MCSCPM -Chapter 23 Offering the Sacrifices

Yin Qingyue gently patted Mei’er’s hand and softly said, “Don’t worry, that old hag is just itching to show off again.”

Mei’er was slightly shaken by her words, and all her anxiety instantly vanished. A small smile curved her lips.

“It’s not that she only came out after endless calling. Nanny Zhao gave the order—how could we dare disobey? As soon as we heard, we hurried over,” Mei’er explained.

Yin Qingyue thought for a moment. Her body was still weak, and she didn’t want to give Nanny Zhao any opportunity. So she smiled lightly, ignored Nanny Zhao’s provocation, and spoke calmly.

Seeing that Yin Qingyue wasn’t taking the bait, Nanny Zhao’s yellowish eyes narrowed sharply. She twisted her fat butt and strutted forward.

“The Luochen Courtyard hasn’t had a proper cleaning for a long time. I didn’t call you all here to eat for free! You must recite sutras every day, eat only vegetarian meals, and every morning give thanks for the Emperor’s kindness.”

The flesh on Nanny Zhao’s face tightened as she spoke with utmost authority.

Bam!

She slammed the feather duster onto the table and swept her gaze over everyone. When her eyes landed on Yin Qingyue’s calm, ugly face, her pupils contracted sharply.

“But you! Lazy and greedy every day! From today onward, every day in your rooms you will copy ten volumes of sutras! If you don’t finish ten volumes, you won’t eat!”

Nanny Zhao placed her fat hands on her hips and declared fiercely.

“If I find anyone shirking their duty, I’ll make sure you regret it!”

“Yes!” everyone replied in unison.

“Good.” Nanny Zhao finally put down the feather duster, sat on a chair, and pretended to sip tea elegantly as she spoke gravely.

“The Luochen Courtyard is a place for worship, but simply copying sutras is not enough. There should be someone dedicated to offering sacrifices every day. Who among you wants to be in charge of the offering altar?”

She put down her tea cup and scanned the women.

Copying ten volumes of sutras a day was already a hassle—who would volunteer to also manage the offering altar?

A long silence followed.

Nanny Zhao coldly nodded. “Good! None of you lazy girls are willing to step forward for the altar! Don’t you know that being in charge of the altar places you closest to Buddha himself, and can purify your heart?”

She struck a pose, then shifted her tone to scold. “But none of you want to step up!”

Yin Qingyue watched Nanny Zhao’s fat cheeks tremble and snorted silently. If there were real benefits to this, that old fat woman would have taken them herself long ago, so why involve others?

“Still no volunteers, huh?” Nanny Zhao said angrily after a while.

Yet a trace of satisfaction flickered in her heart—this was exactly the effect she wanted!

Her yellowish eyes then fixed on Yin Qingyue, and she sneered coldly. “Yin Qingyue, they say a kind heart comes with a gentle face, but you—so ugly—your heart must be as ugly as your looks.”

The other women in the hall immediately burst into laughter at this remark.

Mei’er’s face darkened. She was about to speak but was firmly held back by Yin Qingyue’s grip on her wrist.

Mei’er looked at her in confusion, and Yin Qingyue shook her head.

“Hmph, your mouth is usually so sharp, isn’t it? Why so quiet today? I guess even you can’t argue with what I just said,” Nanny Zhao said with slight regret, pouting.

Her plan had been for Yin Qingyue to retort, giving her the excuse to punish the girl physically. She never expected the usually sharp-tongued Yin Qingyue to remain silent.

Clenching her fists, Yin Qingyue, with her strong mind-reading ability, had read countless people’s thoughts in the modern world. She knew instinctively how someone would act based on their intentions. Nanny Zhao’s low tricks could not fool her. Considering her own weakness, Yin Qingyue decided to let the old woman embarrass herself while she stayed silent.

Seeing Nanny Zhao’s regretful and puzzled expression, Yin Qingyue quietly enjoyed herself.

“Since you’re so ugly, I’ll be merciful and give you a chance. You, ugly girl, will be in charge of the offerings. At least being there for a long time will make your repulsive face slightly less nauseating,” Nanny Zhao mocked.

The other girls laughed and snickered, some even openly guffawed.

“Even with her in front of Buddha all her life, she’d still be disgusting!” one slightly highborn young lady whispered to her maid.

The maid smiled slightly. “You’re right, miss. Before I saw her, I thought Wang Ermazi outside was ugly, but after seeing her… Wang Ermazi suddenly looked acceptable!”

