Today is slightly chilly.
But there's no frost.
This year will definitely be a mild winter.
Mianmian wore a white dress early in the morning, with thermal underwear underneath.
On top, she had a padded dress.
She dressed up a bit today because she's going out.
She misses her great-aunt, who should return after her elder sister's hundred-day celebration.
Today, Qin Luoxia also tidied herself up a little.
She doesn't like wearing white because it's hard to keep clean, but today she's also wearing all white.
Today, Mother is taking Cong Brother and her to the temple for a ritual.
Mianmian guesses that Father hasn't told Mother about Cong Brother's true identity.
Because today's temple visit is to perform a ritual for Cong Brother's father.
According to village customs, after death, especially sudden or unnatural deaths rather than passing peacefully of old age, it's best to go to the temple and perform a ritual to help the deceased's soul find peace.
Qin Luoxia felt that when they visited the grave before, the incense suddenly fell over, giving her the impression that her elder brother had some unfulfilled wishes, so she felt they should go to the temple for a ritual.
Jiang Changtian would agree to whatever she wanted to do.
After all, household matters were under Xia-mei's authority.
So early in the morning, the whole family got ready and went to the temple.
They chose a famous temple, Tai'a Temple.
Tai'a Temple is quite renowned in the Capital City, known for its beautiful scenery, efficacy, and good reputation. It's popular among officials' families and not too far away.
Mianmian knew that Father had been promoted to the fourth rank, which she originally thought wasn't that high.
But then she recalled:
In modern times, a department-level official is already quite impressive. There's a saying that reaching department level requires not just hard work but also family background. A department head is already a big boss in a work unit. But converted to ancient times, a department-level official would only be seventh rank, a minor official.
Section-level here is ninth rank, so thinking about it this way, fourth rank is already super impressive.
They can be a little bit arrogant now.
They took a carriage all the way there, with Mianmian sitting in the carriage, enjoying the scenery and snacks leisurely.
Sometimes she looked out the window; it was generally clean, and the Capital City overall seemed quite nice.
She was grateful to have transmigrated here.
If she had transmigrated to medieval Europe, she'd have to learn to wear high heels now, worried about stepping in excrement, and wear big Rococo-style dresses with wide skirts. When needing to urinate, she could just put a basin under her skirt and solve the problem on the spot, while still chatting and laughing on the surface.
She'd also have to wear a wig, because people living in the upper floors of buildings would randomly dump their waste from above.
And she'd have to apply lead powder to her face to appear whiter.
This... seems popular here too, people still use it.
Last time she saw someone give Mother some whitening lead powder, she was shocked. The high rate of difficult childbirths among nobles here probably has something to do with using these things, as they're quite harmful to the body.
Along the way, she earnestly observed the red-tiled, yellow-walled houses, bluestone-paved roads, and advertising banners fluttering in the wind, which naturally formed a picturesque scene.
Zi Congheng looked outside, watching the houses recede as if he were running.
Looking across, Jiang Xiaogui seemed lost in thought, unusually quiet for a moment, looking quite handsome.
Suddenly, Mianmian made a face at him.
He was startled.
He watched as she put her hand in her mouth, stretching it open, sticking out her tongue, and rolling her eyes...
Zi Congheng's cheek twitched: "Don't come near me."
He took out a handkerchief and handed it to her to wipe her hands.
Jiang Mianmian laughed out loud, hurting the enemy a thousand but injuring herself a thousand too, her mouth corners aching a bit.
Then there was another long period of silence.
Mianmian pulled out a book that was placed in the carriage, which was very popular recently.
She flipped through it casually and saw a rule: Officials cannot beat other officials' faces without reason...
The regulations were very specific.
So is it okay to hit the stomach, or the head?
Officials cannot relieve themselves in bed...
This...
These detailed rules were so specific, she handed the rules to Bug Brother.
Zi Congheng looked at it expressionlessly for a moment, then handed it back to her.
Why could Jiang Xiaogui discover so many bizarre things in a day...
His cheek twitched slightly.
Watching her read such dry material and still giggle stupidly.
...
It was originally supposed to be a difficult journey.
Probably one that would be sad to think about.
But somehow it didn't seem so sad anymore.
The whole way was filled with mixed emotions, sorrow broken into fragments and crushed under the carriage wheels.
They arrived at the temple.
Qin Luoxia took the two children to find a monk to arrange the ritual.
Mianmian discovered that Tai'a Temple was very advanced, similar to modern temples she had seen, with a special reception room and dedicated reception monks.
Very professional.
They provided free incense, didn't force people to pay, and you could donate as you wished.
Generally, those who came to burn incense at the temple would give something.
There were several main halls.
Each main hall had different Bodhisattvas.
Golden and resplendent, you could see them from outside without entering.
It felt like a world surrounded by gods and Buddhas.
Deities were everywhere, looking down upon you.
It made you unconsciously become solemn.
Mianmian believed in socialism and had received nine years of compulsory education, so she wasn't afraid of ghosts and spirits.
But when in Rome, do as the Romans do. Whatever place you're in, do what's done there.
Mother was seriously discussing the ritual details with the monk.
Bug Brother was also listening attentively.
Mianmian took Pangya and stepped out.
They strolled around the temple.
Temples always seem to have many towering old trees, creating a very tranquil environment.
As Mianmian walked, following the law of narrative convenience, she was bound to encounter someone around a corner.
(Because the author really couldn't come up with a plot, so they had to forcefully introduce a character.)
The weather was quite nice today, though cold, but with sunshine, so it wasn't that cold.
At the corner of the ancient temple's corridor, there was a pavilion where an Old Lady with white hair sat, head lowered, surprisingly stringing beads.
The Old Lady wore a gray robe with white underneath, a mix of gray and white.
Her hair wasn't completely white, still with some black mixed in, overall appearing grayish.
With her head lowered, stringing beads, her demeanor was extremely beautiful, giving a very gentle impression.
Her face and head were wrapped in cloth, covering half her head, so the white hair was visible, indicating her age.
The head wrapping was like that of a farm woman; in winter, farm women in Jingzhou would wrap up their hair, neck, and face, leaving only their eyes exposed.
The Old Lady in front of her was similar.
But she looked beautiful even just sitting there casually.
Even though she was an Old Lady, she was clearly once a pampered Old Lady.
Mianmian saw no signs prohibiting entry, so she went in.
The Old Lady stringing beads heard the movement and looked up, seeing the newcomer.
She was stunned.
The girl in white clothes walked towards her without making a sound.
Sunlight shone on her face.
She looked like a younger version of herself.
So beautiful, so arrogant, so unrestrained, so carefree.
...
