A whirlwind marriage with a high-ranking official: Lights out, don't force me to take the initi

The military green jeep drove on the bumpy dirt road, its wheels crunching over the gravel.

Looking out the window at the gray sky and bare poplar trees, Ye Wenxi felt a sense of confusion and emptiness. She didn't know why she had come, but subconsciously felt that she could find some answers here.

Lu Weidong, wearing a black jacket, gripped the steering wheel, his gaze fixed on the road ahead, saying nothing. In the back seat, Zhang Yunxia carried a cloth bag containing noodles and sesame oil she had brought to the temple. She always brought something with her when she visited—not much, as the abbot wouldn't accept too much.

"Drive another two miles, and you'll see that pine forest. That's it," Zhang Yunxia pointed ahead.

A moment later, the car stopped by the roadside. Qingning Temple was small, with gray walls and blue tiles, and a few clumps of withered weeds growing at the base of the walls. The mountain gate was made of wood, with most of the paint peeling off, revealing the wood grain underneath.

The threshold was very high, and the middle section was dented from being stepped on by pilgrims. A plaque hung above the door, the characters blurred, only the character "Qing Temple" was recognizable. The character "Ning" was exposed to the wind and sun, leaving only half of its strokes, like an unfinished stroke.

There were several old pine trees in the yard, their trunks so thick that one person couldn't wrap their arms around them, their bark cracked into pieces. The ground was paved with blue bricks, and a few clumps of withered grass sprouted from the cracks between the bricks, bending flat on the ground in the wind.

The incense burner stood in the center of the courtyard. It was made of bronze and had rusted a dark green color. A few burnt incense sticks were still stuck inside. There was no smell of incense, only the scent of pine needles and earth.

Lu Weidong turned off the car, and the group prepared to get out.

Ye Wenxi turned to Lu Weidong and said, "You'd better not go up. Just wait here, or go for a walk around."

"Okay. I won't leave, I'll wait for you in the car." Lu Weidong nodded, adjusted his seat back, leaned back, and closed his eyes.

Zhang Yunxia was already standing at the temple gate. Ye Wenxi followed, and the two of them stepped over the threshold one after the other, their shoes landing on the blue bricks with a muffled sound.

A young monk, in his early twenties, came out to greet them. He wore a gray robe with the cuffs rolled up. He recognized Zhang Yunxia, ​​put his hands together in prayer, and stepped aside to invite them inside.

"How is the abbot's health?" Zhang Yunxia asked as she walked.

"It's alright. I had a cough for a while at the beginning of winter, but I'm much better now that spring has arrived." The young monk spoke casually, as if he were talking about everyday life.

"Sister Zhang, is there something you need today?" He glanced at Zhang Yunxia, ​​then at Ye Wenxi.

Zhang Yunxia smiled, a few fine lines appearing at the corners of her eyes: "I have a son! I've come to share the good news with the abbot and fulfill a vow."

The young monk paused for a moment, then smiled broadly, clasping his hands together in prayer: "Great news, great news. The abbot is in the backyard; you can just go there directly."

Zhang Yunxia and Ye Wenxi walked along the narrow blue brick path, which was only wide enough for two people to walk side by side. At the end of the path was a moon gate.

When passing by the "Future Buddha Temple", Ye Wenxi stopped there.

"Sister Yunxia, ​​why don't I wait for you here?"

"Okay, I'll say a few words and then come out. Wait for me a moment." Zhang Yunxia patted her hand and walked inside alone.

Ye Wenxi strolled slowly around the courtyard. The backyard was quieter than the front yard, and the sound of the wind rustling through the pine needles seemed distant. In the corner stood a stone statue of the Future Buddha, not very tall, only reaching her chest.

The Buddha's face was blurred; the wind and sun had worn away his features, leaving only an outline, with lowered eyebrows, downcast eyes, and a slight curve still visible at the corner of his mouth.

Ye Wenxi stood in front of the Buddha and looked up.

