Shen Zhao and Old Madam Xie stood in front of Ziyun Temple, watching Xie Chenyu and his army depart.
Only when the road stretched into the distance and the vast army could no longer be seen did Shen Zhao withdraw her gaze and turn to Old Madam Xie.
“Old Madam, where did you obtain your talisman?”
Old Madam Xie came back to her senses as well, a trace of hidden solemnity in her eyes.
“Zhao girl, let’s return to Yuqing Courtyard.”
She did not explain further, only instructed that once they returned to Yuqing Courtyard, the doors and windows be shut tightly and the courtyard carefully guarded.
Before Shen Zhao could react, Old Madam Xie suddenly knelt down.
Shen Zhao was startled and instinctively stepped back, then quickly came forward to help her up.
“Old Madam, what are you doing? Please rise.”
With red-rimmed eyes, Old Madam Xie said, “Zhao girl, please show mercy and save my Chenyu.”
“My master told me to come beg you. If you agree, my Xie family will still have a thread of survival.”
“What master? Which master would make you kneel to a junior like me? I’ll go and cut him down myself.”
Shen Zhao struggled to support her.
But Old Madam Xie remained kneeling, tears already falling uncontrollably.
“That talisman was given to me this morning by a master from the Bodhi Temple.”
“Bodhi Temple?” Shen Zhao frowned deeply. “There are no masters in Bodhi Temple it’s just an abandoned ruined temple.”
As soon as she said this, a flash of realization struck her mind.
Seeing that Old Madam Xie refused to rise, she also knelt down, still holding her in support.
Lowering her voice, she asked, “Old Madam… did you encounter the Imperial Preceptor of Luoshan?”
Old Madam Xie was shocked by her intelligence.
“You truly are as the Luoshan Imperial Preceptor said far more perceptive than ordinary people. Only you can save my son from his death calamity.”
Hearing this, Shen Zhao understood.
“The Daoist Luoshan calculated the Duke Jin’s death calamity?”
Old Madam Xie nodded through tears.
Shen Zhao pressed further, “What exactly did he tell you?”
She also wanted to know whether, in this life, she and he could change their fate.
Old Madam Xie replied, “At the place of the Three Yin Lands, at sunset, the Ghost Gate summons.”
Shen Zhao silently repeated it in her mind.
She immediately understood: the Three Yin Lands was the place where Xie Chenyu had been ambushed in her previous life; by the time news reached the capital at sunset, the poison had already entered his heart meridians he had nearly died.
But that was his fate in the previous life.
Yet in this life, the Daoist Luoshan had still calculated the same omen.
Could it be that even though both of them had been reborn, the greater trajectory of fate could not be changed?
Shen Zhao snapped back to reality and quickly asked again, “You came to kneel before me and ask me to save the Duke Jin was that also the instruction of the Luoshan Imperial Preceptor? What exactly did he say?”
“Old Madam, let’s stand first while we speak. The ground is cold.”
At first Old Madam Xie refused, but when Shen Zhao said, “If I am the path the Daoist Luoshan pointed out to your Xie family, then Old Madam should rise and speak while seated,” she finally relented.
Only then did she notice that Shen Zhao had also been kneeling.
She dared not continue kneeling, and the two supported each other as they stood and took their seats.
Old Madam Xie said, “The Imperial Preceptor said you are a phoenix with hidden calamity fated to die.”
Shen Zhao was alarmed. What else had the Luoshan Imperial Preceptor calculated?
In her previous life, he had never at this time declared that she was fated for calamity or death. Only after he himself fell into ruin had he calculated her doom.
“I must bring you back to the capital in order to dispel your calamity and save my son. Zhao girl, come back with me now no need to pack anything.”
Shen Zhao slightly raised her eyes.
Old Madam Xie continued, “I will offer most of my family’s wealth to the imperial treasury and request an imperial decree allowing you to remain in the capital.”
If her son’s life was at stake, she would rather abandon all her fortune.
She tightly grasped Shen Zhao’s hand.
Shen Zhao looked down at it and said, “No. I will return to the capital but not in this way.”
“What are your plans? Though I am old, I still have connections and influence. You may command them all.”
Shen Zhao tightened her grip on Old Madam Xie’s hands in return.
“Then use your authority to write a letter to the Old Madam of the Cui family in Chenjun.”
