“Headache again?” Xiao Yi bounced back over, bending down to ask.

“Yes.” The instant Mo Zi heard Xiao Yi’s question, the pain in her head vanished.

“You should still find a good physician to examine you. Who knows if that barefoot doctor could actually treat illnesses? He didn’t even write a prescription—just grabbed things at random from the two boxes on his carrying pole.” Xiao Yi glanced back at where Qiu Sanniang was, confirming she couldn’t hear, then continued, “When Miss said she found you the best doctor in town and the consultation fee was very expensive and all that—she was lying to you.”

“I know.” She had been unconscious at the time, but later regained some awareness. But given that her life had been hanging by a thread then, she couldn’t afford to be choosy. Having a barefoot doctor was better than having no doctor at all, and having medicine was better than having no medicine.

“You knew Miss was lying to you?” Xiao Yi’s eyes widened in surprise as she turned them in circles. “Then you… then you…”

“Didn’t run?” Mo Zi braced her hand against her knee and stood up straight. Seeing Xiao Yi nod like a pecking chicken, she couldn’t help but smile bitterly. “Because even if I ran, I’d have nowhere to go.”

As the saying goes, transmigrating as an orphan means being completely in the dark—of course it’s better to latch onto someone wealthy. As mentioned before, Qiu Sanniang was quite capable, and staying with her provided some sense of security. Look—her “immigrant status” was something Qiu Sanniang had paid to arrange for her; otherwise she’d be an illegal resident of Great Zhou.

“True. Like all of us, aside from Miss, you have no family in this world.” In the Qiu Mansion, Xiao Yi followed the others in calling her Miss, but outside she called Qiu Sanniang Miss.

Whenever others discussed their loyalty to Qiu Sanniang, Mo Zi felt guilty inside. Family? She mentally added several question marks, desperately thinking of Qiu Sanniang’s decent qualities. The answer was negative. Grasshoppers tied to the same rope—that was probably more accurate. However, neither Qiu Sanniang nor she herself cared about this answer anyway.

Bai He came over to direct them in moving things. Though there were guards to carry the trunks and cases, they still had to carry the bundles and valuables themselves. After two or three trips, they finally moved all the luggage from the several carriages into the guest courtyard of the hermitage.

On Mo Zi’s final trip carrying luggage back to the Qingxin Courtyard where Sanniang was staying, she heard laughter from inside while standing in the hall below.

“It’s Old Nun Mingyi.” Lu Ju had just finished serving tea and come out, pursing her lips. “Miss gave her a two-hundred-tael banknote—you should have seen it, her face smiled so crooked. And she calls herself a Buddhist nun—she hasn’t seen through the mortal world at all.”

“Buddhist nuns need to eat too. Only with full bellies can they comprehend the principles of Buddhist scriptures. Once they comprehend them, they realize that seeing through the mortal world isn’t as good as entering it. It’s still more reassuring to have gold and silver, such worldly things, on hand.” Mo Zi’s respect for these nuns wasn’t much higher than Lu Ju’s.

You had to understand—in these times, one could become a nun to escape disaster, to avoid being squeezed out, or because one couldn’t survive. Convents were quiet places, but as for the nuns themselves, well, they varied. Anyway, the nuns of Cinian Hermitage couldn’t see through the mortal world, so they had no choice but to enter it for survival. However, Mingyi, who simply liked money, wasn’t complicated. What she wanted was written on her face—she didn’t have so many twists and turns tying her in knots.

Before long, Mingyi emerged from the reception hall with two young nuns, and Qiu Sanniang personally saw them out.

“Third Miss, rest assured. Setting aside your instructions, that distinguished guest from the capital also repeatedly told us not to speak of it. This old nun was still wondering how you knew.” Mingyi was in her fifties, wearing a white nun’s robe, and did indeed possess some otherworldly air.

Qiu Sanniang glanced at Mo Zi and jerked her chin, meaning, you explain.

“My mistress only just found out. When we entered, we caught a distant glimpse of the distinguished guest’s personal maid in the bamboo grove.” Mo Zi’s explanation was clever. “Miss had met her once before and knows this elder is extremely filial. Since she’s staying here specifically to perform rites for departed souls, she naturally prefers tranquility. Miss fears Madam might worry about not having enough people attending to her and send more servants. With many people comes loose talk, which would disturb her. So please, Abbess, just say Miss is observing filial rites and avoiding guests, and that the hermitage has no more lodging available. Anyone sent by the family should be turned away on Miss’s behalf.”

