Chapter 136: Miss Chu of the Cai Family

"There was a famine in the countryside. To keep me alive, my father starved to death." The little girl's eyes turned red with sadness.

"What about your mother? Do you have any other relatives?" Lady Cai hastily pursued the question.

"My mother died of illness when I was very young, and I have no other relatives left. I can only go to Cai Family Village to find the relatives my father told me about."

"Your father was truly a fool, he deserved to die! Why didn't your father bring you along instead of waiting until he starved to death before sending a child to travel over mountains and rivers?" Lady Cai cursed loudly, yet she wept and squatted on the ground, unable to stand up.

"You are not allowed to talk about my father like that! He said he could never see that relative! They could never see each other for the rest of their lives until death." The little girl cried out angrily. Although she did not understand why they could not meet, she did not dare to ask.

"Mother, she is..."

Cai Cong came over to help Lady Cai up and asked with hesitation.

"She is your sister. That half-coin is your father's token of trust, and the other half is with me here." As Lady Cai spoke, she took out half a coin from the pouch close to her chest. When placed together with the girl's half, they formed a complete coin.

Back then, they had sworn an oath never to see each other again until death. She never imagined that this man would remain true to his vow until his dying breath.

Cai Cong was speechless. He did not know what to say. This was a pair of star-crossed lovers! One gave up a lifetime of happiness to ensure the continuation of the family line, while the other held fast to an oath and refused to meet until death.

"Is he really my brother? My father didn't say I had a brother." Chu Yao cast a timid glance at Cai Cong and said in a small voice.

"He is indeed your brother, and from now on I will be your mother. I am the person your father told you to find. Look, our coins match."

"Then will I have a place to live from now on?"

"Yes, Mother will build a big house for you, and Mother will give you anything you want. Son, don't you agree?" Lady Cai said with deep affection, wishing she could give the child her very heart. In the end, she raised her head to look at Cai Cong with hopeful eyes; no matter what, she cared more about Cai Cong's feelings.

"Naturally. She is my sister, and from now on I will protect her and give her the best. When we return to Chang'an, I will petition the Emperor to enter my sister into the imperial lineage. From this day forward, she is the eldest young miss of our Cai family."

Cai Cong said with certainty. Having suddenly gained a sister, he felt as though he had gained another bond of protection in this world—a most wondrous sensation.

The travelers witnessing this scene sighed at the impermanence of the world. Such a ragged, tattered girl had stepped into fortune in a single bound, becoming the young mistress of a marquis's estate, her destiny completely transformed overnight.

"A joyous occasion! Seeing this, this humble one congratulates Marquis Cai and his entire household, wishing the Cai family nobility for ten thousand generations and an unbroken line of prosperity." After saying this, Zhang Jiaming hoisted his long spear, hummed an ancient ballad, and simply walked away, not even bothering to take the hundred taels for travel expenses.

"You good-for-nothing lasses, do you still have any awareness left? Can't you see that the young miss is covered in dirt? Why haven't you gone to heat water for the eldest young miss to bathe and change? How could Qiuyue send such clumsy creatures like you?"

Lady Cai said angrily. If her family business hadn't been in such urgent need of manpower, she definitely would have brought Qiuyue and the others along.

The maidservants snapped to attention. Some went to heat water and prepare aromatics, others ran to prepare food, and several guards galloped away on swift horses to the nearest county town to buy ready-made garments. Lady Cai ordered everyone around in a flurry, leaving only Cai Cong and Chu Yao with nothing to do.

"Mother, are we still going to Duolin Temple? I think we should go home first and report this to Great-uncle, shouldn't we?" Cai Cong asked with a smile. In truth, Chu Yao did not possess a single drop of Cai family blood, and he was not necessarily willing to let her hold the position of the Cai family's eldest young miss.

"No, we must first go and thank the deities and Buddhas. This is all the arrangement of the heavens, and we must go to Duolin Temple to fulfill our vows first." Lady Cai said stubbornly, firmly believing this was a blessing bestowed by the gods, completely forgetting that had they not met here, Chu Yao would have eventually been sent to Cai Family Village anyway.

"Very well, then let us go to Duolin Temple first." Cai Cong nodded and said. This sister shared his bloodline, and no matter what, he would protect her.

After bathing and changing into new clothes, with her hair tied in little braids, Chu Yao truly looked adorable. However, she was sallow and thin, completely lacking any aura of nobility.

"It smells so good! It really smells so good!"

