Murong Jin came back carrying a cage, "Sister, look what I've brought back for you."
Aman emerged from the Buddha hall and whispered, "Young Master, her ladyship is currently picking Buddha beans in front of the Bodhisattva statue." She glanced at the little mink in the cage and exclaimed, "What an adorable mink! Thank you, Young Master. Her ladyship will surely like it!"
Murong Jin handed Aman the cage and said, "Why is she picking Buddha beans in broad daylight?"
"Her ladyship is praying for blessings for Old Mrs. Li." Aman explained.
Old Mrs. Li was the maternal grandmother of Murong Jin and Murong Yu. She adored the siblings more than her own grandchildren from the Li family.
Murong Jin nodded and said, "How kind of her."
Having nothing else to do, Murong Jin sat down and waited. Two-quarters of an hour later, Murong Yu finally came out. By that time, Murong Jin had already consumed a plate of steamed rice cakes.
"Sister, when will you dine?" asked Murong Jin.
The siblings were twins; the boy, naturally more active than the girl, still felt hungry even after a plate of snacks.
Murong Yu first gave the Buddha beans she had collected to Aman and said, "Boil these until they're cooked. Then distribute them at the crossroads tomorrow as part of the Life-Lengthening Ceremony."
"Yes, my lady," Aman replied as she took the winnowing basket and left.
Only then did Murong Yu turn her attention to her brother, looking at him with a disapproving gaze.
Murong Jin was perplexed and asked, "Why are you looking at me like that?"
"What do you think?" Murong Yu replied as she sat down, clearly annoyed.
Murong Jin was still carefree and ambitious at this moment, not the downtrodden prisoner he would become in his future life.
Murong Jin was puzzled and decided to present his gift and said, "Sister, I brought back a rare purple mink from the hunting grounds. It's the only one of its kind!"
"So you were at the hunting grounds?" Murong Yu asked as she glared at Murong Jin.
"What's the matter with you today, Sister?" Murong Jin asked, bewildered.
"Do you know about the nomad slave in the stables who was wounded by an arrow?" Murong Yu questioned.
"I know." Murong Jin responded.
"You knew and you just ignored it? That's a living being!" Murong Yu said furiously.
"Given how severe the injury was, he's likely beyond saving. I already did well to have him brought back instead of letting him die out in the open." Murong Jin explained. "Is he dead? Should I arrange for his burial?"
Murong Yu was infuriated. She said, "He's not dead; I had the royal physician, Dr. Wang treat him!"
"He's not dead? He's really hardy, then," Murong Jin said, genuinely surprised.
Murong Yu just glared at Murong Jin.
"Why are you so angry, Sister?" Murong Jin asked as he was puzzled. "It's not like I was the one who shot the arrow. It was Qiguang. I even scolded him."
"Qiguang? As in Zhou Qiguang?" Murong Yu paused.
"Yes, he said it was just a nomad slave, and if he died, so be it. That really angered me. How I manage my own slaves is my business; who is he to interfere?" Murong Jin said.
Murong Yu recalled the tragic fate of the Zhou family in her past life. She didn't know what they had done to offend Ji Chengxuan, who exterminated their entire clan, leaving no survivors. Zhou Qiguang suffered the most gruesome fate, being turned into a human swine and placed near the servants' latrines. Ji Chengxuan even ordered people to "take care" of him, preventing him from dying. It was truly a fate worse than death.
'So, it was all due to this arrow...' Murong Yu thought.
Murong Jin broke Murong Yu's reverie and asked, "How did you even come to know about that nomad slave, Sister?"
Murong Yu snapped back to reality and focused on Murong Jin. She said, "I just made a vow in front of the Bodhisattva statue to be a vegetarian for a month to pray for blessings for our grandmother, and you go around recklessly endangering lives. Are you trying to sabotage me?"