Chapter 34 Superstition

  Nan Yuemei said Feng Shui is superstition!

  Lan Sheng was stunned for a moment, really wanting to burst out laughing. This Da Rong Chao family's obsession with the Book of Changes and the ubiquitous presence of masters and diviners, including those mysterious abilities of Nan Yue Ya, that's what's truly superstitious! She didn't understand the Purple Wei technique or the six-line prediction method, but she did understand that for architecture, Feng Shui is reflected in the four major elements of materials and the overall layout proportion being balanced and harmonious. It can be explained from both psychological and natural sciences, to a certain extent having a reliable basis.

  She knew very little about this time and space, and when people talked about the wonderful deeds of magicians and fortune tellers, she was skeptical in her heart, but never seriously argued with others. Although she had not personally experienced or witnessed the power of Taoist priests and masters, it was not her field, and she was a highly imaginative person, so she was cautious and did not make rash judgments. However, one thing is certain: Feng Shui is omnipresent in I Ching. In the two I Chings before I Ching, "Lian Shan" and "Gui Cang", there are also implications of Feng Shui.

  She was originally going with the flow, explaining her reasons for choosing North Corner in a way that made it easy for them to accept, but unexpectedly she was sternly reprimanded by Nan Yueya.

  Not only that, Nan Yueya also scolded Wu Mei, "This girl is disrespectful and arrogant, I can tolerate her being away from home for a long time and feeling wronged, but unexpectedly she believes in geomancy and other heretical things. If outsiders hear about it, wouldn't they laugh at me, Nan Yue, for being ignorant? She has loved reading since childhood, you must have let her read useless things randomly."

  Wu Mei gave Lan Sheng a cold glance and replied to her husband, "She tore up all the books soon after arriving in Yao Town, including her favorite I Ching. And every time I bought one, she would tear it up. Later on, I just stopped buying them, and since there was no bookstore in town, our home was bookless again. I think she's not just reading randomly, but rather too ignorant to distinguish good from bad, right from wrong. This time, she'll finally stay at home, and not only will she learn etiquette, but also the I Ching. Incompetence is one thing, but ignorance is unacceptable. What do you say?"

  Nan Yueya listened and nodded, "Let An Hu teach, he is the most perceptive among all students, and when they were young, the two of them got along well."

  "Yu Ge is confused, these two children are now grown up and not yet married, they should avoid suspicion, otherwise rumors will spread - " Wu Mei had already discussed this matter with Lan Sheng and did not like An Qu as a son-in-law, so she didn't want the two to be too close. "Besides, An Qu is about to take the imperial examination, how can he afford to delay his future at this critical moment? Lan Sheng only needs to learn some common sense, so that in the future she won't make a fool of herself like just now, and Ping Er can teach her."

  "Lotus can't make it, she's still undecided. Let Rui teach instead, she has the kindest heart, I'll talk to her tomorrow."

  Two people, you one word and I one word, it's settled then, Mr. Lan Sheng will be your teacher.

  "Go to the North Corner House first. It's not that I'm listening to your nonsense, but the North Corner is closer to the gate and farther from Old Lady's place. With your ignorant and unaware attitude, you'll soon be exposed in front of Old Lady. If you can't win her favor, then don't provoke her dislike, and also drag your mother into it." After saying that, she walked ahead to instruct the servants to light the way to Madame Yu's house.

  Wu Mei grasped Lan Sheng's hand tightly, "This place is not like Yao Town, where there are many people watching your every move, waiting to catch you making a mistake so they can use it against me. I know you're anxious about your parents, but you're actually very clever and know that only if I'm doing well will you be able to do well too. I don't expect you to help me, just hope you can avoid making mistakes and keep a low profile."

  Nan Yueya shouted "Mei'er", Wu Mei immediately turned around and rushed up. The couple walked side by side, the golden lamp carved out a pair of shadows like jade people, gradually becoming blurred.

  Orchids are still in their original place, but the western wind is thin and has pierced through both sleeves.

  "Miss Lan, come this way from Beicang." A plain-looking man in gray stood straight, his tone slightly impatient.

  If even parents don't love him, can he still expect others to like him? Lan Sheng swung his sleeve behind his back and laughed happily. "Look at my parents, they're really blind, making you wait for so long. But it's hard to part with flesh and blood, that's what they say."

  Relying on her! Relying heavily on her! Wanting her to be a clever and obedient puppet, while not putting her in the eyes at all, this attitude is not good. It's better to be her puppet parents, let her pull strings in front of the curtain, and she kicks her legs behind the curtain.

  Grey-clad steward entered the mansion three or four years ago, took a glance at the already distant pair of shadows, and secretly thought to himself: Ah, yes! In the past, Master treated Madame with utmost respect, and also doted on Madame Yu and Madame Die. But today, he treats Madame Mei, who has just returned home, as if she were his own flesh and blood, personally taking care of everything. This Miss Lan Sheng was said to be untalented from an early age, but Fourth Miss Nan Yue Sha and Fifth Young Master Nan Yue Ling also lacked talent. Master is unusually strict with her, it must be that he loves the house and its occupants, in reality, his heart aches for her deeply. I'm truly foolish, daring to show a bad face to this elder miss.

  He hurriedly put on a smiling face, "Young mistress misunderstood, I wasn't impatient. It's just that the courtyard at North Corner has been neglected for years, and I'm worried that Second Madam and you won't be comfortable living there."

  Lan Sheng saw that he knew the situation, so she let it go. "A golden nest and a silver nest are not as good as one's own doghouse. As long as it's home, anywhere is comfortable to live in. Please lead the way." She also remembered another thing, "Don't call me Young Miss."

  The man in gray clothes smiled stiffly and said by the side of the road, "Anyway, we'll get used to calling each other horizontally or vertically, it's all the same if I change first."

  "It's better for you not to take liberties before the chief steward changes his mind." Lan Sheng said no more after that.

  He wore a gray robe and served as an attendant, and after saying a few words to Lan Sheng, he saw that there was no response. He praised him for being able to remain calm and quieted down. After walking for about two moments, the grass on both sides grew up to his knees before he spoke again.

  "Since I moved into the mansion, the north wing has been abandoned and unused. It's indeed a bit far from the other courtyards, but turning it into servant quarters or kitchen would be a waste. This place should have had a large flower garden, and even a pond was dug, while the courtyard is almost as big as the main one, with many houses too - just tidy it up a bit and it'll be fine." He pointed to the wall below, saying, "There's a corridor there, leading straight to the mansion gate, very convenient for entering and exiting."

  "Why build another courtyard then?" No matter how much the gray-clad steward spoke, with words flying about like spittle, Hua felt dissatisfied with the seclusion of this place. "As Steward Xiao said, Fourth Miss has already prepared to move into the newly built courtyard."

  Huiyi said, "Fourth Miss has just come of age. Madame Butterfly was reluctant to let her move too far away from herself, so she had a nearby garden walled in and built into a very small courtyard."

  Hua Leng snorted, "A trip around the entire estate takes only three to four quarters of an hour, and you're saying it's far? Yao Town is a month's journey away from here, and our mistress has just returned after much difficulty. Even if we were to enter the estate in a year's time, I see that none of you have any plans at all. You simply don't want us to move into the estate, do you?"

  The grey-clad steward felt bitter in his heart and thus spoke a big truth: "In the mansion, it is now the two madams who have the final say."