MCSCPM -Chapter 24 Shattering the Jade Bowl

After all, she was still in Luochen Courtyard, and the chances of making money were practically zero. She couldn’t wander the streets every day looking for fainted men to snatch their purses, could she?

Although she had such thoughts, this was not a place to speak them aloud. The offering altar was unfamiliar territory—who knew if someone was eavesdropping through the walls? Perhaps that old hag Nanny Zhao was crouched nearby.

Thinking of Nanny Zhao, Yin Qingyue couldn’t help but snort. That clownish old woman was laughable just to imagine.

Curving her lips, she let go of the troublesome thoughts and turned to start wiping the offerings.

Most of the offerings before her were bronze ritual vessels specifically cast for worship. Yin Qingyue frowned.

Bronze items weren’t particularly valuable, and these were ceremonial pieces that were never actually used—basically just oversized art pieces.

Realizing this, Yin Qingyue felt a bit frustrated. A potentially good source of wealth had gone to waste. What a pity.

At that moment, her gaze was drawn to a bowl on the altar.

Though it was an offering, the bowl was polished into a shape suitable for ordinary use. It appeared to be made of white jade, glowing softly under the light of the eternal lamp—looking rather valuable.

Yin Qingyue’s mind stirred. She planned to use the chance of wiping it to pick it up and inspect it. If it really was valuable, she could take it later and exchange it for silver.

But as soon as she lifted the bowl, before she could even wipe it, her fingers slipped. The white jade bowl fell from her hands with a crash, meeting its demise.

Yin Qingyue froze, eyes wide. How could this happen? She had gripped the bowl tightly!

“Ah! Miss, are you alright?” Mei’er hurried over, worried.

“Hmph! You ugly girl, such audacity!”

Suddenly, Nanny Zhao’s voice came from behind them.

Yin Qingyue’s brow furrowed. How could Nanny Zhao arrive the instant she broke the bowl? The timing was absurdly precise!

Nanny Zhao strutted forward, pointing at the shattered pieces. “You ugly girl, you can’t go a day without causing trouble, can you? Do you even know this was the most precious offering, a white jade bowl? Hmph! Ugly inside and out, clumsy as well—let’s see what excuses you have now!”

She raised her hand to strike, but Yin Qingyue dodged. “Nanny, the bowl is broken, but it’s not my fault.”

Nanny Zhao’s eyes widened. “It’s just the two of you in this room. If not your fault, is it hers?”

The short, chubby woman pointed at Mei’er with disdain. “Always blaming the servant when trouble arises! Such a despicable mindset! But you also failed to manage your subordinate—same crime!”

Yin Qingyue smiled lightly. “Nanny, there’s no need to sow discord. Doing such things before Buddha… aren’t you afraid of being judged by him?”

Nanny Zhao hesitated slightly but quickly regained her composure. “Afraid? I didn’t break the offering. But you dared to break Buddha’s most precious offering. Today, I will punish you properly—for Buddha!”

Mei’er, uneasy, tugged Yin Qingyue’s sleeve, urging her to yield first. After all, she had seen the broken bowl herself.

“This is ridiculous, Nanny. I already said, I didn’t break the offering. Are you deaf?” Yin Qingyue ignored Mei’er’s hints and calmly faced Nanny Zhao.

“What do you mean by that? Not you? Then was it me?” Nanny Zhao glared and raised her hand again.

“Not me, not you, not Mei’er either. It was Buddha who broke it!” Yin Qingyue declared shockingly.

“Nonsense! How could Buddha let you break an offering?” Nanny Zhao fumed, her chubby cheeks trembling.

“I only picked up the bowl, and it fell. Perhaps Buddha didn’t want me touching such a precious offering,” Yin Qingyue said calmly.

“Nonsense! That’s clearly your clumsiness. How can you blame Buddha? Such disrespect!” Nanny Zhao stomped angrily.

“I wiped dozens of ritual vessels without issue. Why would only this white jade bowl cause trouble? Isn’t it Buddha’s way of saying, ‘This ugly girl shouldn’t touch the precious offering’?” Yin Qingyue’s smile grew more obvious.

“You were just wiping bronze vessels. How would anyone know if you broke them?” Nanny Zhao sneered arrogantly.

