At the Nunnery:

Since they took a carriage, it only took half an hour to reach the nunnery from Baili Village.

Although they arrived early, the nunnery opened even earlier.

Qin’s mother and Yang Haiyan got out of the carriage and entered the nunnery.

Due to its remote location, the nunnery rarely saw visitors, and thus the incense offerings were sparse, giving the place a rather desolate atmosphere.

This actually worked in their favor, as there weren’t many people around.

As they entered, they saw two young girls sweeping the courtyard.

Qin’s mother introduced the place to Yang Haiyan, “This nunnery often takes in abandoned or orphaned girls. These two are some of the ones taken in.”

Yang Haiyan was surprised, not expecting the nunnery to engage in such charitable deeds. “The abbess must be a truly kind soul.”

Qin’s mother addressed one of the girls, “Is your master here? We’re here to see the abbess.”

The girl replied, “Yes, she’s here, performing her morning prayers. Please come inside and wait. I’ll bring you some tea and then fetch the abbess.”

Qin’s mother nodded, “Alright, thank you.”

After waiting for a while in the main hall, an elderly nun eventually emerged.

She had a kind face, her appearance gentle and compassionate.

Recognizing Qin’s mother from her previous visit, the old nun greeted her, “Ah, you’ve returned, Qin benefactor. And this young lady is?”

Although Qin’s mother was angry when she returned home yesterday, she was polite and considerate today. “Master, this is…”

“Auntie,” Yang Haiyan interrupted Qin’s mother, then turned to the old nun and said, “Master, hello. I’ve heard that you can predict fortunes very accurately, so I would like to ask about my marital fate.”

Qin’s mother was taken aback, a little surprised, but quickly composed herself.

She immediately said, “Yes, yes, this is my husband’s niece; she wants to inquire about her marriage. What do you think, Master?”

The old nun replied, “Of course. We can draw lots to predict marital fate. Please come to the Buddha hall.”

Qin’s mother and Yang Haiyan followed her to the Buddha hall, where the old nun instructed, “Three bows to Buddha before drawing lots.”

Yang Haiyan said, “Yes, Master. Before drawing lots, I’d like to ask, do you read faces? I’ve heard that fortune-tellers can also read facial features; can you?”

The old nun responded, “I understand a little.”

Yang Haiyan asked, “Then could you take a look at my face and tell me about it?”

The old nun said, “Of course, please sit over here.”

After Yang Haiyan and Qin’s mother sat down, the old nun examined Yang Haiyan’s face closely.

At first, she was calm, but upon closer inspection, she was shocked. “You…”

Seeing the old nun’s expression, Qin’s mother worriedly asked, “What’s wrong? Is there something wrong with my daughter-in-law’s face?”

The old nun shook her head. “If we say it’s wrong, it’s not wrong; if we say it’s right, it’s not exactly right either.”

Yang Haiyan was curious and asked, “What do you mean by that, Master?”

The old nun explained, “Looking at the young lady’s face, it shows signs of a short life, but within that short life, there is also a blessing, indicating she is a person with fortune. This type of face, I have never seen before.”

When Qin’s mother heard the old nun say Yang Haiyan had a short life, she felt a pang of anxiety, but when she heard the old nun say that Yang Haiyan had the fortune of a blessed person, she sighed in relief.

Yang Haiyan asked, “What does this mean, Master? I don’t quite understand.”

The old nun replied, “You have two types of facial features. The signs of a short life are merely superficial. However, Buddhism teaches that a person’s appearance is shaped by their heart. When one’s heart changes, their appearance will change as well. If the young lady originally had a short life sign, but her heart has changed, then her appearance has also changed. Although this type of face is rarely seen, I can see that the young lady has such features. Since you have the fortune, there is no need for you to ask about marital fate; a blessed person will surely have smooth marital prospects.”

Qin’s mother felt relieved.

Yang Haiyan stood up and said, “Thank you, Master.”

She took out a silver piece and said, “Master, this is a donation for the temple, not much, just a token of my appreciation.”

The old nun accepted the money, saying, “Thank you, young lady.”

After exiting the temple, Qin’s mother sighed deeply with relief.

The old nun’s statement about her daughter-in-law’s features changing from short life signs to blessed signs indicated that she wouldn’t have any problems.

As for her son…

At this thought, Qin’s mother suddenly said, “Yanyan, wait for a moment at the cart. I just remembered I forgot to give the offering yesterday; I’ll bring it to the Master now.”

Yang Haiyan was puzzled.

Qin’s mother rushed back into the Buddha hall, where the old nun was cleaning. “Master.”

The old nun replied, “Qin lady, is there anything else?”

Qin’s mother said, “Master, I’d like to ask about my niece’s children.”

The old nun reassured her, “Rest assured, you will have many descendants.”

Qin’s mother smiled broadly, “Thank you, Master… Thank you, Master…”

Yang Haiyan and Qin Fang waited outside by the cart, watching as Qin’s mother came out.

Actually, Yang Haiyan had come prepared today.

