All demonic evils stir up wind and waves, wreaking havoc on the order of the mortal world, inverting yin and yang. To eliminate such evil and suppress such malevolence would naturally be a deed of great merit.

Jiangche understood that accumulating merit was a good thing, but still could not resist throwing cold water on the idea. “If it turns out to be a formidable one, with the condition of that body of yours, who knows whether you could even defeat it — you’d best be cautious, and not end up becoming the creature’s supplementary nourishment.”

Her cultivation, however impressive, was still that of a soul that was not whole. To advance to the highest levels of cultivation, there would always be limitations. One slip, and she would find herself lost — and that would be the end of everything.

“When a demonic evil emerges into the world, and a formidable one at that, the Xuan Clans surely won’t stand by and ignore it, will they?” Lang Jiuchuan narrowed her eyes, calculating. “If I can’t defeat it, wouldn’t it be fine to follow along behind them and pick at the scraps?”

Jiangche thought to itself: you’d merely be content to pick at scraps? I think you’d be more likely to steal the kill — wait for the others to have beaten it half to death, then step in and deliver the finishing blow yourself, and scoop up the lion’s share of the merit?

Well… the more it thought about it, the more underhanded that sounded.

Still, it figured that a little underhanded cunning was perfectly fine. What mattered most was the merit!

Staying alive was the one true principle.

The carriage from Marquis Kaiping’s estate came to a stop at the mountain gate of Huguo Temple, where a welcoming monk was already standing in attendance. Lang Jiuchuan glanced back at the last cart in the procession — Zhuang Quanhai and his companions in their donkey cart — and said to Jian Lan, “Have someone take them somewhere to get settled first. Once we have arranged ourselves, tell them to come find me.”

Jian Lan dipped into a curtsy and went to make the arrangements. Before long, servants from the household had led Zhuang Quanhai and his party away to get situated.

Lang Jiuchuan came to stand beside Cui Shi. Cui Shi asked, “And those people were?”

“The manager of my shop.”

Cui Shi’s eyes went wide. A shop — what shop?

Lang Jiuchuan added, “The Old Madam gave me a shop. It will open for business after the Lantern Festival.”

Hearing that it was something the old matriarch had given, Cui Shi wasn’t particularly surprised. The old lady was the person in the entire household who cared most for Lang Jiuchuan. Why else would she have ignored everyone’s objections when Lang Jiuchuan was small and insisted on moving with her to the country estate? Had she not later developed the confused and forgetting illness, she would probably have gone on living there with Lang Jiuchuan indefinitely.

Cui Shi lowered her gaze and asked casually, “What do you intend to sell? I have a few dowry shops and estates as well, and some experienced managers and stewards — do you need any?”

Lang Jiuchuan glanced at her and said evenly, “What my shop sells is something no one else can manage.”

Cui Shi looked over again but asked nothing further, following the welcoming monk toward the meditation courtyard they had reserved in advance.

They had gone only a short distance, however, when something seemed off.

Cui Shi’s brow furrowed. She looked toward Nanny Cheng at her side. The woman also looked uncertain and stepped forward a few paces to speak with the welcoming monk.

“We from the Marquis Kaiping’s estate have reserved the Quiet Meditation Courtyard every year. This direction we’re heading in — it doesn’t seem to lead there, does it?”

The welcoming monk pressed his palms together, intoned a brief Buddhist invocation, and replied, “The Quiet Meditation Courtyard has been reserved by another guest this year, so the courtyard we have set aside for your household is the Mirror of Compassion Courtyard.”

Nanny Cheng’s expression shifted. “Our household made this reservation two full months in advance — how can it simply be changed just like that? Furthermore, for over ten years, the Marquis Kaiping’s estate has always stayed in the Quiet Meditation Courtyard. Even if a change were needed, someone should have come to discuss it with us beforehand. And yet you tell us the courtyard has been changed only after we have already arrived at the temple?”

Cui Shi’s expression was deeply displeased. She detested exactly this kind of change sprung upon her without warning. Rules were not meant to be treated this way.

The Quiet Meditation Courtyard was in an excellent location — a self-contained enclosure, positioned near the center of the temple complex, quiet and refined in atmosphere, supremely suited to clearing the mind and engaging in meditation.

The Mirror of Compassion Courtyard, by contrast, was not a self-contained enclosure. The courtyard was quite large, but its location was toward the outer fringe of the meditation area, close to the flagstone path that led up to the rear mountain. It was not only noisier and more exposed, but also less safe — and worse still, it was shared with other guests, which made for all manner of inconvenience.

