A door hidden in the corner of the house opened and closed, and with hurried steps, the mother rushed to hug Sha Ting: "Shh~~ Bao daughter, whisper!" Mom picked up the mirror, hugged her to her chest, and walked briskly out the door, "Shh~~ Good daughter, don't cry!" ”

The sun was about to set, and a blue-purple mist rose from the glade. Mom hugged Sha Ting and sat down on the red brick steps.

"Mom, aren't we leaving?" Sha Ting cried and asked, "I'm scared! It's getting dark, how do we go down the mountain and go home? ”

"Don't be afraid, good girl." Mom took out the mirror in her arms, and Sha Ting was so frightened that she drilled into her arms. "Don't be afraid, you see it's just a little bit of a special mirror. When I was younger, I used to wipe it down and polish its copper edges. The wood carving on the back is a carving by Moren Gin. Mom told you about him, do you remember? ”

Sha Ting remembers that her mother said that the man was Goto's most famous painter and sculptor, "the same painter who painted the portrait in front of the tomb of the former hot spring hall lord who retreated to the Eternal Forest, right?" ”

Mom kissed her happily, "You're amazing, baby girl." That's him! She flipped the mirror over. The mirror, which he made with his own hands, depicts the transformation of a dead moon god into a bloodthirsty forest. You must remember that story, right? Granny Dai said that the mirror was originally a pair. The other wood carving on the back is the birth of the god of war, which is said to be more realistic and exquisite, but unfortunately I haven't seen it. ”

Mother's fingers brushed over the long tumbling hair of the moon god painted on the wood carving, "Look how beautiful the gin painter is!" She exclaimed.

Sha Ting still didn't want to look at the painting again, she felt that it had the magic of invading the real world, and she was terrified.

"Why does Granny Tin, well, have a mirror made by a gin painter?" Sha Ting asked.

"Because Granny Dai and he are the same class as Jinwuyuan. They used to be good friends. ”

"What?! Kinwooin?! That bad mother-in-law just now? Sha Ting asked aloud in surprise. She could barely believe her ears.

Not long ago, her parents took her to the Champ de Mars on the Isle of War to watch the ceremony of the completion of the statue of Mars. There, she had glimpsed the figures of the five shrine maidens of the town hall and the commander of the Isle of War from afar. She knew that several of them had graduated from the Golden Crow. Those great people who were in the spotlight were almost god-like beings in the eyes of little Sha Ting, and the status of the Golden Crow Courtyard in her heart was almost equal to that of Tranquility Mountain! Did that terrible mother-in-law just now come from Jinwuin?

"Yes, Shating." Mom smiled slightly, "But Granny Dai is not a bad mother-in-law, you can't call her that in the future." She is my mother, your grandmother's own sister. Not only was she the only one in Smoke Town who had ever been to the Golden Crow, but she had also stayed there to teach for a few years because of her all-in grades. Thirteen years ago, when she returned to Smokytown alone with severe burns, many people didn't know that she was the beautiful girl who went to the Golden Crow Courtyard back then, Grace Grace. ”

"I was fifteen years old when she found me in the funicular shop in the harbor, and I had been living alone for more than a year, both of my parents had died of yellow fever. She is completely different from what your grandmother described, with a bad temper and body, and probably the ten years she spent in Jinwuin Temple completely changed her. But at that time we were each other's only blood relatives in the world, because I didn't have your brother and you at that time. ”

Mom smiled and shook Sha Ting's little hand, and continued, "She rebuilt the old Grace family's abandoned old house on Cedar Hill and brought me here to live with her. She was a skilled doctor, but she never treated the poor people in the town, but occasionally made a visit to the port or other cities to treat wealthy merchants or powerful people, and could make a fortune at a time. I've lived with her in this house behind you for three years. I was able to help her with a few things, and she taught me a lot. My mother was able to maintain our small family by opening a pharmacy and treating people in the town, all thanks to Granny Tinda. ”

"Then why didn't you mention her in any time? Why did you leave here? Satine asked, confused.

"Hmm... There are several reasons, but the main one is because I met your dad, daughter. There's no way Granny Lady Ting can agree to me going with your father, and I can't be separated from your father anymore. I just ran away. I thought Granny Lady was going to catch up with me and take me back, she could have done it. But she didn't. So I had your brother with your dad, and then I had you, baby Sha Ting! ”

Mom lowered her head and pressed her head affectionately against Sha Ting's head.

"You know my daughter, the most precious thing I am in this world is you. I'm willing to do anything for you, because my bright and lovely little daughter deserves the best of everything! You shouldn't spend your life in this remote and desolate Smoky Town, you should go to the Golden Crow Courtyard like Granny Dai! ”

"Me? Can I go to Kinooin? Do you mean to go to school there? Xiao Shating got out of her mother's arms, faced her mother's face, and asked in surprise. She had already heard so many things that surprised her this afternoon, and her mother's words just now made her feel incredible!

"Of course, daughter! That's what I'm here for! You have the blood of the Grace family in your veins, you have such a talent! Granny Dai also understood. She just looked at your palm prints, and she said that your future is vague and she can't see through it all at once, so she told us to wait until evening, when the stars rise, and she can't decide until after stargazing. As long as she says yes......"

Before Mom could finish speaking, the screen door behind her creaked open, and the young woman who had just spoken to Mom walked out.

"Midori mourned, Grace Apothecary said you could come back. But you have to afford your old job, and you are paid five silver rings at a time. Your daughter can stay in this room while you work, as long as she wants. ”

The woman's tone was serious, but there was excitement and cheerfulness in her eyes.

Later, Sha Ting learned that her name was Gülen, and she was a little girl bought by Granny Dai from the cable shop where she found her mother, and she was an old acquaintance of her mother.

Gülen was a talker, and she told her many things in the days that followed.

She said that when her mother was young, she was smart and beautiful, like her talented Aunt Dai. She could have gone out into the wider world, but she was chained to this remote corner by Satine's mediocre father, and her talent and beauty were allowed to slip through the endless days of poverty.

Sha Ting listened silently, but did not agree with Gülen's words. She didn't think her father was mediocre. He is obviously a tall and handsome beautiful man, and he will attract people's attention wherever he goes. But she knew that their family's life was indeed going downhill. Dad's business at the port was not successful, and he took all the family's savings and a lot of time to get back barely enough money to make ends meet.

Glenn also said that Granny Grace agreed to stay because she couldn't read Satine's palm prints, which meant that Potting's future and Grace's future were partly interconnected. After stargazing, Dai discovers that the star in front of the star that represents Sha Ting's fate is her own star, and that Sha Ting's fate is to follow her and help her.

Sha Ting couldn't imagine how she could help the grumpy aunt who wouldn't talk to her, and she couldn't imagine how she was entangled with her fate. She told her mother this, and she was very happy! She said that Granny Dai has always been in contact with Jinwu Academy, and she has been seeking to return to Jinwu and teach again for many years. Sha Ting's visit to the Golden Crow Courtyard will never be just a dream.