The cousin's family is extremely wealthy; she deserves to be a concubine.

"How could the Shen family be so unseemly?" Hua Sirong frowned deeply; she truly didn't know these things before.

Her father treated her like a caged bird, only talking to her about the outside world when he had free time.

He was only focused on finding a husband for his only daughter, and then personally teaching his grandson to inherit the family business. He wasn't afraid that the son-in-law would cause trouble.

Unfortunately, man proposes, God disposes, and all the loving father's heart was wasted.

"When Father passed away, did the Shen family send anyone to pay their respects?" As the only female head of the household, she had just received the news of her father's death, which was like a bolt from the blue.

During that time, she felt like the sky had fallen, and she lived in a daze. She really didn't remember who came to visit during that period.

After the funeral, a bunch of people came to the house again, either wanting to marry her off or to give her a brother of similar age so that they could rightfully seize the family property of the eldest son's family.

She was too busy strategizing and fighting to even have time to grieve for her father.

"After receiving the news, the young lady's maternal family, the Shen family, sent a steward to offer condolences. Accompanying him was a madam from an outer courtyard of the Marquis's residence."

It was said that the Empress Dowager was unwell, and all the women of any power in the capital had to go to the palace to attend to her and pray for her well-being, leaving the ladies-in-waiting busy.

In fact, apart from those close to the imperial family, these women could not get close to the Empress Dowager unless they were specially summoned.

Even so, whenever there was an imperial decree, they had to go to the palace before dawn and wait there, only returning when the palace gates were locked.

The consequences of a single event are far-reaching; the entire capital was in a state of high tension and exhaustion during that period. The deaths of a merchant's son-in-law and sister's husband were insignificant in their eyes.

Sending a capable steward would be excellent, and would be worthy of the silver the Hua family has paid to the two mansions over the past ten years.

"Whether it's the Marquis's mansion or the Shen family, they must have quite a few illegitimate sons, yet they don't seem to send a single master to attend." It's truly a case of "out of sight, out of mind."

"I remember there was an expenditure of three thousand taels in the funeral expenses account book, which was recorded as being given to the stewards of the two prefectures as travel expenses?"

"After all, they represent the Marquis's Mansion and the Shen family, both of whom are figures that our Hua family cannot afford to offend, and whom the clan must also respect."

However, none of them had any genuine feelings for the girl. Whether it was the two families or the clan, they all wanted to take advantage of this orphaned girl.

"Alas, your maternal aunt passed away early, so she couldn't give you a maternal uncle. Otherwise, you would have someone to support you now." Actually, if you want to seek refuge, it would be better to go to your maternal grandparents' house than to your aunt's house.

But she came from the Shen family, so naturally she didn't have a good impression of them. On the other hand, the Lady of the Marquis was well-known for her beauty, and when the master was still alive, she seemed to have more contact with the Marquis's mansion.

"Let's go stay at Baiyun Temple first. I've calculated the dates, and in a few days it will be my father's 100th day memorial, so we'll hold it there as well. As for what happens after that, we'll talk about it later."

I believe there's always a way out, and even if things go wrong, I still have the money my father left me, enough to support the three of us." As for the hardships women face in life, there's no need to say such discouraging things.

Hua Sirong and Wang's mother had something on their minds, so they ate very little. Chunyan finished off all the leftover food and rice, which was a fitting reward for her incredible strength.

The next day, it was still dark.

When Wang's mother heard her daughter talking nonsense in her sleep, she realized that her daughter was really sick.

Wang's mother felt her heart was in constant torment. She wiped away her worthless tears, found the waiter, gave him some money, and asked him to invite the best doctor in town to take a look. She also sent Chunyan to the kitchen to bring hot water to wipe the girl's face.

"Excessive thinking and grief can lead to deficiency of qi and blood. I will prescribe a formula to replenish qi and strengthen the spleen for you to drink first. You should also pay attention to your diet. Most importantly, the patient should relieve his or her emotions."

After listening to the old doctor's words, Wang's mother asked many questions about diet.

During this period, we traveled with caravans, often enduring wind and rain, and were lucky to have a hot meal. It was simply impossible to eat and live like when the master was still alive.

Chunyan followed the doctor to the clinic to get medicine for several days, and then went to the kitchen to brew it and bring it to Hua Sirong to take.

Hua Sirong was still unconscious, and feeding her medicine was a delicate task. Wang Mama and Chunyan struggled for a long time, but they only managed to get her to swallow half a bowl. They figured they could only try feeding her more often to increase the quantity.