She used to be an extreme materialist. From childhood to adulthood, she didn't believe in gods, Buddhas, or fate. But standing here now, those beliefs suddenly loosened. After all, even transmigrating into a book had happened; what else was impossible?

She stared at the Buddha's face, which was almost worn smooth, and gently exhaled.

She looked at the stone Buddha, whose eyes were empty, yet she felt as if the Buddha was looking at her.

Ye Wenxi stared into the eyes of the stone Buddha, feeling that they contained all the worlds, including the one she had come from.

"You can see all the worlds, right?" she whispered, her voice so low it was as if she were afraid of being overheard. "Including the one I came from."

The wind stopped, and the pine needles remained still.

Ye Wenxi took a deep breath and sighed.

"It's not like I wanted to be here." She frowned, her tone tinged with dissatisfaction, as if complaining to an old friend. "You brought me here, but now the world is rejecting me. What... what are you trying to do? Don't end up killing me, or I'll be wronged!"

She stared at the Buddha's blurry face, her voice lowered, so low that she could barely hear herself:

"Buddha...can I rewrite my own destiny?"

A gust of wind rustled the pine needles a few times, then stopped. The courtyard was as quiet as if someone had pressed the pause button, with only her own breathing, clear and distinct. A withered leaf on the ground was pushed around twice by the wind, then came to rest at her feet.

Ye Wenxi stood there for a while, then gave a self-deprecating laugh.

"Asking is pointless." She kicked a leaf at her feet. "If you were really capable of speaking, you'd probably just tell me to figure it out myself."

She put her hands in her pockets, turned and walked towards the stone bench. After taking two steps, she stopped, turned back and glanced at the Buddha.

In the meditation room on the east side of the backyard, the smoke from tea drifted upwards in wisps.

Abbot Guanchen sat on a futon. He was over seventy years old, with a lean face and deep wrinkles that looked like they had been carved by a knife.

His eyebrows were white and drooped at the corners of his eyes. His eyes were not big, but his gaze at Zhang Yunxia was clear and deep, as if he had seen a tree that had been withered and desolate, but which had quietly sprouted new buds.

Zhang Yunxia sat opposite him, holding a teacup, her smile never fading since she entered the room.

"Abbot, I went to the orphanage last month to complete the necessary procedures. It's for a five-year-old boy; his family is gone. His father was a war hero. This child also grew up in Northeast China and also has the surname Zhang!"

"I feel like I'm destined to have this child with me; now we're mother and son..."

…………

Zhang Yunxia spoke with great joy, while Guan Chen looked at her without saying a word, his expression as still as a cloud in a calm lake, carefully pondering and savoring this change.

"Yunxia, ​​your kind heart and good deeds have been rewarded by Heaven. This is the good result of your good karma, and it is also the result of your good intentions that have quietly changed your destiny." Guanchen's voice was calm, with a hint of worldly wisdom.

Zhang Yunxia smiled憨厚ly, her tone slightly teasing: "I used to be like that too, so why did you say I had little luck with having children back then?"

"The past is the past, the present is the present." He spoke slowly, his gaze gentle yet profound. "A stone thrown into the center of a pond will create ripples."

Zhang Yunxia was stunned for a moment, feeling that the abbot's words today were rather profound and she couldn't quite understand them.

"Abbot, I have a friend with me. She's also quite troubled. May I ask her to come in and talk to you about it?"

"Alright," the abbot replied.

Ye Wenxi was sitting on the veranda in a daze when Zhang Yunxia walked over from inside.

"Wenxi, I'm done talking. Do you want to go in and chat with the abbot? He's waiting inside," Zhang Yunxia called out to her with a smile.

"Okay." Ye Wenxi hesitated for a moment, then nodded.

Zhang Yunxia led Ye Wenxi to the door of the meditation room and gently knocked.

"Please come in."

"Abbot, this is my friend."

Abbot Guanchen looked up and met Ye Wenxi's gaze in silence.