A wave of astonished murmurs swept through the crowd. Everyone had been eagerly watching the Shen family’s drama unfold, but no one expected Xie Chenyu to step into the matter himself.
“The Duke Jin earned his title through his own merits. He’s exactly twenty-four this year, over eight chi tall, strong from military training, healthy in body, and most importantly, he fulfills Eldest Miss Shen’s condition of having no concubines or bedchamber attendants.”
One noblewoman whispered softly among the crowd.
Her words instantly made everyone realize something.
Weren’t every one of Shen Zhao’s conditions perfectly matched to Xie Chenyu?
“Duke Jin, you want to marry her as your wife?” Xiao Xuanzhou had clearly not expected Xie Chenyu to involve himself. He glanced back at Shen Zhao before trying to persuade him otherwise.
“You saw it yourself just now. If you marry her, you can never take concubines again. She’s such a jealous woman aren’t you afraid she’ll cut off the Xie family line?”
Xie Chenyu stepped forward into the open and looked at Shen Zhao.
“A graceful and virtuous lady is naturally sought after by gentlemen. Your Highness is the Crown Prince and should not repeatedly speak harshly during Eldest Miss Shen’s coming-of-age ceremony. Such behavior lacks the bearing of a true gentleman.”
“You ”
Xiao Xuanzhou’s anger instantly flared upward, his throat burning with rage. He flicked his sleeve and sneered.
“I offered kind advice, yet you fail to appreciate it. One day, you’ll regret this.”
Then he turned his hostility back toward Shen Zhao.
“Shen Zhao”
Before he could continue, Xie Chenyu had already walked onto the ceremonial platform. In full public view, he removed the jade token hanging from his waist and presented it to Shen Zhao with both hands.
Everyone’s eyes fixed on the token.
“That’s the token of the Xie family merchant guild. With it, Eldest Miss Shen could walk into any business under the Xie family name and take whatever goods she pleases.”
Old Madam Xie beamed with delight and added,
“Our Xie family’s thousand-year-old iron tree has finally blossomed.”
The crowd collectively sucked in a breath.
Xie Chenyu was a legendary war god whose military achievements had earned immense rewards, all of which he entrusted to Old Madam Xie for management.
Using that wealth and her extraordinary business acumen she had gradually built an enormous fortune.
No one truly knew how wealthy Old Madam Xie was. They only knew she had long since ceased to care about ordinary riches.
“Eldest Miss Shen,” Xie Chenyu said, “this is the token of the Xie family merchant guild. If you are willing to marry me as my wife, then I swear here and now that for the rest of my life, you alone shall be my wife, and I will never take concubines. If you are also satisfied with me, then this Xie family merchant guild token shall be placed in your hands.”
The entire audience erupted in shock.
Without formal matchmaking or engagement, to hand over one’s entire fortune so openly there was probably no second person in the capital like Xie Chenyu.
And Old Madam Xie did not step forward to stop him in the slightest.
As for Shen Zhao…
She reached out without hesitation.
Cui Xuenian panicked and shouted loudly,
“Shen Zhao, you’d better think this through carefully!”
Xie Chenyu was first on the Crown Prince’s secret execution list.
If Shen Zhao chose him, she would inevitably become a widow.
And the Crown Prince would never want a twice-married woman.
Shen Zhao knew exactly what Cui Xuenian was thinking, yet she did not even turn back to look at her.
She accepted the Xie family merchant guild token with both hands, then…
Pulled out an embroidered sachet from within her robe and handed it to Xie Chenyu.
“My lord Duke, I embroidered this myself. If you do not dislike it…”
“I don’t dislike it.”
He swiftly took the sachet from her hand and tied it to his belt without hesitation.
Xiao Xuanzhou’s eyes narrowed furiously.
He recognized it…
Wasn’t that the sachet Shen Zhao had promised to embroider for him?
“Your Highness.” Xie Chenyu’s voice pulled Xiao Xuanzhou back to reality.
Then he continued,
“Just now, Your Highness said you would choose a worthy husband for Eldest Miss Shen and grant her a fine marriage. I ask that Your Highness now honor your own words and personally bless the union between myself and Eldest Miss Shen.”
Xiao Xuanzhou withdrew his gaze and let out a cold laugh.
“Do you know who that sachet Shen Zhao gave you was originally embroidered for?”
Shen Zhao lifted her eyes indifferently.
In her previous life, she had embroidered it for Xiao Xuanzhou, only for him to casually gift it away to a eunuch.
Then she glanced sideways at Xie Chenyu.
He casually shook the sachet in his hand and said,
“Who it was originally meant for is unimportant. What matters is that it belongs to me now. I ask Your Highness to grant us your blessing.”
Xiao Xuanzhou’s smile never faded. To him, Xie Chenyu was just as stubborn as Shen Zhao.
Shen Zhao was merely acting out of spite, yet Xie Chenyu had actually taken it seriously.
Foolish.
“Very well.”
Xiao Xuanzhou looked at the two of them as though watching clowns perform.
“Then I shall fulfill your wish and grant you both a harmonious marriage and a lifetime together.”
“Shen Zhao, I hope that from this day forward, you will no longer covet the position of Crown Princess.”
“Once I return to the palace, I will have the Imperial Astrologer publicly announce that Rou’er is the true destined Phoenix Star, while you… are nothing more than a false Phoenix Star.”
Shen Zhao lowered her eyes, a mocking smile curling her lips.
That single title of “Phoenix Star” had shackled her for an entire lifetime. Whoever wanted the title could have it.
