The prince only allowed me to have a baby, so the pressure is a bit high!

Chapter 102 "The True Phoenix Appears"

Nanny Zhang is no ordinary person. Although she does not hold a high position in the palace, anyone who has been able to work hard in the deep palace for decades and still be able to leave the palace safely is not an ordinary person.

Besides, the palace was full of people coming and going, so who hadn't they seen? As for Zhen Huan's little thoughts, it could be said that he saw through them at a glance.

She had orders, so educating a young girl was a piece of cake. On her first day, Aunt Zhang gave Zhenhuan a brief overview of the talent show and a simple demonstration of the rules.

This is not something that can be learned in a day, and it is not something that a little girl who has never been exposed to palace rules can learn. Just this one trick conquered Zhenhuan's heart on the spot.

Although Aunt Zhang is not very kind and is similar to Aunt Rong that Zhenhuan saw in her previous life, countless novels and TV dramas tell Zhenhuan that only those with serious faces and who do not seek your favor are the good people who truly care about you.

The kind of plot where someone is immediately drawn to your protagonist's aura and throws their heart and soul into it, only happens in novels. If Zhen Huan were to encounter this, she would definitely be suspicious right from the start.

It can only be said that Aunt Zhang is just right. Taking the salary from the Niuhulu family, she honestly teaches the rules and regulations, and then neither of them owes anything. This is the right way to repay a favor. Therefore, the Niuhulu family quickly put aside their suspicions about Aunt Zhang and carefully followed Aunt Zhang's arrangements for Zhenhuan's next course.

By the time all the simple formalities of squatting, bowing, standing, drinking tea, and answering were completed, it was already December 29th. This day is not only the day before New Year's Eve, but also the birthday of Avatamsaka Bodhisattva and the last Buddhist festival of the year.

Originally, such a day had no meaning to the Niuhulu family. Although people nowadays all believed in Buddhism, it was already the 29th day of the twelfth lunar month, so it was not appropriate to go to the temple at this time.

But this day meant much more to Zhenhuan. She firmly believed that she was able to travel through time and live again in this world entirely because of Avatamsaka Bodhisattva, so she arranged to leave the house early that day to go to the Jietai Temple in the capital to burn incense.

Ling Zhu had no choice but to take Peng and Zhen Huan with him. Afterwards, Ling Zhu thanked today's decision countless times. It was also on this day that the Niuhulu Mansion began to prosper.

Back to the 29th day, Niuhulu Lingzhu took his wife and daughter to Jietai Temple, and Zhenhuan was accompanied by Nanny Zhang and Liuzhu.

A few people first followed the crowd to the front hall to burn incense, and then followed the procedure of drawing lots. The young monks in the temple were familiar with this matter, and they quickly took a few people to the place where they would draw lots.

They came here mainly for Zhenhuan, so they asked for divination to see Zhenhuan's future prospects.

Under the watchful eyes of her family, Zhenhuan quickly drew a fortune stick. However, the little monk snatched the stick away as soon as she took it out. He then found another little monk to take his place and ran away, leaving the family looking at each other in bewilderment and staring at the new little monk.

It was the first time for the young monk to encounter such a situation, and he had no explanation for what was happening. He could only ask the donors in front of him to be patient and wait for a while.

Soon, the young monk came running back, and this time he extended his hand directly to Zhen Huan's family: "Please follow me to the backyard, my abbot wants to see you."

Zhenhuan and Lingzhu looked at each other. Although they still had many questions, they suppressed their curiosity and followed the little monk to the backyard.

When they entered the meditation room, they found that there were two white-bearded masters in front of them. One of them was the abbot of Jietai Temple. Almost all Buddhists in the capital knew him. He was a highly accomplished monk.

The other one was a monk who looked more like a philanthropic monk. He was wearing a red robe and a string of Buddhist beads hanging in front of him. Although he was a monk, he gave people a more immortal feeling and was more convincing to those present.

Master Zhiming, the abbot of Jietai Temple, spoke first: "Dear donors, may I ask who obtained this red stick?" Although he asked everyone, his eyes were directly looking at Zhenhuan, obviously knowing the real owner of the stick.

As the head of the family, Ling Zhu spoke first: "Master, this is what my daughter asked for. I wonder why you asked us to come here today?"

Upon seeing Ling Zhu's reply, Abbot Zhiming smiled slightly and said, "Please only leave your close relatives with you, and the rest of you can wait outside. I would like to have a few words with this female donor."

Ling Zhu did not hesitate when he heard this. Although Master Zhiming was not as famous as Master Pudu of Handuo Temple, he was also respected by everyone in the capital. It was a great honor for him to be able to receive him in person, not to mention that he would personally approve Zhenhuan's application, which was an unexpected surprise.

Ling Zhu immediately dismissed Mrs. Peng and all the servants she had brought with her, leaving only himself and Zhen Huan in the Zen room. Seeing this, Zhi Ming also dismissed the young novice monk, leaving only four people in the Zen room.

At this time, Zhiming introduced the father and daughter: "This is Master Dejia, who came from overseas and has recently registered at Jietai Temple. It is Master Dejia who is looking for a female donor today."

Upon hearing this, the father and daughter quickly bowed to Master Dejia and said, "Master Dejia, rest in peace."

Dejia stood up and clasped his hands together: "Amitabha, please don't be so polite, it is also a fate that I have with you two, and today we meet each other."

Hearing Master Dejia say this, the father and daughter looked at Abbot Zhiming beside them in confusion. The old abbot then explained, "Master Dejia planned to leave Jietai Temple tomorrow. This red stick has been placed in the bamboo tube since the day Master Dejia arrived. However, it was not until the female donor arrived today that the red stick truly appeared. This shows that this item has a connection with the female donor, and Master Dejia also has a connection with the female donor."

