Yu Tang recalled the letter the eldest madam had asked Madam Shen to deliver, and remembered Gu Xi’s chance encounter with the eldest madam in the greenhouse… Could it be that Gu Xi’s target from the very beginning had been the Pei family’s principal branch?
In that instant, she even began to doubt her own judgment.
But the Fourth Miss said hesitantly: “That shouldn’t be the case, right? When at home, Sister Gu hardly saw our eldest aunt at all. How could our eldest aunt propose marriage to the Gu family? Wasn’t it said that the Yang family took a liking to Sister Gu? Speaking of which, Sister Gu’s family and ours are considered well-matched in status. Our eldest aunt must be worried that after our eldest cousin completes his mourning period, he won’t be able to find a suitable family, so she’s in such a hurry. Moreover, the people the Yang family and our eldest aunt know are mostly from the capital—so far away. Who knows what their character and appearance are like? And our eldest cousin will be staying in Lin’an for quite a long time. If the other party’s character is flawed, that would truly be troublesome. I actually think this is quite good. At least we know each other well. In the future, we won’t lack people when we hold poetry gatherings!”
After she finished speaking, she was already beaming with joy, even covering her mouth with her handkerchief.
The Second Miss and the others also giggled, but only the Third Miss lowered her eyes, her mouth twitching slightly in a very forced smile.
Yu Tang thought she was feeling unwell somewhere and handed her a damp cloth stored in a box, telling her to wipe her forehead so she could at least feel more comfortable.
The Third Miss accepted the cloth, hesitated for a moment, then said to Yu Tang in a low voice: “Sister Yu, I feel very uneasy in my heart.”
Yu Tang listened to her attentively.
The Third Miss said in a low voice: “I once heard before that someone wanted to arrange a match for our eldest cousin, but our eldest aunt refused outright. Now the Yang family and our eldest aunt are actively proposing marriage to the Gu family. Tell me, could it be that something happened on the Yang family’s side?”
Yu Tang said gloomily: “With this kind of matter, even if one wanted to inquire, it’s not good to ask directly. And the marriage between the eldest young master and Miss Gu has already been made public…” Even if Pei Tong and his maternal cousin truly had feelings for each other, with parental orders in place, those feelings could only be buried in their hearts.
The Third Miss was still young after all, and always felt that happy unions were the true way. She felt rather unhappy no matter what.
Fortunately, Ku’an Temple was in sight. They got off the mule carts, changed to soft sedan chairs, and arrived at Ku’an Temple.
Then Yu Tang saw the Pei family’s Third Steward, Hu Xing.
He was standing at the temple gate talking about something with Ku’an Temple’s abbot.
Seeing the female members of the Pei residence arrive, he scurried over and stopped before Dowager Madam Yi’s sedan chair, saying respectfully: “Our Old Madam cannot come. Fearing that if you needed something, the people running errands by your side wouldn’t know where to find things, she specially sent me over to lend a hand. If you have any matters, feel free to have the maids by your side instruct me. I’ll be following you all day today, at your service.”
Dowager Madam Yi nodded with a smile and said: “Then I’ll trouble Third Steward.”
“Oh my, what are you saying? You honor me too much.” Hu Xing said attentively, serving before and behind as he attended Dowager Madam Yi through the temple gate.
Dowager Madam Yi then pointed at the muddy dirt road in front of the gate and said: “I think, whether or not they sell Buddhist incense aside, this road must be repaired first. Every time we come here it takes so much effort—where else can we not buy Buddhist incense?”
Hu Xing quickly said: “I’ll tell the Third Master as soon as I return.”
The abbot of Ku’an Temple was full of delighted surprise.
Dowager Madam Yi nodded with satisfaction.
Yu Tang and the several young ladies of the Pei family followed behind them, speaking in whispers.
“They say the Yang family people haven’t left yet,” the Third Miss was still holding Yu Tang’s arm. “Great-aunt and Third Uncle surely need to entertain the Yang family people, which is why they couldn’t make it today.”
Yu Tang thought it must be so.
“When I first heard it was the Yang family acting as matchmaker, I immediately exploded.” The Third Miss continued in a low voice. “The Yang family hasn’t even settled their own marriage matters yet, but they’re already pointing fingers and managing our Pei family’s affairs… Fortunately, it turned out not to be the case, otherwise I really wouldn’t know how this matter could be resolved.”
But the Second Miss, who was walking ahead with the Fourth Miss, suddenly turned around and snorted coldly: “What’s so difficult about that? The marriage hasn’t been finalized yet, has it? Just say their eight characters are incompatible.”
Yu Tang chuckled.
The Fifth Miss said: “Second Sister, that’s not right. In the future, you also can’t run back to your natal home at the slightest disagreement—you’ll be looked down upon by your husband’s family. You should summon the Yang family people and properly teach them a lesson so they’ll correct themselves.”
Her childish words, combined with her small face tensed up tightly in a child pretending to be an adult, made even the maids and old servants attending them unable to hold back. They lowered their heads and laughed silently, one by one.
Yet the Fifth Miss still appeared oblivious and said: “What’s wrong with all of you? Isn’t what I said correct? When my maternal aunt was angry with my maternal uncle, my maternal grandmother taught my maternal aunt exactly this way.”
Yu Tang really couldn’t hold back anymore. She took the Fifth Miss’s hand and said: “What you said makes perfect sense. Let’s hurry and follow them. I wonder what Dowager Madam Yi and the abbot have discussed? Can Ku’an Temple make incense? Oh, and Third Miss, you’re in charge of this matter—did you bring all the incense-making materials? Will you or the Second Miss be teaching the people at Ku’an Temple how to make incense later?”
