CHAPTER 419: CHAPTER 387: FORTUNE AND DIVINATION (5 UPDATES)

After donating the incense money, Lin Xiaoyue followed the little monk to chant sutras and pray for blessings.

Jinbao saw the monk sitting in front of the Golden Buddha Statue, tapping the wooden fish, and his curiosity was piqued. He had a strong urge to tap it too, but was afraid his mother wouldn’t approve, so he kept glancing at Wen Wan.

Wen Wan said, "That’s not something you can touch."

Jinbao had to withdraw his restless little hands.

Lin Xiaoyue asked for a peace charm, and upon returning, she saw Wen Wan holding her son’s hand, standing outside the side hall, and beckoning her over.

Wen Wan turned around and saw Lin Xiaoyue looking radiant, as if she’d encountered something joyous.

Wen Wan asked her, "Why are you so happy?"

Lin Xiaoyue waved the peace charm in her hand, "After getting this, I feel much more at ease. Naturally, I’m happy."

Wen Wan didn’t want to dampen her spirits by saying it’s all psychological, so she just smiled along.

Lin Xiaoyue looked at her curiously, "Why don’t you ask for one?"

Wen Wan said, "It doesn’t work for me."

Lin Xiaoyue retorted, "You haven’t even tried, how do you know it doesn’t work?"

Of course, Wen Wan couldn’t tell her that relying on the Bodhisattva wasn’t as effective as her own intuition.

She only said, "My family doesn’t really believe in this."

Lin Xiaoyue squinted, thinking carefully, "That can’t be right. I stayed at your house a couple of years ago, and your mother-in-law seemed quite superstitious."

Wen Wan, busy lying, had forgotten that Lin Xiaoyue stayed at the Song family for a while to escape trouble and met her mother-in-law. She quickly added, "It’s my husband who doesn’t believe."

Lin Xiaoyue didn’t dig deeper, "If we’re not going to pray for blessings, how about drawing lots for fortunes?"

Wen Wan said, "Didn’t you already pray and get a peace charm? Why draw lots too?"

"The more the merrier!" said Lin Xiaoyue, caught up in her superstitious fervor that Wen Wan couldn’t stop, so she had to accompany her to the Great Hall.

Outside the hall, there was a wooden table, with a round-faced monk sitting behind it. On the side panel, the words "Fortune Interpretation" were written.

Wen Wan immediately understood his purpose for sitting there.

The round-faced monk saw the two female patrons and clasped his hands together, saying "Amitabha Buddha."

Lin Xiaoyue smiled politely, glanced around upon entering, found a vacant spot, knelt on the nearest prayer mat, and patted the spot next to her, indicating for Wen Wan to kneel too.

Wen Wan stood still, and Lin Xiaoyue turned her head, "Didn’t we agree to draw lots and ask for divination? You’re not backing out, are you?"

Wen Wan didn’t want to refute, she just felt completely uneasy upon entering, probably because of her exceptional skill of revealing secrets from heaven.

Every time she sensed something was about to happen, it was as if she was revealing secrets from heaven.

She had pushed someone riddled with bad luck who could never have participated in the imperial exam again into the officialdom. This feat was also called "defying the heavens to change fate."

What the charlatans in the Jianghu couldn’t achieve, she unknowingly managed to do.

Standing in front of the Buddha, she always felt as if the Buddha could see right through her.

Wen Wan was at a loss whether to kneel or stand.

Beside her, Lin Xiaoyue continued urging, "Kneel quickly, it’s about to begin."

Wen Wan thought for a moment, deciding not to proceed herself, instead letting Jinbao go.

Lin Xiaoyue was astonished, her eyes wide open, "You’re letting a three-year-old toddler draw lots?"

Wen Wan smirked, "Isn’t it said that a child’s heart is the purest? Letting him draw feels more efficacious than me doing it."

Lin Xiaoyue had no way to respond to that, looking at Jinbao with a complex expression, she asked the little one, "Do you know what we’re doing?"

The little one had already taken the lot tube handed to him by his mother, cradling it in his arms. Upon hearing Lin Xiaoyue’s question, he shook his head in confusion.

Lin Xiaoyue shifted her gaze back to Wen Wan, "See? He doesn’t understand a thing."

Wen Wan smiled faintly, bent down, and whispered something into Jinbao’s ear.

Lin Xiaoyue didn’t know what riddle they were playing, she just saw the little one nod twice, then close his eyes, clutching the lot tube tightly as he shook it with all his might.

Soon after, a lot fell out.

Before Wen Wan could pick it up, Lin Xiaoyue, being closer, had already grabbed it first.

She didn’t believe a three-year-old could draw a fortune stick, so she wanted to see what would come out.

It read "Great Blessing," the inscription: "Look forward to news towards Chang’an, often carefully observe the crossflower. It’s said a document will enter the country, today brings joy and smiles."

Lin Xiaoyue looked puzzled, she only saw the words "Great Blessing," then handed the stick to Wen Wan, hesitantly asking, "Is this accurate for your family? By the way, what did you just tell Jinbao?"

