Chapter 41: The Holy Mother

  The old lady was in a difficult situation. She had been biased towards her legitimate granddaughter, and she knew it herself. Letting Lan Sheng have a little advantage was entirely reasonable, but it made her lose face completely. However, as the oldest and highest-ranking person, she could still make amends.

  "Each family has its own rules, let's not talk about others for now. Lan Sheng and Yu Rui are without elders today, they will be punished to kneel in the ancestral hall for a day and night, not allowed to eat or drink or sleep, no one can plead for them. I'm old, so spare me the trouble, consider this matter settled, don't cry or make a fuss, disperse." Everyone is treated equally, there's nothing more to say.

  Lan Sheng had nothing to say. She could have poured tea for Li, and she would have been punished early on. Although she felt justified, this was at home, facing family members, and the elderly couldn't possibly reason with children about who was right or wrong. Being able to pull Yu Rui into the water was already an unexpected achievement.

  "Big sister——" The old woman came up and dragged people to the ancestral hall, Yu Rui softly called Jin Wei.

  Jin Wei remained unmoved by her younger sister's pleading, casting a faint glance at Lan Sheng's enigmatic smile. Her expression was frosty. When Yu Rui was about to pour water on Mei Aunt, she saw it clearly and could have stopped her in time, but she didn't. Not long after their mother passed away, their father brought Mei Aunt back home and even let her move into their mother's courtyard, showing great affection for her in front of everyone. Even the normally cold Jin Wei felt a chill in her heart. However, Lan Sheng's words had been sharp and cutting, and although they seemed more like a tantrum and revenge, Yu Rui's impulsive actions had come first. If their grandmother was going to punish one granddaughter, she would have to punish the other as well; otherwise, it wouldn't be fair.

  Jin Wei was exceptionally intelligent and had a good memory from a young age. She remembered that when she didn't understand the conflict between her mother and Mei Yi, she would call Lan Sheng "big sister". Although Lan Sheng rarely left her own courtyard, Jin Wei would often go to play with her on her own initiative. Everyone in the family expected or hoped that she would be a well-behaved big sister, diligent in her studies, and loving towards her younger sisters. However, when Jin Wei was unhappy, she wanted someone to talk to, and Lan Sheng would listen quietly to her tears and words, then give her a piece of malt sugar or a small trinket, which always managed to cheer her up again. At some point, Jin Wei gradually realized that her mother often cried because of Mei Yi, and she began to resent Lan Sheng, eventually having a falling out with her over a trivial matter and never speaking to her again.

  Thirteen years later, when they met again, Jin Wei felt that the Nan Yue Lan in front of her was completely different from before. Her older sister wouldn't argue, but Nan Yue Lan would. Her older sister didn't talk much, but Nan Yue Lan's silence was a deliberate plan to strike with full force. Her older sister's eyes always had a hint of sadness and resignation, while Nan Yue Lan's phoenix-like eyes were filled with confidence. What made Jin Wei most uneasy was that she couldn't sense Nan Yue Lan's life line. Her ability allowed her to predict people's lifespan since she was four years old. Nan Yue Lan was born with a short lifespan, and her intuition told her the same thing. Her older sister wouldn't live past twenty, and as she grew older, she became more indifferent to others' lives and deaths, so she didn't expect to see Nan Yue Lan again. Now, Nan Yue Lan was standing in front of her, but Jin Wei couldn't sense anything.

  Supporting her grandmother, Jinwei walked out. She didn't want to be the eldest daughter of this family, but she had to protect herself and Yurui. Anyone who was unfavorable to her sisters would not let them get away with it, including her aunt and half-sister.

  Night, peaceful and distant. Fragrance, faint and elusive.

  The ancestral hall's gate was wide open. In front of the ancestral tablets, Lan Sheng and Yu Rui knelt, a day had already passed.

  Yu Rui had been ignoring Lan Sheng, but after seeing her change from kneeling to sitting five hours later, she finally couldn't help but speak up, "Grandmother ordered you to kneel, how did you end up sitting down? You're not allowed to sit!"

