Shen Zhiyi felt she would have to gradually get used to all this—after all, who knew how many more absurd, ridiculous things she would encounter in the future?
At first, she had been puzzled.
How did a fake nun like “Cold Bamboo” manage to disguise herself for years while gaining such a great reputation? How did Shen Honglang get away with so many evil deeds without consequence? And how could two seemingly minor characters end up affecting the very fate of the imperial court, even playing a key role in pushing the Ninth Prince into becoming a political sacrifice?
Now she understood.
Because they were the female lead’s parents.
Even someone like Xie Feiyun—the most powerful “boss-level” figure—could be forcibly made stupid by the plot, repeatedly humiliated, and ultimately meet a tragic end. So for those aligned with the female lead, intelligence didn’t matter at all. The author would simply drag them to victory through a plot full of loopholes and contradictions.
Shen Zhiyi smiled.
She had come to terms with it.
Anything difficult would eventually crush her anyway. Since worrying was useless, she might as well lie flat and accept it.
“If I’m going to be exiled from the capital anyway, I might as well mentally prepare early. Maybe I’ll even get time to pack.”
“Luckily I’ve already converted all my recent earnings into gold bars. With money in hand, I rule the world.”
Those who could hear her inner voice: “……”
Having listened for so long, Shen Jinggan had already realized this was Shen Zhiyi’s inner thoughts.
He couldn’t help but feel a bit impressed by this newly returned younger sister’s mentality.
Things were already this urgent—possibly even life-threatening—and yet she was still calmly thinking about how handsome Xie Feiyun was?
He had only just returned to the residence yesterday and hadn’t met her yet, but he had already formed a very poor impression of her based on rumors.
Now it seemed: rumors really were unreliable.
Shen Zhiyi… was actually quite adorable.
As for the “Ninth Prince case” she mentioned, Shen Jinggan’s brows furrowed deeply.
He and Xie Feiyun had grown up together. When that incident occurred, he had been away at the border with his maternal family and had not witnessed it personally.
Though he always felt something about the case was strange, the Buddhist saint at Qinglong Temple held supreme authority, and the incident happened during the Emperor’s birthday celebration.
As the saying goes: “When the emperor is enraged, corpses lie a hundred thousand miles.”
No one dared to speak of it again.
In the end, he could only sigh that it was a case of “heaven envying talent.”
But who would have thought—it was actually a completely orchestrated conspiracy?
Shen Jinggan looked toward the white-robed man across from him.
For years, Xu Jiangchen had been secretly working to help Xie Feiyun return to the capital. If he learned the truth…
But Xu Jiangchen was already unable to sit still.
Cold Bamboo… was actually Kongwu!
Then everything suddenly had a breakthrough!
It must be heaven’s will that this divine voice had descended to guide him!
He struggled to contain his surging emotions. If he hadn’t quickly realized that only he might be able to hear this “divine voice,” he would have already rushed to Shen Zhiyi, begging her to continue revealing more details.
At this moment, having quickly pieced everything together, he was deeply alarmed for Shen Zhiyi.
Unlike her, he could not remain so calm.
Even if he now knew part of the truth behind the events, gathering evidence would still be extremely difficult.
If this only witness were framed by Cold Bamboo and expelled from the capital, where would he go to save Xie Feiyun?
Five years was far too long. They could not afford to wait another five years.
A bell rang.
The garden instantly fell silent as all guests turned toward the direction of the Buddhist hall.
The auspicious time had arrived.
Accompanied by chanting, nuns in plain robes walked toward the altar in the center of the pond.
At their head was Cold Bamboo, holding prayer beads, her expression compassionate and detached, like someone beyond worldly concerns.
The crowd immediately began murmuring.
Master Kongwu held immense prestige among the people. In recent years, he rarely performed such grand rituals anymore, so everyone praised the Marquis Residence for its deep Buddhist blessings to have invited him.
Shen Ruoyue and Shen Zhiyi followed behind Cold Bamboo, standing at the side of the altar.
In the Great Xia dynasty, rituals were elaborate and strict. As Kongwu began the ceremony, the surroundings fell into complete silence.
Time passed—one quarter of an hour.
Shen Zhiyi watched Cold Bamboo perform her act with mild amusement.
【That jade Buddha from the Ninth Prince case wasn’t naturally formed. It had a hidden self-destruct mechanism installed during crafting, designed to shatter when Xie Feiyun bowed. They said the mechanism was the size of a head—but this glass Buddha is so small, what could possibly be hidden inside it? What is Cold Bamboo actually planning?】
She narrowed her eyes.
On the sunlit altar, only curling incense smoke remained. The small glass Buddha stood solemnly on red silk, appearing completely normal.
Cold Bamboo slowly opened her eyes and looked at Shen Zhiyi.
“Please, both benefactors, step forward.”