Chapter 2: The Maid Qingyue, No Absolute Despair

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"The *Zhi Shen* is an early work by the great Confucian scholar Ji Yuan, and it is also his most controversial work."

At first glance, the content of *Zhi Shen* does not seem to promote Confucianism but rather discusses spirits, ghosts, and demons.

In the book, the great Confucian scholar Ji Yuan uses a series of bizarre and strange ghost stories to warn the world that one must not fail to fear spirits, ghosts, and demons!

This goes against the ghost and spirit ideology in contemporary Confucianism.

"The grand Confucianism emphasizes righteousness like a rainbow, which can repel spirits and ghosts! Many great scholars have written poems to mock those who worship ghosts and spirits, such as the line 'The gods frown and smile, the master changes his face, sending the gods back to the green mountains with ten thousand riders.' In his early years, Ji Yuan wrote such a book called *Zhi Shen*. People doubted him, but he did not explain himself; he just rarely mentioned spirits and ghosts later on."

Lu Jing read the book carefully. At first, he found the bizarre and strange ghost stories in *Zhi Shen* quite intriguing, but as he read on, he gained a deeper understanding.

"Each story in *Zhi Shen* has good and bad people, as well as good and evil spirits... Since Buddhism, Daoism, and Confucianism all respect human nature, they should naturally also respect the nature of spirits and ghosts to avoid the calamities brought by demons and spirits."

"This is teaching the world to protect itself, not to think that spirits and ghosts are superior to humans."

After reading a fable about a neighbor who was exterminated and then pursued by an evil ghost, Lu Jing felt he had gained much.

"However, the views of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism on spirits, ghosts, and demons are different, but none of them deny the existence of ghosts and spirits... Does the fact that great Confucian scholars write about spirits and ghosts mean that there are really demons, ghosts, gods, and spirits in this world?"

Lu Jing couldn't help but doubt: "This world is different from the world of my previous life. At the very least, the Lu family has warriors who can easily move stone lions weighing at least a ton at the gate.

In the imperial examinations, scholars need to study martial arts and be proficient in riding, archery, and swordsmanship... This is far from ordinary."

"Unfortunately, the original Lu family's third young master had few opportunities to leave the mansion from childhood, and he couldn't even enter the library at will. The memories he left me are very vague, and I can only integrate some memories when I think about things."

As Lu Jing was deep in thought, a gentle voice came from behind him.

"Master Jing..."

"It's Qingyue," Lu Jing's thoughts were interrupted, but he wasn't angry.

In less than a moment, a dark wooden lunch box was placed on the stone table in front of Lu Jing.

"Master Jing, reading is important, but lunch is also important. I waited for you for a long time, but you didn't come back, so I had to carry this lunch box around to find you."

A young girl was complaining.

The girl was about seventeen or eighteen years old, wearing a light blue plain dress, with a wooden hairpin on her head, black hair, and a face that was naturally elegant without makeup.

Especially her willow-leaf eyes, which added a touch of gentleness.

"I first went to the old locust tree where you often go, but you weren't there, so I found you here. The reheated food has cooled again."

Qingyue was Lu Jing's maid.

To be precise, she was the only maid in Lu Jing's room.

Since Lu Jing was eight years old, Qingyue, who was a year older, had been by his side.

At that time, they were both young, and Lu Jing's mother was still alive. Qingyue usually played with Lu Jing and did some trivial tasks.

After his mother passed away, Qingyue grew up and became the most qualified maid.

Her small room was well-organized by Qingyue, and even the food on the table was made by her.

In a noble family like the Lu family, each courtyard had its own kitchen.

However, the kitchen might be "too busy," and the quality of the food sent over when his mother was alive was questionable.

It was either too cold, leftover from the previous night, or the amount of food was too small.

So, Qingyue took the initiative to cook, and over the years, Lu Jing and Qingyue have been living like this.