  Lan Sheng not only sat down, but also leaned against the incense case, moved a cushion over, and comfortably fell asleep. When Yu Rui woke him up, he looked out and saw that the starry sky was twinkling, with some stars hanging near the treetops, their light falling in dots like silver threads into the flower pond. In the pond, there were still half a lotus flower and three or five lotus pods, slowly swaying in the autumn breeze.

  She couldn't help but think of a nursery rhyme she liked very much: "Stars in the sky, dogs and chickens on the ground, onions and leeks in the fields, fish and lotus roots in the pond." It's better than two tigers.

  Yu Rong forgot that she was still annoyed, her eyes were clear and bright as she recited it once, "This is nice to listen to and easy to remember, I can even memorize it in one go, the kids will definitely like it."

  Looking at Yu Rui's purity now, it's hard to imagine her reckless and arrogant appearance when she splashed water. Lan Sheng was a little curious, "Why did you splash my mother?"

  "Because Aunt Mei hurt my mother's feelings, she always cried. My mother cried so much that she got seriously ill." Yu Rui pouted, looking like a child, not at all like a seventeen-year-old girl?

  Lan Sheng felt normal, at 17 she was in high school, her classmates with both parents and a relatively well-off family were like Yu Rui, innocent and lively.

  "My mother and I left home many years ago, but it was your mother who drove us away. If anyone should cry, it's my mother." Although Mother said she wanted to leave on her own, the truth is that her sister couldn't tolerate her, so she had no choice but to go.

  Yu Rui widened her eyes, as if she had just come to a realization, with a hint of grievance. "Everyone told me that Mei Yi was bad, but no one told me that Mei Yi was also pitiful."

  Only then did he realize that Yurui was just a bit more innocent, but Lan Sheng wasn't so sure at this moment, because Yurui's reaction and words seemed to be more than just innocence.

  "The emperor has granted you the title of Holy Girl, I suppose you can also divine and predict." She wanted to probe a bit.

  Yu Rong's face was confused, "Was it sealed by the Emperor? I don't know. I also can't read fortunes, I only know how to diagnose illnesses."

  No problem with comprehension, shouldn't be stupid, but doesn't seem to be pretending either, Lan Sheng thought. Extremely naive plus super slow? Thinking that Yu Rui took a full five hours to correct her sleeping posture, whose genes did she inherit?

  "You can see the illness, why can't you cure your mother?" Being able to be called a holy girl, her medical skills and Yu Rui's foolishness must be two extremes.

  "When I saw Mother's illness, it was already a fatal disease, and it couldn't be cured." Yurui moved her legs, kneeling painfully, but she looked at the woman guarding the door and maintained her kneeling posture.

  Lan Sheng didn't bother to advise, not meddling in other people's business was a habit she had developed over time, and besides, she wanted to see how long this would last. "Can you see the aura of death?" Yu Rui asked whatever came to mind, which was just fine.

  "Ordinary people, as long as they have an illness on their body, I can usually see it. The color of the air is different, and the severity of the disease is also different. If the death energy appears, even the most brilliant medical skills cannot save them." Yurui said.

  "Jade sister is so formidable, help me take a look? It's said that everyone has some flaws." She looked at this time and space like a newborn baby, originally thinking that many phenomena were unreasonable, now she had a little understanding.

  It's as if one's soul is reincarnated, which cannot be explained by science. The power of natural elements in this world affects people with different physiques to varying degrees, perhaps allowing a small number of people to inherit unique abilities. Rather than rejecting it outright, it's better to understand it first, especially since she comes from a prestigious "fortune-telling" family where great and minor abilities are quite common.

  Yu Ruo carefully sized up Lan Sheng twice, then turned her head away.

  "What does it mean?" Lan Sheng rarely didn't give an inch.

  "I thought of you as Mei's daughter, so I didn't want to tell you. But putting aside Mei, you are one of the masses, and you asked with a sincere heart, so I should tell you the truth." So, he turned his head away and struggled with himself.

  Virgin. Lan Sheng thought of an internet slang. Unbelievable, and there are still lives.