Did the third place winner regret it today?

Chapter 6

Yin Shi didn't expect things to go so smoothly.
In the evening, her stepmother sent someone to call her over and told her, "Everything has been arranged. How long do you plan to stay there?"
Yin Shi was overjoyed and said, "I want to keep watch for a full year."

The Third Lady had a son and did not care about a concubine's daughter. She could keep the concubine's daughter if she wanted to, and it would also bring some good reputation to the family.
She agreed and said, "Then ask your roommate to pack your things. You don't have to take all the clothes for the four seasons at once. It's heavy. Just take what you need to wear now. We will send you some things when the season changes. Look at your roommates and see who to take and who to leave behind. You are not a child anymore. You should learn how to manage things."

Yin Shi suppressed his excitement, kept his face stiff, and said slowly, "Just take Yun Juan and Mother Li with you."
"The little girl who runs errands in your room?" The third lady asked, "What can she do? You have to take care of the eldest girl."

Yin Shi had heard from the maid that the custom in this time and space was to mourn for a concubine's biological mother for one year. She originally wanted to leave Qingyan and Qiaoque in the mansion, so that when she came back after a year of separation, she would be different from the "before", and they would have no reason to doubt it, because people always grow up and change, not to mention that she came back from an environment completely different from home.
Unfortunately, the third lady wouldn't allow it.

She had no choice but to choose the less threatening one: "Then Qiao Que will follow. Qing Yan will watch the yard."
The third lady agreed.
But although Li Pozi, who was beside Yin Shi, was old, she was just a servant and had no business. The two girls were too young and needed to be watched by a reliable person.

Yin Shi’s wet nurse was also an unlucky person. She breastfed the girl, but when she should have been enjoying the girl’s happiness, she died of illness.
Aunt Yan's health was not so bad at that time. She wanted to be closer to her daughter and begged the Third Lady to take care of Yin Shi herself. The Third Lady didn't care about a concubine's daughter, so she agreed.
But Aunt Yan was also unlucky and passed away, which resulted in Yin Shi having no one to look after him.

The third wife wanted to ask a mother from her own courtyard to go to Donglin Temple with her, so that she could at least get by for a year.
"Let me think about it. No one in my courtyard can get away... Um, Shuntang's family, yes, Gao Shuntang's family is quite mature. She is idle at home. Let her follow you."
Those who were needed were unwilling to give them to Yin Shi, so they picked out an unemployed person at home and gave him to Yin Shi.
Yin Shi bowed his head: "Thank you, mother."

Fortunately, here they are called "mother", "father", and "dad". Because these are not used in the original time and space, they are smooth to use.
It's just acting anyway.
If you really ask her to call "Dad" or "Mom", it might be difficult for her.

When I got back, I asked everyone to pack up.
When we heard that we had to go for a year, no one really wanted to go. Going for ten days or half a month was fine, that was fun, but going for a year... that was suffering.
But what can we do? The master has spoken, it is not a question of whether you want to do it or not.
They don't even have the freedom to resign.
Slaves are not hired workers. What they sign is a contract, which states that their bodies, lives, marriages and children all belong to their masters.
Yin Shi sighed and felt fortunate that at least he was not reborn as a slave for the second time.

"You have to take the cash box with you." She had thought about it long ago and made the distribution directly. "Qingyan stays here to look after the house, and give the key to Qiaoque first."
The only happy person was probably Qingyan.
She didn't need to go with him! If she could guard the yard by herself and close the door, wouldn't she be able to sleep until she woke up naturally?
Even when there was no one in the yard, she could still secretly sleep on the girl's lacquered bed.

He then took off the key from his waist and gave it to Qiao Que, reminding her: "Keep an eye on the box and keep the key with you. Remember to spend the money and you won't be able to explain it later."
Especially emphasized: "Please return it to me as soon as you come back, I am too worried."
The key is power. She had laid a foreshadowing in advance to prevent Qiao Que from coaxing Yin Shi during this year and returning without returning the key.
Yin Shi was surprised that a middle school student was engaging in workplace politics here.

At this time, everyone in the Yin family was surrounding Mrs. Shen and her son who had returned from the capital, and they were all praising them.
The death of a concubine from the third house would be a matter that others would just pay a small sum of money to get over.
Only Yin Shi, the fourth daughter of the third house, got on the carriage in hemp clothes and mourning clothes. She took a few boxes, two maids and two old women, and went quietly to Donglin Temple.
The old woman at the door watched her get on the carriage. Her small figure, dressed in mourning, looked very pitiful.

……
……
Yunjuan sat outside the curtain with the driver, while Qiaoque and the maids were in the back carriage.
Yin Shi was alone in the car, grinning.
Okay, okay, I’ll practice in the temple for a year first, and then go back after a year. It makes sense even if I feel like a different person.
That’s when a new life really begins.

The carriage went to Donglin Temple and it took more than half a day to arrive.
The coffin was not transported this way because it would make too much noise, and a concubine was not worth the trouble. In fact, Aunt Yan died at an inappropriate time, just when Madam Shen was visiting her parents. In order to avoid disturbing Madam Shen, she was transported out at that time and was said to have been hastily buried.

