She mistakenly got into the bridal sedan chair and married a sickly but powerful minister, becoming

Qiu Chan did not disappoint her. When she gave Qiu Chan the cloak as a reward, Qiu Chan said that she was not worthy of the pink color she was given, thus making her attitude clear.

Pink was the color worn by concubines upon entering the household.

Qiu Chan was unwilling to become Zhao Yi's concubine.

After learning of Qiu Chan's feelings, she confirmed that her guess was correct: Qiu Chan's target was not Zhao Yi.

Qiu Chan entered the Duke's mansion as part of Shen Mingzhu's dowry, and it was obvious that Qiu Chan's target was Zhao Jue.

Afterwards, she deliberately instructed Liuyue to go to the back mountain to find Zhao Jue, which was a deliberate attempt to lure Qiu Chan and see if she would take the opportunity to confess Shen Mingzhu's conspiracy.

Sure enough, Qiu Chan handed her a note.

The note was sent by Shen Mingzhu to Qiu Chan when she was at the Duke's mansion. Shen Mingzhu asked Wan Dong to deliver the message to Qiu Chan, instructing her to find a way to get into Zhao Yi's bed and become his concubine.

Then, Qiu Chan revealed a medicine packet and pointed to a note, saying that Shen Mingzhu had asked her to give the medicine to Zhao Yi.

Shen Qingtan laughed in anger. Zhao Yi was frail; even a severe cold could be fatal to him. To make her miserable, someone had maliciously drugged him.

If Zhao Yi had taken this medicine, he would probably have lost his life.

Since Shen Mingzhu loves to seduce other men, she'll let Shen Mingzhu experience that feeling too.

Shen Qingtan then agreed to Qiu Chan's request and told her to go find Zhao Jue.

She had originally arranged to meet Zhao Jue at the back of the mountain, just so that someone would beat him up to vent her anger.

Shen Mingzhu got what she wanted.

The master and servant arrived at the foot of the mountain.

The foot of the mountain was crowded with people, including the old lady, the second lady, the abbot, the guest master, and others.

Zhao Jue was utterly humiliated. With a taut face, he apologized to the abbot: "Today, I broke the precepts and rules in this sacred Buddhist place and offended the Buddha. I am willing to make a golden statue of the Buddha to atone for my sins."

The abbot chanted a Buddhist prayer, "It is getting late. Please, esteemed benefactors, depart as soon as possible tomorrow."

Not rushing down the mountain tonight is already an act of compassion.

"Abbot, please have mercy." Zhao Jue clasped his hands together and bowed, his attitude quite sincere.

The abbot left with the monks.

The second wife rushed to Zhao Jue and grabbed his hand: "You've only been married a few days! How could you be so foolish as to be bewitched by a lowly maid and do such a filthy thing in this sacred Buddhist place?"

When she first heard that Zhao Yi was missing, and then heard that someone was having an affair in the mountains, she immediately assumed that Zhao Yi had committed some scandal. Suddenly, she felt no hunger and rushed over to see what was going on.

To their surprise, as soon as they reached the foot of the mountain, they saw a group of people coming down from the mountain, discussing Zhao Jue's affair.

This was a devastating blow to the second wife, leaving her feeling dizzy and disoriented. In her daze, she seemed to see the Black and White Impermanence coming to claim her life with hooks.

"You wretched child, I owed you a debt in my past life, and you've come to collect it in this one!" The second madam slapped Zhao Jue's arm several times. "How can your father and I put our faces after you've done such a disgraceful thing?"

Zhao Jue's temple veins throbbed, and he said impatiently, "If you don't know where to put your face, then just be shameless."

The second wife was so angry at his words that her chest ached, and she kept muttering, "What a misfortune for our family."

Zhao Jue clenched his teeth, ready to leave, but then he saw the old lady with a serious expression beside him and called out with lowered eyebrows, "Grandmother."

The old lady was utterly disappointed in him and didn't want to say anything more: "Go kneel before Buddha for one night, and when you return to the mansion tomorrow, go to your grandfather to receive your punishment."

