Emperor Taihe issued an imperial decree bestowing marriage upon Prince Jin and Lady Yang, the wedding set for the second month of next year.
Prince Jin was already delighting in the preparations for his wedding.
As for Consort De, she had lost her own younger brother and several reliable stewards because of Lady Yang. Naturally, her feelings were mixed, but if she tallied it up, there was more joy than sorrow. Her younger brother was unreliable, always relying on her status as his elder sister and as Prince Jin’s uncle, and had acted so recklessly that even she’d heard the rumors. Yet their mother doted on this brother and, whenever she visited the palace, always reported only good news, never the bad, all to fool her… His Majesty’s swift and decisive action that resolved things in a single stroke may not have been a bad thing at all. Best of all, neither she nor her son, Prince Jin, had been implicated in any way by the whole affair.
The one thing that truly vexed her was her mother, who mourned and wept daily, constantly invoking “unfilial conduct” to manipulate others—making sure nobody in the family could live in peace if she herself could not. Both sisters-in-law had frequently come to the palace to pour out their grievances.
How could she not see through their intentions? Still, one day when the old madam was gone, let them not blame her… enough, she would simply avoid what annoyed her. Whenever she saw her son beaming with joy every day, she could not help but feel a little sour, but mostly, she was comforted.
Her son truly loved Lady Yang.
Moreover, His Majesty summoned Lady Yang every few days. The noble title and lands once bestowed on Father Yang had now fallen into Lady Yang’s hands, and she was promised that one of her own sons could inherit his title… Consort De felt that taking this daughter-in-law was hardly a loss!
With her mind set at ease, she vigorously supported the wedding, assigning several Imperial Princess’ Attendants and Court Ladies to aid her son in the Prince’s Household.
When Prince Chu arrived, Prince Jin was in the midst of deliberating with those princess attendants, court ladies, and stewards from the Prince’s Household about how to arrange the wedding chambers.
Among the Imperial Princes, Prince Jin ranked fifth and Prince Chu tenth, but in truth, the two brothers were only three years apart in age. Prince Chu also had an unwed fiancée, with his own wedding scheduled for the autumn of the coming year.
So, when Prince Jin saw his younger brother visit, he assumed he had come to offer his congratulations and perhaps seek some advice about wedding preparations. He led him on a tour of the whole Prince’s Household, graciously sharing how he had come to know, befriend, fall in love with, and finally win over his beloved.
Prince Chu, however, was weighed down by heavy thoughts. The strong feeling that “things shouldn’t be like this” made itself apparent, and in Prince Jin’s eyes, this looked like forced cheerfulness. Prince Jin asked, “What’s troubling you? If something’s on your mind, why not tell me?” In such a good mood, he did not mind meddling a bit. If it was a problem he could solve for his brother, he would gladly do him this favor.
Prince Chu could not stand his brother’s fake concern, so he deliberately chose the most inappropriate topic, “Fifth Brother, your consort-by-name—the cousin—what are you going to do with her?”
Prince Jin frowned slightly, “She’s still clinging on and refusing to leave, just like her father!”
Prince Chu said, “Her father is gone because of… Fifth Sister-in-Law, so of course she must cling on, and even if she can’t take revenge, she’ll do anything just to disgust you.”
Prince Jin realized there was sense in this. “I just thought she was pitiful… I’ll have her sent away at once.”
No one knows what they are capable of until they are truly pushed to the limit. His instincts told him his consort-by-name was quite adept at “messing up big events.”
Seeing that his fifth brother had fallen into the trap so easily, Prince Chu decided to add a little more. “And what about the Er family? Fifth Brother, aren’t you going to offer them any comfort? Aunt Minhe has taken quite a liking to the new Prince Consort. The wedding hasn’t even taken place, and the whole family has already moved in…” At this point, he reckoned he’d said enough.
A thought struck Prince Jin. He clapped his brother on the shoulder. “Thanks, brother.”
After leaving the Prince’s Household, Prince Chu steadied himself and decided to follow his instincts: to go and look for Lady Yang, even if just to catch a glimpse of her from afar.
Meanwhile, Lady Yang had been officially identified by imperial decree, and moved out from the little courtyard where Prince Jin had settled her, now residing in the marquis residence bestowed on her by His Majesty.
To be honest, Lady Yang had been flooded with emotions these past days. She had made countless plans, each of them requiring a measure of “good luck,” and she was feeling anxious and downcast when—much to her surprise—she was noticed by Princess Minhe, who spotted her during a rare outing. Princess Minhe and His Majesty were close siblings, so she naturally recognized all His Majesty’s confidants and, seeing that Lady Yang looked exactly like her birth father, immediately guessed the truth.
Lady Yang had been entering the palace every few days, and from the Imperial Princess’ Attendants who had served in the Inner Court, she’d heard some gossip: her father had almost become an official match for Princess Minhe.
Remembering that unspeakably handsome Prince Consort Er, and then thinking of her own, conveniently acquired father’s good looks… Princess Minhe was clearly a “face-con.” But at least she had a conscience.
Princess Minhe seemed to have spoken many kind words on Lady Yang’s behalf, and the Emperor treated her kindly. Even with her own brother’s death deserving a hundred deaths, Consort De didn’t vent her anger on Lady Yang. Prince Jin’s behavior, too, left Lady Yang sincerely moved: even before her true identity had been revealed, Prince Jin had begun dismissing his other wives and concubines for her sake…
By this point, things had diverged wildly from the storyline in her memory, and naturally, she wondered if, with the plot running off the rails like this, Prince Chu could still end up victorious.
Lady Yang had always been practical. Even when things deviated so far from the narrative, she was not about to stubbornly follow the original script and throw herself at Prince Chu; if she could cherish the person in front of her and live a good life, she’d certainly pick the latter.