If the old nun still concluded that she had a short life, she would use Qin Fang’s identity to overturn that supposed fate.

The old nun based her calculations on the original story’s characters, which included Qin Fang and the original protagonist’s destinies.

However, in the novel, Qin Fang is a commoner, but at this moment, he has already become an official of the court.

So, taking advantage of this, he can overturn the fortune calculated by the old nun based on the eight characters of her birth.

If that’s not enough, there’s a second step: she can say that she was sold to a pawnshop by her biological parents when she was five, and her birth date might not be true.

Just when she didn’t expect it, before she could act, the old nun said that her facial features had changed from a sign of short life to a sign of good fortune.

Good fortune? Is it true that one’s fortune is shaped by the heart?

Yang Haiyan thought about it.

She had inexplicably crossed into this story, and she didn’t even know if she had died in the real world.

But coming to this world could be considered an accident.

This might be what others call good fortune.

Even though she didn’t know if her real self had passed away, and despite missing everything from her original world—like Wi-Fi, air conditioning, and binge-watching shows—she felt incredibly lonely and helpless there.

In contrast, here, there was Qin Fang and the Qin family, who cared for her because of Qin Fang.

Perhaps it was warmer than in her original world.

Yang Haiyan asked, “Mother, have you given the incense money to the master?”

Qin’s mother replied, “Yes, I have. It’s strange; yesterday that nun said you had a sign of short life, and that Qin Fang would live alone for the rest of his life. But today, she said you have a sign of good fortune, and Qin Fang will have many descendants. Isn’t that odd?”

When Qin Fang heard the words “many descendants,” his ears perked up.

Yang Haiyan said, “From my perspective, the master’s prediction yesterday was based on the eight characters, which are static. Today’s prediction is based on facial features, which can change according to one’s mental state, so what we see in facial features is the truth.”

Qin’s mother agreed, “Indeed, yesterday was quite a shock.”

Qin Fang summarized, “So Yan Yan doesn’t need to stay at home anymore.”

That was what he cared about.

Qin’s mother glanced at her son.

It wasn’t his fault—who would want to be apart from their wife so soon after getting married?

“You two decide for yourselves; I won’t interfere. By the way, tomorrow you two should visit your maternal grandparents; they have been thinking about you.”

Qin Fang replied, “Okay.”

Yang Haiyan asked, “Mother, when we go to my grandparents’ house, should we prepare gifts? What gifts should I prepare?”

Qin’s mother said, “Buy your grandparents each a pair of shoes and bring some meat along.”

As for what else to bring, it’s too costly.

Yang Haiyan replied, “Then I’ll listen to you, Mother. It’s still early; let’s go buy shoes for my grandparents.”

Qin’s mother said, “Let’s go in the morning. You two can go to town in the morning to buy shoes and meat, then head directly over. Otherwise, if we buy meat now, it won’t be fresh, and if it’s left at the old Qin’s house, it might tempt everyone to eat it up.”

Yang Haiyan said, “I heard from Siya that Da Mei will come over today. We should go to town, buy some meat, and treat Da Mei to something nice.”

Qin’s mother responded, “She’s lucky to have a sister-in-law like you.”

Yang Haiyan smiled, “I’m also fortunate to have a mother-in-law who thinks of everything for me.”

As Qin Fang drove the cart, he listened to his mother and wife exchanging pleasantries.

Yang Haiyan remembered something: “Mother, when Da Mei gets married, I wasn’t around, and as her brother, I should send something. Since we’re back now and Da Mei is coming today, let’s make up for that gift.”

Qin’s mother didn’t refuse.

With daughters married off, they relied on their brothers at home for support, so it was important for the daughter and daughter-in-law to get along: “You decide how to handle it.”

Yang Haiyan asked, “What is Da Mei’s in-laws like? Are they as reasonable as you? If they are reasonable, I will gift Da Mei a silver hairpin. If they are unreasonable, a hairpin would be too eye-catching, so I’ll give her some silver as a private stash.”

Qin’s mother felt her daughter-in-law was very thoughtful and appreciated the compliment: “Her in-laws are quite nice and down-to-earth. Da Mei has many brothers and uncles, so her in-laws won’t dare to disrespect her.”

Yang Haiyan chuckled, “Exactly. Her elder brother is now an official; who would dare bully Da Mei?”

Qin’s mother couldn’t help but laugh.

Thus, Qin Fang took his mother and wife to town.

Yang Haiyan bought shoes for her grandparents, as well as wedding clothes for herself and Qin Fang, a bronze mirror, a hairpin for Daya, and some meat and vegetables.

When the cart reached the village entrance, they saw Qin Siya: “Elder Brother…”

This time, Qin Siya was very enthusiastic and ran over.

She hadn’t combed her hair that morning and still had the braid from yesterday.

To avoid messing up her hair, she had been particularly well-behaved while sleeping.

As soon as Qin Siya got on the cart, she said, “Mother, sister-in-law, big sister is back.”