The Appearance in the Mirror

Although she saw Wei Dansheng, Xi Cui had no intention of rushing in front of him.

At this moment, her identity was different, and Wei Dansheng's personality also seemed to have undergone a major change. She had to think carefully about what to do.

After taking a stroll with Gao Qian, and waiting for Old Madam Gao to wake up, Xi Cui descended the mountain with the Gao family.

Li-shi's curiosity was very strong, and she was very concerned about the relationship between the two siblings, so as soon as she entered the carriage, she pulled her to ask back and forth.

Xi Cui replied, "Thank you, Sister-in-law. There are no more issues between Second Brother and me."

Only then did Li-shi feel at ease.

The carriage arrived before the gates of the Gao estate and slowly stopped.

Servants were already waiting outside the main door, waiting for their masters to alight.

Several maids dressed in red and green hastily went up to support the old lady inside, while the remaining tall servants went to prepare the carriage for rest.

Xi Cui followed the group into the estate, seeing long corridors, winding ponds, rockeries, pavilions, and carved beams, all magnificent and grand.

Fortunately, Xi Cui had visited the Forbidden City twice before. In terms of wealth, the Gao family could not catch up to the emperor even if they whipped their horses. She just viewed it as sightseeing, looking at flowers from horseback.

The Gao family was a noble house, and this kind of family had more rules than others.

Xi Cui was like Lin Daiyu entering the Grand View Garden, cautious and careful, doing as others did, trying not to expose herself or lose face. Fortunately, no one paid attention to her. She followed behind them without incident, successfully returning to the room where Gao Di Yu stayed.

The only servant serving beside Gao Di Yu was a maid named Xiao Luan, who had been called over from Old Madam Gao's place, along with two or three little maids and older sweepers.

Except for Xiao Luan, Xi Cui had no intention of remembering the others.

Xi Cui assessed her quarters.

Not large, and empty.

There was only a bed, two or three wardrobes, a table, four chairs, a dressing table, a screen, and a clothes rack.

Cold and unlike the boudoir of a noble lady, but the materials used in the room seemed very good. Xi Cui began to touch them, not knowing what material they were.

Walking to the dressing table, Xi Cui glanced at the mirror.

After all, she was a girl, and she was somewhat curious about her current appearance. From Kongshan Temple to the Gao estate, she did not even know if she was round or flat.

After seeing the figure reflected in the mirror, Xi Cui was somewhat stunned.

The girl was young, about fifteen or sixteen, looking very much like Gao Qian.

From a woman's perspective, her eyebrows were thick and dark, and her facial structure and lines were too strong. But from a man's perspective, Gao Di Yu's eyes were somewhat round, appearing too soft.

The face in the mirror was extremely neutral.

It was this face that made Gao Di Yu somewhat self-conscious; people of the time considered small eyes, curved eyebrows, and pale skin beautiful, but she had a masculine and resolute appearance.

Looking at the person in the mirror, a bold idea slowly rose in Xi Cui's heart.

On the way back, she was worrying about how to use her new identity to approach Wei Dansheng.

He was a monk in a temple, while she was an unmarried girl; if they interacted directly, it would inevitably cause gossip. Xi Cui did not care about these rumors, but she worried that if some rumors spread, it would affect her actions.

Now it seemed this face could help her solve many problems.

Xi Cui thoughtfully closed the mirror, looking toward the rosewood box placed on the table.

The rosewood box had four tiers in total.

Opening it, the first two tiers only contained two or three hairpins and a few pairs of bracelets; the jewelry was pitifully sparse.

Gao Di Yu did not like to dress up.

The third tier contained some loose silver and banknotes. The bottom tier contained a grass grasshopper woven from grass, which looked as if it had gone through many years; at a single touch, it risked turning into fine powder. Xi Cui did not dare touch it, fearing the grass grasshopper would sacrifice itself gloriously under her hand.

Perhaps this was given to her by Xiao Rongshan when they were young.

Xi Cui quietly locked the rosewood box tightly, then familiarized herself with the entire room once more.

But no matter how she searched, she only turned up this much property.

"How can she be so poor?" Xi Cui frowned.

Logically, with the monthly allowance from the Gao family, and new clothes and jewelry bought every season, she certainly should not be this poor.

The system was still the same as before, only reminding her of a thing or two, then letting go and leaving her to explore slowly on her own.

In short, without money, everything was difficult. Thinking of her impoverished state, Xi Cui began to feel a bit of heartache for the incense money she had donated to the temple.

Poor as she was, the next morning, Xi Cui still took out a portion of money and told Xiao Luan to buy some cosmetics.

There was nothing suspicious about a young lady wanting to buy cosmetics. Xiao Luan smiled and agreed, her face seemingly filled with joy. "Mistress has finally learned to dress up."

The life of a noble lady was very boring, even more boring than when she was on Biao'er Mountain.

When on Biao'er Mountain, Xi Cui could still play Madiao with Wei Dansheng, but here, first, she had no means of entertainment, and second, she had no friends to chat with every day.

Sitting for just a moment, Xi Cui felt extremely idle, and she also had the illusion that she was wasting her time.

She did not know if the flow of time in this world was the same as in the real world. The system had not told her, and she had forgotten to ask. If it was the same or faster than the real world, then she could not delay; even if it was slower, Xi Cui did not want to be trapped here forever.

Except for Gao Qian and her sister-in-law Li-shi, the other members of the Gao family, especially the young ones, did not like to approach her.

Xi Cui was also too lazy to socialize with them, and she was even somewhat grateful for this relationship, which saved her from worrying about interpersonal interactions.

If she wanted to return home, it was best to have less contact with the people here; the deeper the feelings, the deeper the bonds with this world. Humans are emotional creatures, and Xi Cui did not believe she could truly be completely heartless.

To avoid too many unnecessary emotional disputes with people in this world, she did just that.

Unnecessary social interactions were enough to cause headaches. If she could stay quietly at home, then let her stay quietly at home.

After waiting for a while, Xi Cui did not get Xiao Luan, but instead waited for another unfamiliar maid seeking an audience.

Xi Cui let her in.

As soon as the maid entered the room, she respectfully bowed to Xi Cui, claiming she had come on Gao Qian's orders.

"The young master loves Mistress dearly, so he specially ordered me to bring a pouch of silver," she said with a smile, taking an envelope from her sleeve and presenting it to Xi Cui.

The bulging envelope looked like a large sum of money.

Xi Cui calmly accepted the envelope, took some silver from her sleeve, and gave it to the maid as a reward. "Thank you for making the trip. Please thank Second Brother on my behalf when you return."

The maid accepted the reward, her smile clearly becoming much warmer. "Since Mistress has commanded, I will certainly convey it."

After the maid left, Xi Cui opened the envelope and took a glance; inside was a thick stack of neatly packed banknotes.

"Is Gao Qian this rich?" After counting the money in the envelope, Xi Cui thought in surprise.

"How could Gao Di Yu be so poor?"