Chu Yao kept sniffing her own body and cried out in pleasant surprise. For as long as she had lived, this was the first time she had ever used aromatics and worn such silky garments.

"If you like it, you can use it every day, and make yourself smell lovely all the time. Come! Mother will take you to eat."

Lady Cai took Chu Yao by the hand and said with a beaming smile. A banquet had already been prepared in the kitchen, covering a whole table. The chef had declared that since he did not know what flavors the eldest young miss preferred, he had prepared a little of everything for her to taste, so that he would know how to cook for her in the future.

Lady Cai was overjoyed. It was rare to find someone so quick-witted, and she immediately rewarded him with five taels of silver and doubled his monthly wages.

Upon hearing this, the chef became even more eager, bowing deeply as he introduced the special features of each dish to Chu Yao. Chu Yao clutched Lady Cai's clothes, drooling slightly as she asked timidly, "Can I really eat all of this?"

"Of course it is all for you to eat. Just say whatever you want, and Mother will have them bring it over." Lady Cai seated her in a chair and waved her hand grandly.

"Then... then I want to eat meat." Chu Yao swallowed hard, pointing to a plate of meat and asking tentatively. The chef immediately used a small knife to cut the meat into bite-sized pieces and served it attentively before her.

Chu Yao took a bite, her eyes widening brightly. She looked up at the others and, seeing that everyone was looking at her with encouraging gazes, she boldly finished all the meat on the plate. Without even wiping her greasy mouth, she pointed to a fish, then pointed to a plate of beef, looking utterly torn with indecision.

Lady Cai laughed with sheer delight, immediately having the fish and beef brought over.

The meal was eaten slowly, lasting for half an hour. Finally, with a blushing face, Chu Yao rubbed her belly and repeatedly declared that she was full, at which point Lady Cai happily allowed the chef to clear away the dishes.

Traveling with a little girl was quite an extraordinary affair. At every place they stopped, the very first thing Lady Cai did was take Chu Yao on a shopping spree, determined to dress the child up in absolute splendor.

What Chu Yao admired most was her older brother. No matter where they went, local officials would come out to welcome him, and when they stayed anywhere, high-ranking officials would come to pay their respects—whether they were granted an audience depended entirely on her brother's mood. These were the very same high officials she used to hear about in storytellers' tales! Yet they were so submissive to her brother that she felt her brother must truly be the most formidable person under the heavens.

Duolin Temple was rather dilapidated, covering less than three mu of land, nestled deep in the mountains with mountain paths overgrown by wild grass.

When Cai Cong and his party arrived, three elderly monks and seven young novices were already waiting at the temple gates.

The senior monk was gaunt, his facial skin stretched taut over his bone structure, with deep-set eye sockets that looked terrifyingly hollow. Yet his expression was utterly serene, and his entire presence radiated an absolute equilibrium and peace, making people unconsciously forget his frightening appearance.

When he saw the carts filled with grain, lamp oil, and bolts of fabric, he did not even flicker an eyelid, entirely indifferent to worldly possessions.

Lady Cai stepped forward, pressed her palms together in greeting, and asked, "May I ask what your Buddhist name is, Venerable Master? Years ago, Venerable Kunan saved my mother and child from mortal danger, and today we have specially come to repay that kindness. Where might Venerable Kunan be?"

"This poor monk is Kun'e. Senior Brother Kunan completed his merits three years ago and has gone to the Western Paradise to serve the Buddha." Kun'e made a gesture with his palm and said calmly.

"So you are Venerable Kun'e. Please forgive my lack of manners. Alas, to think we have arrived too late. Aside from paying our respects to Venerable Kunan, our primary purpose in coming this time is to fulfill our vows and regild the Buddha's golden statue."

"Amitabha, then I thank the female patron. Please, everyone, enter." Kun'e said calmly. In the main hall, there was only a single Buddha statue and nothing else.

Lady Cai immediately arranged the offerings, lit three sticks of incense, and knelt piously on the ground in prayer. Chu Yao hurriedly knelt down as well, muttering indistinctly, though no one knew what she was saying.

Cai Cong had no intention of kneeling to these mud statues. After casting two glances and finding it boring, he turned and walked out of the main hall.

When he walked into a courtyard, a monk emerged from a room with a smile and said, "Amitabha, this poor monk Liaoran pays respects to the Marquis."

"Where did this fat monk come from? Didn't they say all the monks in this temple are ascetics? How is it that there is a plump, well-fed monk like you here?" Cai Cong glanced at him and said with a sneer.