These other guests, of course, would not be common people. Common folk could not afford such courtyard lodgings, nor could they supply the donations of lamp oil required. Anyone who could stay there would necessarily be among the capital’s nobility and official families, most likely of the lower-ranking variety. But regardless of their station — it was a shared courtyard.

Cui Shi had spent many years in widowhood, living quietly and avoiding society. Things remained the same now. She had no desire to interact with anyone, and she certainly did not wish to share a courtyard with some other household.

She had not anticipated that the courtyard she had been the sole occupant of for at least ten consecutive years could be taken away just like that.

Was it because the late Marquis was gone and the imperial decree confirming the heir to the Kaiping title had been delayed, leaving others free to look down upon the Lang Family? Or was someone deliberately making trouble for her?

The middle-aged welcoming monk said, “The truth is, the situation at the temple has been rather inconvenient this year…”

“The Marquis Kaiping’s estate donates a considerable sum in lamp oil money each year. And all we receive in return is the word ‘inconvenient’?” Cui Shi’s gaze was cool and level. “Had the temple sent someone to our estate in advance to inform us, we would certainly have made other arrangements. But now that we have arrived and only then are told there is an inconvenience, this is entirely unconvincing.”

The welcoming monk stretched his lips into a strained attempt at a smile and offered a few words of appeasement, but the impatience beneath them was difficult to conceal.

“In any other year, the Mirror of Compassion Courtyard would be acceptable to me. But this year it will not do. The courtyard is near the outer grounds and it is noisy. I have a cherished young guest who has come with me to offer incense. If some wandering pilgrim were to stumble in and give her a fright, how would we account for that?” Cui Shi stood her ground without yielding an inch. “I will cede the Quiet Meditation Courtyard, but you must arrange for us to have one of the courtyards in the inner area.”

At these words, the welcoming monk’s gaze drifted to Lang Jiuchuan. Although she was wrapped in a thick heavy cloak, that face of hers was small and narrow — no bigger than a palm — with a pallor that was none too healthy, giving her an air of fragility as though she might be swept away by the wind. He couldn’t help but furrow his brow.

Lang Jiuchuan had heard Cui Shi’s words. Her brow gave a slight twitch. She stepped forward and looked at the welcoming monk directly. “Who took that courtyard?”

The monk met her gaze. He had not taken her seriously at first, but her eyes were dark as ink, and the look within them was unsettling, even intimidating. He answered without thinking, “It was the Third Young Mistress of the Zhongyong Marquis household, along with several close companions.”

The Zhongyong Marquis household — that was the family of Noble Consort Qi. Cui Shi’s brow creased. In previous years she had never heard of anyone from the Zhongyong Marquis household coming to Huguo Temple on the first day of the new year, let alone intending to stay there. And yet they had taken the Quiet Meditation Courtyard right out from under them.

Lang Jiuchuan, reminded by Jiangche, quickly connected the dots — the Zhongyong Marquis household was the family of the Noble Consort who had secured the title of County Princess for Qi Xinyu. So it was the maternal family of that Noble Consort.

The enemy of my enemy is my friend — which, by the inverse logic, made the friend of her enemy her own enemy. With that in mind, had the other party wanted that courtyard on a mere whim, or was this a deliberate act of provocation?

“The temple is not short of meditation courtyards, I am sure — why specifically this one? Is there some particular significance to it?”

The question was delivered with cold detachment, and yet somehow the welcoming monk felt a bead of cold sweat break out on his forehead. He forced a smile and replied, “It was at the instruction of Fourth Miss Qi of the Zhongyong household. She specifically requested that courtyard. She also brought a written directive from the Noble Consort herself.”

Well — so it truly was deliberate. Could it be that word had gotten back to them about the curse she had placed on Qi Xinyu, and knowing that Cui Shi came here to pray each year, they were retaliating?

This trouble was something she had brought upon herself. What a sin!

“What are you all standing there blocking the path for? Are you going to let people through or not?” A voice full of arrogance and displeasure rang out from their left and behind them.

Lang Jiuchuan turned. She took in the air of spoiled haughtiness emanating from the group approaching, and the character for “Qi” embroidered in gold and silver thread on the uniform of one of the guards. Her eyes narrowed slightly.

The Qi household.

Wishing all women health and happiness, abundant in vitality and energy!