Chapter 170: Drawing Lots

The temple fair was extremely lively with people coming and going.

Lu Lingyun brought a group of female relatives to the temple to draw lots.

Lu Lingyun drew a lot.

The fortune says: "The leaves of the phoenix tree are falling, and autumn is coming to an end. The traveler is on his way as if flying. Thank God for taking it easy, and bring back treasures with you on your boat."

She went to the place where the fortune was interpreted, and the monk who interpreted the fortune was overjoyed after seeing it.

"Congratulations, lady donor! This is a very good fortune! If you work hard in your heart, God will follow your will. May your wishes come true and everything will go well!"

After hearing this, Lu Lingyun smiled.

Qiu Ling, Ling Long and several other women surrounded them.

"Madam, what are you asking for?"

Lu Lingyun smiled calmly, "I pray for a safe and peaceful family."

"Congratulations, Madam! Congratulations, Madam!"

"With the help of God, our young lady will be able to do things smoothly and prosper!"

"Master, can you take a look at my lot?" Qiu Ling hurriedly handed over her own lot.

"The lush pine and cypress trees are flourishing, rain, snow, wind and frost will never destroy them; they will naturally become of great use in the future, and their achievements and fame will serve as a pillar." The monk finished reading the fortune and said, "Congratulations to this female donor, you also have a very good fortune! The road ahead will be smooth, and you will be meritorious throughout your life. The image of the lush pine and cypress trees will be invaluable in the future."

Qiu Ling's eyes lit up when she heard this, and she thanked the monk with a smile on her face.

"Sister Qiu Ling, what are you asking for?"

"I pray that the eldest master is safe."

"Congratulations, it's a great fortune! You will definitely be safe!"

"The luxuriant pine and cypress forests are priceless. Doesn't that mean our eldest son will be great in the future?"

Listening to the blessings, Qiu Ling smiled even more narrowly.

After getting two excellent lots in a row, Liu Qingping also handed in her own lot.

After reading her fortune, the monk smiled and said, "Lady donor, your fortune is good. What you asked for is what you like, but the process is bumpy. If you keep your heart, there will be luck. In the end, the clouds will clear and the fog will dissipate. You will get what you asked for, and it will not be in vain."

After hearing this, Liu Qingping pondered over the words while the maids beside her asked questions one after another.

"Miss, what do you want?"

"Needless to say, it must be for a marriage!"

"Whatever I wish for, it's a happy ending. It seems that our Miss Liu must be marrying someone she likes!"

Liu Qingping pinched her signature and blushed, "What are you talking about!"

"Ms. Liu is shy!"

"What does Miss Liu like?"

As the group of people were joking, Linglong handed in her signature.

"Master, please help me take a look."

The monk who interpreted the fortune took the exquisite fortune stick and frowned after reading the words on it.

"Without theory, there is no family. A foolish person is like a falling flower. If you ask for your favor, it is difficult to get your help. In the end, you will end up with a lot of troubles."

"This lady donor, your fortune is that of a fool who is blinded by the gods. It is hard to get the emperor's favor, but in the end it is all in vain. It is a mess. This is a bad fortune. However, fools are also strong. The water keeps flowing and the poplar flowers are falling. Maybe it is also a blessing."

Linglong was not unhappy when she heard the bad fortune, but she laughed instead.

Several little girls nearby asked one after another, "Auntie Ling, what are you laughing at?"

Even Lu Lingyun looked at Linglong.

Linglong took the bad lot and waved it at everyone, "I prayed for Aunt Du!"

As soon as she finished speaking, the maids and women around her all burst into laughter.

Lu Lingyun: "......"

"Water-based poplar flower, that's really well said!"

"But what does the idiot Monsey mean? Master, is there any way to decipher her fortune?"

"Master, what do you mean by your last sentence, 'there is also destiny'?"

A group of women gathered in front of the fortune-telling stall and continued to ask the monk questions.

The monk shook his head. "If I pray myself, there will be a solution. But if someone else prays for me, I can only see flowers in the fog."

No one could hear anything and continued chattering.

Lu Lingyun watched from the side, smiling faintly and shaking her head.

At this time, she saw a little maid leading a man towards the back of the temple.

The man was in his early twenties, with an ordinary look and a short and fat figure, but he was dressed in gorgeous clothes and had an extremely valuable jade pendant tied around his waist.

He was wearing a pair of long boots made of Sichuan brocade with sapphires on the uppers. He looked like a nobleman from a very prominent family.

"Young Madam, that looks like Cuinong, the maidservant beside Miss Shao Jing!" Shuanghong also saw it, and she followed suit.

"It's her."

"Miss Shao Jing, aren't you going to attend the temple meeting?"

Lu Lingjun frowned slightly, and her eyes remained on the man who followed Cuinong for a long time.

She knew the man; he was the second son of the second wife of Duke Liu's family, named Liu Ye.

The reason why she remembered him was because Liu Ye was so lustful. In her previous life, she had heard about the gossips about Duke Liu's mansion in Jiangnan.

All the things like adultery, keeping a younger brother-in-law, and incest with brother's wife, all came from the second branch of Duke Liu's mansion.

By the time she returned to Beijing and became a royal consort, Duke Liu's mansion had already reached the end of its strength, strong on the outside but weak on the inside and only had become an empty shell.

One time, she encountered Liu Ye raping a woman on the street. The woman refused and slashed her throat in the street. This incident caused quite a stir, and the Liu family had to use a lot of effort to suppress it. Liu Ye also remained silent after this incident, and there was no news about him since then.

Lu Lingyun remembered this man. He was young now and much more handsome than when she saw him in her previous life. However, the expression on his face clearly showed signs of excessive indulgence.

How could such a person be with Qin Shaojing's maid?

While Lu Lingyun frowned and remained silent, Chun Xing beside her said cleverly, "Madam, I'll take Sister Xia to have a look."

"Yes." Lu Lingyun nodded, "You two should be careful."

"Yes." Chun Xing and Xia Mei followed along the edge.

When Lu Lingyun saw Liu Ye, she no longer had the heart to go to the temple fair. She asked Qiu Lingling and Liu Qingping to continue shopping. She gave them some pocket money and told them to buy whatever they wanted. She sat in the pavilion behind the temple to rest for a while.

Not long after, Chun Xing and Xia Mei came back.

"Madam, we saw it!"

"Miss Shao Jing is holding a poetry reading in another courtyard at the back!"

"It's not just that one man. There are seven or eight noblemen and a few young ladies in her yard." Xia Mei said, "There are quite a lot of people. It's very lively."

Lu Lingyun nodded upon hearing this.

Qin Shaojing did tell her that she would not go to the temple fair with them because she had an appointment with Cui Tonghua.

But, they also invited people from Duke Liu’s mansion?

Lu Lingyun thought for a moment and asked, "Are there any servants from our house there?"

"Yes, Jin Shu is there. We learned it from him."

"Go again and ask Jinshu to keep a close eye on him. Tell me if anything comes up."

"yes."

Chun Xing went there again, and when she came back, the remaining few people who had finished visiting the temple fair had also returned.

However, Cheng Yunshuo and Du Ruo never came back.

Qingfeng came over and delivered a message, saying that they had a great time and would be back very late, and asked Lu Lingyun to leave first after they finished shopping.

After hearing this, Lu Lingyun did not wait for the two men and brought his whole family back to the Marquis' Mansion.

Du Ruo and Cheng Yunshuo returned very late indeed.