“This old nun understands.” Mingyi glanced at Mo Zi—just an ordinary maid. She then pressed her palms together and said to Qiu Sanniang, “Third Miss need not see me out further. You’ve had a long journey—rest first.”

“After the noon meal, shall Sanniang come find the Abbess for a game of chess?” Qiu Sanniang’s skill at strategy games was excellent.

“Good, good. Benefactor Wei also invited me to set up the stone board in the bamboo grove pavilion, but alas, my chess skills are poor. Third Miss could play a game in my place.” Mingyi suddenly looked left and right, hesitating to speak.

“Abbess, no need to hesitate. These maids are very loyal.” Qiu Sanniang was good at reading expressions.

“That distinguished guest seems interested in selecting daughters from good families as potential daughters-in-law, and has asked me about young ladies from prominent households in Luo City. I recommended Third Miss first. Since Third Miss has now arrived at this small hermitage, this must be Guanyin Bodhisattva’s intention to arrange a marriage match. Shall this old nun act as go-between for you two?”

Qiu Sanniang’s face showed a bashful expression, but this time she looked at Mo Zi, because only Mo Zi understood the meaning in her eyes.

“If Guanyin Bodhisattva truly manifests her power to find a good marriage match for my mistress, that would be cause for great celebration. The Abbess’s kindness in acting as matchmaker will certainly be repaid with sincere gratitude.” Mo Zi thought being this spokesperson had its drawbacks. Say too little and the matter would be mishandled. Say too much and they’d renege on the debt.

But Mingyi heard this with great satisfaction, agreed on a time, and left smiling.

“Mo Zi, this sincere gratitude you mentioned—roughly how much silver is that?” After taking two steps toward the bedchamber, Qiu Sanniang turned back to ask.

“How much in incense money does Miss donate annually?” Mo Zi thought, as expected, and countered with her own question.

“Two to three hundred taels.” Considering the price where a bowl of plain noodles cost three copper coins, where a farming household’s annual expenses were ten taels of silver, where a scholar traveling to the capital to take the imperial examination needed twenty to thirty taels for travel and lodging—for a group of vegetarian nuns who didn’t need to pay rent, this was a very substantial contribution.

“Miss just gave two hundred taels. Giving another two hundred should demonstrate sufficient sincerity.” This so-called matchmaking was just arranging for Qiu Sanniang to coincidentally encounter Madam Wei in a naturally staged scene. Put plainly, playing the shill.

“Four hundred taels is inauspicious.” Qiu Sanniang was dissatisfied. “Round it to five—give another three hundred taels.”

“They certainly won’t complain about too much.” Mo Zi was indifferent—Qiu Sanniang was wealthy anyway.

“Mo Zi, since these were your words, you shall provide these three hundred taels of sincerity.” Qiu Sanniang’s statement was quite stimulating. Her next statement was enough to make one spit blood from internal injury. “I have no silver.”

Mo Zi blinked, thinking that once they left home, this mistress’s merchant nature came rushing at her like a fierce tide.

“Miss, where would Mo Zi get three hundred taels of silver?” Bai He, who was responsible for distributing monthly wages, also blinked innocently and kindly.

“Mo Zi, you’ve been saving for half a year—how much money do you have now?” Qiu Sanniang showed some concern.

“Eight taels and three qian.” She was advancing toward the round number of ten taels.

“At sixteen taels a year, how many years would you need to save three hundred taels?” Qiu Sanniang tested her arithmetic again.

“Eighteen years and nine months.” Mo Zi immediately reported the time frame.

Qiu Sanniang was actually stunned. “I didn’t expect you’re good with the abacus and quite fast at mental calculation too. You now have two choices. First, I lend it to you, and you’ll have no savings for the next nineteen years. Second, find a way to earn three hundred taels before I marry.”

“Miss, we’ll talk about it when you’re able to marry.” Mo Zi’s words rarely contained resentment.

How outrageous! She had schemed exhaustively for Qiu Sanniang’s marriage prospects, and in the end, she got no benefits and gained three hundred taels of debt instead. When this mistress became difficult to serve, she truly wanted to become an illegal resident!