Having long since made up her mind, Lady Yang happened to be heading out—to thank Princess Minhe—when she ran into Prince Chu, who was there spying for news.
She stepped into her carriage, and just as they rolled out the gate, she lifted a corner of the curtain and glanced outside—meeting Prince Chu’s eyes.
At that exact moment, both Lady Yang and Prince Chu “recognized” one another, even though they had never met before.
Having encountered the legendary male lead, Lady Yang felt nothing from this “fleeting glimpse” that would change her intentions. She lowered the curtain and instructed the driver to move on.
Prince Chu stood by the roadside, watching Lady Yang’s carriage depart. That preternatural intuition, which had never failed him since childhood, told him with unprecedented clarity: it should not be like this. This woman was born with a “phoenix fate”—whoever won her would win the nation itself. He could not let her slip away.
Just then, a stabbing pain shot through his mind, almost knocking him straight from his horse. Luckily, his attendants acted quickly and caught him. Clutching his forehead, he thought over and over… it should not be like this. It cannot be like this.
If Qin Jingzhou and Ling Jing were present, they would have sensed the immense fortune hidden in Prince Chu bursting forth and streaming directly toward Lady Yang sitting in her carriage at the street corner.
As Prince Chu’s fortune chased after her, Lady Yang felt an inexplicable disturbance in the carriage—something seemed off.
But she could not change her plans just because she felt uneasy. She had already agreed to meet Princess Minhe. How could she simply not go?
As her unease grew, the driver up ahead suddenly cried out, “Move, make way!”
Then everything spun around her. By the time Lady Yang recovered her senses, she was pinned beneath the carriage, one eye caked with her own blood.
Fortunately, the incident occurred only a dozen or so steps from Princess Minhe’s residence. The gatekeeper knew that Lady Yang—the future Princess Consort—was visiting, and recognized her carriage. On hearing the commotion, he rushed out to look and, on seeing what had happened, immediately called for help.
Carefully, several of the Princess’s Attendants helped dig Lady Yang out from under the wrecked vehicle and rushed her inside to a guest room. The household doctor treated and bandaged her wounds while the steward remembered to send someone to inform Prince Jin.
Ling Jing and Qin Jingzhou watched the situation unfold from outside the guest room. After a while, Ling Jing spoke up, “I couldn’t see it clearly. Was this really an accident?”
Qin Jingzhou smiled with interest, “Of course not. This time, the Fate’s Son is something special. Even in a world utterly devoid of spiritual energy, he has managed to wield his own fortune to trigger accidents almost capable of shattering the world’s rules. Unfortunately, he was simply born in the wrong era.”
Ling Jing was astonished, “When the World Will issued the mission, there was no mention of the Fate’s Son being this powerful!”
Qin Jingzhou said, “She couldn’t tell you outright. Otherwise, the Fate’s Son would sense something amiss. Even unaware, he can already wreak such havoc. If he ever realized that the World Will was antagonistic towards him, he might well bring utter ruin upon her.”
Ling Jing blinked. “Every other Fate’s Son we’ve met before only ever made a nuisance for the World Will. But this one—could be deadly.”
Qin Jingzhou nodded. “Indeed.” Then he warned, “You should be careful. Don’t underestimate him.”
Ling Jing’s eyes went wide. “But I’m already in the Nascent Soul stage!”
“He has the protection of his fortune. Even if the World Will is fully on your side, if you let your guard down, you may still not be able to win.”
Ling Jing’s eyes spun quickly. “I think I get it. His origins must be anything but ordinary. Is he perhaps the Fate’s Son of more than one world?”
“That’s right. He’s right on the verge of advancing—one thought for sainthood, one for demonhood. The World Will has already experienced his ‘becoming a demon’ once, that’s why she did everything possible to bring us in.”
Ling Jing responded swiftly, “According to the storyline I received, he only ever hurt Lady Yang after he became a tyrant and a foolish ruler in the late stages… So Lady Yang’s about to marry Prince Jin, ready to live a good life. Prince Chu realizes Lady Yang isn’t choosing him, and that’s why his fortune lashed out and harmed her! Makes sense. I don’t think there’s much chance of Prince Chu attaining sainthood either. Boss, if the situation really goes out of control, can you smack him dead with one slap?”
Qin Jingzhou smiled. “Yes, I can. But if I kill him, his fortune will rebound—and I don’t care, but the World Will still loses everything.”
Without thinking, Ling Jing grabbed Qin Jingzhou’s hand, giving it a little shake. “Then… what should we do?”
Qin Jingzhou was a sucker for this. He raised an eyebrow and turned his hand, clasping Ling Jing’s. “We’ll do it by the book. Manipulating fortune to harm others always brings backlash. The Fate’s Son’s background is deep, so he can ignore minor backlash. For this attack on Lady Yang, at most he’ll get headaches for a few days. But if the backlash keeps building, he’ll dig his own grave. As long as he believes I’m the one who blocked his path to glory, that’s enough. After all, his entire way is harming others with accidents, and others simply can’t endure it—including Emperor Taihe himself.”
Ling Jing looked at their joined hands, then turned her head to glance at Qin Jingzhou. “Three minutes of silence for the Fate’s Son.”
Inside the guest room, Lady Yang’s wound had already been cleaned and bandaged. Resting against the head maid’s pillow, she contemplated the “accident”… Even without hard evidence, her gut feeling was strong and direct: this was Prince Chu’s handiwork!
She was thoroughly disgusted. Damn it, did the original plot really claim the female lead’s remarriage would finally bring her a fairy-tale love? She was probably just scared into marrying Prince Chu over and over by these relentless accidents, just to try and stay alive!
So now the question was: how could she report Prince Chu?