Ever since Yu Xiang was startled awake from her nightmare and knelt in the Buddhist hall for a day and a night, the Old Madam felt that life had started to become more difficult. Every day, from the moment she opened her eyes, she would ask whether there were any war reports sent to the capital from the North West battlefield, and whether the Marquis had sent any message.
They could do nothing except to shake their heads.ćć
The Old Madam would then turn to ask Yu Xiang what dream she had. Yu Xiang would just press her chest and cry that she was in pain. Her miserable expression made the Old Madam question whether it was true or not, but she just had to give up and hurriedly summoned a physician.
Just like this, half a month had gone by. Finally, the Old Madamās attention was occupied with by another matterāāMaster Ku Hai, a monk from Zhenguo Temple, returned from his journey and placed a Chien Tung[1] for people who were brought together by fate. And in at least three to five days and at most ten days, he would sail back to Country Tian Zhu to improve his spiritual cultivation.
Speaking of Master Ku Hai, he was the most legendary figure in the Han Dynasty. Seventy years ago, the founding emperor, Emperor Sheng Zu, was just a small Marquis in one of the thousands of households. He was lucky enough to draw the āEmperor stickā of Master Ku Hai in Guang Ji temple and had a conversation with him. Before he left, Master Ku Hai presented him with a piece of wild grass, which had two sentences stating ādragon travels in the nine heavens and the five continents under the earth are the same.ā
This poem wasnāt very good, but the words were auspicious. Emperor Sheng Zu mounted it and hung it in in his room until the day of his ascension to the throne, then he understood. This was the consultation he had where he had earnestly asked for the meaning, yet Master Ku Hai didnāt want to tell himāāNinth-five plan[2], the most respected of the land under heaven. No one would have thought that a small household Marquis would become the master of the vast land after a few years.
After that, the Guang Ji temple was renamed to Zheng Guo Temple by the Emperorās edict. Master Ku Haiās Chien Tung became an object of worship in the Han Dynasty. Since then, seventy years have passed, Master Ku Haiās appearance was still the same, it seemed that time had forgotten to age him.
Because of all this, his status became more unapproachable and more desirable.
Once the Old Madam received this news, she immediately sent someone to prepare the carriage to head to the Zheng Guo temple.
āLet the maidservant put on more clothes for Xiangāer. Donāt let her catch a cold on the way there.ā She uneasily urged.
Ma Momo stood on the porch and looked up at the sky. She hesitatingly said, āOld Madam, itās raining cats and dogs outside. The road is muddy and hard to walk. Itās better to go another day.ā
āWe have to rush over to attend the opening ceremony of the altar. Otherwise, we wonāt be able to squeeze into it when people start to go visit in a few days. Today, the Crown Princess would definitely be going there. We can take advantage of this.ā The Old Madam beckoned her.
Ma Momo had no choice, so she ran to the west chamber in the heavy rain and asked Yu Xiang to prepare quickly. It was also strange, the torrential rain that was so powerful as if it wished to pour out all the water for nine days, Yu Xiang who had just recently recovered straightened up and looked out of the door, the rain stopped. Rays of golden sunlight pierced through the layers of clouds and shone down her head, her originally pale face was even more pure and holy, and the dust particles floating around her added a bit of liveliness to her.
Ma Momo stood there staring at her blankly for a long time, until Yu Xiang strangely raised her eyebrow at her. Then, she hurriedly pushed her out.
When they arrived at Zhengguo Temple, they saw the Crown Princessās carriage had stopped outside the temple with many imperial bodyguards armed with swords and halberds patrolling around. Whenever the guards saw idle people, they went to dismiss them.
Yu Pin Yan was now fighting far away in the North West. If he returned victorious after the battle, he wouldnāt only inherit the mantle of the old Marquis Yongle, but also become a General of Valiant Cavalry and in charge of millions of troops. He was the Crown princeās most trusted subordinates and the most reliable aid. In terms of personal relationship, his status wasnāt any less compared to that of a legitimate brother. As a result of this relationship, the Old Madam had just passed a message and the Crown Princess sent someone to welcome them. The Madams who couldnāt enter were so envious that their eyes turned red.
After greeting each other, they sat and talked to each other.
