After rejecting Fu Yuheng's kindness, Shen Qingwan followed the Queen Mother to Famen Temple two days later. The royal family always went out with great fanfare, and just to burn incense at Famen Temple, 10% of the troops in the capital were dispatched, which gave Shen Qingwan a quiet time in the carriage without any inconsiderate noise.
Famen Temple is a place for the royal family and nobles to burn incense and worship Buddha. It is not very far from the palace and only takes half a day to get there by car. Because the Queen Mother admires Buddhism very much, there are many dignitaries who come here to worship Buddha, so it does not feel deserted on weekdays.
Famen Temple is located halfway up Famen Mountain. When they reached the foot of the mountain, the empress dowager got off the carriage and signaled everyone to stay at the foot of the mountain.
"Empress Dowager, this is not appropriate. Please at least let two of us guard you." Before coming out, the emperor personally appointed two attendants to closely protect the Empress Dowager's safety. Hearing the Empress Dowager's arrangement, one of them couldn't help but say with concern.
"No problem. This area of Famen Mountain is the royal territory. I believe the emperor governs it well." The Queen Mother waved her hand and ignored the guards' words. She only asked Shen Qingwan to accompany her up the mountain. "Xianfei, please accompany me up the mountain. Are you afraid of being tired from climbing the mountain?"
"My Queen Mother, this mountain is not very steep, so I think it won't be too tiring."
The Queen Mother smiled and said nothing more. She just extended her hand to Shen Qingwan and let her support herself and slowly walk up the mountain.
Shen Qingwan accompanied the Queen Mother to burn incense and chant scriptures, and paused slightly when passing by the place where they asked for divination.
"You young people are easily attracted by these things. If you like them, go and ask for a fortune." The Queen Mother was surprisingly understanding.
Shen Qingwan thanked the Queen Mother and went to ask for a signature that she was really interested in.
However, what she got was not good news. The content on the lot was not complicated. There was only one word "劫". It was simple but difficult to find out the secret. Shen Qingwan quietly held the lot tightly and asked the abbot beside her in a worried voice: "Abbot, is this lot satisfactory?"
The abbot looked at the empress dowager who was standing not far away, but smiled without saying anything.
The Queen Mother on the other side had finished what she needed to do and was looking at this side. Although she didn't say anything, Shen Qingwan didn't dare to let the Queen Mother wait for her too long. Although she still didn't quite understand the meaning of the abbot and the lot, she could only thank the abbot and go back to explore it slowly.
She carefully put the lot into her sleeve and hid it, then returned to the Queen Mother.
They set out from the palace in the morning and arrived here at noon. If they hurried back, they would have to travel at night, which was inconvenient and unsafe. They could only have their meals here as usual, rest for a night, and then set off back to the palace tomorrow.
After dinner, the two attendants in charge of the empress dowager's safety and the nanny in charge of her daily life were called up by the empress dowager. After everything was done, the empress dowager returned to the room prepared for her to rest.
Shen Qingwan wandered around the temple for a while, but there was really nothing to see or play with, so she returned to her room to rest. She tossed and turned at night, unable to sleep, and when Shen Qingwan finally fell into a light sleep, she was woken up by the noisy noise outside.
"Here, here! The fire is out of control!"
"The water is over there! Be quick!"
Shen Qingwan hurriedly put on her clothes, opened the door and saw a big fire in the south of the temple. The servants were fighting the fire in a chaotic and noisy manner.
She frowned as she watched the fire rise to the sky, and walked closer to take a look. Seeing that it was quite far from here and the Queen Mother's room, it should not be affected, and she breathed a sigh of relief. Just as she was about to find someone to ask about the Queen Mother's condition, she saw the abbot standing not far away, staring at the sea of fire.
As if possessed by some mysterious force, she changed direction and walked towards the abbot, asking, "Such a big fire broke out in the temple, why don't you seem to be worried at all? Although I know it is rude to ask this, I am really curious, so I hope the abbot will not blame me."
The abbot did not turn around to look at her, as if he had expected her to come. He just stared at the sea of fire and sighed, "What is coming will eventually come. There is no point in being anxious."
"Why do you say that, Abbot?"
"You and I are destined to be together. Let me complain to you. Before I became a monk, I had a grudge with a man in the secular world. I left the monastery without dealing with it properly. This is considered a grudge. But this creditor will not let go of this grudge just because I am now devoted to Buddhism. Now, this fire was set by him because of this grudge." The abbot shook his head helplessly. "What goes around comes around. If I don't let him burn for a while, I'm afraid it will be difficult for him to calm down, and it will cause more complicated things."
Shen Qingwan was silent. Although she was not particularly smart, she could figure out the reason from the abbot's words. In this case, she had no right to persuade him, and could only sigh in her heart that the abbot was really a kind person.
"The time has come. I have to take the path that I should take. Young lady, I see that you look kind, so I will call you young lady regardless of your status." The abbot finally turned his head and looked at Shen Qingwan. "I think you still remember today's fortune. There will be a great disaster in your life, but it will not leave you with nowhere to go. If you can handle it carefully and properly, you will get through it and the sky will clear up."
Shen Qingwan came here originally to ask the abbot about the words in the divination that he had not explicitly mentioned today. After hearing what the abbot said, she had an idea in her mind.
"I would like to thank the abbot here, but... the road that the abbot mentioned... I wonder where the abbot is going now?" Shen Qingwan also followed the abbot and no longer called herself "this palace".
The abbot smiled in relief and pointed to the place in front of him where the fire was rising to the sky: "Of course, we have to go to settle this grudge. You can go back to the wing room. The fire will be out in a while and will not disturb you and the queen mother anymore. You can do everything as usual."
Shen Qingwan could only stare blankly at the abbot walking slowly but firmly towards the sea of fire. She couldn't even speak to stop this cycle of cause and effect.
Seeing the abbot's figure getting farther and farther away and more blurred, she could only sigh deeply, asked someone to confirm the safety of the empress dowager, and then obediently returned to her room to continue her interrupted sleep.
The noise outside the door seemed to disappear in a short while, and the temple returned to the tranquility it should have at night. The choking smoke also gradually dissipated. I guess even if the fire has not been put out, at least it has been under control.
But Shen Qingwan's heart could not return to peace. She remembered the words of the abbot and thought about the recent events in the palace. The disaster in her fate was probably what she had to endure in her current position in the palace. The abbot asked her to be careful. In fact, she could understand that everyone in the palace was careful. But she couldn't be perfect in everything. She secretly made up her mind to be more careful of the people around her from today on.