The wedding date was set, and the engagement letter was exchanged. Ding Mujie thought that he would definitely be able to marry Lin Wan and spend the rest of his life together. However, he did not expect that three days later, his mother suddenly called him over and said with a sad face: "Son, I just had someone compare your horoscopes with Lin Wan. You are the fire of the sword, and she is the water of the sky. The two of you are incompatible, and your fates are in conflict. If you insist on being together, it will definitely cause trouble for everyone in the future."
"How is that possible!" Ding Mujie denied it subconsciously.
His sister Ding Xiang immediately agreed, "Mother, which shaman did you ask to tell your fortune? How could you get such a result? Brother and Sister Lin Wan are in love with each other, a talented man and a beautiful woman, I don't know how well they are matched!"
Mother Ding tapped her forehead and scolded, "What a charlatan! Stop talking nonsense! I asked Master Jingxu to match my horoscopes with mine, how could they be inaccurate?" Master Jingxu was a famous female monk in the Wei Kingdom, and was very proficient in metaphysics. The wealthy families in Beijing all love to ask her to tell their fortunes, and her predictions are almost always accurate. If the Lin family hadn't helped Ding's mother to make the connection, she would not have been qualified to meet Master Jingxu.
When Dingxiang heard that the horoscope was calculated by Master Jingxu, she became speechless instantly. She glanced at her brother cautiously with eyes full of sympathy.
Ding Mujie somehow suddenly remembered something: in his previous life, Master Jingxu had accepted Lin Wan as her disciple and helped her gain a foothold in Prince Kang's backyard. Otherwise, after the Lin family fell into ruin, Lin Wan would not have been able to survive. Ding Mujie had no idea how and when she won the favor of Master Jingxu. He only knew that Master Jingxu loved her like her own daughter.
Now that the eight characters had gone wrong in the hands of Master Jingxu, Ding Mujie had to think more about it, but he secretly blamed himself for being too suspicious.
He said in a gentle voice: "Mother, why don't you find a few more people to compare their horoscopes with. What if Master Jingxu made a mistake?"
Mother Ding shook her head and said, "Master Jingxu said that if I don't believe it, I can just put your Geng Tie in front of the statue of the Kitchen God to test the will of the gods. If within three days, there are phenomena such as people and animals being disturbed in the house, and bowls and plates being broken, there is no need to calculate anymore. It must be that your horoscopes are in conflict."
It was an old custom to place the engagement letter under the statue of a deity, and Ding Mujie had no reason to stop it, so he nodded and said, "Okay, let's test the will of heaven." After bidding farewell to his mother, he immediately called the servants in the house and repeatedly told them to be careful and not to act rashly. He believed that as long as everything was peaceful at home, his mother would no longer prevent him from getting married to Lin Wan.
He is now just a commoner and can only enter the officialdom after passing the imperial examination. However, Lin Wan is the daughter of the general's mansion. If the Ding family had not arranged a marriage for her with the Lin family during its heyday, he might not have been able to marry Lin Wan. To put it bluntly, even if there really was something wrong with their horoscopes, considering the power and influence of the Lin family, the mother would at most feel uncomfortable, but she would not cancel the marriage.
Ding Mujie believed that everything was under his control, so he was not worried at all. But what made him suspicious was that many strange things did happen in the Ding family during these three days. First, the cats and dogs in the house became strange and violent, barking and biting people at any time. Then, the fish in the pond turned over overnight and died.
Mother Ding was so frightened that she believed Master Jingxu's words even more. If Lin Wan had not been the daughter of the general's mansion and her status was not too noble to offend, Ding's mother would have immediately canceled the engagement after three days. But after thinking it over again and again, she decided that her son's future was more important, so she gritted her teeth and concealed the fact that their horoscopes conflicted with each other.
