In front of the bronze mirror, a pair of dexterous hands gently arranged Shen Cuiyu's black hair. In no time, a fluffy double - looped hairstyle was done, and a few small pearl hairpins were carefully adorned on it, making the already good - looking young girl appear even more charming.
After that, Shen Cuiyu watched as the maid brought out a brand - new dress. A goose - yellow cross - chested ruqun (a traditional Chinese dress) was paired with a light - green sheer gauze outer robe, extremely elegant. There was also a small rabbit - shaped sachet hanging around her waist, fully showing her charm.
There was originally a bright red silk ribbon sash, but Shen Cuiyu stared at the red color for a long time. Her eyelids kept twitching, and she firmly changed it to a light brown one.
After the maid finished dressing Shen Cuiyu, she took two steps back, carefully examined her, and suddenly her eyes lit up!
Her young lady was born with good looks. It was only because of her mental deficiency in the past that her beauty was buried. Now that the young lady had regained her senses, she was so radiant that the maid could hardly take her eyes off.
Shen Cuiyu looked at the brand - new young girl in the mirror, with her black hair like a cloud and the cute double loops. For a moment, she felt a bit dazed. This was a vivid look she had never had in her previous life.
Gently running her fingers across the goose - yellow dress, a warm feeling welled up in Shen Cuiyu's heart.
Actually... she also liked these bright colors, especially the goose - yellow, which was as warm as the sun and had always been a longing deep in her heart.
"Let's go." Shen Cuiyu got up briskly. Her skirt fluttered, just like a newly emerged butterfly, fluttering into the world.
The Shen family's carriage moved steadily forward and drove towards the Lianyun Taoist Temple. In no time, they arrived.
Shen Cuiyu helped Mrs. Zou out of the carriage. Looking up, she saw the magnificent Taoist temple in front of her. The smoke was curling up, and there were a continuous stream of pilgrims. It was indeed a blessed land.
The long stone steps in front of the main hall, paved with bluestones, were solemn and grand, extending upwards along with the morning light and the incense.
Mrs. Zou gently held Shen Cuiyu's hand and followed Shen Zanghai's steady steps as they climbed the steps one by one.
"A'cui, this is the Lianyun Taoist Temple. The Three Pure Ones are enshrined inside. The incense is very prosperous here, and it is extremely efficacious," Mrs. Zou looked at Shen Cuiyu's serene side face, and her eyes were filled with love and gratitude. "I once came here to pray for you. If God has eyes and restores my daughter's soul and mind, I will surely come here in person with generous gifts to fulfill my vow and contribute to the renovation of the Taoist temple..."
Shen Cuiyu felt a warm current in her heart and held Mrs. Zou's hand back. She really wanted to tell her mother in front of her that if it weren't for her parents' soul - summoning at a critical moment, she might have been a wandering ghost by now.
It wasn't the statues in the temple that restored her soul, but the sincere love of Mrs. Zou and Shen Zanghai for their daughter.
The prayer ceremony hadn't started yet. Shen Zanghai and Mrs. Zou first went to the main hall to talk to the Taoist priest. Shen Cuiyu had nothing to do, so she followed the crowd and walked slowly in the simple and elegant temple.
When they reached the corridor of the side hall, an elegant corner caught everyone's attention. They saw a row of ancient - looking scrolls neatly hanging under the corridor, full of artistic conception.
Seeing the crowd stop, the young Taoist priest who was leading the way explained gently:
"Dear pilgrims, please forgive me. This is the 'Place for Pilgrims to Form Good Karma'. My master, Taoist Priest Xuanchen, is a person who loves paintings. There are often pious pilgrims who send their precious calligraphy and painting masterpieces to the temple to form good karma." At this point, he gave a helpless smile. "At first, my master could personally appreciate and take care of them, but as time went by, there were more and more treasures in the warehouse, and he couldn't handle them all. Coincidentally, during this prayer ceremony, my master ordered us to take out these dusty treasures, sort them out, and hang them here for the pilgrims to appreciate. It's also a refined thing."
