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  The arson attempt failed.

  The man sent to report it returned looking dejected, his face ashen. Even Yuanjue’s expression changed, and he excimed in surprise, “Senior Brother!” before falling into a long silence.

  It was now clear that the Sixth Miss Song had anticipated their counterattack. She had correctly guessed that they would retaliate by targeting the Song family’s countryside estate in Tongzhou—and had set up an ambush in advance.

  But that didn’t matter. That wasn’t Yuanhui’s true killing move. His real trump card was the Emperor Jianzhang himself. No ruler could tolerate a harbinger of disaster in their realm. He had revealed Song Chuyi’s destiny to the emperor—that she was a bearer of misfortune whose very presence would bring camity to those around her.

  It should’ve been a simple scheme.

  If only Song Chengru hadn’t knelt before the emperor and resigned his post…

  If only Cen Biliang hadn’t rebuked everyone so fiercely…

  If only Grand Tutor Chang hadn’t stepped forward with his counsel…

  If all of those things hadn’t happened, Yuanhui would already be celebrating his victory.

  But as, Song Chengru did kneel. Cen Biliang elevated the matter to the realm of “putting ghosts before the people.” Cen Biliang and Grand Tutor Chang had deliberately shifted the focus, accusing someone of scheming against the Song family.

  The northwest border was tense. Emperor Jianzhang still needed Cui Shaoting to hold the front against the Tatars, and Song Chengru to clean up court corruption and root out the traitors left behind by the previous dynasty.

  Under such circumstances, even if Song Chuyi was a cursed star, it didn’t matter as much anymore.

  And so, the Ministry of Rites and the Bureau of Astronomy took the fall. They were the scapegoats.

  Yuanhui himself was not punished, but his prestige took a serious hit. The students at the Imperial Academy now cursed him openly as a “bald meddler.”

  Indeed, those who defy fate often seem to possess a destiny different from the rest. Yuanhui sat silently on his meditation mat, face unmoving.

  The angrier he became, the calmer he grew. Yuanjue noticed this and furrowed his brows, just about to speak, when someone outside announced the arrival of the abbot.

  He quickly stepped aside respectfully to welcome Master Yuankong into the room, pressing his palms together and chanting a quiet prayer.

  Yuankong nodded at him, and he withdrew after a gnce toward Yuanhui, gently closing the door behind him.

  “You’re too impatient,” Yuankong said after sitting across from him in lotus position. “With your grand ambitions, you shouldn’t be so fixated on a single altered destiny.”

  Yuanhui had tasted the bitterness of life from a young age. During his time in Fujian, he witnessed the people’s suffering and made it his mission to save them. He’d once risked his life, leading Shaolin monks to drive out the Japanese pirates again and again.

  But then, Governor Yue Wen of Fujian was betrayed by vilins, and the anti-piracy campaign came to a halt. The invaders seized the opportunity, captured Putuo in Ningbo, and sughtered 400 militia and 3,000 civilians…

  It was in that moment Yuanhui realized: all this talk of patriotism and protecting the people—it was a lie. The court didn’t care about the people. The powerful only cared about who held the critical positions.

  Staring at the corpses that littered the ground, he swore to the heavens: one day, he would hold true power, and make them pay. He was the one who truly sought to bring peace and prosperity to the people.

  Yuanhui opened his eyes and looked at his senior brother, exhaling slowly. “You’re right, I was too rash.”

  He admitted his mistake, but his attitude was clear. Yuankong shook his head with a hint of helplessness and asked, “I heard you’re leaving the mountain?”

  Yuanhui rarely left the temple now. As a well-known and respected monk, he seldom descended the mountain.

  He pressed his lips together and nodded.

  Yuankong looked worried. “Be careful. Everything must be for the greater good.”

  ____

  Shen Xiaohai could barely contain the panic inside him, lest his legs give out in Yuanhui’s presence.

  In truth, he hadn’t needed to do much. Song Chuyi had simply asked Lady He to tell him to serve Yuanhui a cup of tea.

  He swallowed hard, sat stiffly on the chair, and asked nervously, “Master, look at the state I’m in now…”

  As he spoke, he poured Yuanhui a cup of tea.

  Yuanhui gnced at him, took the tea, but pced it on the table without drinking. He didn’t sit down, either.

  Instead, he turned and asked, “You sent word that you know where my mother and sister are?”

  He had lost the upper hand. His retaliation had been like a fist thrown into a pillow—it hadn’t fazed Song Chuyi at all.

  The Song family had only grown stronger from the ordeal. Even the snder about Song Chuyi being a cursed star had lost its sting. No one dared bring it up now for fear of being accused of framing her.

  Yet despite all that, his men had failed to find any trace of his mother and sister.

  With the power of the Song and Cui families, hiding two people perfectly was hardly a challenge.

  Shen Xiaohai took a sip of tea and sighed. “I don’t know much, to be honest. You know how the Marquis of Wuning has nearly driven me to ruin. My wife has been begging people for help everywhere. A few days ago, Changning Marquis Manor hosted a banquet. She went and heard that the Sixth Miss Song had been meeting people there frequently.”

  “I figured… if she kidnapped the two women, she must still need them to deal with you—”

  He said a lot, but said nothing at all.

  Yuanhui sat down across from him, picked up the cup, took a sip, and pced it back on the table.

  And just at that moment—

  BANG!

  The door burst open.

  A pregnant woman holding a pipa rushed in without warning and threw herself at Yuanhui.

  Shen Xiaohai instinctively dodged to the side as she collided straight into Yuanhui’s arms.

  Yuanhui frowned and tried to push her away, only to realize something was wrong. His limbs felt numb, and even lifting an arm was difficult.

  He could no longer move freely.

  The woman sobbed uncontrolbly, showing no fear. As she cried, she ripped the prayer beads from his neck and stuffed a sachet into his sleeve, wailing louder all the while.

  Yuanhui’s face turned ashen. He turned to Shen Xiaohai, eyes filled with icy menace.

  He had come down the mountain for two reasons: because Shen Xiaohai cimed to have news of his mother and sister, and because he wanted to personally send more men to search.

  Who would’ve thought he’d walk right into a trap?

  The tea Shen Xiaohai served him had been tampered with…

  He never imagined that obedient little Shen Xiaohai would betray him now, of all times, with a poisoned cup of tea!

  In such a crowded pce, nothing drew more attention than a scandal. Soon, curious onlookers began to gather.

  And when they realized that the “main character” of the drama was a monk…

  Their eyes sparkled with delight and intrigue. In no time, a throng of people had formed around the scene, watching with eager fascination.