“Daoist Jingyun, you needn’t trouble yourself. Perhaps you can’t divine it because in my past life, I was a fairy!”
Shen Yunshu shamelessly praised herself, showing not the slightest hint of embarrassment.
“You! Even here in the temple, you’re so thick-skinned. If the real Daoists saw you, they’d laugh at you!”
Shen Laofuren gently tapped Yunshu’s nose, pretending to scold her.
Shen Yunshu smiled to appease her grandmother and mother, then turned and took a green bamboo tube from Linglong.
“Just now I was being impolite. Here, I brewed some Yunwu Tea using the temple’s sweet spring water. Although this tea isn’t from this year’s harvest, the water is from the temple spring, and it’s stored in fresh bamboo from the bamboo grove. It has its own special flavor. I hope the Daoist will taste it as a humble offering.”
It was still early spring. The first batch of this year’s Yunwu Tea hadn’t been harvested yet, not even in the imperial palace. So although this tea was from last year, giving it as a gift wasn’t shameful.
If this really was a fortune-telling Daoist, Yunshu wanted to make a good impression—perhaps she could consult him next time.
“Rest assured, Daoist, I didn’t just cut the temple bamboo without permission. I asked first and even gave silver for it.”
Shen Yunshu clarified, worried that Daoist Jingyun might misunderstand. In fact, Jingyun did not misunderstand; the temple’s bamboo grove was vast and lush, and occasionally they sold bamboo to nobles as a source of income.
Daoist Jingyun slightly bowed and accepted the bamboo-tube tea from Shen Yunshu’s hands.
“Thank you, County Mistress. Although I cannot divine your fate, merely looking at your visage, I can tell you are a person of great fortune. The matriarch and the Princess Consort need not worry. Sometimes ignorance is not a bad thing. If you still have doubts, you may go to the side hall and draw a fortune stick.”
Seeing that her mother and grandmother were slightly concerned, Yunshu nodded and followed Daoist Jingyun to the side hall.
For drawing fortunes to be effective, usually no one else should be present. Jingyun stopped at the door; Shen Laofuren and Ji Shuyou did not enter.
Linlang and Linglong glanced inside to ensure safety, then quietly closed the door and stepped back.
Seeing no one around, Yunshu didn’t bother with formalities. She picked up the bamboo tube filled with sticks and began to shake it.
Since entering the temple, she hadn’t bowed to any deities or prayed—she treated it as a casual outing.
Not because she was disrespectful or disbelieving—after all, her very existence was supernatural—but because she didn’t need the gods’ help.
She had always believed that anything worth having required effort, and even if the immortals were kind, she did not trust in unearned favors.
She didn’t know the cost of her own transmigration, so she preferred to earn everything she wanted through her own effort—it gave her peace of mind.
Distracted, she accidentally tipped the tube, and two sticks fell out.
She picked them up and saw one marked “upper” and one “lower.”
Shen Yunshu: …
Two sticks don’t count!
She squinted thoughtfully, returned the two sticks, and shook the tube again.
Another stick fell.
She picked it up: a middle-ranking stick.
“Not bad… but my mother and grandmother might not be happy.”
She put it back and shook again.
Clack.
Another stick fell.
She picked it up carefully.
Yes! This time it was the top-tier stick, though the inscription was short.
“Alright, this one will do!”
Shen Yunshu shook her wrist and stepped out holding the top-tier stick.
Phew, shaking sticks really is hard work.
“Daoist, I drew a top-tier stick. It should be good, right? But I don’t understand the inscription. Could you explain it to me?”
Yunshu pretended to be delighted and handed the stick to Daoist Jingyun, humbly seeking his wisdom.
A top-tier stick was certainly good. Saying so would also reassure her mother and grandmother.
‘So I see my fate isn’t ruled by Heaven.’
Daoist Jingyun glanced at the inscription, shook his head with a faint smile, and set the stick down.
“County Mistress, the inscription itself isn’t important. Your fate is now in your own hands. Just like this stick: if you don’t like it, you can change it.”
Yunshu looked at the Daoist’s all-seeing eyes and touched her nose guiltily.
“So it means something very good, right?”
She gave him a subtle look, signaling him to say something reassuring for her unsuspecting mother and grandmother.
“Very good!”
Daoist Jingyun nodded ambiguously.
Satisfied with those two words, Yunshu immediately switched to her persuasion mode.
“Mother, Grandmother, see? Daoist Jingyun said my stick is good! And it’s a top-tier stick! I told him I wanted the immortals to enlighten me about my fate, and look—I drew the top-tier stick! So my fate must be excellent. Don’t worry!”
Shen Laofuren and Ji Shuyou were dizzy from Yunshu’s chatter. It felt strange, but they couldn’t quite put their finger on why.
Fortunately, it was indeed a top-tier stick. Daoist Jingyun confirmed it was excellent, so they didn’t question further.
As dusk fell, they bid farewell to Daoist Jingyun and returned to the mansion by carriage.
Jingyun watched them leave, then hurried back to his courtyard. He took out two turtle shells and a bagua board, seated himself cross-legged on a mat, and carefully analyzed the day’s events.
The more he divined, the deeper his frown grew. By nightfall, he looked up at the stars, which seemed to speak to him.
He exhaled slowly.
“I see now!”
The fate star of County Mistress Yunshu was one of the two stars intrinsically linked to the fortune of the Liang Dynasty!
Previously, he had only been able to divine one—belonging to the Crown Prince. The other was shrouded in mystery.
Now it was clear: it belonged to County Mistress Yunshu.
Although unusual, it made sense: the Shen family’s heiress, descendant of a War God, linked to the dynasty’s fortunes.
But why… should the star he was meant to protect belong not to the Crown Prince, but to County Mistress Yunshu?