Now Yin Shi just came here holding Aunt Yan's tablet.
The servants had already come to make arrangements in advance. When they arrived, the monks in charge of reception would entertain them. Temples are places where people often stay. Donglin Temple is considered to be one of the most popular temples in the area. Rich families would come to it to hold religious ceremonies. Many courtyards and temples were originally built for this purpose.
Yin Shi was given a small courtyard here, not big, but very clean. Although it was much simpler than the courtyard at home, people who came here were not here to enjoy themselves. The monk in charge of reception said, "My name is Chunyuan. If you have any questions, you can come to me."
The monk in charge of reception is supposed to deal with pilgrims. Yin Shi didn't know how much the Third Master Yin donated to the temple, or how much it would cost to build a temple, but she saw that Chun Yuan had a lively look in his eyes, and he didn't have much of a scent of incense, but he had a strong smell of fireworks.
She coughed and called out, "Qiao Que."

She had already discussed this with Qiao Que before coming.
Money is the key to success wherever you go. But she didn't dare to be too direct, fearing that her original self couldn't say such words, so she could only pretend to be naive and ask, "When we go there, should we prepare some reward money so that the masters can chant more seriously for Auntie?"
Qingyan and Qiaoque both nodded in approval and prepared in advance.

Qiao Que then took out the purse that she had prepared in advance.
Although the Third Lady assigned a mother named "Shun Tang" to Yin Shi, Yin Shi was not familiar with her at all. They had just met in a hurry and had not spoken a word. They still needed to get used to each other. She was not informed of this matter in advance, so Yin Shi, the master, had to speak in person: "Master, this is a small gift, please don't despise it. Please recite the sutras for my aunt twice more when you recite the sutras. I will be very grateful."

Chunyuan quickly took the purse and put it into his sleeve, his expression and eyes were very sincere: "Amitabha, filial piety is the most important of all virtues, you can rest assured, as long as your heart is sincere, your request will be granted."
Of course, it would be better to do the rituals and chanting well, but mainly, Yin Shi hoped that his life would be more convenient this year.
The purse was filled with copper coins, which was heavy. Yin Shi felt that he was sincere enough.
Judging from the master's eyes, he also received the sincerity.
Yin Shiyi lowered his head, covered his face with his sleeves, and choked up: "Thank you."

After Chunyuan left, Gao Shuntang's wife said unhappily, "In the future, if there is anything, the young lady should discuss it with me in advance before doing it."
Her husband was called Gao Shuntang, he was the third wife's companion, now he was with the third master, his future was not bad. But she had no job, she was idle at home, now she suddenly got a job, although it was not a good one, it was better than being idle at home.
Only when you have a job can you get paid. Without a job, the master only provides a basic meal of rice. So everyone wants to get a job.

This job is expected to last for a year, which is not bad. But there is no room for further development. Because girls have to get married when they grow up. Human resources are limited. The third wife is a concubine's daughter-in-law. She has to work hard and fight in this big house. It is unlikely that she will give her companion room to a concubine's daughter.

Probably after this year, she and the fourth girl will go back to their own courtyards. In this case, Gao Shuntang's family didn't plan to get too involved. As long as nothing goes wrong, it's fine.
But seeing that the fourth girl Yin Shi was still young, she couldn't help but want to take advantage of her.

Yin Shi was not afraid of her, because she was someone he was not familiar with.
Yin Shi was only afraid that people who knew him well would find out that he had changed his mind, but he had nothing to be afraid of with people he was not familiar with.
She said, "It's just a small matter of money. If there's anything you want to discuss, I can make the decision. Don't tire me out. If there's something serious, we can discuss it with you later."

The first impression of a person is very important. Gao Shuntang's family failed the first time, so they felt that Yin Shi was not a soft person, and laughed dryly: "I'll watch them clean up the house."
So he rushed in first to cover up his shame.

Qiao Que was amazed and leaned over to Yin Shi's ear to praise her: "The girl is really good at talking." She had never noticed that before.
Yin Shi took the opportunity to say to her, "Remember, I don't have an aunt anymore. We can't be like before."
Qiao Que agreed and nodded: "Yes, the girl is right."
Gao Shuntang's wife called out loudly from inside the house, so she hurried in to help.

In this time and space, it is extremely troublesome for people of some status, regardless of gender, to go out. Not only do they have to prepare their own clothes, utensils, and bedding, but they even have to bring their own toilets.
Yin Shi first drank tea in the side room, watching Gao Mama, Li Pozi, Qiao Que, Yun Juan and the two strong women who came to see them off make the beds, arrange things, and organize boxes and cages.

After everything was packed up, the male servants and the healthy women said goodbye to Mama Gao and went back.
Mother Gao came to tell Yin Shi: "Every month, the family will send money and gifts. You don't have to worry about these girls. I'm here for you."
Yin Shi nodded: "Give the money to Qiao Que when it's delivered, and mom will take care of the things. You guys should take care of your own things, and whoever is in charge of something will be responsible if there is a shortage."

After two consecutive failures, Gao Mama gave up. Anyway, they only had one year, so they just had to deal with it. When she returned, she would still be a girl, and she might become a woman without a job again.
Finally, he folded his hands on his waist and lowered his head: "Yes."
Thus began Yin Shi’s one-year mourning period.

(End of this chapter)