The Lin family also asked someone to do a horoscope match, but General Lin had more face, so they asked a retired official from the Imperial Observatory to do the calculation, instead of taking the calculation to an outside temple. Naturally, the result was very good, and they even received the comment "a perfect match".
…………
The incompatibility of the horoscopes caused Ding Mujie to be alarmed, and Ding's mother was also upset. She delayed for a long time before going to the Lin Mansion to make a decision.
That day, hearing that the mayor of Mingzhu County was holding a flower banquet in a farm in the suburbs and inviting famous ladies and young talents in the capital to attend, Ding Mujie finally put down his books and found time to attend the banquet. He knew that Lin Wan must be among the invited guests, and if he went, he might be able to meet her. The two of them wasted their entire lives and died with hatred in their hearts. They must be together in this life.
Lin Dan also received an invitation. She didn't want to go, but her wound had healed long ago. Mrs. Lin was afraid that she would be bored at home, so she forced her to go no matter what.
Princess Mingzhu has always been at odds with Lin Dan, disliking her for being vulgar and ignorant, but due to the power of the Lin family, she has to interact with her. Whenever the two met, they were like a thorn in the flesh. They would start arguing after just a few words, and sometimes even fight. But this time, Lin Dan was very silent. He just sat aside and ate cakes, ignoring Princess Mingzhu's probing.
Princess Mingzhu took out a horse whip and boasted, "This is the horse whip given to me by the emperor. It was used by him when he was young. It is very useful."
"Oh, this is something the emperor used!" The ladies who were still stroking the whip quickly withdrew their fingertips and exclaimed: "No wonder there are so many rubies inlaid on the handle, and the tassel on the top is so smooth. Craftsmen outside can't make such a wonderful thing."
Lin Wan said, "Oh!" and said bluntly, "My sister also got a horse whip from the emperor, which is better than this one."
Princess Mingzhu was furious when she heard this and said aggressively, "My horsewhip is unique in the world. How can Lin Dan's be better than mine? I don't believe it. Why don't you take it out and let me see it!"
Lin Dan said slowly: "What does it have to do with you whether I have a horsewhip or not? Why should I show it to you?" It takes more than an hour to walk back and forth from the Lin Mansion to this farm in the suburbs. Who would have the patience to get it for her?
Princess Mingzhu stepped forward, waving a whip. "Are you going to take it or not? If you don't take it, it proves that you are lying!"
Lin Dan took a few steps back to avoid being hit by the whip, but she didn't expect Lin Wan to suddenly rush over and said anxiously: "Don't hit my sister, my sister's leg injury has just healed..."
"When did I hit her?" Princess Mingzhu pushed Lin Wan reflexively, but she didn't expect Lin Wan to retreat again and again and fell into the lake. She couldn't swim, so she just raised her hands and shouted for help. The more she struggled, the more she drifted towards the center of the lake.
In order to increase the fun of the banquet, Princess Mingzhu arranged the male and female guests on both sides of the lake, so that they could look at each other across the sparkling lake surface, which was very interesting. Therefore, the male guests on the other side immediately noticed the movement here and looked over.
Lin Dan quickly took off his heavy outer robe and prepared to jump into the lake to save people, but suddenly stopped. She squinted at Lin Wan with an unpredictable expression, and after a while she put her coat back on.
A man ran out from the other side of the lake quickly, jumped into the lake without even taking off his clothes, and swam towards Lin Wan. A little later, another man ran out and swam at a faster speed. The first man had already held Lin Wan in his arms and was about to drag her to the shore, but the man who came later snatched Lin Wan away and said in a deep voice, "Thank you, King Kang, but Wan'er is my fiancée, so I'll carry her up, otherwise it will be detrimental to her reputation."
His reasons were so convincing that King Kang could not refuse, so he let the girl go and swam ashore alone.
Ding Mujie looked at his back, then at the pale-faced Lin Wan in his arms, then swam towards the female guest. After the two of them reached the shore, Lin Dan handed over his coat and said, "Her clothes are all stuck to her body. To prevent her from exposing herself, you can use this to cover her. I'll go inform mother. You carry her to the carriage outside and wait. We'll be out soon."