"This morning, I went to buy groceries and found that the price of young greens had gone up, so I bought some cabbage. I didn't get any vinegar from Master Liu in the kitchen, so I could only cook it with some salt."

"This meat was sent by Miss Qiang, it's very tender... Miss Qiang is truly kind-hearted. She is also a guest in the Lu family, yet she often sends us food..."

Qingyue gently told Lu Jing these trivial matters as she took out two dishes and warm rice from the lunch box.

Lu Jing smiled and listened to Qingyue's chatter, taking the bowl and chopsticks she handed him.

To some extent, Qingyue's presence prevented Lu Jing from being overwhelmed by the sudden transition to a strange world.

Moreover, Lu Jing could see that Qingyue genuinely regarded him as a family member.

Even though her status was that of a lowly maid, she still cared for Lu Jing from the bottom of her heart.

"Qingyue, your cooking skills are getting better."

Lu Jing slowly finished the food in front of him and sincerely praised Qingyue.

Qingyue's face turned slightly red, knowing that her young master was encouraging her.

She knew that compared to the food from the kitchen, her cooking could only be considered "not bad."

Moreover, cooking in this era was a specialized skill, usually serving the "high officials and nobles."

For most people, the primary purpose of food was to fill their stomachs, not to satisfy their taste buds.

In such a situation, no one would willingly teach their survival skills to unrelated people.

So, Qingyue could only learn on her own.

Furthermore, without the various seasonings from the kitchen, and having to be frugal with oil and salt, how good could the food be?

"The weather has been getting colder lately." Qingyue, knowing that her young master was "humoring" her, felt embarrassed and changed the subject: "As the saying goes, the autumn wind penetrates the bones. Tomorrow, Master Jing should change into autumn clothes, or he might catch a cold, making this winter even harder to bear."

Speaking of autumn clothes, Qingyue bit her lip: "By the way, this morning, Manager Liu sent a message asking me to collect the autumn clothes. I wonder what material they will be this time..."

"In previous years, Master Jing's autumn clothes, not to mention compared to the fine clothes of the other young masters and misses, even compared to the clothes of the children of the managers, the material was much inferior. I hope this time they will be thicker."

Lu Jing helped Qingyue put the dishes and utensils back into the lunch box and still smiled: "The material doesn't matter. If it's too thin, I can wear last year's autumn clothes as an inner layer and then put on the new clothes. Besides, it's still quite hot at noon, and wearing too much can make you sweat."

Qingyue turned her head and saw the calm smile on Lu Jing's face, feeling that the young master had become much warmer over the past three months.

"Before, when the young master encountered such things, he would clench his teeth and frown, feeling sorry for himself. Now, he has matured a lot."

Thinking of this, Qingyue couldn't help but feel very sorry for Lu Jing.

"Perhaps the young master has resigned himself? Studying poetry and books for eight or nine years, but because he never learned riding, archery, or swordsmanship, he could never participate in the child scholar exams.

Later... he had to become a赘婿in the Southern Mansion, forever unable to take the imperial exams."

"Now, the Southern Mansion has gone back on its word... The young master can't even be a wealthy man for life."

Qingyue lowered her head, and tears welled up in her eyes.

She felt that Young Master Lu Jing was kind-hearted, diligent in his studies, and wrote excellent essays, being a scion of a great family.

Now, his future is bleak, and he might never escape the current mire...

"Qingyue, go back and bring a lamp for me. We'll have dinner a bit later, wait for me to come back."

Lu Jing's voice interrupted Qingyue's thoughts.

Qingyue picked up the lunch box and quickly turned around, not wanting Lu Jing to see the tears in her eyes.

"Don't worry," Lu Jing's voice came from behind her: "There's always a way out when you reach the mountain."

"There is no absolute despair."

Lu Jing spoke softly.

Hearing Lu Jing's voice, Qingyue paused, wiped away the tears that had fallen, and turned to give Lu Jing a gentle smile.

"Understood, young master."