past, whenever Cui Yunchu went out, she was always the most dazzling one in the room. She would never think ahead and worry about the emotions of others.
Cui Yunchu tilted her head, looking at the elegant and lively young woman wearing a jade hairpin in the bronze mirror, feeling extremely satisfied.
"By exchanging sincerity, what I receive is far more than this."
A maid came to report that Tang Qingwan had arrived to pick them up and was already waiting in the Pine Crane Garden.
As Cui Yunchu made her way to the garden, she ran into Cui Yunfeng along the covered corridor, who was also heading in the same direction.
Cui Yunfeng took in her moon-white gown, which looked exceptionally understated. With exaggerated surprise, she exclaimed, "I can't believe Big Sister actually has such a plain dress in her wardrobe!"
Cui Yunchu was usually so flamboyant and bold every single day; her attire today truly took Cui Yunfeng by surprise.
With a delicate pinch of her fingers, Cui Yunchu gracefully touched her hair bun. Tilting her chin up, she twirled around in front of Cui Yunfeng, her skirts billowing around her like an ethereal fairy.
"Is there anything your big sister wears that isn't beautiful? It's just that I am far too gorgeous. I was afraid the gods and Buddhas at Anshan Temple might mistake me for a seductive fox spirit and snatch me away, so I had no choice but to keep a low profile."
Cui Yunfeng rolled her eyes, and the two sisters entered the Pine Crane Garden together, laughing and bantering.