“Tell her that I have been driven out of the capital by my mother, Cui Shi, and am now stranded at Ziyun Temple.”
Old Madam Xie acted swiftly, writing the letter in front of Shen Zhao.
She then summoned Feng Chun and used the Xie family’s black eagle normally used for military dispatch to send the letter to the Cui residence.
At noon, Madam Yao came again to Ziyun Temple.
Shen Zhao was copying scriptures with Old Madam Xie.
Madam Yao glanced at Shen Zhao with fear and hesitation, as if she had something to say but dared not.
Shen Zhao did not even lift her eyelids, nor did she ask what the matter was this time, and directly issued her order.
“Spread within the household that my mother is not the legitimate eldest daughter of the Cui family.”
Madam Yao’s face turned pale with fear as she fell to her knees.
“Eldest Miss, please spare this servant’s life! I only came to deliver a message to Old Madam Xie I did not say anything improper about you in front of the madam!”
“I know.”
Only then did Shen Zhao slightly raise her gaze to look at her.
Her eyes were sharp and piercing.
Madam Yao was the type who bullied the weak and feared the strong.
In her previous life, Shen Zhao had always treated her as a trusted steward beside her mother, yet she only grew more arrogant.
In contrast…
When Shen Qingrou treated her like a dog, she was instead utterly obedient to her.
Pressure had been applied now it was time to offer a little sweetness in return.
So Man Yin carried a small wooden box and placed it on Shen Zhao’s desk.
Inside the box were piles of gold beads, instantly catching Madam Yao’s attention.
Shen Zhao said, “These are all for Madam Yao.”
She reached in, took out a handful of gold beads, then deliberately dropped them back into the box in front of Madam Yao.
“And after this, you will receive another five hundred taels gold.”
She paused slightly, then added the last two words: “of gold.”
Madam Yao straightened her back, then slowly bent again.
After thinking it through, she realized that in over twenty years of serving the mistress as a family of four, she would never earn even a thousand taels of gold.
With this money from the Eldest Miss, not only could she prepare a generous dowry for her daughter Hongzhi, she could also solve her son’s marriage troubles.
Once she had made up her mind, Madam Yao stepped forward and took the box of gold beads, hiding it under her wide sleeves.
She said, “Eldest Miss, once this matter breaks out, not only will the madam lose face, but I fear the head of the household and the madam will completely fall out.”
“More importantly…”
“Eldest Miss’s mother, whose status is humble, may also be affected. This method hurts the enemy by a thousand but harms oneself by eight hundred does it truly worth it?”
Old Madam Xie looked at Shen Zhao with confusion.
Shen Zhao had not yet told her the true identity of her mother.
She only saw Shen Zhao smile faintly and say, “Only those who care about reputation would call it hurting oneself. I do not care so she is the one who loses completely.”
Madam Yao’s heart trembled. She no longer dared to speak, nor even look at Shen Zhao.
She hurriedly bowed and said, “Yes, this servant understands.”
Soon after, Madam Yao withdrew from Yuqing Courtyard and left Ziyun Temple.
Old Madam Xie did not ask.
So Shen Zhao did not explain.
Half a month later, rumors spread throughout the capital that Cui Xuenian of the Cui family was an impostor daughter.
The matter escalated all the way to the imperial court, and all officials even the Emperor and Empress heard of it.
Shen Huaiming, who had once been basking in glory because the Crown Princess would come from the Shen family, now felt utterly disgraced.
After court, he rushed back to the Shen residence and questioned Cui Xuenian: “What is your real name?”
Cui Xuenian looked confused, still unaware of what had happened outside.
Recently, she had been staying in the residence teaching Shen Qingrou etiquette.
“Master of the household, why are you suddenly asking this? I am the legitimate eldest daughter of the Cui family.”
“Is that so?” Shen Huaiming said coldly, sitting across from her. “Then why did you hate peonies so much back then?”
At the mention of the word “peony,” Cui Xuenian’s heart trembled violently.
Yet she still maintained her usual explanation.
“Master, have you forgotten? I am allergic to peonies it is not that I hate them.”
Shen Huaiming let out a cold laugh.
“But I heard otherwise. You are not allergic at all. It is because your biological father named you ‘Mudan’ when you were born, and you hate hearing that word!”