After my luck was stolen, I led my whole family to defy fate and change our destiny.

Outside the Guanyin Hall of Baiyun Temple, a solemn Guanyin statue stands amidst resplendent golden sculptures, while young monks on either side chant sutras and strike wooden fish, their voices melodious and enchanting.

The abbot clasped his hands together and said, "Excellent, excellent, please, all benefactors."

The dignitaries on both sides naturally stood on either side, men on the left and women on the right.

The young novice monk took out a lottery box containing slips of paper with the names of worshippers who had donated a lot of money for incense this year. If the temple couldn't determine who should receive the incense this year, it would use a lottery system.

This is a solution devised by the temple to prevent a previous incident where worshippers got into a fight over the temple giving away the first stick of incense to someone else.

The abbot said that this was due to the karmic connection.

The young novice monk held the wooden bucket and shook it. The abbot took out a slip of paper and slowly opened it.

The worshippers on both sides craned their necks to see who would win the first incense stick this year.

Lin Xiaoxiao was also eagerly anticipating the event. She had donated a considerable amount of money for incense oil this year, all for the sake of gaining a good reputation today.

"The Gu family of the Minister's residence, Madam Gu," the abbot's booming voice rang out.

Below, there was a chorus of sighs and lamentations, and Lin Xiaoxiao gritted her teeth in silence.

"Why is it her?"

"I thought it was my house."

"You wouldn't cheat, would you?"

Equally unbelievable was Su Xiuran herself, who thought that after such an event, the Gu family's name was not even on the list.

She had been judging others by her own petty standards; her face flushed slightly, and she felt inexplicably guilty.

The abbot clasped his hands together again and said, "Please be quiet, everyone."

"Madam Gu, please wash your hands and offer incense."

"Yes, thank you, Abbot."

Su Xiuran stepped forward and bowed to the abbot in Buddhist salutation. A young novice monk brought a basin of water to her.

"Thank you, young master."

Su Xiuran gently placed her hands in the basin, the cool spring water soaking into them, and she gradually became calm and composed.

Lin Xiaoxiao quietly approached Su Xiuran and asked in a very soft voice, "Madam Gu, may I buy this stick of incense? I'm willing to pay one hundred taels."

"Your family must be in a real need of money right now, right? One hundred taels is a lot, how about it?"

Su Xiuran glanced at Lin Xiaoxiao. "You're right, I do need a lot of money. If you can come up with one hundred taels of gold, I'll give you this incense."

One hundred taels of gold? Why don't you just rob someone?

"What, you can't produce it? If you can't, then get out of the way, don't force me to slap you while I'm having so much fun."

"you……"

The young novice monk lowered his head, almost bursting out laughing.

Lin Xiaoxiao was so angry that her eyes turned red, and she couldn't say a word. She turned around and reluctantly returned to the crowd.

Chunhe had no say here; she could only stare at Lin Xiaoxiao and silently spit out a "pui".

Chunhe withdrew her gaze from Lin Xiaoxiao's back and handed the handkerchief to Su Xiuran. Su Xiuran wiped the water stains off and reverently accepted the incense offered by the young monk.

The scent of sandalwood pulled her back to reality. She walked to the Guanyin Hall, knelt down solemnly, and bowed three times.

Greatly compassionate Guanyin Bodhisattva, may you bless the Gu family to turn danger into safety, and may the master be released soon, so that the whole family may be safe and healthy.

Su Xiuran handed the incense to Chunhe and kowtowed three more times.

The incense-giving ceremony was considered complete. The others either left or offered incense. Su Xiuran walked to the door, hesitated for a moment before walking over to the fortune teller.

"Master, please draw a fortune stick."

The monk at the entrance clasped his hands together and said, "Please shake the divination sticks, benefactor."

Su Xiuran held the divination stick container in both hands and shook it slowly. Her palms were sweating nervously, and she kept chanting in her heart, "May the Bodhisattva protect me, may the Bodhisattva protect me."