Zhao Jue's heart skipped a beat, and he said in a deep voice, "Grandson understands."

After saying that, he left without looking back.

The old lady was exhausted and gestured to Wei Mama to help her back to her room to rest.

The second wife pushed the maid aside and chased after the old lady.

Seeing that everyone had dispersed, Shen Qingtan then led Liuyue back to their quarters.

Liu Yue felt like she had forgotten something, until she returned to her quarters. Suddenly, she remembered and, pushing open the wooden door, asked, "Huh, we're going to find Second Master? He's not in the mountains, so where did he go...?"

The words stopped abruptly, and Liu Yue stared wide-eyed at Zhao Yi, who was sitting cross-legged on the futon.

She stammered, "Second...Second Master...you're back."

Shen Qingtan, standing behind Liu Yue, had not yet seen Zhao Yi's figure, but first smelled a delicate fragrance.

She couldn't help but sniff; it was the fragrance of plum blossoms mixed with the sweet scent of rice.

As soon as Shen Qingtan entered the room, her eyes fell on the two porcelain bowls on the table.

She got up early today, but didn't have a good appetite and ate very little.

I ate vegetarian food at noon and didn't eat anything last night. Now it's almost the end of Hai hour (9-11 PM), and I'm feeling a bit hungry.

Seeing that her attention was completely drawn to the food, Zhao Yi said gently, "You came looking for me, but while you were looking, you encountered some other interesting things and forgot that you were looking for me?"

Hearing his teasing remark, Shen Qingtan felt inexplicably hot-faced, as if she had done something wrong.

She looked away from the food and gazed into his calm, smiling eyes, explaining softly, "I know Second Master is in the dining hall."

"is it?"

"..."

Shen Qingtan's eyes flickered for a moment before she changed the subject: "Has Second Master not had dinner yet?"

Even if he wanted to eat, why didn't he go to his own quarters?

As Shen Qingtan smelled the aroma wafting through her nostrils, she felt even hungrier, and for a moment, her gaze toward Zhao Yi carried a hint of resentment.

Zhao Yi noticed that her expression changed several times in an instant, and wondered what she was thinking about him.

"I've already eaten." Zhao Yi pushed a bowl of porridge and a dish of vegetables in front of her. "Qiu Chan said you haven't had dinner yet. I went to the dining hall and found only this simple food. Please make do with this."

Shen Qingtan was stunned. Was Qiu Chan using this excuse to get rid of him?

She pursed her red lips: "I'm praying for blessings, I won't eat tonight."

Zhao Yi didn't urge her to eat, but instead stirred the rice porridge with a porcelain spoon: "This porridge is cooked with snow water and white rice, and a handful of plum blossoms from outside the mountain gate are added. The plum blossoms are petals collected by the monks and specially washed clean with snow ice water."

Shen Qingtan's eyes were uncontrollably fixed on the rough porcelain bowl. As he stirred the plum blossom porridge, the grains of rice became crystal clear, the soup thick and sticky, and the sweet aroma was irresistible, making it especially appetizing.

She swallowed hard, forcibly glancing away from the scroll of scriptures beside her, resisting Zhao Yi's temptation.

“This dish is made with thorn, also known as forget-me-not. The fresh shoots are blanched in hot water, then seasoned with a few drops of soy sauce and vinegar. It has a tender texture and a unique flavor.” Zhao Yi pushed the plate towards her again: “It’s called forget-me-not pickled vegetables, which can make people forget their worries.”

Shen Qingtan pressed her fair fingers on the scriptures, lowered her long, thick eyelashes, and said in a flat tone, "What worries do I have to forget?"

“You ate this bowl of porridge while praying for blessings, and then you felt sorrowful.” Zhao Yi handed her a porcelain spoon: “Eat the Forget-Worry Porridge next, and you will forget your sorrow.”

Shen Qingtan: "..."

Seeing that his master was having too much trouble coaxing his wife to eat, Jiang Mu pressed his head against the window and said, "Second Madam, this was made for you personally by Second Master."