Cold-faced Empress

If we don't firmly pin the charge that Wei Lanling is a monster this time, she's not a member of the Fu family!

Wei Lanling walked up to Fu Siying with a somewhat uneasy expression: "Greetings, cousin."

"Ah."

Seeing that Fu Siying was unwilling to talk to her, Wei Lanling felt very embarrassed, but still tried to get closer: "My aunt said that my mother and I should also participate in this ritual, so my mother and I came."

"Hmm." Fu Siying fiddled with her round fan, looking towards the courtyard, completely ignoring Wei Lanling for a moment.

Seeing that she had only received perfunctory responses from Fu Siying after saying a few words, Wei Lanling felt extremely embarrassed and stopped talking, standing blankly beside Fu Siying. The frustration of being dependent on others and having to be subservient to them was indescribable.

A moment later, Madam Li arrived with her younger sister, Madam Li. Madam Li gave Fu Siying a dry, forced smile.

Li said to Fu Siying with a meaningful look, "I hope that after today's ritual, our family can have a new beginning."

Fu Siying met her mother's gaze with a complicated expression, and after a long while, she said, "Yes."

In her previous life, her mother began to eat vegetarian food and chant Buddhist scriptures in the year before she died. She always thought that her mother was praying to Buddha for a longer life, but now she finally understands that her mother had unspeakable resentment in her heart and had to seek relief from her resentment and anger through Buddhism.

Fu Siying could never imagine how her father could be anxiously searching for a doctor for her mother while secretly having intimate conversations with Xiao Li.

Was my father... really a hypocrite?

After the monks of Tianfu Temple had prepared all the ritual implements, the auspicious time arrived. In the blink of an eye, cymbals rang, bells shook, clappers were struck, gongs sounded, and wooden fish played, enveloping the Fu family mansion in a humming chanting.

Fu Siying and her family stood on the side, offering their heartfelt prayers.

After a period of chanting ended, the old monk presiding over the ceremony turned to look at Li and nodded in acknowledgment.

Seeing this, Li immediately pushed and pulled Fu Siying forward, gesturing for her to kneel on the prayer mat in front of the old monk.

Fu Siying calmly and obediently knelt before the old monk, put her palms together, and said, "Amitabha."

“Amitabha,” the old monk said, his face devoid of joy, anger, fear, or worry. “I have heard that you, benefactor, had a terrible dream and fear that it may come true and bring misfortune to your family. Today, I will recite the ‘Blazing Light Buddha’s Crown Mantra’ for you, also known as the ‘Disaster Relief and Auspiciousness Mantra.’ Reciting this mantra regularly, even 180 or 1000 times, can remove disasters and obstacles and bring good fortune to both the country and your family.”

"Thank you, Master."

The chanting begins.

Prime Minister Fu and Madam Li, along with Yunzhi and Rongchen, knelt on other prayer cushions to listen to the sutras.

Wei Lanling looked around and asked her mother in a low voice, "What nightmare did my cousin have?"

Little Li shook her head in confusion as well: "I don't know. Let's kneel down and listen to the sutra too."

The crowd devoutly bathed in the chanting of the abbot of Tianfu Temple, inhaling the incense smoke. Their hearts grew increasingly peaceful, and for a moment, they truly felt a sense of peace and fearlessness, as if bathed in the light of Buddha and undaunted by evil spirits.

After a short blessing chant ended, the high monk instructed the other monks to chant sutras to exorcise evil spirits in the corners of the Fu family's houses, large and small. However, before long, Steward Feng's face changed, and he rushed out from the backyard, whispering something in Prime Minister Fu's ear.

Fu Siying saw her father's expression change from surprise and astonishment in an instant.

Prime Minister Fu didn't even have time to explain to Madam Li before he hurriedly followed Steward Feng to the backyard to check the situation.