Grandma Yun said happily, "Of course, otherwise why would we always say that Heaven has eyes?"
"Grandma trusts me completely."
Old Lady Yun quickly covered Yun Ling's mouth, "Pah, pah, pah! You're not allowed to make things up here. If the gods hear you, they'll grab your ears, pull your mouth, pinch your butt, and make you feel uncomfortable no matter what."
The snow fell even heavier, and the crowd grew even larger. Old Lady Yun took three long incense sticks from her basket and handed them to Yun Ling.
"Here you go. When the gong sounds, light the incense by touching this candle next to you, then hold it up to the front and put it in that big incense burner. That'll save you the trouble, won't it?"
No sooner had Old Lady Yun finished speaking than a gong sounded in mid-air, followed by a deep, resonant voice.
"The New Year is approaching, and new blessings are on their way."
Yunling was pushed by her mother-in-law to the candle, blocking the way for the people behind her. Yunling held the incense stick to the flame, and then, remembering that the outer flame was the strongest, she moved the incense stick to the outer flame. But the incense stick didn't light, and the part below it got burned black.
"Hey you little rascal, you can't even light an incense stick."
Old Lady Yun snatched the incense from Yun Ling's hand and shoved it directly into the flame. Surprisingly, the three incense sticks were unusually obedient in her hands, and soon they were all covered with the towering flames. With a wave of her hand, Old Lady Yun turned the still-burning flames into smoke, leaving only the red-hot incense tips.
"Isn't that better? You're so slow and dawdling. It's a shame you earn money with your brains. If you relied on manual labor, you wouldn't even earn enough for a steamed bun in a day."
Yunling smiled and accepted the three incense sticks. "Everyone has their own talents and strengths. I can't do this, but Grandma can."
As Yunling was speaking, Old Lady Yun had already lit the other three incense sticks. The two of them held the incense sticks high and squeezed through the crowded people to finally reach the large incense burner.
Before long, the gong sounded three times, and the deep voice rang out again, "The New Year is here, and new blessings are coming."
Yun Ling was still stunned, but when she saw that her mother-in-law had already put the incense sticks into the incense burner and was muttering something, she was afraid of being nagged by her, so she quickly reached out and put the incense sticks into the large incense burner as well.
"Grandma, are we going back now?"
Are you sleepy?
Yunling shook her head, "We've already offered the first incense stick, what else can we do?"
Grandma Yun led Yunling to the statue of the deity in the temple. Since most people were still outside offering incense, there weren't many people inside the temple.
Grandma Yun found a prayer mat, took out the apples and oranges from the basket and placed them on the ground as an offering. Then she borrowed two divination sticks from the abbot of the temple, giving one to Yunling and keeping the other for herself. She then knelt on the prayer mat, took out the divination blocks and began to chant.
"Junior Sister Pan came to the temple of the Great Immortal today with a sincere heart and knelt down to pray that the Great Immortal would bless her and her family with good health, safe travels, and smooth sailing in all matters."
If the divination blocks fall to the ground and reveal one upright and one reversed, this is called the Holy Grail.
Old Lady Yun picked up the divination blocks and clasped her hands three times with delight. Then she picked up the divination tube and continued to chant, "My junior sister's eldest daughter is named Yun Ruochun. She is twenty years old and not yet betrothed. She lives in the Yun family in Dongtou Village. I beg the Great Immortal to grant her a good marriage and a good husband. If it is successful, I will surely repay her with a tall phoenix."
As Granny Yun swayed, the sticks in the divination tube slowly moved outwards. Gradually, one wooden stick broke through the encirclement and fell to the ground first, with the number fifty-four.
Old Lady Yun guessed that this was a medium-sized fortune stick. "Is this a fortune stick bestowed by a great immortal? If it is, it's the Holy Grail; if not, it's the Dark Grail."
The divination blocks fell to the ground, revealing a Holy Grail with one side upright and the other reversed.
"This is a medium-sized fortune. Junior sister is seeking a good fortune for marriage. Please, Great Immortal, bless her. If she gets a good fortune, give her the Holy Grail; otherwise, give her the Dark Grail."
Upon hearing the sound, Yunling leaned forward and saw that it was a double-sided vulva cup.
Old Lady Yun was getting anxious. Although a medium-sized fortune slip doesn't necessarily mean bad luck, and a good fortune slip doesn't necessarily mean good luck, the fortune slip she had drawn for Yun Ruochun this time was for marriage. The fifty-fourth fortune slip for marriage was that marriage was not advisable. This was not going to do.
Old Lady Yun picked up the divination blocks again and muttered, "Junior Sister has come today with sincere intentions to pray for her eldest daughter's marriage. I humbly request the Great Immortal's assistance. I wonder if donating fifty coins of incense oil can help her borrow some luck in finding a husband?"
When the jujube cup falls, it is an inverted cup with both sides turned upside down.
Old Lady Yun didn't give up and continued to toss the divination cup until she reached 300 coins, at which point the cup consistently showed a positive result, alternating between heads and tails.
"Thank you for your protection, Great Immortal."
Old Lady Yun happily picked up the divination tube and shook it, revealing a divination stick with the number seventeen. Finally, she verified it with a divination cup, and it was indeed the holy cup.
"Thank you very much, Great Immortal. If my daughter succeeds, she will definitely buy something to come and repay your kindness."
Yunling was baffled by this whole operation. She looked at Old Lady Yun with a puzzled expression. How could she be so sure that this was the best fortune slip?
"Quickly, you silly boy, kneel down here and draw lots, just like Grandma did just now."
"Grandma, is the seventeenth fortune stick a very auspicious one?"
"This is a medium-good fortune slip. Grandma, your aunt is asking about marriage. This fortune slip indicates a good marriage, so it is Grandma's top-ranking fortune slip."
Yunling was even more confused, but with her mother-in-law watching her, she had no choice but to follow the ritual from before, kneeling on the prayer mat and shaking the divination tube. However, she either shook all the divination sticks out, or two or three sticks would fall out of the tube at the same time.
"Heavenly secrets, it seems your immortal master will not allow you to fathom them. Never mind."
Yunling frowned slightly.
Meanwhile, Hu's brow remained furrowed for a long time.
The New Year's Eve dinner was at Shengfu Restaurant. To her surprise, she received a gift box from Aunt Yun, and the contents were so exquisite. She was troubled. It would be nice if it were from a relative, but she had no choice but to send it to Aunt Yun...
Madam Hu sighed, and Qin Yu poured her a cup of tea. "What's causing Mother's sigh?"
"Why am I sighing? Don't you know better? Other men are already having a second child, and you're still not married. My hair has turned white these past few days."
"Mother, this matter cannot be rushed."
"What's the rush? I've taken a fancy to a young lady, and I get along very well with her mother. You two can arrange a meeting after the New Year."
Qin Yu's expression also darkened. "I won't see that. Marriage is a major event. It requires mutual affection between the two people to ensure a good life together in the future."
"Then how can you like her if you don't see her? Let me tell you, this young lady looks kind and honest, but she's different from the ones I mentioned before. I guarantee that once you see her, your whole heart will be captivated by her."
Qin Yu shook his head repeatedly, "That's completely unreasonable. To tell you the truth, Mother, I have a girl I love, and I feel that I will marry no one but her in this life. If you force me, Mother, I will leave this house and take... take her with me and leave this place."
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