Xuanzhao Temple was struck by lightning.
A hole had been blasted through the glazed tiles on the main hall’s roof, and the broken tiles had fallen, leaving a dent in the statue of the King of Xuanzhao.
The temple grounds were in chaos, with people stumbling about and chickens and dogs scattering in every direction.
Chu Zhao paid no attention to the astonished and fearful looks of those around her. She went straight to the carriage.
Chu Nanxing hesitated, glancing at Yan Fuwei. The latter shot him a look, and Chu Nanxing hurried over to take the reins.
Uncle Chu’s face had turned purple with anger. He hurriedly bowed to Yan Fuwei to take his leave and climbed into the carriage, only for Chu Zhao to summon him inside and give him a dressing-down as soon as he got in.
Yan Fuwei watched the carriage disappear into the distance before turning his gaze to the ruined main hall of Xuanzhao Temple.
Had the King of Xuanzhao manifested?
He suddenly laughed. One side of his face was swallowed by shadow, and his eyes were dark as a demon’s.
If she had manifested, why wouldn’t she spare him even a glance?
His face was exactly as it had been in his previous life. If she was so angry, shouldn’t she have struck him dead with lightning first?
Was she simply too disdainful to look at him, or had she even forgotten what his face looked like?
Qi Yun thought the aura surrounding his lord was terrifying. He had followed him through campaigns for five years, but had never seen him so out of sorts, so openly emotional.
“Your Highness… the King of Xuanzhao… perhaps we should summon Daoist You to the capital at once?”
Qi Yun was certain the lightning strike had been aimed at his lord. It was absolutely a warning from the King of Xuanzhao!! This was what happened when you destroyed temples and dug up graves! You really would be struck by lightning!
“Indeed. It’s time to have him come to the capital.” A dangerous curve touched Yan Fuwei’s lips.
It didn’t matter.
If the mountain wouldn’t come to him, he would go to the mountain…
As long as she was still in this world, that was enough. He didn’t care whether she was alive or dead.
But now that he had confirmed a connection between her and that “Shen Zhaozhao,” he couldn’t let “Shen Zhaozhao” leave the Prince of You’s Residence so easily.
“What happened to the divorce memorial I sent to the palace?”
Qi Yun replied, “It should still be at the Secretariat. His Majesty has been engrossed in fasting and cultivating immortality lately, and hasn’t shown his face for several days.”
A trace of contempt flashed in Yan Fuwei’s eyes. “Go burn that memorial.”
Qi Yun’s mouth opened, then he swallowed and lowered his head. “Yes.”
“By the way, Your Highness, since the Fifth Imperial Prince has already made his move, I doubt he’ll let the matter rest,” Qi Yun said quietly. “Duke Shen’s Residence has always been close to the Fifth Imperial Prince. The fact that Shen Two and Shen Three could bring the Princess Regent before the Court of Judicial Review was probably his doing as well.”
Thinking that since his lord had ordered the divorce memorial burned, “Shen Zhaozhao” would remain the Princess Regent, Qi Yun worked up the nerve to add, “I heard the Princess Regent intends to have Chu Chengbi retrieve Madam Chu’s dowry from the Shen family. Should we send men to help—”
Before Qi Yun could finish, Yan Fuwei shot him a cold glance.
“Since you’re so fond of making decisions on your own, from today onward, you can clean the stables at the residence.”
Qi Yun felt as if he’d been struck by lightning. He regretted it so much that he wanted to slap himself twice.
Why couldn’t he keep his mouth shut?
Still, perhaps it was only his imagination.
Before, His Highness had been merely cold toward the Princess Regent, though there had also seemed to be a hint of expectation. Qi Yun couldn’t imagine what he might have been expecting.
But after the Princess Regent said the King of Xuanzhao was a woman, His Highness’s attitude had turned strange. It didn’t seem like hatred…
For some reason, Qi Yun thought of a line of lovesick verse: “I resent the moon for shining on everyone but me.”
This time Qi Yun really did slap himself twice. His lord’s surname was Yan, not Chu. Unless Emperor Baisheng himself had manifested, was His Highness out of his mind—or tired of living—to hope that the King of Xuanzhao, his own ancestor’s mortal enemy, would visit him in a dream?
…
Inside the carriage, Uncle Chu’s face kept shifting between white and purple.
He was simply furious and terrified.
