The Prince Consort's Beloved

A horse-drawn carriage was traveling on the path leading to the Great Compassion Zen Temple.

"Why do you want me to accompany you?" Li Yuanrou asked.

The young boy sat upright, pursing his lips stubbornly and saying nothing.

"What are you doing at Dabei Zen Temple? Praying? For whom?"

The boy was a little annoyed: "Ah, auntie, can you please stop asking? It's so annoying."

He had cursed He Wenzhen before, and was always anxious, so he pestered Li Yuanrou to come to the temple to pray.

Li Youan never thought that one day he would naively place his hopes on gods and Buddhas.

Li Yuanrou brought Daya and Li Youan into the temple, donated incense money, and went straight into the Guanyin Hall.

Daya and Li Youan went in to kneel and pray. Li Yuanrou stopped outside the door. Daya asked her, "Master, won't you come in and pray?"

Li Yuanrou waved her hands and smiled awkwardly: "I don't believe this, so I won't go over and cause trouble for the Buddha. You guys go ahead, I'll wait for you at the fortune teller's place."

Daya simply bowed and then asked for a fortune in front of the Buddha.

She took the fortune to the fortune teller, who took a look at it calmly and said, "What are you asking about? Your self, your future, your career, or your marriage."

Daya: "Marriage."

The fortune teller read the fortune:

Your grace is boundless

Pray for the whole world to be free from bias

All sentient beings benefit from it

Enjoy the benefits of Leli

"A very good fortune. This hexagram indicates that the heavens are blessing you. Everything will be auspicious and successful."

Daya was overjoyed and looked really happy. She took Li Yuanrou's hand and said, "Master, come and ask for one too."

Li Yuanrou laughed and said, "I don't ask for anything." But in her heart she felt that Daya was still too young to believe in such things. Feudal superstitions are harmful!

Daya felt that since she was already here, it would be a shame if she didn't do anything.

Daya: "How can a person not have something to ask for? Marriage, wealth, and future, isn't there anything that the master wants to ask for?"

Li Yuanrou raised her lips slightly, her eyebrows curved, and she was very proud: "I have all these. My husband has money, which is equivalent to my own money. Money can buy most things. It is useless to pray to Buddha for things that cannot be bought. So many people come to make wishes every day. Can Buddha hear them all? I might as well go back and pray to my husband instead of praying to Buddha."

As she spoke, her smile deepened: "The Buddha may not be able to hear my voice, but if I ask my husband for help, he will definitely be able to hear my voice."

Daya was stunned for a moment, and found that what her master said seemed to make some sense. Her master always said shocking things recently.

Li Yuanrou looked at Li Youan who was still drawing lots. He was shaking the lot bucket carefully and looked extremely pious, but no lot fell out of the bucket for a long time.

Daya looked at the palace in the distance with great surprise in her heart: "Master, the Palace of Marriage is over there. I want to go to the Palace of Marriage to pay my respects."

Li Yuanrou followed her to the Marriage Palace, smiling teasingly: "My daughter is in love, let me guess which family the young master is from."

She pretended to be surprised and joked with an exaggerated smile: "Oh, is it someone I know? Tsk tsk tsk, the flowers I have been raising for ten years are about to be taken away by someone who is so close to me."

Daya stamped her feet in shame and said angrily, "Master, you always laugh at me."

She said this and ran into the marriage hall with a shy look on her face.

Li Yuanrou's eyes curved into crescents as she glanced around inadvertently, money...what money.

She squinted her eyes 200 degrees and tried hard to focus. When she saw it clearly, she was overjoyed.

Temple of the God of Wealth!

Li Yuanrou took quick steps, ran into the Temple of the God of Wealth, and bowed down devoutly.

When Daya came over, she saw her master kneeling upright in front of the statue of the God of Wealth, his eyes closed, muttering something.

"Open the gates of heaven and earth, and the five gods of wealth will come in. The first one will grant blessings, the second one will grant wealth, and you will be filled with gold and silver. The third one will grant good fortune, and the fourth one will grant luck, and you will be beside yourself. The gate of kindness will open, and the gate of filial piety will open, and wealth will come naturally because of kindness and filial piety. Welcome the five gods of wealth to enter my home. I am willing to eat both meat and vegetables, and I only want a life of glory and wealth. Money loves me and I love money. Money comes from all directions. God of Wealth, please let more money flow into my hands..."

Daya listened in amazement as her own princess begged incessantly, and tried hard to recall who had said that she didn't believe it just now?

