Rejecting Fu Yuheng's good intentions, Shen Qingwan still followed the empress dowager to the Buddhist temple two days later. The imperial family had always been a mighty force when they went out. They only needed to burn incense at the Buddhist temple and they sent out 10% of the capital's military. This allowed Shen Qingwan to have a peaceful time in the carriage.
The Buddhist temple was a place specially provided for royalty to burn incense and worship. It was not too far from the palace, and the journey to the city was only half a day. Because the empress dowager greatly admired the buddhist path, there were quite a few distinguished individuals who came to worship the buddha.
The temple stood halfway up the hill, and when she reached the bottom, she alighted from the carriage and motioned for everyone to stay at the foot of the hill.
"Esteemed Empress Dowager, I am afraid this is not appropriate. Please at least have two of your bodyguards around you." Before coming out, the emperor had personally appointed two servants to protect the empress dowager's safety. Hearing the empress dowager's arrangements, one of them couldn't help but worry as he spoke.
"No problem. This area of the Mausoleum of Mausoleum of Books is the territory of the imperial clan; I believe that the Emperor has good governance. " The empress dowager waved her hand, not listening to her guard's words. She only asked Shen Qingwan to accompany her up the mountain. "Consort Xian, can you accompany This Dowager up?
"To reply Empress Dowager, this mountain is not steep. I presume it won't be too tiring."
The empress dowager smiled and didn't say anything else. She simply held out her hand in front of Shen Qingwan and allowed her to support her as she slowly walked up the mountain.
Shen Qingwan accompanied the empress dowager to burn the incense and praise the scripture.
"You youngsters are more likely to be attracted by these things. If you like them, then go and ask for a signature." Her Majesty was surprisingly understanding.
Shen Qing Wan thanked the empress dowager and went to request a signature that she was really interested in.
However, what he got was not good news. The content of the signature was not complicated. There was only one word, "Tribulation." It was simple, but difficult to see through. Shen Qing Wan quietly held onto the lot and worriedly asked her husband: "Master Fang, is this a good sign?"
The abbot glanced at the empress dowager standing not far away, but smiled without saying a word.
On the other side, the empress dowager had already finished what she was about to do and was looking over at them. Although she didn't say anything, Shen Qingwan didn't dare to let the empress dowager wait for her for too long.
She carefully hid the lot in her sleeve and returned to the Empress Dowager's side.
They left the palace in the morning, and by the time they arrived, it was already noon. If they hurried back again, they would have to walk through the night, which was inconvenient and not safe.
After dinner, the empress dowager summoned the two servants in charge of the empress dowager's safety and the mama in charge of the empress dowager's living quarters. After she was done, the empress dowager returned to her room to rest.
Shen Qingwan wandered around the temple for a while, and since there was nothing to watch, she went back to her room to rest. She tossed and turned at night, unable to sleep. When Shen Qingwan finally fell asleep, she was woken up by the noise outside.
"This way!" I can't control the fire anymore! "
"Water is coming from there!" "Move faster!"
Shen Qingwan quickly put on her clothes, opened the door to look, there was a fire in the southern part of the temple, and all the servants were in the middle of a commotion trying to extinguish the fire.
She frowned as she looked at the rising fire. When she got closer and saw that it was quite far away from the empress dowager's room, she secretly heaved a sigh of relief. He was about to find someone to ask about the empress dowager's situation when he saw the abbot standing not too far away, staring at the sea of fire.
She suddenly changed directions and walked towards the abbot, asking, "Why is abbot not even a little bit anxious when there is such a big fire in the temple? "Even though I know that it is impolite to ask such a question, I am truly curious. I hope that Reverend is not to blame."
He stared at the sea of fire and sighed, "What should come will come eventually. There's no use being anxious."
"Reverend, why do you say that?"
"You and I can be considered to be fated, so let this old one complain to you for a while. Before turning into dust, I had once had a grudge with a mortal, so I left home in a hurry without settling it properly. This could be considered as owing a grudge. "However, this creditor will not let go of this grudge just because I am already wholeheartedly devoted to Buddha. Now, this fire is something that he has let go just for the sake of this grudge." Fang Dang shook his head helplessly. "I'll return the favor. If I don't let him burn it down for a while longer, I'm afraid it'll be difficult to calm him down and cause more complicated things to happen."
Shen Qingwan remained silent. Although she wasn't particularly intelligent, she was still able to figure out the reason behind her words. As a result, she didn't have the status to persuade him and could only sigh in her heart. This Reverend was truly a merciful person.
"Time is up, this old one is going to walk the path that this old one should take. Miss, this old one will call you Miss regardless of your status when I see your friendly face. " The abbot finally turned his head and looked at Shen Qingwan, "I guess the lady still remembers today's lot. You did encounter a huge calamity, but it's not enough to make you lose your way. "If you can handle it well and carefully, it will be a sunny day after you've passed."
Shen Qingwan came here with the intention to ask the abbot if she would like to sign the contract. After hearing the abbot's words, she had a rough idea of what she was talking about.
"This little girl thanks Fang Dang. It's just that …" According to the abbot, the way to go … "I wonder where Lord Fang is going now?" Shen Qingwan followed the abbot and stopped calling himself 'I'.
He pointed to the place right in front of him where the fire was raging towards the sky and said, "Naturally, we have to eliminate this grudge. Go back to your room. The fire will naturally go out in a moment and won't disturb you and the empress dowager anymore.
Shen Qingwan could only blankly watch as she slowly walked towards the sea of fire, step by step. She couldn't even open her mouth to stop the cycle of karma.
Seeing that her abbot's back was getting further and further away, she could only let out a long sigh and find someone to confirm the Empress Dowager's safety before obediently returning to her own room to continue her interrupted sleep.
The noise outside the door seemed to disappear in a moment, and the temple returned to its night tranquility. The suffocating smoke also gradually dissipated, and it was likely that the fire had not been extinguished yet, or at least that it had been contained.
However, it was difficult for Shen Qingwan's heart to return to being at peace. She thought about what her abbot had said, and thought about what had happened in the palace recently. The calamity that had befallen her was probably what she had to bear now that she was in the palace. The abbot had asked her to be cautious, but she could understand this. Who in the palace would not be cautious? But in the end, she couldn't do everything. She secretly made up her mind to be more careful of the people around her today.