As Yun Zheng arrived at Huangjue Temple, dusk was falling, and the sky was ablaze with colorful clouds.
The guest monk hurried over and led her party inside. Yun Zheng reverently lit three sticks of incense, knelt before the Buddha, and prayed silently. After rising, she asked to stay overnight.
The monk looked troubled and politely declined: “Lady benefactor, all of our incense rooms have already been reserved. Next time, please come earlier.”
Aside from her household guards, Yun Zheng had only brought Nanny Ji and Chunhua. Yun Zheng glanced at Chunhua, who immediately produced a stack of silver notes. “This is our offering.”
The monk’s eyes lit up—such generosity!
“Oh, I nearly forgot. One elegant courtyard is still available. Please, follow me.”
Indeed, money could move even spirits.
The courtyard was small but exquisitely tranquil, reserved for nobles just in case. Yun Zheng surveyed it—no wonder this had once been a royal temple of the previous dynasty, built with grandeur and magnificence.
After the dynasty’s fall, Huangjue Temple became an ordinary monastery, open to all. Its reputation for answered prayers made it especially popular, particularly on the first and fifteenth of each month, when everyone competed for the first stick of incense.
Tomorrow was the first day of the ninth lunar month. Many devotees had already checked in, hoping to seize that first offering.
Having received his reward, the monk bustled about with cheerful diligence, bringing hot water and a table of vegetarian dishes.
Yun Zheng invited Chunhua and Nanny Ji to sit with her, but Chunhua hesitated, standing to serve instead. “Miss, they say Huangjue Temple’s vegetarian dishes are unmatched. Please try the mock roast goose.”
The dish was made of tofu skin wrapped around diced mushrooms and bamboo shoots, fried until golden and crisp. One bite revealed a perfect blend of vegetable fragrance and bean flavor—delicious!
The Luohan stew was a medley of seasonal greens and mushrooms simmered in a clay pot, each ingredient soaking up the savory, rich broth.
Most outstanding was a bowl of vegetarian noodles, with a fresh, delicate broth topped with pickled snow greens and tender bamboo shoots—astonishingly good.
Yun Zheng, weary from travel, ate heartily. But she overindulged, and by midnight was restless, pacing her room with thoughts racing.
Tomorrow, Ye Yizhen would rescue a child here—no ordinary child, but the sole grandson of the Ghost Doctor. In return, she would gain three promises from him.
The Ghost Doctor was a man beyond good and evil, acting only on his whims. With such a boon, Ye Yizhen cured several nobles, won their favor, and swiftly rose in status.
In Yun Zheng’s previous life, she had inexplicably fallen ill, bedridden and half-dead—that too was the Ghost Doctor’s doing. Therefore, no matter what, she must prevent Ye Yizhen from seizing this opportunity. She was determined to snatch the opportunity!
The more Yun Zheng thought about it, the more exhilarated she became. She pushed open the window to breathe in the night air.
Thud. A sudden noise came from outside. Yun Zheng instinctively looked up—and the sight before her left her stunned.
A dark figure was vaulting over the wall next door, moving with astonishing agility. In the bright moonlight, his profile was faintly visible beneath a mask. Even so, Yun Zheng recognized him instantly. She gasped, sucking in a sharp breath.
Her sound was faint, and she quickly clapped her hand over her mouth. But the shadow heard it. He whipped his head around, and a pair of cold, piercing black eyes locked onto her.
Yun Zheng felt as though a predator had fixed its gaze on her. Her heart thudded wildly, and she swallowed hard without meaning to.
The figure frowned slightly, balanced on the wall, then leaped down toward her. “Miss Yun, staying up late to stare at men—hardly proper, is it?”
Yun Zheng froze, unable to move, her gaze rigidly fixed. Was he going to silence her?
“You… running around at night…” The words slipped out before she could stop herself. Regret hit instantly—she should have kept quiet.
His black eyes glinted with a chill, as though a flash of killing intent passed through them. “What did you see?”
A wave of icy dread surged from her feet to her limbs. “I saw nothing. I was asleep—I’m asleep.”
She stiffly turned, step by step, toward the bed, wishing she could faint on the spot.
“Stop.” His sharp command rang out.
Her steps halted, her heart pounding like a drum.
The man’s tone was thoughtful. “You just married. Why are you here in the middle of the night?”
Sweat slicked Yun Zheng’s palms. Was he about to reveal himself?
Regret overwhelmed her—why had she come to Huangjue Temple? Why stay overnight? Why not sleep? Why stumble into someone else’s secret?
“I came to burn incense,” she said, forcing calm, “to pray that the Buddha will bless my family with peace and safety, free from disaster.”
A mocking laugh sounded behind her. “You, who fear neither heaven nor earth—do you really believe in this?”
“Uh…” Yun Zheng’s mind raced. Heavens, save her—she didn’t want to be silenced.
The man sneered. “If you die, half of your dowry will be mine.”
It was none other than Prince Rui, Lord Qiansui, Li Wuyang.
Yun Zheng closed her eyes. Cornered to the brink, her desperation sparked a reckless courage. She decided to gamble everything. She whipped around, her gaze falling on the man’s perfectly sound legs. Damn it—wasn’t he supposed to be crippled?
Everyone knew that Prince Rui had been injured years ago and left paralyzed. The emperor, stricken with grief, had even granted him the title of “Lord Qiansui” to console him.
But what had she just seen? In the dead of night at Huangjue Temple, he was vaulting walls, moving with swift, powerful strides!
This was dangerous—deceiving the emperor was a capital crime. Why was he pretending to be crippled? She didn’t want to know—it couldn’t be for anything good. But why had he been so careless as to let her discover it?
“I don’t pray to the Buddha—I pray to you. Will that do? Your Highness, I can be useful.”
Since she had stumbled upon Lord Qiansui’s greatest secret, how could she possibly survive? If she wanted to live, she had to prove her value—make him unwilling to kill her.
Li Wuyang studied the young woman before him. Clearly terrified, yet forcing herself to stand firm, bargaining for her life.
For some reason, she reminded him of himself. His expression softened slightly. “How did you recognize me at a glance?”
Yun Zheng’s mind spun furiously. “I have a photographic memory. Books I’ve read once, I can recall even years later. And besides, Your Highness, with your noble bearing and unmatched presence, you stand out like a crane among chickens—impossible to forget.”
Li Wuyang raised a brow. Photographic memory? How coincidental—he had it too.
“Tell me—what use could a woman like you possibly be?”
Yun Zheng bit her lip, then revealed the Yun family’s greatest secret. “I can turn stone into gold. I’m a master of finance. Over the past three years, under my management, the Yun family’s business has multiplied several times.”
Secret for secret, profit for profit—surely that was a fair exchange?
“I can help you make money. A vast fortune. Enough to last your entire lifetime.”
Even emperors could not resist the lure of wealth—who would ever complain of having too much? Besides, the imperial treasury was nearly empty, and the emperor’s private coffers were drained. Poverty pressed hard.
Li Wuyang looked surprised. “So you are the true head of the Yun family?”
Yun Zheng drew out a seal from her sleeve and presented it to him. “This is the Yun family’s master seal.” Without hesitation, she dropped to her knees, her expression solemn and resolute. “Yun Zheng, heir of the Yun family, pays respects to her lord.”
She was enduring, ruthless, decisive. Weighing the situation, balancing gains and losses, she chose the path most advantageous to herself. In that moment, she carried the aura of a rising warlord.
A shadow flickered in Li Wuyang’s dark eyes, unreadable.