After being reborn, her aloof ex-husband and her crazy deceased husband got into a fight.

Gan Cai'er's newly purchased Lan Mansion is not only close to Qianmen Street, but also very close to the Wei family's courtyard where Zhu Xiaoxiao rents. It's just two intersections to the left after walking out the door, less than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn.

After Gan Cai'er moved in, Zhu Xiaoxiao would visit the Lan residence every few days.

That day, Gan Cai'er had just finished breakfast when Zhu Xiaoxiao arrived with Huan'er.

"Why did you come so early today? Have you had breakfast yet?" Gan Cai'er asked while washing her hands.

Zhu Xiaoxiao pointed to the sun high in the sky and sneered, "Miss, the sun is already high in the sky! Are you still calling me early?"

Xiao Hong covered her mouth and laughed. Her young lady was most likely to stay in bed in winter. She wouldn't get up unless the sun was shining brightly.

"Heh, did you come here today to pick a fight?" Gan Cai'er glanced at her sideways and continued to calmly rinse her mouth.

“I don’t have time to cause trouble! I’m here today to deliver an invitation to a banquet.” Zhu Xiaoxiao said, handing over an invitation.

"What, are you going on another blind date?" Gan Cai'er asked, quite surprised.

She curiously accepted the invitation.

Since Zhu Xiaoxiao's last blind date, Wei Shi'an had packed up all his art supplies and personally handed them to her, expressing his determination to study. Afterwards, the two reconciled and became very affectionate.

It hasn't been long, and they've already broken up again?

"Tch, can't you wish me anything good?" Zhu Xiaoxiao rolled her eyes at her, annoyed.

"Laba Festival is coming soon, this is an invitation to Foguang Temple to drink Laba porridge!"

Gan Cai'er opened the invitation and took a closer look; it turned out to be an invitation from the Wei family.

The Wei family mansion in Kyoto is inhabited by Wei Mingjing, the current head of the Wei family and Wei Shi'an's uncle.

In his youth, Wei Buzhen loved to travel and spent little time at home. As the eldest brother, Wei Mingjing took on the heavy responsibility of caring for the family and raising his younger brothers, especially Wei Shi'an's father, Wei Mingcheng, whom he practically raised single-handedly.

Wei Mingcheng was a child prodigy, but he was unlucky. During an outing with his wife, they were attacked by bandits and both of them died, leaving behind Wei Shi'an, who was less than a year old.

Therefore, Wei Mingjing took over the responsibility of raising Wei Shi'an.

However, Wei Buzhen suddenly lost her son, who was also her most talented youngest son, in middle age. This caused her to change her mindset drastically. She stopped going out and stayed in her ancestral home in Danzhou, living in seclusion.

Because he missed his youngest son so much, Wei Mingjing sent Wei Shi'an to live with him. So Wei Shi'an usually spent half the year in Danzhou and half the year in the capital, and Wei Mingjing and his wife treated him no differently than his own parents.

"Oh, so you successfully met the parents? Congratulations!" Gan Cai'er waved the invitation card and smiled.

It's important to understand that she has absolutely no connection with the Wei family, so the fact that they went to the trouble of sending her an invitation clearly shows the Wei family's respect for Zhu Xiaoxiao. After all, she is Zhu Xiaoxiao's only friend in Kyoto.

"So are you going or not?!" Zhu Xiaoxiao glared at her, embarrassed and annoyed, her face flushed slightly.

"Go, go, go, of course I'll go! I have to support you in front of everyone!" Gan Cai'er put her arm around her shoulder and smiled affectionately.

It is a great joy for Zhu Xiaoxiao to gain the approval of the Wei family patriarch and his wife, which means that her marriage with Wei Shi'an has a bright future ahead.

"How about we invite Mei Wanqing along too?" Gan Cai'er had a sudden thought.

"Do you think Madam Mei will let her out?" Zhu Xiaoxiao scoffed, her face showing disdain.

"Besides, if Madam Mei finds out that someone invited her out, who knows what kind of trouble she'll cause her at home."

After a moment's thought, Gan Cai'er said, "How about we invite all the members of the Mei family?"

Zhu Xiaoxiao looked at her like she was an idiot: "A-Cai, how influential is the Wei family that they can get the Mei family to come?"

Gan Cai'er gave her a disdainful look: "You don't understand. The Third Master of the Wei family is a master calligrapher. Which woman in the capital wouldn't want to ask him for a self-portrait? The invitations issued by the Wei family have a lot of influence."