“Really? Don’t you know whether I broke them? There are so many offerings here, yet you know I only wiped the bronze ones. Isn’t that admitting you were watching us?” Yin Qingyue’s eyes darkened, her expression cold.

Nanny Zhao stiffened. Indeed, besides bronze, the room also contained lacquerware, gilded vessels, and porcelain. Claiming she only wiped bronze was effectively admitting she was monitoring them.

Sweat rolled down Nanny Zhao’s temples, smearing her makeup. She panted, thinking of a strategy.

Yin Qingyue, however, watched her calmly, confident and composed. “By assigning me, the ugly girl, to wipe the offerings, Nanny, you put me in front of Buddha. Since Buddha is displeased, he must also be displeased with you, the one who assigned me. Be careful—if Buddha gets angry, the consequences will fall on you!”

“I was just watching to prevent you from slacking! But since you, the ugly girl, broke the bowl, you must take responsibility. From today, you won’t eat lunch. Your lunch will compensate for this precious white jade bowl. And if you don’t finish cleaning quickly, you won’t eat dinner either!” Nanny Zhao turned and ran, not daring to linger another moment.

“Nanny Zhao is clearly deliberately tormenting us!” Mei’er exclaimed, throwing down her broom in frustration.

“Of course she is—it was all arranged,” Yin Qingyue said lightly. She picked up the shattered pieces of the “white jade bowl,” signaling Mei’er to stay calm.

“Miss, those pieces are sharp. Be careful,” Mei’er warned, concern replacing her earlier anger.

“It’s fine.” Yin Qingyue pinched a fragment and tossed it to the floor, a cold laugh escaping her lips.

“As expected, it’s not real white jade. It’s fake. It’s coated with oil to look lustrous, which is why it slipped from my hands so easily,” she said.

“What? Nanny Zhao is outrageous!” Mei’er fumed.

“She won’t come up with anything new, and she won’t dare hit me. If anything happened to me, she’d be first to suffer,” Yin Qingyue said with a faint, amused smile as she stared at the fragments.

Mei’er nodded. “Mei’er will never let her touch you, Miss!”

“Nanny Zhao’s skills are limited to skimping on daily provisions. Her watery gruel and salty vegetables? I don’t care,” Yin Qingyue said coldly. With some silver and Guanyin vegetables in the garden, she didn’t need her food.

“All right, let’s clean quickly. If we don’t finish, that old hag will find an excuse to scheme against us again,” Yin Qingyue said, resuming the wiping of the altar’s ritual vessels.

Buddha? Who even knew which Buddha was being honored here? If Buddha had eyes, why would Yin Qingyue be reduced to this state? Ridiculous that the emperor believed in this Buddha, offering his subjects to him!

If she were emperor, she would never believe in such superstitions. A person who cannot control their own fate—what’s the point of living? How is that different from a puppet on stage?

Looking up at the towering statue, smiling with bowed eyes while holding a flower, Yin Qingyue sneered.

Let the emperor think what he wants. Her life was in her own hands! What authority did the emperor have to make her dedicate her youth—or even life—to him?

Princes and generals—are they anything special? The emperor? Nothing remarkable.

Yin Qingyue snorted and slammed the bronze offerings loudly.

Clang, clang, clatter! The noise made Mei’er glance several times. She sighed helplessly—her mistress was truly angry.

Yet this was a good sign. Back at the Yin household, no matter how much Miss was bullied, she would always smile sweetly and let it go. If she had dared to assert herself then, she might never have ended up in Luochen Courtyard.

Mei’er sighed at the thought.

Time passed slowly as the two of them cleaned. By the time the altar was tidy, it was long past dinner. Yin Qingyue didn’t care and led Mei’er back to their courtyard through the garden.

On the way, Yin Qingyue picked some Guanyin vegetables with Mei’er. At first, Mei’er thought they were wild weeds Miss had to eat to avoid hunger, and her heart ached.

Their Miss was the Yin family’s eldest daughter, and yet she had fallen to this state?

Seeing Mei’er’s concern, Yin Qingyue leaned close and whispered, “These aren’t weeds—they’re medicinal herbs to strengthen the body. No one else knows that, so they think they’re weeds.”