He was convinced the old ghost in front of him had used sorcery to summon lightning and strike his ancestor’s temple!
The moment he climbed into the carriage, he had braced himself to die. Even if the old ghost swallowed him alive, he would still demand justice for his ancestor!
But the old ghost played dirty!
As soon as he entered the carriage, she sealed his mouth and tongue.
The “evil spirit” opposite him gave a cold order. “Go deal with your sister’s dowry right away. If you dare say one word, I’ll swallow that cook of a son of yours first, then flay the flesh from your niece’s body!”
Uncle Chu nearly choked with rage. The middle-aged handsome man burst into tears, sobbing without warning.
Even Chu Zhao, an old ghost herself, was dumbfounded. She could hardly believe how stupid he was; it hurt her eyes. She ordered the carriage to stop and kicked him out.
Outside, Chu Nanxing cried in surprise, “Dad, how’d you manage to fall out? And why are you crying again?”
Chu Chengbi wept, furious but unable to speak. He wanted to warn Chu Nanxing to stay away from the carriage and the man-eating demon inside, but no words came out. He could only trudge off to Duke Shen’s Residence, tears streaming down his face, to carry out his errand.
Chu Nanxing muttered to himself at the sight, then got kicked in the backside and sent tumbling out of the carriage too.
“You can get out as well.”
Chu Nanxing didn’t land in a heap of dust. He scrambled to his feet and was about to say that if he got out, there’d be no one left to drive—when a slender hand reached out of the window and pointed in a certain direction.
“Southwest. Under the bridge. The one breathing the loudest—come drive the carriage.”
Chu Nanxing instinctively looked southwest. A guard dressed in dark clothes leapt up from beneath the bridge and walked over, looking disgruntled and stunned.
Mei Wuqiong couldn’t understand it. Was his breathing really that loud?
Could the Princess Regent hear him from this far away? Was the King of Xuanzhao’s spirit truly protecting her?
Chu Zhao paid no attention to the reactions outside. The carriage started moving again. Her expression was surprisingly calm, and a paper effigy was pinched between her fingers.
Just as she had summoned lightning to blast through the roof of Xuanzhao Temple’s main hall, Chu Zhao had felt an intensely sinister gaze fixed on her. The paper effigy had flown toward her at that very moment.
It struggled between her fingers. Chu Zhao gave a cold laugh. “A cheap trick.”
She tightened her fingers slightly, and the effigy went still.
A mere death curse—and they dared use it on her?
Chu Zhao sensed a familiar, wicked aura on the effigy. She had sensed the same aura on Shen Jue.
On the night she killed Shen Jue, Chu Zhao had wondered where he had learned his sinister methods. He might have been a fool, but he was still Yun Chongshan.
And Nanny Zhou, who had worked for him, had carried an evil aura too. But the two of them were far too inept. Clearly, someone else had set up the life-taking array.
Shen Jue, Nanny Zhou, Concubine Liu, and Shen Yuzhu had all suffered retribution. By rights, all the blessed fortune they had stolen from Xiaokugua’s body should have returned.
Yet Chu Zhao could feel that less than three tenths of the blessed fortune had come back.
The one holding the remaining seven tenths was the true culprit behind it all!
Just now, she had seen that Chu Chengbi’s and Chu Nanxing’s facial features had changed too. The former now bore the signs of a violent death; the latter, of impending bloodshed.
She had no idea what grudge the person behind this held against the Chu family, but they seemed intent on killing every last one of them.
If that was what they wanted, Chu Zhao would oblige. She had sent out two pieces of bait and was waiting for the big fish to bite!
…
It was past the third watch of the night.
Chu Zhao opened her eyes on the couch and turned her head toward the outer side of the bed curtains.
Xiaohua was keeping watch outside. The girl’s breathing had suddenly grown heavy; someone had probably knocked her unconscious.
The door was quietly pushed open from outside. The newcomer made no sound, like a ghost—clearly a master of inner force.
Chu Zhao watched the tall figure circle around the screen and stop beside her couch.
Through the gauze curtains, she narrowed her eyes at the man outside.
His face was completely lost in darkness. He stared at the graceful silhouette within the curtains, every emotion buried deep in his eyes. He looked like a clay statue, devoid of joy or sorrow.
Chu Zhao was beginning to lose patience. Was that bastard Yan Fuwei sleepwalking again?
The next moment, the curtain was lifted.
The man’s cool presence swept toward her without warning…