Chapter 4 Temple
It rained all night and the sky cleared up the next day, but all the mattresses in the room were wet.

Tong'er was drying the mattress, Jiang Li was sitting in the house, with a pile of shoe soles on the table. This was what she had to do every day. After sewing fifty shoe soles, she could get a string of copper coins. Copper coins were useless in this mountain, and Tong'er couldn't go down the mountain. She could only wait for the peddler who came up the mountain to arrive and buy some candies from him.

This is the only luxury for Jiang Li and Tong Er.

Looking out the window, Tong'er was standing on a stool drying the mattress. Not far away, a nun in a gray Taoist robe walked by without even looking at them.

They couldn't control these nuns, and Jiang Li was sent here because she made a mistake, and the only one she brought with her was Tong'er. Tong'er was the maid that Ye Zhenzhen picked for Jiang Li, and she had always been with Jiang Li.

The little girl was quite angry. She looked at the two nuns' backs as they walked away, and cursed them, "You hairless hens!"

Jiang Li knew that she was cursing because she was upset because she asked for a dry mattress in the morning but was rejected, so she couldn't help laughing.

Like master, like servant. Tong'er has been here for six years and it is still the same. Maybe the former Miss Jiang was more aggressive. If she wasn't aggressive, she wouldn't have committed suicide out of anger.

Would such a fiery-tempered person cry out for injustice after forcing his stepmother to have a miscarriage?
Jiang Li thought about what she had heard from Tong'er. It was said that Miss Jiang II would never admit to hurting her stepmother. Jiang Li thought that if she really did it, she would have admitted it loudly and confidently.

But none of this matters now.

Tong'er came back from hanging the quilt and sat next to Jiang Li. She was frightened by Jiang Li, and was afraid that Jiang Li would jump into the lake again if she wasn't paying attention, so she stayed by Jiang Li's side for the past few days. Seeing Jiang Li in a daze, she picked up the soles and started to work. Jiang Li looked at the dense needle holes on the little girl's fingertips, snatched the soles and threw them away, saying, "Don't do it anymore."

"Eh?" Tong'er was puzzled. "The peddler will be here in three days. Doesn't the girl want to eat maltose?"

Jiang Li shook her head and asked, "Do you want to sit here for the rest of your life, waiting for the monthly maltose?"

"Of course I don't want to." Tong'er asked, "But we can't leave here now." Then he muttered, "I wrote to the master and the old lady of the Ye family before, but there is no reply." Tong'er's face fell, "Could it be that they forgot about us?"

Jiang Li sighed. Not to mention delivering the message, I'm afraid their every move is under people's eyes. Usually, the young ladies who made mistakes were sent to the family temple. Because the host family also gave money to entrust them with care, the people in the nunnery would not treat them badly. But the nuns here were clearly making things difficult. After Jiang Li fell ill, they didn't even invite a doctor. I'm afraid it was all the idea of ​​the city of Yanjing.

As for who it is, you don’t have to guess to know it’s the second wife.

If Jiang Li really caused her miscarriage, Ji Shuran would definitely not let Jiang Li go. If Jiang Li did not cause her miscarriage, Ji Shuran staged this scene with the purpose of not letting Jiang Li go.

Moreover, Jiang Li's marriage was also snatched away. Jiang Li had nothing left. A maternal family that she had rejected and never had any contact with? A discarded legitimate daughter, in this place, even if she was killed, would not cause any trouble.

But why didn't Ji Shuran kill her?
Jiang Li didn't think that the other party was soft-hearted. Maybe she had other uses for the second wife or the Jiang family. Isn't it often the case that daughters are used as stepping stones to marry others and pave the way for their fathers and brothers' careers, just like Shen Yurong. The difference is that Shen Yurong used himself as a bargaining chip for marriage, and regarded Xue Fangfei as a stumbling block.

Miss Jiang Er reminded her of herself. She was also the same person who had her things taken away by others, had her own things taken away by others, and was also the same person who could not defend herself.

Tong'er watched Jiang Li's face darken and couldn't help but shudder.

For some reason, Tong'er felt that the Second Miss had become a little strange since she woke up. The Second Miss always said what she meant and spoke her mind. She even had a fight with the nuns in the nunnery. She was easily excited and angry. Of course, this was not the Second Miss's fault, but the fault of those bad guys.

But the second young lady had never been angry after waking up. She was gentle and spoke softly, making it hard to tell what she was thinking. When she was silent and thinking, Tong'er felt a little scared.

Jiang Li's fingers stroked the insole in front of her. The stitches on the insole were fine and dense. Although Tong'er was a bit noisy, her needlework was really good. She had to find a way to leave here.

Xue Fangfei in Yanjing City must be dead, but how Princess Yongning and Shen Yurong lied, she didn't know. She had to go see Xue Zhao again, and she had to find a way to go back to Tongxiang. Xue Huaiyuan was dead, and his two children were also dead. Who would collect his body? She hadn't seen Xue Huaiyuan for the last time.

She wanted to leave here, but now in Yanjing City, no one in the entire Yan Dynasty remembered her, Jiang Li. A person who no one remembered would not be taken away from here.

In this case, the only option is to leave here on our own initiative.

If no one remembers, it is not difficult to let the world remember.

Jiang Li suddenly laughed.

Tong'er looked at her in surprise. This was the first time Jiang Li smiled in these days. It was not the cold smile or bitter smile she had before, but a happy and comfortable smile. This smile made her pale face lively and bright like a morning flower.

"Tong'er," Jiang Li asked her, "You said there are peddlers coming up the mountain?"

"Yes," Tong'er said, "Peddler Zhang comes here at noon on the tenth day of May every year. We have agreed with him that if he has any delicious cakes or candies, he should come to us first and we can choose whatever we want."

On the contrary, the maids in the wealthy families, even if they were down and out and could only afford a string of copper coins, could still speak with great authority.

"Are there a lot of candies?" Jiang Li asked.

"A lot." Tong'er asked, "Miss, do you want some candy?"

Jiang Li smiled and said, "I do."

It's too bitter. Because it's too bitter, she misses the sweet taste of honey. These candies can make her taste sweet, but can also make some people feel bitter.

Tong'er said happily: "Girl, it's good that you want to eat candy. We saved some copper coins a few days ago, and we can exchange them for several baskets. You can eat as much as you want!"

Jiang Li asked, "You said that this is the Helin Temple nearby, right?"

Tong'er looked at her blankly and asked, "Miss, do you want to go and burn incense too?"

"No." Jiang Li said: "I don't believe in Buddhism."

Tong'er was puzzled.

Jiang Li's smile softened a little, and she said, "What's so good about believing in Buddha?"

(End of this chapter)