The carriage curtain suddenly lifted, revealing the young lady’s beautiful face.
Yu Jin and Jiang Zhan couldn’t help but look at the same time.
Yu Jin felt nervous: Would A-Si directly refuse?
Jiang Zhan was also anxious: If Fourth Sister didn’t want Yu Seventh Brother to follow, how could he shake him off without losing face?
“I’m curious about who saved Liu Sheng’s mother,” Jiang Si inquired.
Hearing this, Jiang Zhan nodded vigorously, “Right! I wonder which hero did this good deed? If Liu Sheng’s mother hadn’t pointed with her dying breath, the County Magistrate might not have suspected Xuan Ci.”
Yu Jin stood by, merely smiling.
Jiang Si looked at him.
Their gazes met, each with their thoughts. At that moment, no one paid attention to what Jiang Zhan was saying.
Jiang Si confirmed her guess in the young man’s faint smile and lowered the carriage curtain.
The light gauze curtain, the color of the sky after rain, fluttered in the wind, occasionally revealing glimpses of the carriage interior.
Seeing that his sister didn’t object, Jiang Zhan was happy to play dumb and changed the subject to the abbot of Lingwu Temple: “The abbot of Lingwu Temple seems to be an enlightened monk, just a bit muddle-headed. If he had seen through Xuan Ci’s true nature earlier, two lives wouldn’t have been lost.”
“Muddle-headed?” Yu Jin’s lips curled in a mocking smile. “True enlightened monks are never muddle-headed. Those who are muddle-headed can’t be considered enlightened.”
Jiang Zhan disagreed: “You can’t say that. Everyone has moments of misjudgment. With Xuan Ci causing such trouble, Lingwu Temple is finished. But I saw that the abbot seemed quite accepting of it, even promising to better discipline his disciples—”
“What does Second Brother Jiang think is most important for a rural temple like this?” Yu Jin interrupted.
Jiang Zhan was taken aback but blurted out, “Reputation, of course! With a good reputation, devout men and women from all around will come to offer incense, and the temple will have donation money…”
Although talking about money seemed vulgar, monks needed to eat too.
Yu Jin shook his head: “Indeed, obscure temples need a reputation. For Lingwu Temple now, these things are important, but losing them isn’t as crucial as people think.”
“Why?”
Inside the carriage, Jiang Si listened attentively.
Yu Seventh often had many peculiar ideas; she wondered what he would say to fool Second Brother this time.
“In the past twenty years, Lingwu Temple has accumulated enough wealth and owns large tracts of land. Even if they lose their reputation, these lands are enough to keep the monks well-fed and clothed. The abbot’s attitude towards the County Magistrate was just quitting while he was ahead. The disciple who used underhanded methods to earn vast wealth for Lingwu Temple has been brought to justice. Replacing him with a disciple more to his liking to inherit his legacy—is there anything more perfect than this?”
Jiang Zhan listened with wide eyes and pouted, “Yu Seventh Brother, aren’t you thinking too negatively about people?”
Jiang Si, however, curled her lips slightly.
Some people’s hearts, you never know how dark they can be. On this point, her thoughts aligned with Yu Seventh’s.
Yu Jin didn’t argue, saying mildly, “Indeed, it’s just my personal opinion. Where are you heading next?”
Jiang Zhan turned his head and shouted out the carriage window, “Right, Fourth Sister, you only said you wanted to travel around. Where are we going next?”
Yu Jin nearly fell off his horse.
Could it be done like this?
“Baoquan County in Beihe City,” Jiang Si said with a smile.
“Baoquan County in Beihe City?” Jiang Zhan was shocked, “That’s quite far. I have a friend from there.”
“How far?” Jiang Si was both surprised and delighted, not expecting Jiang Zhan to have heard of this place.
There was no help for it; the image of an ignorant brother was deeply ingrained.