"Really?" Zhu Xiaoxiao tilted her head, looking doubtful.

"Ha, you're supposed to be the future wife of the Wei family, and you don't even know this?" Gan Cai'er laughed loudly without any mercy.

Enraged, Zhu Xiaoxiao lunged at Gan Cai'er, ready to tear her mouth apart. Gan Cai'er laughed and ran away, with Zhu Xiaoxiao chasing after her, lifting her skirt.

The two ran a full lap around the garden before collapsing, panting, one on each side, under the covered walkway.

“I said, just go ahead and send out the invitations. Whether or not you go in the end is something Madam Mei has to consider,” Gan Cai’er said, panting. “What if she does go? Wouldn’t that give Mei Wanqing another chance to go out?”

"Alright, I'll tell Mrs. Wei later and ask her to write a few more invitations." Zhu Xiaoxiao finally nodded.

Foguang Temple, located on Mount Zhong in the eastern suburbs of Kyoto, is an ancient temple with a history of over a thousand years. It is said to have existed even before Kyoto was founded. Foguang Temple is extremely popular, with a constant stream of people coming to burn incense and worship Buddha throughout the year.

On Laba Festival, Foguang Temple traditionally opens its gates wide to distribute porridge. Therefore, every year on this day, the area around the temple becomes incredibly lively, comparable to the Lantern Festival. Vendors and merchants from all over gather, spontaneously setting up a temple fair at the foot of the mountain.

Foguang Temple is very large, occupying almost the entire mountainside of Zhongshan. It is divided into the front temple and the rear temple by the Mahavira Hall.

The bustling atmosphere and flourishing incense of the front temple make it a place of prayer for all beings under heaven, while the tranquility and seclusion of the rear temple are a secluded paradise reserved for the Kyoto elites.

Whether it's the front temple or the back temple, the Laba porridge provided by Foguang Temple is the same. The only difference is that the back temple is quieter, away from the hustle and bustle, where one can enjoy a tranquility belonging to Buddhism, as well as more private connections between different circles.

Gatherings held in temples are usually less strictly separated between men and women, providing many unmarried men and women with a rare opportunity to meet privately.

In addition to the Buddha Hall, Sutra Hall and monks' residences, the rear temple of Fo Guang Temple also has a large area of ​​meditation rooms, about eight or nine exquisite courtyards, which are exclusively for the use of distinguished guests visiting the temple.

These courtyards are quite different from each other.

The meditation rooms at Foguang Temple are divided into three levels. The closer to the pagoda and the scripture repository, the more prestigious they are, and these are generally reserved for royalty, nobles, or people with great merit. The closer to the front temple, the lower the level, and ordinary officials can book them in advance.

Although Wei Mingjing held a low-ranking official position, serving only as a sixth-rank Hanlin Painting Academy Attendant, he also concurrently served as the head of the Inner Court Painting Academy, overseeing painting within the palace. Furthermore, he was one of the representative figures of the Southern School of painting and calligraphy in contemporary times, thus enjoying extremely high prestige.

Therefore, the Laba porridge that Madam Wei invited this time was prepared by booking four meditation rooms on the second floor of Guang Temple, which can be described as quite prestigious and generous.

Once December arrives, Kyoto enters the depths of winter, and snowflakes begin to fall from time to time. On the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, the sky was overcast and the sun was nowhere to be seen. Fine snowflakes fell from the sky, covering the Zen temple with a light layer of white in just one morning.

"Are you that afraid of the cold?" Zhu Xiaoxiao clicked her tongue in amazement.

She looked up at the sky; it was just a tiny bit of snow.

Gan Cai'er wore a fox fur cloak over a thick embroidered jacket. Judging from the stand-up collar that reached her chin, she was wearing at least one thin jacket underneath. She was wearing so many layers that even a bear probably wouldn't be as well dressed as she was.

Gan Cai'er pulled her fur cloak tighter, burying half her face in it, and muttered, "Xiaoxue is also snow, but it's so cold."

She couldn't tell Zhu Xiaoxiao that in her past life she was buried in the snow, and the bone-chilling cold made her feel cold even after being reborn, as soon as she saw snow.

"Miss, Miss, I've found out!" Just then, Xiao Hong came running over, panting.

"The Mei family did not attend the appointment, but they sent some gifts to express their apologies to Madam Wei."

"However, I heard that Madam Mei also came; she booked the two meditation rooms at the back. Just now, a maid came to invite Madam Wei over for a chat."

Gan Cai'er and Zhu Xiaoxiao couldn't help but exchange a glance.