āHave the Crown Princess drawn the āEmperor stickā?ā The Old Madam inquired curiously.
āNo, none of the hundred and ten people who came with benggong today had picked the Emperor stick. It can be seen that I have no chance to meet with Master Ku Hai. Thus, I would wish for blessings and listened to the scriptures in the hall and returned back when itās time.ā The Crown Princess shook her head and laughed bitterly.
Master Ku Hai was a divine monk in the Han Dynasty. Anyone who was associated with the word ādivineā had an unrestrained aura in his bones, his behaviors and speech reflected his own preference. Master Ku Haiās face reading was very accurate, and he could foretell the future of life and death. However, it wasnāt up to anyone to receive a reading from him, it was up to fate.
Master Ku Hai asked a craftsman to make a huge rotatable Chien Tung, which was divided into two layers, and the centre was blocked by a partition board, and the box could hold 50,000 sticks in total[3]. The person who wanted to draw from the lot would have to first spin the Chien Tung, then remove the partition. Once the lots fell to the bottom layer, one would randomly pick up a stick. If the āemperor stickā was chosen, it would signify that the person who picked the stick was predestined to meet with Master Ku Hai. He would have a chat with the said person and answer any question they asked.
There were fifty thousand sticks in and there was only one chance. In the 70 years since the founding of the Han Dynasty, only Emperor Sheng Zu was lucky enough to draw the āEmperor stickā. Thus, every time Master Ku Hia returned to the capital for meditation, there would be waves of people who would visit Zhen Guo temple to pick out a stick. A few days ago, it was naturally the royal family that came, and the next few days after was the nobleās turn. If a commoner wished to enter, they had to wait until all the dignitaries in the capital had been there.
The Old Madam and Crown Princess both sighed at once. Seeing that Crown Princessā and the Empressā families had already drawn the lot, she then brought Yu Xiang in.
āIām responsible for turning the Chien Tung, and you are responsible for picking the sticks. When the sticks drop, do not hesitate and just pick up one that looks good to you. This is about whether we are predestined to meet him or not, donāt hope for too much.ā The Old Madam reminded her softly.
Yu Xiang nodded in agreement.
They put their hands together and chanted āMay the Bodhisattva bless meā to themselves. The Crown Princess and a group of noble madams stood to the side anxiously waiting.
The Chien Tung was very heavy, and the Old Madam had only spun twice before she was already sweating all over. She managed to turn it the third time before pulling out the partition. There was a burst of clatter, when the bamboo sticks dropped like raindrops. A young monk extended his hand and said, āPlease choose one within two breaths. If you choose after two breaths, it would mean that you are not predestined to meet Master.ā
It was impossible to cheat if you choose one between two breaths. Yu Xiang didnāt wait for all the bamboo sticks to fall, she grabbed one from the air and passed it to the young monk.
At first, the young monk was still smiling. When he saw the two words āEmperor stickā carved in Sanskrit on the bamboo stick, his facial expression immediately changed. He rushed to the backyard and yelled, āMaster, someone has drawn the emperor stick!ā
As soon as he said this, the hall was immediately filled with excited chatter. Initially, the Old Madam came with a hesitant attitude. She never thought that Yu Xiang would have chosen the Emperor stick. Now, she was dumbfounded. She looked at the stick and then at Yu Xiang. She was a bit befuddled as if she was in a dream.
The Crown Princess stared fixedly at Yu Xiang, and secretly thought, āThis di[4] Miss of Yongle Marquis Manor is really a spiritual person. The whole family of Yongle Marquis manor are deeply blessed, no wonder the Crown Prince could escape death twice.ā
Because this stick was only about whether one was fated to meet with Master Ku Hai, and it wasnāt a stick to tell oneās fate. The person who drew the āEmperor stickā could only be said to be lucky and was predestined with Master Ku Hai. However, the spread of malicious slanders remarks and rumors could not be stopped. The Old Madam met the madams who had arrived to give their congratulations and also conveniently pat Yu Xiang to get some of her luck. They chatted about the weather for a period of time. Then, she walked into the back hall under the guidance of a monk.
Several young monks gathered and put the bamboo sticks back to the upper layer.