After she finished speaking, the princess also reported her name, title, birth date, residence, address, etc., and finally said a string of numbers.

Daya was even in a trance for a moment when she watched her own princess perform the ceremony of three kneelings and nine kowtows. In all these years of worshipping the emperor and ancestors, the princess had never been so pious.

After Li Yuanrou finished worshipping, she turned around and met Daya's surprised gaze. She smiled slightly and said without asking, "The God of Wealth is different!"

In the Guanyin Temple, Li Youan drew a fortune stick but did not interpret it. He held the fallen fortune stick in his hand and continued to pray while shaking the bamboo tube. The fortune interpreter squatted beside him and watched with interest.

When Li Yuanrou and Daya went over, they saw Li Youan holding three sticks in his hand, with a serious look on his face and slightly red eyes.

The fortune teller squatted behind him and chuckled, "Hey, you're so unlucky, it's another bad fortune."

Li Yuanrou took them and looked through them one by one.

Running around and facing many dangers

Carrying water and mud to cross the mountain

I am more worried about other parties asking for help.

Thousands of mountains and rivers cannot be returned

This fortune looked unlucky, and Li Yuanrou's heart sank.

Catching the moon in the water takes a lot of effort

All the effort but no results

Don't believe in idle talk and nonsense

It's hard to achieve even if you put in so much effort

The fortune teller came over and said, "A very bad fortune."

Li Yuanrou looked at him suspiciously. The nonchalant look of this fortune teller did not fit in with the solemn and dignified Guanyin Temple.

Li Yuanrou lowered her head and turned over the last lot:

I advise you not to ask him for help.

Like a crane flying over, a hidden arrow is thrown

If you go to collect firewood,

Fear of being poisoned is also worrying

She knew it was a bad fortune without the fortune teller explaining it to her. Her heart sank and her voice trembled slightly: "An'er, who are you praying for?"

Li Youan looked back at him, tears welling up in his eyes. He stubbornly tightened his face to prevent the tears from falling.

He prayed for that man. That man was most likely his father. He thought about it and felt that if he really was his father, he didn't seem that bad. After all, he seemed to be nice to his mother.

The endless supply of face he sent was all for the purpose of protecting him and his mother. I had misunderstood other people's good intentions when I made some guesses at the time. As for why he and his mother did not get married, there must be a reason.

He knew he couldn't ask, for fear of bringing disaster.

He cursed him to die on the battlefield that day, and now these three lots seemed to tell him that his curse was about to come true.

He is about to lose it before he gets it.

He turned around and stubbornly picked up the bamboo tube and started shaking it. The fortune teller said mercilessly, "Little brother, stop shaking it. You keep shaking it for a long time and it's always bad luck."

Li Yuanrou couldn't stand it anymore, and glanced at him angrily: "How can you talk like that, monk? Monks don't lie, don't you understand? There are no monks like you."

Mr. Interpreter jumped up, took off his hat and threw it to the ground, pointing at his black hair: "Who told you I was a monk? Look carefully, I am not a monk."

Li Yuanrou glanced at Li Youan in surprise and suspicion. He frowned, his eyes were red, and tears were falling from his eyes. He laughed desperately and suddenly smashed the bucket to the ground. His hoarse voice suddenly rose and he shouted angrily: "You bastards, you are a bunch of liars. I will smash your broken temple!"

The lottery bucket broke into pieces, and the lottery notes rolled all over the floor. Li Yuanrou was shocked and quickly hugged the out-of-control boy.

Li Youan struggled and roared like a broken string: "Let me go, let me destroy this broken temple."

The fortune teller laughed calmly, "Yes, destroy this broken temple. It's all a lie, all superstition. After destroying it, I can go back to work. I haven't had a holiday for 118 days."

Daya, who was standing by, was so shocked that her legs felt like they were filled with lead and she couldn't move. Li Yuanrou looked at the fortune teller anxiously, "How can you, a monk, make sarcastic remarks when you don't even know how to help?"

The fortune teller was so anxious that his face turned pale and he explained again: "I am not a monk. I am not a monk. I am a Taoist priest."

He added fuel to the fire as he spoke: "Let him go, let him smash it, so I can go down the mountain and eat meat. I beg you, benefactor, let him go, let him smash it."

Li Youan shouted with his eyes red, he broke away from Li Yuanrou, grabbed the neck of the man who had just signed the contract, and said in a cold voice: "I will kill you first, you liar."