Chapter 191 Peach Blossom Tribulation
Gu Qianning, familiar with the place, led Shen Wantang to the Fahong Hall, then knelt on the prayer mat and handed over the fortune stick: "Master Mingwu, please interpret this fortune stick for me. I don't know why, but today it's a very bad fortune stick. Is it some kind of omen?"
Master Mingwu glanced at Shen Wantang first: "Female benefactor, you are intelligent and blessed with good fortune, so you are immune to evil spirits. There is no need to look at your fortune slip."
Shen Wantang was startled, but then she put her hands together and said respectfully, "Thank you for your guidance, Master."
Then, she left the main hall and waited for Gu Qianning outside the door.
The echoing whispers of Master Mingwu resounded in the hall, but Shen Wantang couldn't hear what he was saying at all. She turned to Gu Qianhan and asked in a low voice, "What is Master Mingwu saying? Is he interpreting the divination slips according to the Crown Prince's instructions?"
Gu Qianhan nodded: "More or less."
Master Mingwu did indeed say that his sister's marriage was fraught with bloodshed, but this was not necessarily solely due to the Crown Prince's orders.
Having cultivated himself for decades, Mingwu is well-versed in astronomy and geography. He truly knows how to interpret divination slips, and perhaps he has already seen his sister's future in the slips.
After a while, Gu Qianning came out of the hall.
Her face was pale, her eyes had lost their sparkle, and she no longer had the joy she had shown when she entered the temple.
Seeing Gu Qianning like this, Shen Wantang felt a little sorry for her. However, the reason she invited Gu Qianning here was actually to ask the master of Fazhen Temple to help Gu Qianning resolve her marriage fate. Of course, she also secretly did some small things to ensure that the result showed that Gu Qianning's marriage with the Crown Prince was incompatible.
She just didn't expect that the Crown Prince would take action before she even had to.
Gu Qianning stood outside the hall for a while, then forced a smile: "Master Mingwu's interpretation may be inaccurate. Let's find another master. Oh, right, I need to shake the divination sticks again. This one is not good."
Shen Wantang and Gu Qianhan exchanged a glance, both seeing a hint of helplessness in each other's eyes.
No matter how many times Gu Qianning draws the lot, with the Crown Prince's people tampering with it, she will never get a good lot.
But Gu Qianning had already gone to the front hall, and Shen Wantang and Gu Qianhan could only follow.
After entering the front hall, Gu Qianning knelt down again to pray for blessings, and then shook the divination sticks.
"Thud!" A skewer fell out.
Gu Qianning picked it up and saw that it was another bad omen.
Her face paled again, and she stood there frozen, clutching the skewer for a long time.
Gu Qianhan walked to her side: "What exactly did you ask for? Why are all the fortunes you've asked for so bad?"
Gu Qianning gritted her teeth and refused to speak. She pulled Shen Wantang and walked out, saying, "Atang, come with me to find Master Mingkong. I heard he's very good at interpreting divination slips."
Master Mingkong? Isn't that Mingwu's junior brother? But Shen Wantang remembered that Mingkong was inferior to Mingwu in both strength and reputation.
The Crown Prince sent someone to bribe Mingwu; it's unknown whether he also bribed Mingkong.
However, after Shen Wantang met Mingkong, she realized that she had worried too much.
Mingkong didn't even look at the fortune stick before saying to Gu Qianning, "Your forehead is bluish and your life palace is afflicted with evil. If you continue to be obsessed with what you have in your heart, you will surely suffer a bloody disaster."
Gu Qianning was furious: "I came here to have my fortune told, not to have my face read! Are you a monk or a fortune teller?"
Mingkong smiled kindly: "Even monks tell fortunes. If you insist on having your fortune told, I can help you interpret it."
As he spoke, he extended his hand to Gu Qianning.
Gu Qianning handed him the skewer with a hint of annoyance, then asked, "How is it?"
Mingkong frowned: "So, what you're asking for is a marriage match? Oh no, oh no, this is bad, this is bad!"
Gu Qianning became anxious: "What's wrong with it? Don't talk nonsense!"
“This old monk never lies. You are destined to have a love affair trouble. If you don’t believe me, you can ask my senior brother Mingwu to interpret the divination again.”
The light that had finally shone in Gu Qianning's eyes dimmed again; she had come from Mingwu.
She walked out with her head down, without saying a word.
After standing outside for a while, she still didn't believe in superstitions, so she went to the front hall to kneel and pray again, and shook the divination sticks again.
As a result, it was another bad omen.
Gu Qianning almost cried. She couldn't help but turn to Shen Wantang and ask, "Atang, how could this happen? How could it always be the worst possible draw?"
Shen Wantang didn't know how to comfort her, so she could only say, "How about we call it a day? It's getting late, let's go back to the manor!"
"No, no, I don't believe it. They must have interpreted it wrong. I want to go to the abbot for another reading!"
The abbot of Fazhen Temple has the Dharma name Mingjing. He is the senior disciple of Mingwu and Mingkong. Before becoming the abbot, he also interpreted fortune sticks for worshippers. However, after becoming the abbot, he stopped interpreting fortune sticks for people other than members of the royal family.
However, if Gu Qianning asks him for help, he probably won't refuse out of respect for Empress Gu.
They went to the abbot's meditation room.
Mingjing seemed to have a better temper than Mingkong. When she saw Shen Wantang and the other two, she smiled kindly and said, "Distinguished guests have arrived. I am sorry for not welcoming you properly."
Shen Wantang and the other two performed Buddhist rituals for him. He scanned their faces one by one, and finally his gaze fell on Gu Qianning. He looked at the fortune stick she was clutching tightly in her hand and asked her, "Miss Gu, would you like your fortune sticks interpreted?"
Gu Qianning stepped forward, her tone respectful: "Abbot, please enlighten me."
Mingjing gestured for the young novice to hand her the divination tube: "Shake another one!"
Gu Qianning was overjoyed. As expected of Abbot Fangzhang, he was indeed amazing. He didn't understand her bad luck fortune at all and told her to roll it again!
She took the divination stick container and started shaking it.
Mingjing looked at Shen Wantang and Gu Qianhan: "It's fine to leave Miss Gu here alone. Second Young Master Gu and Princess Xiao, please leave first!"
Shen Wantang was surprised that the abbot recognized her at a glance. She was slightly startled. If she remembered correctly, she should have never met the abbot before.
She didn't know how the abbot recognized her. She gave the abbot a deep look and left his meditation room with Gu Qianhan.
The door was closed by a young novice monk, cutting off both sight and sound.
Shen Wantang stepped back a little and asked Gu Qianhan in a low voice, "Will she get the best fortune this time?"
"Won't."
"How can you be so sure? The divination sticks here have also been tampered with by the Crown Prince's men?"
"No."
"That is..."
“I had someone tamper with it.”
It was somewhat unexpected, but not entirely unexpected.
Shen Wantang couldn't help but glance at him: "Then the abbot's interpretation of the divination slips..."
"I've already had things sorted out; there's no other possibility."
Shen Wantang was relieved. It seemed that after Gu Qianhan was reborn, he had made preventing his sister from marrying the Crown Prince his top priority.
Only in this way can Gu Qianning be protected.
Even if the Gu family is still unable to escape being purged in the future, as long as Gu Qianning marries someone else, she can live. This is stipulated by the laws of Dafeng, which state that married women are not exempt from punishment.
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