After saying that, the young Taoist priest's expression became a bit more serious. "However, dear pilgrims should know that most of these scrolls are relics from the previous dynasty. They are inevitably contaminated with the aura of time and haven't been blessed by Taoist magic yet. Therefore, you can only look at them and must not touch them casually, so as to avoid getting involved in... unnecessary karmic consequences."
The young Taoist priest's words were rather mysterious, and everyone nodded repeatedly.
Shen Cuiyu's eyes scanned these ancient paintings one by one. Each one was extremely exquisite, and the contents of the paintings were also diverse, including landscapes, pavilions, and portraits.
However, she wasn't very interested in painting, so she mostly just took a quick look and then moved on. Shen Cuiyu was looking around boredly when she suddenly saw the person sitting in the pavilion not far away.
The man was dressed in brocade clothes and jade belts, sitting in a leisurely posture. His fingers playing with the green jade teacup were as delicate as if carved from jade, with distinct joints. It was June, and there were peach blossoms all over the trees outside the pavilion. A few fallen petals were scattered on his shoulders. Shen Cuiyu couldn't help but take a few more glances. Three hundred scrolls under the corridor were not as eye - catching as this scene in front of her.
Who else could be so eye - catching even when drinking tea but that guy Pei Yu?
Shen Cuiyu stared at Pei Yu's back and shook her head, muttering in her heart. This so - called destined relationship was really too strange! Did he put a tracking charm on her? Why was Pei Yu everywhere?
At the same time, the man in the pavilion seemed to sense something. He suddenly turned his head and looked over. His deep, lacquer - like eyes met Shen Cuiyu's gaze directly through the crowd of pilgrims!
Shen Cuiyu froze and thought it was bad. Almost instinctively, she quickly retracted her head and nimbly hid behind a group of pilgrims looking at the paintings, pretending to be fascinated by a scroll in front of her.
The pilgrims were coming and going around her, and the crowd was surging. Shen Cuiyu held her breath and didn't dare to turn back.
She pricked up her ears and listened for a while. Feeling that the substantial gaze behind her seemed to have disappeared, Shen Cuiyu let out a sigh of relief and secretly congratulated herself for finally avoiding the situation.
She turned around, but Pei Yu's handsome face suddenly loomed in front of her!
Shen Cuiyu:?!
The young man in front of her had fair skin and extremely delicate features. In particular, his pair of eyes was extremely outstanding. The corners of his eyes were slightly upturned, and his long eyelashes were thick. At this moment, he was looking at Shen Cuiyu with an ambiguous look.
"Why are you hiding?"
Pei Yu spoke. His voice was clear and pleasant, but also carried a bit of nonchalance. His calm tone made it hard to figure out his mood at the moment.
Shen Cuiyu was stunned for a moment, and then a proper and sweet smile appeared on her face, with just the right amount of surprise in her eyes.
"So it's the young prince?!" She curtsied and said in a clear voice, "Are you also here to participate in the prayer ceremony? What a coincidence."
Pei Yu's gaze stayed on Shen Cuiyu's face for a while.
When he saw Shen Cuiyu yesterday, she was still sick. Although she didn't wear any makeup, she was elegant and refined. Today, with careful dressing, she was like a porcelain doll carved from powder.
However, this porcelain doll changed her expression really fast.
Just now, in order to avoid him, she looked like an ostrich that wanted to drill into the painting scroll. He saw it all clearly. Now she could say "coincidence" without changing her expression and with a charming smile?
This ability was truly amazing.
"Is it a coincidence?" Pei Yu slightly narrowed his phoenix eyes, and a trace of playfulness flashed across his eyes. He leisurely took a step forward. The faint fragrance of agarwood came with his leaning forward, bringing an invisible sense of oppression. Sure enough, he caught the momentary tension in Shen Cuiyu's body and the flash of vigilance in her eyes.