The Third Miss understood the implicit meaning and immediately said: “Second Sister and I will both teach—that way it’ll be faster. The incense-making materials were given to the steward. They should all be brought, right?”
Yu Tang called out to Shuang Tao: “Go ask and see if everything is prepared.”
Shuang Tao responded and left.
Everyone’s topic then shifted to teaching the people at Ku’an Temple how to make incense.
Yu Tang breathed a sigh of relief.
The Third Miss just smiled at Yu Tang.
Yu Tang thought about the scene just now and also laughed.
Ku’an Temple had cleaned out an unused hall to serve as the incense-making place. Everyone who could come from the temple came—nuns on one side, lay Buddhists on the other. The Second Miss taught those nuns to make incense, while the Third Miss taught those lay Buddhists.
Everyone’s aptitude immediately became apparent.
Except for a lay Buddhist surnamed Li, all the others were clumsy. Some were afraid of wasting the incense materials, while others feared they wouldn’t do it well. After teaching for a long time, only that lay Buddhist surnamed Li could keep up throughout.
This was completely different from what everyone had expected.
After the Second and Third Misses had taught for a long time, they too began to feel impatient and frustrated. Dowager Madam Yi and the second madam also frowned directly.
Yu Tang saw this wouldn’t work. But she remembered when she first entered the Li residence in her previous life, the timidity hidden in her bones had made her even clumsier than usual, and she felt rather empathetic. However, she could also understand the Second and Third Misses’ feelings. Both were extremely clever and sharp, and the maids and old servants around them were all shrewd people selected through layers of screening. With just a glance or a word, they could get others to act according to their intentions. Encountering these hesitant and overly cautious people at Ku’an Temple, no wonder they felt impatient and frustrated.
She needed to think of a way to change this situation.
She stared at the hands of several lay Buddhists, and suddenly her heart stirred. As if blessed with inspiration, an idea suddenly came to her.
Yu Tang looked around and saw the woman surnamed Jin who always followed by the second madam’s side. She thought for a moment, quietly walked over, called out “Aunt Jin,” and said: “At this rate, even if we exhaust ourselves here today, there probably won’t be much progress. I do have an idea, but I don’t know if it’s appropriate. Could Aunt Jin please help me decide?”
Since Aunt Jin was the second madam’s confidant, she more or less knew Old Madam Pei’s and the second madam’s evaluation of Yu Tang. She glanced at the second madam who was accompanying Dowager Madam Yi and the abbot in conversation, then smiled warmly: “Why don’t I take you to the second madam? I’m just a servant—Miss Yu honors me by calling me Aunt. Where would I have the insight to judge what’s appropriate or not?”
Yu Tang knew she had again encountered a perceptive person and smiled: “You’ve eaten more salt than we’ve crossed bridges. Let me tell you first. If you think it’s suitable, we’ll go tell the second madam. If you think it’s not suitable, please help me check it over too, so I don’t say something wrong and embarrass myself in front of Dowager Madam Yi.”
Aunt Jin quickly said “I dare not” several times, but pricked up her ears to listen to what Yu Tang had to say.
“I see that the incense-making steps are just those few.” Yu Tang said calmly. “They see the later steps and forget the earlier ones. I think it’s mostly because they’re too nervous. If it were normal times, we could teach slowly, but the Second and Third Misses are about to start their classes and may not be able to come here every day to teach them incense-making. Why not divide the incense-making steps into several parts and have each person learn only a small portion? That way it would be easier to remember.”
Aunt Jin’s eyes lit up. She took Yu Tang’s arm and headed toward the second madam: “That’s a good idea! If Miss Yu mentions it to the second madam, there certainly won’t be anything wrong with it.”
Yu Tang breathed a sigh of relief and repeated it once more before the second madam and Dowager Madam Yi.
Both Dowager Madam Yi and the second madam thought it was good. They called the Second and Third Misses over and explained Yu Tang’s method to them. Both their eyes brightened, and as soon as they turned around, they began arranging people, teaching each person to learn only a small portion.
Dowager Madam Yi smiled at Yu Tang with gratification and said: “You child, I don’t know what you eat and drink normally—how are you more clever than others? You could think up such an idea immediately.”
Yu Tang smiled modestly and said: “It was just a thought that flashed through my mind. I don’t even know if it’s good or not. That’s why I came to find you two elders to help me decide.”
The second madam was also full of praise, saying: “This is very good. If Ku’an Temple can produce Buddhist incense, you’ll deserve the primary credit.”
Yu Tang was modest once more.
The incense-making speed noticeably increased, and soon the first batch of stick incense was produced.
The Third Miss said: “This is called Eight Treasures Incense. It has eight kinds of incense materials added, like the Eight Treasures of Buddhism. Most people will like its scent.”
Aunt Jin tried lighting one stick.
The Buddhist incense had a lingering fragrance, and within it was also a hint of sandalwood scent.
Sandalwood was a very precious incense material.
The abbot of Ku’an Temple couldn’t help but ask: “Was sandalwood added too?”
“No.” The Third Miss smiled somewhat proudly and said: “Otherwise why would we say it’s a formula found in ancient books? It smells very much like sandalwood, doesn’t it? Actually, it’s blended incense. In the future, with this formula, your temple can produce a sandalwood scent.”
Yu Tang listened with her heart skipping a few beats. Combined with her experiences from her previous life, she felt this wasn’t anything good.
She observed the expressions of the people around her.
As expected, some people were listening carefully, and among these careful listeners, all had alert eyes, clean clothing, and nimble hands and feet.
If this incense formula were handed over to Ku’an Temple, it might not be kept secure.