The next day at noon, Hua Sirong slowly woke up and, with the help of Wang Mama and Chunyan, drank half a bowl of porridge, finally regaining some strength.

Seeing her daughter become more lively, Wang's mother finally felt relieved. "My daughter, I was so worried about you. If anything happened to you, how could I live?"

When we first arrived in Huaqiao Town, she only coughed a few times; I never imagined she was hiding something big. "Just thinking about how unresponsive my daughter was still gives me the chills."

"Mom, don't panic. This is just an old ailment. I get sick several times a year. I'll take some medicine and rest for a while and I'll be fine."

In the past, when I was sick, I had a familiar doctor to take care of me, a supply of the best medicine, and my father to take charge.

Unlike now, lying in an unfamiliar inn, with no idea what the future holds and no certainty of life or death.

"The caravan has left?" Hua Sirong changed the subject and asked about something else.

"The caravan set off early yesterday morning, and you have been asleep for a day and two nights."

Yesterday morning, when I asked the doctor to prepare the medicine, I ran into the caravan manager in the courtyard. We exchanged a few words and said goodbye. "Without them with us, the caravan would be a fraction of a second faster."

"Luckily, we said before that we wouldn't travel with them, otherwise I would have been sick yesterday and would have delayed their trip."

Hua Sirong tried to find humor in her predicament, saying, "I've taken the medicine and I feel a bit better. Let's head to Baiyun Temple this afternoon."

“The young lady is still recovering from a serious illness, so she should rest for a couple more days. There’s no rush to go to Baiyun Temple.” Mother Wang wished she could take her place and couldn’t bear to see her daughter continue to suffer.

"Since my father passed away, I haven't had a good night's sleep. For the past two weeks, I've been traveling with a caravan, and I haven't had a moment to rest along the way."

Having arrived in Huaqiao Town, with the capital city so close at hand, I couldn't help but relax a bit, and the ailments that had accumulated over this period of time inevitably flared up.

Mom and Chunyan, don't worry, I really do feel much better, I'm not just pretending. Besides, this inn is always busy with people coming and going, so I'm not exactly comfortable staying here.

Let's get some more medicine and settle down temporarily at Baiyun Temple. That way, you and Chunyan can get a good night's sleep under the Buddhist chants. Look at you, you both look even more haggard than me in just two days. Please, Mom."

Hua Sirong fell ill, and her oval face looked even smaller, with her chin becoming pointed. Wang's mother was heartbroken.

Seeing that she had just woken up and still had so much to think about, how could I refuse?

"I can't argue with you, so I'll listen to you. But I need to arrange a sedan chair to take you to Baiyun Temple, and you can't stop me from doing that."

In ordinary families, to show their sincerity, they would walk to the temple to pray to the gods and Buddhas. But the girl's health had just started to improve, and she couldn't withstand any more hardship.

“Alright, let’s pay for sedan chairs. Besides, you and Chunyan have been worrying about me these past two days and haven’t had a good rest either, so the three of us can ride in sedan chairs.”

Hua Sirong would never refuse; given her current physical condition, it would be very difficult for her to climb Baiyun Temple.

It's neither a holiday nor a festival, and it's still early spring with a slightly chilly weather, so there aren't many worshippers visiting Baiyun Temple.

After some effort, Hua Sirong and her two servants made their way up the mountain.

First, guided by a young novice monk, we went to the main hall to offer incense.

Kneeling at the feet of the Buddha, surrounded by the fragrance of sandalwood, and hearing the chanting of Buddhist hymns that could dispel all worldly distractions, Hua Sirong felt her ailments lessen, and her restless heart, which had been agitated for days, found a moment of peace here.

She generously donated one hundred taels of silver into the donation box before being led to the courtyard where worshippers were received.

Perhaps because Hua Sirong was generous, and because they were going to hold a religious ceremony for their parents and light an everlasting lamp, they were arranged to stay in a separate courtyard.

Hua Sirong was quite satisfied with this. Her father's guidance to her wasn't excessive, nor was it lacking. But one phrase he often said stuck with her: "If something can be solved with money, it's not a problem."

She was young at the time and asked her father, "What if throwing money at it doesn't work?"

Her father stroked his handsome beard and laughed, "That must mean we didn't spend enough money, or we spent it the wrong way."

Before she knew it, she had also picked up her father's bad habit of spending money.