Shen Shaoguang returned to the Luminous Nunnery and found that noblewomen visitors had arrived—also familiar faces. One was Pang Erniang, while the other was the young lady who had worn the golden-embroidered autumn fragrance-colored gown in the riverside pavilion during the Dragon Boat Festival.
It seemed they had already paid their respects to the Buddha, as Yuanjue was now showing them the murals in the courtyard and recounting Buddhist legends.
Since they had crossed paths, Shen Shaoguang stepped forward to greet them.
Yuanjue smiled at the two women and said, "This is Benefactor Shen." Earlier, while drinking tea, Yuanjue had already mentioned Shen Shaoguang to them.
She then introduced them to Shen: "This is Qin Wuniang, daughter of Qin Pushe. And Pang Erniang—you already know her."
The three exchanged smiles and curtsied to one another.
Yuanjue turned to Shen Shaoguang with a familiar, affectionate tone, "We just drank the jasmine tea you sent last time. Both benefactors praised it for its delicate fragrance and sweetness. And yet you always say I’m 'overpraising' you..."
Shen Shaoguang smiled faintly.
Qin Wuniang studied this Miss Shen with a gentle smile. Though the Luminous Nunnery was not a grand temple, Yuanjue was no ordinary nun. Her grandmother had told her that Yuanjue’s teacher was the late Grand Princess Anqing—a woman who once wielded great influence in court before suddenly renouncing the world and taking vows in Luoyang. Yuanjue was her final disciple and had traveled extensively with her. For Yuanjue to hold Shen in such high regard, she must be extraordinary.
Qin Wuniang smiled and said, "Young Lady Shen looks very familiar. Have we met somewhere before?"
Shen Shaoguang frowned slightly in amusement—perhaps it was that day when you were thirsty and wanted to buy my sour plum drink? But she only replied, "It must be fate, then."
Pang Erniang shared the same thought, recalling that they had seen each other by the river that day. But back then, Ah Shen had been selling food, whereas today she was "Benefactor Shen"—which was likely why Qin Wuniang hadn’t recognized her immediately.
"I’ve met the fourth daughter of the Shen family, the governor of Dengzhou, a few times before. Perhaps you share some resemblance with your kinswomen?"
Shen Shaoguang truly wasn’t familiar with her extended family back in Luoyang and had no idea who this Governor Shen was in terms of seniority, but she was certain he wasn’t a close uncle. Smiling, she replied, "I’ve wandered far from home for so long that I can’t say whether I resemble my sisters or not."
To speak so calmly about her own hardships marked her as someone uncommon. Qin Wuniang couldn’t help but notice that Shen’s plain dress, though made of fine Yizhou silk, had been washed many times and was now worn, and that she wore only two small silver hairpins.
Shen Shaoguang, in turn, had a favorable impression of Qin Wuniang. Unlike Pang Erniang’s earlier attitude, Qin neither looked down on her for being poor nor affected a condescending sympathy. She treated her as an equal—even if it was just a gesture, it was a comfortable one.
Thinking of Pang Erniang, Shen smiled and asked, "It’s been a while. How have you been, Erniang?" After the Dragon Boat Festival, perhaps stung too harshly by her "friends," Pang had moved back home. It had been a long time since they’d seen each other, and Shen wondered how she had ended up mingling with these noblewomen again—and with her "rival," no less.
If Shen Shaoguang had to say who was more suited to Lord Lin, it would undoubtedly be Qin Wuniang. Setting aside family backgrounds, just considering temperaments—Lord Lin seemed cold and detached, and to have risen to the position of Deputy Chief of Jingzhao at his age suggested a calculating mind. Pang Erniang, on the other hand, was as transparent as a shallow brook, wearing every emotion on her face. Their styles simply didn’t match.But then she thought, perhaps this was the perfect match? A scheming, cold-faced gentleman paired with a sweet, naive girl? This pairing was quite the contrast, adorable in its own way. As Shen Shaoguang listened to Yuanjue recount the story behind the mural "The Foolish Man Scooping the Sea," her mind wandered to the romance dramas she had watched in her past life. The more she thought about it, the more she sighed. Back then, she had dismissed them as clichéd and illogical, but now she couldn’t even watch them again if she wanted to.
Qin Wuniang had come under her family’s orders and needed to perform rituals again that evening and the following morning, so she would stay overnight. Yuanjue invited her to share her quarters, but Qin Wuniang didn’t wish to disturb the nun’s peace and instead opted to stay with Pang Erniang.
Yuanjue smiled. "That’s fine too. Young ladies staying together can be quite cozy."
She added, "In the evening, the ward will be lit with lanterns. Though it’s not as lively as the Lantern Festival, there are still one or two worth seeing. You’re welcome to go out and look, but be sure to take someone with you."
All three girls agreed cheerfully.
Since transmigrating, Shen Shaoguang had been cooped up in the palace and had never seen a lantern festival of this era. Although the Ghost Festival wasn’t like the Lantern Festival, where the curfew was lifted and the entire city reveled all night, merely strolling around the ward was still quite enticing for a country bumpkin like her.
A Yuan, being childlike, was thrilled when Shen Shaoguang told her they would go out to see the lanterns that evening. "In previous years, no matter the festival, Madam Xu never let me go out—she always made me stay home. Once, I sneaked out for a quick look, but I was so afraid of being caught that I ran right back. Another time, Madam Xu came back for something she’d forgotten and caught me. She beat me hard with a broom."
Shen Shaoguang patted her head.
A Yuan grinned. "It didn’t hurt much, but the worst part was going hungry for three days. That time, I was truly starving."
Shen Shaoguang gave her head a couple of light taps and smiled faintly. Truth be told, she had also been beaten and gone hungry. When she first transmigrated into the palace’s servant quarters, dragging around a sickly ten-year-old body with fragmented memories and no relatives to protect her, how could a bewildered outsider like her not make mistakes?
But thankfully, all that was in the past.
While Shen Shaoguang and A Yuan reminisced about their hardships in one room, Qin Wuniang and Pang Erniang were also discussing old acquaintances in another.
"You’re young, so you might not remember well. That Elder Sister Cui was two years older than me, with a gentle and generous temperament. Her looks and talents were the best among the young ladies of our generation—none of us could compare. Later, when Minister Cui fell from grace, his family was to be consigned to the servant quarters according to the law." Qin Wuniang sighed softly. "Who would have thought someone as composed as her would take her own life? Truly..." She swallowed the word "virtuous," mindful that Pang Erniang was the younger sister of the Noble Consort and thus closely tied to the imperial family.
Pang Erniang’s face paled as she unconsciously fiddled with the pearl tassels on her hairpin. The pearls matched those on her newly changed golden blouse and brocade belt, likely part of a set.
"I never heard that Lord Lin was engaged to Miss Cui?" Pang Erniang bit her lip.
"Indeed, they weren’t formally engaged. It was only said that the two families had agreed on it before Minister Cui’s downfall."
Just as Pang Erniang relaxed slightly, Qin Wuniang added, "But Lord Lin clearly held Elder Sister Cui in his heart. Otherwise, why hasn’t he married to this day? And in the year or two after her passing, he rarely attended any banquets..."
Pang Erniang lowered her eyes. The lotus floral sticker freshly pasted on her forehead seemed to have lost its earlier vibrancy.Shen Shaoguang led A Yuan out of the side room and passed through the hall, just faintly catching the last few words. So Lord Lin was actually such a sentimental man?
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