“It must be over a hundred li. At our current speed, it would take two or three days,” Jiang Zhan said, somewhat reluctantly. “Fourth Sister, I think these small cities and counties are all pretty much the same. Why don’t we just look around nearby?”
Jiang Si frowned instinctively, but before she could find an excuse, Jiang Zhan sighed, “Alright, if Fourth Sister wants to go there, let’s go. We’re free anyway.”
“Thank you, Second Brother,” Jiang Si smiled radiantly.
Yu Jin side-eyed Jiang Zhan with disdain.
He changed his mind so quickly. Couldn’t he persist a little longer?
The journey was uneventful, and they were nearing Baoquan County in Beihe City.
A blue-curtained carriage traveled along the official road, unremarkable, but the two young men riding side by side next to it frequently attracted the gazes of passersby.
In fine clothes and on spirited horses, these two handsome young men found it difficult to maintain a low profile even if they wanted to.
Suddenly, A-Man’s surprised exclamation came from inside the carriage.
“What’s wrong?” Yu Jin and Jiang Zhan asked in unison.
The carriage was small, but the interior was comfortably arranged. At this moment, A-Man was tightly covering her mouth, staring wide-eyed at Jiang Si.
Jiang Si held a mirror in one hand and was drawing her eyebrows with the other. After finishing the last stroke, she glared at A-Man with flowing eyes and scolded in a low voice, “What are you making such a fuss about?”
A-Man’s eyes were as big as saucers as she pointed at Jiang Si: “Miss, you, you—”
The carriage wall was knocked on, and Jiang Zhan’s concerned voice came through: “Fourth Sister, are you alright?”
The young lady’s voice was calm: “It’s nothing, just playing around with A-Man.”
Yu Jin tightened his grip on the reins, his thin lips pressed together, staring intently at the carriage window.
He wanted to see what had happened to A-Si, but if he did so, he’d probably be beaten to a pulp.
Inside the carriage, Jiang Si leaned lazily against the wall and smiled at A-Man: “How is it?”
A-Man finally regained her composure and leaned forward, almost touching Jiang Si’s face: “Miss, how did you do that?”
Jiang Si raised her flower-shaped mirror and looked at her reflection.
The girl in the mirror smiled faintly, her eyebrows and eyes like a painting. She had lost some of her breathtaking beauty but gained a touch of the charm and liveliness of a common girl.
The person in the mirror had suddenly changed her face!
A-Man couldn’t help but look down. On the small table beside Jiang Si lay a painting, and the person in the painting bore a seven or eight-tenths resemblance to the girl before her.
“Miss, it’s so magical! How did you do it?” A-Man was extremely curious.
She hadn’t seen the young lady do anything special, just some drawing and sketching, yet how had she changed her face?
“It’s just a trivial skill,” Jiang Si didn’t want to elaborate on the secret technique she had learned from the Wu Miao elder. She lightly tapped the painting, “How similar do you think we look?”
“At least seven or eight-tenths.”
Jiang Si smiled.
Seven or eight-tenths was enough. Now the only question was whether Miss Chi’s merchant father had returned home and if he knew his daughter was missing.
This problem troubling Jiang Si was soon resolved.
As the group arrived in Baoquan County and found a bustling tavern to rest and eat, they overheard someone gossiping enthusiastically: “Have you heard? There’s a Master Chi in Yanzi Town whose daughter has gone missing.”
“Heh, brother, your news is quite up-to-date if you know about affairs in Yanzi Town.”
“My wife’s brother’s wife’s family is from Yanzi Town. My wife heard about it when she visited her family. They say this Master Chi is very wealthy and has already announced that whoever can find Miss Chi will be generously rewarded.”
Hearing this, the idle gossipers became interested: “A generous reward? How much?”
“This much—a full hundred taels of silver!”
“Second Brother, let’s go to Yanzi Town after we finish eating.”
Jiang Zhan looked shocked: “Fourth Sister, do you also want to earn that hundred taels of silver?”