Ding Mujie quickly took the coat and covered Lin Wan tightly. When he left the lake, he heard Princess Mingzhu questioning, "Lin Dan, why didn't you jump in to save your sister just now? She was protecting you like that, but you were standing on the shore watching the fun!"
Lin Dan said calmly, "How do you know she needs me to save her?"
Hearing this, Ding Mujie paused slightly before continuing to move forward. Lin Wan seemed frightened and too embarrassed to see anyone. She just hid in his arms with her face covered, refusing to say a word. Ding Mujie carefully helped her into the carriage, then stood outside the carriage and comforted her softly. After a while, Lin Dan and Mrs. Lin hurried out. To prevent Lin Wan from catching a cold, they did not say much to Ding Mujie. They thanked him and left.
Ding Mujie stood on the side of the road looking at their carriage, his eyes dark. After a long time, he rolled up his sleeves and checked the bloody wounds on his forearms caused by Lin Wan's scratches. In her previous life, Lin Wan was rescued by King Kang after falling into the water. In order to preserve her reputation, she had to marry King Kang as a concubine. Even though the timing didn't match in this life, he would never let her end up like her. But he never expected that when he swam to Lin Wan and tried to take her over, she would resist like that.
She clearly had her eyes open at the time and could see who was who, but why... As soon as this thought came to her mind, it was suppressed by Ding Mujie. After returning home, he urged his mother to go to the Lin Mansion to propose marriage and set the wedding date. Ding's mother gritted her teeth and delayed for more than a month, and only came to the door with gifts when she could no longer delay.
The wedding date was finally set for the beginning of next spring, which was still eight or nine months, enough time for Ding Mujie to prepare. But even so, he still felt very uneasy, so he asked his sister to visit the Lin Mansion more often and help him take care of Lin Wan.
Dingxiang liked Lin Wan very much, so she readily agreed. However, she didn't expect that one day she would come back crying, as if she had suffered a great injustice. Ding's mother lost her husband at an early age and raised her children alone with great difficulty. How could she tolerate them being bullied? So she immediately grabbed her daughter and asked, "Tell me, did Lin Dan bully you again?"
"No, it's not Miss," Ding Xiang said while hiccuping and blaming herself, "It's my fault that I didn't live up to my expectations and caused such a disaster!"
"What? What trouble have you gotten into?" Ding's mother's heart skipped a beat.
Ding Mujie, who had just walked into the gate, also frowned and said, "Don't worry, tell us slowly, I will help you solve any problem."
"Brother, I really didn't mean it. Today I wanted to take a look at the golden hairpin with Hundred Flowers and Phoenix that the old lady left with Aunt Shi, but I used too much force and broke the phoenix's wings. That was the old lady's dowry and it was very valuable. The old lady was very angry when she heard about it, and she ignored me no matter how I apologized. Brother, I really didn't mean it, and I didn't expect it!"
Hearing this, Ding's mother was so angry that she beat her daughter repeatedly, blaming her for being careless. However, Ding Mujie's eyes darkened and he recalled an event from the long past.
In her previous life, Lin Wan was seriously ill and abandoned by King Kang in a farm in the suburbs. He secretly went to visit her and listened to her reminiscing about the past. She held his hand and sighed, "If I hadn't been so stubborn back then, I would have taken the blame for my sister. Now I wouldn't be rejected by the ancestors. I am so seriously ill and can't even go home. If I could do it again, I would bravely tell the ancestors that it was my sister who broke the hairpin, not me. I miss the ancestors, I miss my parents, I want to go home..."
She was so pitiful and weak, and she missed her family and longed for family affection so much, which made Ding Mujie's disgust for Lin Dan deepen. But now, how come the hairpin was broken by my sister?
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