After transmigrating into the book, I helped my mother reconcile with her divorced husband.

“Of course, I’m not stupid,” Liu Ying said. “I read a story called ‘The Story of the Eastern Chamber,’ which tells the tale of a maid who brought together her mistress and a poor scholar. That maid must have a grudge against my mistress. The poor scholar couldn’t even pass the imperial examinations, and his family had nothing. Was she going to let my pampered young lady suffer after marrying him? If I were that Green Maid, I would definitely arrange for my mistress to marry a prince or nobleman.”

Xie Yubai tapped her with his fan, reminding her, "Not all nobles are good matches."

Liu Ying nodded quickly: "This servant knows, we absolutely cannot find another son-in-law like my ex."

The former son-in-law mentioned by Liu Ying refers to Lu Huai.

Liu Ying counted on her fingers: "This future son-in-law not only has to be from a good family and good-looking, but also has to be of good character and good to my young lady. The future in-laws also have to be easy to get along with. If all else fails, we can find a son-in-law who will live with my young lady. Anyway, my young lady can afford to support him."

Lu Zhiyuan nodded: "Yes, if we can afford it, we'll find a son-in-law to live with us, starting now."

Liu Ying wanted to agree, but when she saw Lu Zhiyuan staring at her, she blushed, stamped her foot, and said shyly, "Miss, you are making fun of me."

Lu Zhiyuan bent over, barely suppressing her laughter: "I'm serious. I can't bear to marry you off. My Liuying needs to be matched with the best possible son-in-law."

A few jokes lightened the atmosphere in the room considerably.

Li Meiniang offered Cheng Xiaoan tea, but he refused. Seeing this, Lu Yun poured another cup and offered it to Cheng Xiaoan. He glanced at Lu Yun and performed a Buddhist salute.

Li Meiniang suddenly realized that the moment Cheng Xiaoan took off his clothes and sat down, he had already said goodbye to the Cheng Xiaoan of the past.

Previously, he became a monk because of unresolved inner conflicts and the constraints imposed by that person. Now, however, he willingly severed ties with this mortal world, with her, and with their child. His eyes stung slightly, but no tears flowed. He slowly stepped back, and suddenly, many wrinkles appeared on his well-maintained face.

It's true that you can age in an instant.

Zhang Qi was incredibly intelligent; even while raising the child, he had already foreseen the trouble the child might bring in the future. His guidance and instruction were comprehensive. As the child shed his naivety and his features increasingly resembled Zhang Qi's, he made a decision: to let him leave Huguo Temple and travel to various temples as a monk, and if the opportunity arose, even travel overseas.

The Buddha is not in the temple, but in the heart.

Although the child was not Zhang Qi's bloodline, he was still a member of the Zhang family and inherited some of their traits. He was clever and guessed something from the rumors circulating in the temple. Although he didn't confirm it, he understood why Zhang Qi had asked him to leave the temple. Just as he had hoped, he disappeared into the vast sea of ​​people as a monk.

To thwart the Empress Dowager's and that person's ambitions, Zhang Qi sent away all the monks in the temple who had seen the child. No one knew what Zhang Qi was thinking about that quiet night, gazing at the moonlight outside his window. Was it the hardship of ten years of diligent study, the glory of riding through the streets in a red robe, the exuberance of being a candidate for county magistrate, the arduous journey of being transferred to Tingzhou, or perhaps the domineering presence of a prime minister? No, what he was thinking about was that fleeting, unintentional glance during the parade, a glance that made him fall in love with a woman he shouldn't have, and also made that woman, born into nobility, fall in love with him.

If he had taken the exam three years earlier... no, if he had taken it three years later, he would still have become the top scholar, but he wouldn't have met her. Perhaps they would have had completely different destinies.

Unfortunately, there are no "what ifs" in life.

Cheng Xiaoan was forced into the temple by that person, and the position of abbot was also obtained for him through that person's means. The Empress Dowager's purpose in coming to the temple was the same as Xie Yubai and Lu Zhiyuan had guessed. Paying respects to the late emperor and praying for the people were all pretense; what she truly mourned and missed was Zhang Qi, who had passed away in the temple. What she wanted to find was the child who had left the temple.

Over the years, Cheng Xiaoan, in his capacity as abbot of Huguo Temple, had been secretly searching for the child's whereabouts. Just last month, he found a clue. It was also for this reason that the Empress Dowager arrived at the temple ahead of schedule.

"You gave the clue to that person?" Xie Yubai gripped his folding fan tightly. "Do you know what that means to that child?"

“No, the clue I gave that person was false,” Cheng Xiaoan said. “The real clue is in my mind, and I can tell you about it.”

"No need. Knowing this might not be a good thing for him." Xie Yubai stretched his arms. "The Empress Dowager has passed away. That person has his own place to go. Since he has chosen to be a person free from worldly desires, he should stay in Huguo Temple. As for Madam, you can no longer stay in Xinghua Village. I can give you some silver so that your family can find a new place to live. As for this new place, Madam doesn't need to tell me or the abbot. When fate has run its course, it should be parted. Forcing it will only lead to unfulfilled desires."

Li Meiniang glanced at Cheng Xiaoan and curtsied.

Cheng Xiaoan stood up, turned to Li Meiniang, looked at her obviously aged face, and said, "Amitabha, I hope you take care."

When Cheng Xiaoan left the small courtyard, he was in his capacity as the abbot of Huguo Temple. Occasionally, villagers would see him, but they didn't pay much attention, assuming he had come in the carriage of a nobleman. Li Meiniang, with her son, daughter-in-law, and newborn grandson, left Xinghua Village in another carriage. No one knew where they went, only that they must live in a place where they could see Huguo Temple.

Feelings can be let go, but obsessions and inner conflicts may not be.

The day before the Empress Dowager's imperial carriage left Huguo Temple, Xie Yubai ordered Xie Qi to arrest Eunuch Cheng. After Xie Yubai announced the Empress Dowager's passing, Eunuch Cheng threw himself in front of the imperial carriage, sacrificing himself for the Empress.

Inside the carriage, Princess Ping Le was moved to tears, saying, "This Eunuch Cheng is truly loyal to my grandmother. He was worried that she wouldn't eat or sleep well over there, so he was willing to go and serve her. When I return, I will definitely inform my father and arrange for him to be given a proper burial."

Xiao Yebai stared silently at the small porcelain bottle that Lu Zhiyuan was playing with.

He clearly saw that before Eunuch Cheng committed suicide, the imperial carriage had taken a short rest on the return journey. It was during that rest that Lu Zhiyuan, with Liu Ying in tow, skipped and hopped to Eunuch Cheng, letting him smell her little porcelain bottle. Just as the imperial carriage set off, weeping came from the Empress Dowager's carriage. The imperial physician followed, and soon after, announced the Empress Dowager's death.

Apart from him, everyone else accompanying the emperor, including the princess, seemed to have forgotten that the Empress Dowager had long since died. She wasn't in the carriage, but at the very back, in that disguised coffin.

No, Eunuch Cheng's unusual behavior didn't begin after smelling the porcelain bottle; he had been acting strangely even before leaving Huguo Temple, but because of his status, no one paid attention. However, he remembered the person beside Eunuch Cheng; he was Lord Xie's attendant.

What exactly happened at Huguo Temple? Why did everyone seem to have lost their memory overnight, even A Luo... Just as she was thinking this, she felt a cool sensation on the tip of her nose—it was the small porcelain bottle in Lu Zhiyuan's hand.

He stared at her in astonishment, only to hear her say in a sweet, cloying voice, "It's refreshing, do you want to smell it?"