“Indeed, we’ve seen ugly, but nothing this ugly!”

Nanny Zhao looked proudly at Yin Qingyue, fully satisfied with the mockery and criticism of the others.

Yin Qingyue stood among the crowd as if she hadn’t heard anything, even curving her lips in a slight smile.

Mei’er thought indignantly, Our Miss is breathtakingly beautiful, and you mortals dare to compare?!

Thinking of Yin Qingyue’s original appearance, and glancing at the surrounding women, Mei’er felt a twinge of pity and couldn’t help but show a hint of disdain.

Nanny Zhao had hoped to see Yin Qingyue’s shame and anger, but there was not a trace of indignation or sadness on their faces. Gradually, she even felt a glimmer of confidence on Yin Qingyue’s face!

Nanny Zhao clenched her old, fat hands tightly, furious at Yin Qingyue.

Yin Qingyue inwardly laughed at Nanny Zhao’s enraged expression.

“Hmph! Quiet down! Today’s lecture is over. Yin Qingyue, starting tomorrow, you will be responsible for offering the sacrifices. If there’s even the slightest mistake, watch out for your skin!”

Nanny Zhao strutted before Yin Qingyue, threatening her fiercely.

Mei’er’s anger flared, about to protest, but heard Yin Qingyue calmly reply: “Yes, Nanny, I will take good care of the offerings.”

“Miss, why did you agree to her? This is clearly just to humiliate you!” Mei’er fumed as they returned to their room.

“At the time, there was no other choice… but every cloud has a silver lining, right?” Yin Qingyue said.

“But Miss, why is Nanny Zhao so cruel? We were already told to clean the courtyard for a month, and now she wants us to manage the altar too!” Mei’er was still fuming.

“She just thinks we’re easy to bully. My ugly makeup is truly unbearable, and we have no backing,” Yin Qingyue said lightly, as if speaking of something unrelated.

Mei’er bowed her head, sadness in her voice. “If it weren’t for you avoiding the blood sacrifice, why would you have worn that ugly makeup? Sigh…”

Yin Qingyue patted Mei’er’s shoulder gently. “Don’t be too sad. Misfortune depends on fortune, fortune depends on misfortune. Maybe coming to the Luochen Courtyard is actually a blessing for me.”

Mei’er wiped away her resentment and nodded. “Miss is right. Though you entered Luochen Courtyard, you also left the Yin family behind.”

Out of the frying pan, into the fire… Yin Qingyue thought wryly to herself.

She could only follow Mei’er’s words, smiling. “So being in Luochen Courtyard isn’t necessarily bad. Managing the altar may not be bad either.”

At least now, she could openly “cut through” the garden on her way to the altar and pick Guanyin vegetables at the same time.

Though taking the garden route might not actually be shorter, she doubted anyone would be bored enough to check.

Smiling slightly, Yin Qingyue thought this over.

By evening, after Mei’er retired, Yin Qingyue lay in bed alone. She took out Prince Jing’s clothes again.

Running her fingers over the embroidered patterns said to be exclusive to the Beihao royal family, she fell into thought.

Could these royal patterns be imitated? One outfit and a token could fool a few people, but could they fool hundreds?

If only she could fabricate more evidence linking her to Prince Jing…

Sighing, she realized she had no idea about the original owner’s embroidery skills, and she herself from the modern world knew nothing about embroidery.

After thinking with no results, she put the clothes away and fell into a deep sleep.

The next morning, Yin Qingyue ate dumplings made with the Guanyin vegetables she had harvested yesterday for breakfast.

After eating, when she and Mei’er went out, they coincidentally met the guards cleaning the area.

“Be discreet. I don’t want that old hag to know you’re my subordinate. If Prince Jing’s name comes up, none of us will have a good outcome. Understand?” Yin Qingyue warned half as instruction, half as threat.

“Yes, yes, I understand!” the guard replied, bowing.

Satisfied, Yin Qingyue led Mei’er toward the offering altar.

At the altar, Yin Qingyue privately surveyed the area. Though not very large, it held many items. She instructed Mei’er to sweep and mop, while she wiped the offerings herself.

“Miss, there are too many offerings. Let me do it,” Mei’er said, worried for her mistress.

“No, it’s fine, I’ll handle it. Wiping the offerings doesn’t take much strength anyway,” Yin Qingyue said with a smile, placating Mei’er.

In truth, Yin Qingyue planned to use the opportunity to estimate the value of the offerings. She wanted to see if any were valuable enough to sell after escaping the courtyard.