The meal was relaxed and comfortable. Afterward, Carson urged his mother to rest. "The wind picked up last night, and you didn't sleep well. Go catch up on your rest."
The housekeeper brought over fresh tea and chimed in, "Mrs. Foster insisted on finishing copying a volume of the Heart Sutra last night. She stayed up too late and ended up with insomnia."
"And I still didn't finish," Mrs. Foster sighed regretfully.
Without missing a beat, Marina offered, "You go rest. I'll finish copying it for you."
Mrs. Foster looked genuinely surprised and delighted. "You'll help me?"
Marina instantly realized she might have spoken too soon and backpedaled awkwardly. "Actually, never mind. My handwriting isn't great. I'd hate to ruin the beautiful work you've already done."
Carson snorted. "You can't just take back an offer like that. It's all yours now!"
Marina gritted her teeth and shot him a lethal glare.
"It's fine, copying scriptures is all about sincerity," Mrs. Foster said, beaming at the two of them. "I'll leave the rest of that volume to you."
Left with no choice, Marina agreed. "Of course."
Mrs. Foster added, "Carson, go help Marina."
Carson scowled, while Marina's lips curved into a smug, gloating smile.
*
If there was one thing Carson hated more than anything, it was copying scriptures.
Back in the day, Mrs. Foster used to force him to copy texts with her to build his patience. Just looking at the dense characters gave him a splitting headache, and copying even a few pages left him drained for the rest of the day.
Seeing that he clearly lacked the temperament for it, she had eventually let him off the hook.
Mrs. Foster's study was pristine and elegantly simple. One wall featured a lattice window facing the garden, flanked by two towering bookshelves. In the center sat a sturdy desk holding a small incense burner, traditional calligraphy tools, and neat stacks of scriptures.


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The readers' comments on the novel: Find me in your labyrinth (Stella and Jonathan)
May we please have updates. Thank you...
It's time for Carson and Marina to commit further than the engagement. Looking forward to the updates....
Thank you for the updates....
Thank you for the updates. I thoroughly enjoy your writing....
May we please have updates... I'm curious to know how Marina saved Carson....
Time for Carson andarina to comit. Thank you for the updates....
Things are looking up for Xavier and Norah. Thank you for the updates....
Woohoo! This was sooooo good. Thank you for the updates....
This was classic updates. Thank you so much...
May we please have updates. Thank you...