Upon hearing this, the father and daughter were immediately delighted. As for suspicion, there was none. Not only was Zhenhuan's decision to come to Jietai Temple a last-minute one, but her decision to come to the temple on the 29th to burn incense was known only to Ling Zhu and Peng. No one else, including her personal maid, knew about it.

After they sat down, Dejia took out the red stick. On it was written: "A thousand-mile picture of rivers and mountains, a wisp of dream fragrance, a few red rains, a little sparrow flutters up, deceiving the phoenix on the branch."

Even without the explanation of the masters present, everyone could understand the meaning of the simple fortune-telling. Ling Zhu was looking for his daughter to become a phoenix in the future, while Zhen Huan was looking for a wisp of dream fragrance and the final phoenix bullying.

She could understand the wisp of dream soul fragrance, because she was a soul from another world, but she didn't understand the last sentence of "bullying the phoenix on the branch". She would be the future empress dowager and the mother of the Qing Dynasty, so how could she bully herself?

Thinking of this, Zhen Huan spoke directly: "Master, may I ask, what is the explanation for this last sentence?"

Master Dejia stroked his snow-white beard and spoke calmly, "This is why I asked you to come here today. Your future is uncertain, and everything is unknown. Your next choice is crucial. Whether you will soar directly to become a phoenix or encounter another adventure depends entirely on your decision."

Zhenhuan didn't expect that her future would be full of twists and turns. If she hadn't seen the fortune, she would have said that Master Dejia was a liar, but she had never revealed anything about the soul from another world.

Even after she came here, she behaved according to the original owner's behavior in the mansion. The most extraordinary thing was her business. However, she kept such things hidden behind the scenes. Even the personal maid around her only knew that she often went to her father's study but didn't know what she did there.

Under such circumstances, this master, who had never met before, pointed out his origins in one sentence. It can be seen that this master is really extraordinary.

After figuring it out, Zhen Huan hurriedly asked, "Master, may I ask, what choice should I make in the future?"

Master Dejia smiled at Zhenhuan and said, "Since we are here, we should make the best of it. If you want a stable future, you only need to look up. The future will be smooth sailing. However, if you feel dissatisfied, then I cannot predict the subsequent twists and turns. Everything depends on your decision."

Zhenhuan wanted to ask for more details, but Master Dejia was unwilling to say more. He only gave Zhenhuan four words, "Stay out of it," and then put his hands together and closed his eyes, meaning to say goodbye.

Upon seeing this, Abbot Zhiming also nodded slightly, and the matter of interpreting the fortune for today had been concluded.

Zhenhuan was nervous and didn't know where her future lay. Ling Zhu was also confused. What did it mean to only let Zhenhuan make the choice? His daughter Zhenhuan was a concubine to be selected. After the selection next year, everything would be in the hands of the royal family. How could Zhenhuan still make the choice in such matters?

All we can say is that Ling Zhu's truth was revealed. Now Zhen Huan has completely lost herself after Master Dejia's explanation. She only thinks about her future choices and has not realized that she is just a concubine to be selected. Everything is decided by the royal family and she has no say in it.

However, after Zhenhuan and his group left, Kangxi, who was about to fall asleep in the Qianqing Palace that night, received the news from the Jietai Temple. Kangxi was holding the fortune stick in his hand at this time, but there was only the fortune stick. The explanation of the fortune stick had not yet been passed out. The secret guards had already been guarding the Jietai Temple and the Niuhulu Mansion, waiting for the explanation to appear and then be reported back to the Qianqing Palace as soon as it appeared.

Kangxi also immediately ordered the secret guards to impose martial law in Jietai Temple, waiting for Master Zhiming or Master Dejia to appear, and then capture them and bring them back to the Forbidden City.

On the afternoon that Zhenhuan and her group left, Master Dejia and Master Zhiming announced that they would have a long discussion on Buddhist principles all night long and no one would be allowed to disturb them.

Soon after the news was announced, a scholar with an ordinary appearance appeared among the pilgrims leaving Jietai Temple. A day later, a young scholar on a small boat in the East China Sea entered the harbor and then directly switched to a larger ship and set sail.

That night, the lights in Master Zhiming's meditation room were on all night, and the secret guards followed the emperor's orders and did not break in directly. It was not until dawn the next day when the candles were still on in the room that a group of people discovered something unusual. Then when the secret guards went in to investigate, they found that Master Zhiming had passed away. As for Master Dejia, there was no news of him and he disappeared since then.

The secret guards searched the house carefully and finally found a half-burned piece of paper in a brazier. It was called half a piece, but in fact only a corner was left, with only four blurred words "True Phoenix Appears" on it.

Without delay, the piece of paper was soon delivered to Kangxi's hands. Kangxi, who was originally furious because the secret guard had misled someone and lost his job, suddenly brightened up: "Good, good, good, God is worthy of me. I knew there was still hope for this matter, An Yi."

An appeared in an instant: "I am here."

Kangxi: "Investigate the entire family of Niuhulu, who was mentioned in the fortune-telling yesterday. I want to know everything about the eldest daughter of the Niuhulu family. Also, find an opportunity to arrange for a foster nanny to come in. I will be very useful to her when the time comes."

An Yi: "Yes."

The years of searching finally had some results. Even though Master Dejia had left, it did not affect Kangxi's good mood at the moment. While ordering his servants to continue looking for Master Dejia, Kangxi generously rewarded all the princes and princesses, and lifted the house arrest of Yinreng.