Wen Wan smiled, "Nothing much, just asked him to think of his dad, and keep shaking the tube until a stick fell out."

Lin Xiaoyue, "Just like that?"

"What else did you expect?"

"So, do you think it’s accurate?"

Wen Wan lowered her head to look, her gaze paused especially on "It’s said a document will enter the country, today brings joy and smiles."

"Is it accurate or not? Give me an answer!" Lin Xiaoyue was impatient, "If it’s not accurate for your family, I won’t bother drawing one; no need to look at a wrong one and get upset."

Wen Wan couldn’t understand the inscription, she vaguely felt that if she asked about fame and fortune, the last two lines were very auspicious. She hesitated for a moment and spoke, "You’re right, Jinbao is just a little kid, his drawn inscription can’t be taken seriously."

Seeing Lin Xiaoyue about to get up, Wen Wan added, "Don’t be hasty, you don’t need to look at our family. If you want, just draw one; otherwise, you’ve come all this way and return with regret, wouldn’t that make you unhappy? You might end up sleepless night after night."

Lin Xiaoyue thought this over and felt Wen Wan made sense; since she was already here, she shouldn’t return with regret.

She knelt back down, and this time didn’t hesitate, closed her eyes, picked up the tube, and gently shook it. Before long, a stick fell to the ground.

Lin Xiaoyue opened her eyes, not picking it up immediately, as if doing psychological self-preparation. Slowly, she put down the tube, bent down, then turned her head aside, not immediately looking at what was written on the stick. Only when she held the stick in her hand did she turn back to reveal the obscured characters, seeing "Worst of the Worst" written.

The inscription: "A mountain picturesque across the river clear, within the door, reunion, everything doubly. Who would have thought halfway disperse, empty bed wordless facing the silver lamp."

Back when Lin Xiaoyue joined Hongwen Academy, she had to drop out soon due to pregnancy. She hadn’t read much, her cultural level limited, so she couldn’t really understand what the inscription meant, only staring at "Worst of the Worst," her face pale.

Wen Wan saw this and took the bamboo stick from her hand to have a look. After a while, she spoke, "Worst of the Worst doesn’t always mean a bad stick, it depends on what you asked. Isn’t there a little monk outside the main hall specializing in interpreting sticks, why not ask him?"

Lin Xiaoyue thought of something and murmured, "I want to meet Master Xu Yun."

"Master Xu Yun?" Wen Wan had never been to Fahua Temple before and was completely unfamiliar with the name.

Lin Xiaoyue said, "He is a famous enlightened monk from Fahua Temple."

"Since he’s an enlightened monk, can the two of us ordinary women meet him just like that?" Wen Wan was somewhat worried.

Lin Xiaoyue suddenly smiled, "Silly, my nephew Little Four is a monk here. I heard he’s already a disciple under Master Xu Yun, so if I find him, meeting Master Xu Yun should be easy, right?"

Lin Xiaoyue’s mention reminded Wen Wan about Su Yaoqi’s monastic life at Fahua Temple, which she nearly forgot.

By the time she realized it, Lin Xiaoyue had left the main hall and was eagerly asking the fortune-telling monk about Su Yaoqi’s whereabouts.

At first, she mentioned Su Yaoqi’s name, which left the fortune-telling monk puzzled, shaking his head and saying he hadn’t heard of him.

Lin Xiaoyue was perplexed, "He clearly is ordained at Fahua Temple, how could you not have heard of him?"

Upon hearing the commotion, Wen Wan stepped forward and said, "A young man practicing with hair, have you seen such a novice monk, little master?"

Upon hearing this, the fortune-telling monk suddenly realized, "Oh, you mean Brother Shikong, he’s currently meditating in the Zen room."

Lin Xiaoyue quickly asked, "Can you take us to him?"

The fortune-telling monk hesitated.

Lin Xiaoyue added, "I’m his aunt by common name."

Hearing that they were relatives, the caution in the monk’s eyes eased a bit, and he respectfully invited the two women to follow.

Lin Xiaoyue glanced back at Wen Wan with a knowing look.

Wen Wan smiled, placed the drawn stick back, took her son’s hand, and followed the two’s steps.

The guest quarters were in the West Garden, while the disciples’ Zen rooms were in the East Garden. The hall of worship was located centrally, equidistant from both East and West gardens.

Perhaps because it was a Royal Temple, it felt more solemn compared to other small temples. Visitors here were very quiet, and even though they encountered quite a few visitors along the way, Wen Wan didn’t hear any loud noise.

Jinbao was still bewildered, having no idea what the purpose of his mother having him shake the tube was. However, the little guy seemed to sense the peaceful atmosphere in the temple and didn’t babble on as he normally would.

The group soon reached the East Garden.

Passing through the moon gate, inside were the disciples’ Zen rooms.

Lin Xiaoyue and Wen Wan felt it inappropriate to enter, so they stopped there.

The monk who brought them, Dharma name Shiming, politely asked the two to wait for a moment before turning and entering the Zen compound.