What she wanted…
Was for every single one of them to pay their debts in blood.
Very soon afterward, the Crown Prince returned to the palace and sought out the Imperial Astrologer, Daoist Luoshan, only to meet fierce opposition from him.
He said,
“This Second Miss Shen suffers from hidden defects and does not possess a sound body. She is a Phoenix Star burdened with calamity, unfit to be the Crown Prince’s match. As for Eldest Miss Shen…”
“Enough.”
The more Xiao Xuanzhou listened, the darker his mood became.
In the end, he completely dropped all pretense, his face turning cold as he stared sinisterly at Daoist Luoshan.
“I recall that it was because you divined Eldest Miss Shen’s fate that my imperial father granted you the title of Imperial Astrologer.”
Daoist Luoshan’s expression froze slightly as he looked back at Xiao Xuanzhou, his brows furrowing.
It was not merely that he had calculated Shen Zhao possessed the destiny of a Phoenix Star capable of stabilizing the nation and bringing prosperity to Great Yan.
He had also foreseen that the son within Empress Cui’s womb would become the future ruler of Great Yan, the only one capable of extending the empire’s dragon vein for another two hundred years.
But only through the union of the Shen family’s eldest daughter and the Crown Prince could the mysterious destiny of strengthening the nation, enriching the empire, and continuing the dragon vein truly be fulfilled.
If either side collapsed, it would trigger an unimaginable era of chaos.
And now…
Hearing the Crown Prince’s words, Daoist Luoshan felt his heart sink slightly. Before he could speak, Xiao Xuanzhou continued:
“I know very well that you are just a fraud brought in by the Empress Mother and the Shen family to deceive my imperial father.”
Daoist Luoshan’s pupils trembled violently, and his face instantly flushed red.
Not because his so-called “scheme” had been exposed
But because Xiao Xuanzhou had insulted and denied his abilities, provoking both humiliation and fury.
“Your Highness”
Daoist Luoshan abruptly rose from his meditation cushion.
Before he could rebuke the Crown Prince for misunderstanding him, Xiao Xuanzhou raised his head and spoke even more sharply than before.
“You charlatans may fool Father Emperor and Mother Empress, but you cannot fool me.”
“I say that Second Miss Shen, Shen Qingrou, is Great Yan’s destined Phoenix Star therefore she is the Phoenix Star.”
“You will simply report to Father Emperor that your divination fifteen years ago was mistaken. Eldest Miss Shen is a Lone Fiend Star, while Second Miss Shen is the true destined Phoenix Star.”
“As for everything else, I will handle the aftermath.”
“No!” Daoist Luoshan exploded in anger. “If Your Highness insists on acting recklessly, then I will resign from the position of Imperial Astrologer.”
“Fine. Then resign. Plenty of people would gladly take your place.”
Xiao Xuanzhou was utterly devoted to protecting Shen Qingrou and could not bear to see her continue suffering grievances.
To him, these Daoist priests were nothing but swindlers. Remove one, and another willing to obey him would simply take his place.
Daoist Luoshan immediately removed the official robes of the Imperial Astrologer. Before leaving, he turned back and gave the Crown Prince a long, deep look.
Dark clouds hung over Xiao Xuanzhou’s fate, evil spirits clung to him, and though imperial dragon aura still shielded him, it could not fully suppress the malicious karma surrounding his body. The position of Crown Prince would not remain his for much longer.
Daoist Luoshan stroked his beard and left behind a meaningful sentence:
“So that is how it is.”
If he continued remaining as Imperial Astrologer, he too would eventually be dragged down and possibly lose his life. Better to abandon the title now and let the Crown Prince appoint whoever he wished.
Without hesitation, Daoist Luoshan departed.
The eunuch Wei Zian said cautiously,
“Your Highness, the Imperial Astrologer has truly left.”
Xiao Xuanzhou replied coldly,
“I’ve long found him displeasing. Qingrou is perfectly healthy how could she possibly suffer from hidden defects?”
“It was the Shen family who abandoned Qingrou first. The one who deserves death most is Luo Shan. A single sentence from him caused Qingrou untold suffering.”
“Go. Summon Immortal Master Lianping Immortal Master to the palace. I will have Father Emperor strip Daoist Luoshan of the title of Imperial Astrologer and appoint Immortal Master Lianping instead.”
It was Immortal Master Lianping who had declared that Shen Qingrou possessed an exceptionally noble fate, descended from the Ziwei Star itself, born with the destiny of a phoenix.
While Shen Zhao was merely an evil spirit in human form.
Within less than three days, news spread throughout the imperial court:
Imperial Astrologer Daoist Luoshan had stolen precious treasures from the royal palace and fled, becoming a wanted fugitive pursued by the government.
Immortal Master Lianping had been appointed the new Imperial Astrologer and overturned Daoist Luoshan’s divinations from fifteen years earlier.
Eldest Miss Shen was declared to be the reincarnation of a malevolent spirit, while Second Miss Shen was said to be the earthly incarnation of the Ziwei Star and the true destined Phoenix Star.
All three announcements shocked both court and common people alike.
The very next day, the imperial decree bestowing marriage upon Xiao Xuanzhou and Shen Qingrou arrived at the Shen residence.
After Shen Zhao and the rest of the Shen family went out to receive the decree, she returned to Qionghua Pavilion only to discover that Xie Chenyu had somehow slipped into her private chambers and was seated calmly before the incense table.
He raised his eyes, his deep gaze settling upon Shen Zhao.
“Miss Shen, I have come to fulfill the agreement between us…”