Yun'er was pulled out of bed early in the morning. Hong'er, older and more obedient, rubbed her eyes and woke up when she was called, then was helped to wash and dress by the maid. Yun'er was lively and active. Last night, she chattered until 11:30 PM before falling asleep. Now, she was whimpering and unable to open her eyes. Li Yuxin thought for a moment and asked Madam Liu to stay home with Yun'er. She took Hong'er and the third wife and others to burn incense.
After breakfast, a servant arrived to announce that the mistress of the third house was waiting at the gate. Li Yuxin led Shenghong out, followed by Nanfeng, Cuizhi, and a group of servants. The gatekeepers had two carriages, one for the mistress and one for the third house. It took nearly an hour to reach the foot of Qingshan Temple outside the city. After disembarking from the carriages, they climbed the steps together, and it took another quarter of an hour to reach the temple gate.
After kneeling and bowing, Li Yuxin and the third wife knelt and chanted the sutra again before rising. Li Yuxin knew it was done when she saw Nanfeng's look, and then left the hall with the third wife. They both held up their sticks to ask for answers. The monk sitting behind the stone table first looked at Li Yuxin's stick, his eyes sharp, and said, "Good luck, donor! Your wish has come true. Good!"
Li Yuxin's heart was surging like a raging sea, but she didn't dare show any expression. She smiled and said, "Thank you, Master."
The master put the sticks back into the stick holder and then took out the stick of the third wife and looked at it. Then the master said, "This donor will have a great disaster. If someone comes to propose marriage within three days, that marriage will not only bring disaster to your son, but also to your offspring."
The third wife rolled her eyes, pulled Li Yuxin up and walked away, saying as she walked, "Sister-in-law, this master won't allow it. How old is my brother Zhui? The other children are even younger. It's time to talk about marriage!"
Li Yuxin smiled and said, "Sister-in-law, why don't you wait three days before making any decisions? The fortune-telling at Qingshan Temple is always accurate. If someone really comes to propose marriage, you'd better think twice."
The Third Wife didn't listen at all, nodding as if she'd heard. Li Yuxin had considered forcibly intervening. If the Third Wife could listen and not enter into that marriage, then the Third Wife's life would surely be better than in her previous life; at least her children would be raised to be good people. If the Third Wife refused to listen, then she wouldn't worry about it anymore; it wasn't her place to interfere too much in other people's affairs.
The group had a vegetarian meal at the temple, donated money for incense, rested in the side room for an hour at noon, listened to a lecture for half an hour, and then returned home.
Hong'er was delighted the entire way, not even taking a break at lunchtime. Cuizhi took her on a thorough tour of the temple, and she insisted on coming back again, to which Li Yuxin readily agreed. Aside from burning incense at the temple, girls were only allowed out during the Lantern Festival and Mid-Autumn Festival. Families with more money wouldn't let their daughters go out often, so Li Yuxin wanted to bring Yun'er along, as these opportunities were rare. However, plans couldn't keep up with changes, and Yun'er stayed up all night.
On the return carriage, Hong'er fell asleep from exhaustion, her head resting on Li Yuxin's lap, her cloak draped over her as she snored softly. Li Yuxin stroked Hong'er's sleeping face and recalled the master's interpretation: "Returning back to the past will grant your wish." If she told anyone about resurrection from the dead, no one would believe it. Li Yuxin looked at Hong'er, resting her head on her lap, and felt a deep sense of gratitude to the heavens for allowing her to live again, to rekindle their mother-daughter bond.
If she were to be reborn, in addition to saving Hong'er's life, she could also help others to redeem some regrets, then her God's favor would not be in vain.
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