"Boom"

A slip of paper fell to the ground, and Su Xiuran slowly picked it up and took a look.

"Unlucky draw"

Her heart skipped a beat, her body went limp, and her hands gradually slipped down. Gu Yu'an quickly caught his mother and took the bamboo stick from her hands.

Gu Liyao, holding Gu Zimo, also came over to take a look.

"Suddenly, abruptly, layer upon layer, like a fierce tiger emerging from a precipice."

Gu Yu'an read the fortune slip aloud, but he didn't understand what it meant.

Gu Liyao and Gu Ziming were also scratching their heads, finding it too difficult.

Gu Yu'an handed the bamboo sticks to the monk, saying, "Please interpret these sticks, Master."

The monk took the fortune slip, glanced at it, and smiled faintly. "Madam and young master, there's no need to worry. This fortune slip seems unfavorable, but it contains a glimmer of hope. If a benefactor comes to your aid, your momentum will be unstoppable..."

The monk's voice was deep and pleasant as he spoke slowly, which eased the mood of the crowd who were initially dejected because they had drawn an unfavorable lot.

"Thank you for clearing up my doubts, Master."

The monk put his hands together in prayer and said, "Amitabha, please take care, benefactor."

After Gu Yu'an and the others returned the greetings, they left the Guanyin Hall.

By this time, it was already bright daylight, and there were several times more pilgrims than usual. Gu Yu'an and Gu Liyao carefully protected Su Xiuran, Gu Linglong, and Gu Ziming in the middle as they approached the carriage.

"Madam Gu, please wait."

Lin Xiaoxiao slowly walked over. She could already sense that Su Xiuran's attitude towards her was not as good as before, so she simply spoke up, "Even if Lord Gu and Second Master have separated their families, Madam doesn't need to target me like this, does she?"

Su Xiuran turned her head and looked at Lin Xiaoxiao, then suddenly smiled, but the smile didn't reach her eyes.

"I'm targeting you?"

"Isn't it because you seduced my husband first?"

Lin Xiaoxiao's expression changed slightly, and she vehemently denied it, saying, "This is a misunderstanding. I can explain. Can we still be best friends like before?"

"hehe"

Su Xiuran was so angry at her shameless remarks that she laughed. At this moment, Gu Linglong also woke up and shook her head back and forth.

[Shameless! Oh, Gu Minghai is out!]

A glint of light flashed in Su Xiuran's eyes.

"You always wear clothes of similar colors to mine; I know what you're thinking."

Lin Xiaoxiao's heart skipped a beat. Did she know?

"You're jealous of me, aren't you? Jealous that I married well?"

"Really?" Lin Xiaoxiao seemed to breathe a sigh of relief.

"That's right, I'm just jealous of you. Why did you marry so well and become so outstanding, while I can only crawl in dark and damp ditches?"

"So what if you come from a good family? If I had a background like yours, I would be even more outstanding and excellent than you."

"You have everything, yet you won't even give me a single stick of incense. If it weren't for your status as the daughter of a duke and the wife of a minister, you wouldn't even have this incense today."

Su Xiuran wasn't angry; she simply nodded and gently coaxed, "So you mean, if you came from a good family, you'd also be willing to be the wife of a high-ranking official?"

"Of course, who wouldn't want to?" Lin Xiaoxiao replied without hesitation.

"Tsk tsk tsk..."

Gu Yu'an clapped his hands. "What a pity. With your character, my father would never approve of you. You'd better think about how to explain this to my second uncle."

[Exactly, shameless, she even wants to be my mother!]

Upon hearing this, Lin Xiaoxiao turned around abruptly and saw a handsome face with a dark expression.

"Second Master..."

Gu Minghai ignored her and walked into the carriage on his own.

Lin Xiaoxiao quickly caught up with him, "Second Master, let me explain...it's not like that..."

Is this the legendary "he flees, she chases, he can't escape even if he grows wings"?