Chapter 3 — The True Heiress Reads Fates

The expression on Shen Ming Dao’s face shifted slightly.

“Why?”

I looked at the space between her eyebrows. Today, a faint red streak marked her destiny palace—a clear portent of bloodshed. It was not severe, but it was dangerously close. I let out a soft sigh.

“Your destiny palace is troubled as well, Elder Sister.”

Shen Ming Dao likely recalled my words from yesterday, when I stated that the Third Prince would not survive the Mid-Autumn Festival. Her complexion turned even paler.

“Younger Sister, do you perhaps feel that I have stolen your rightful place, and are you trying to frighten me on purpose?”

I paused. Her eyes were rimmed with red, yet she fought fiercely to hold back her tears.

“I know I have no right to blame you. You are the true daughter of the Marquis’s estate; the betrothal, our parents, our elder brothers—they should have all belonged to you from the very beginning. But I did not mean to usurp them. I was only… only terrified that if I woke up one morning, I would lose everything.”

I looked at her, and suddenly I was reminded of my childhood when I used to set up a fortune-telling stall alongside my master. A little girl had once stolen half a piece of my steamed bun. Her eyes were green with starvation, and when I caught her, she had crammed the bun into her mouth while weeping uncontrollably. My master had said that a person driven to the absolute depths of hunger would no longer care about pride or dignity. Shen Ming Dao was not starving; she was simply terrified of being abandoned. I reached into my sleeve, drew out a copper coin, and held it out to her.

“Take this.”

She stared at it in bewilderment.

“What is this?”

“A coin to ward off disaster. If someone asks you to go to a secluded spot alone today, do not go. If anyone offers you a sachet, a handkerchief, or a cup of tea, do not touch it. If you truly cannot avoid it, drop this coin onto the ground and scream at the top of your lungs that there is a snake.”

Shen Ming Dao froze in shock.

“Why must I scream about a snake?”

I replied with absolute solemnity, “You could scream that there is an assassin, but in the palace, shouting about assassins is a quick way to lose your head. Shouting about a snake will, at worst, cause a bit of chaos for everyone.”

Clutching the coin, she wore an expression of profound complexity. After a long moment, she whispered softly, “Thank you.”

I waved a hand dismissively. “Think nothing of it. That will be ten cash.”

Shen Ming Dao fell completely silent. When the Marchioness led me into the palace, Xie Lin Yan was already waiting at the outer gates. Today, he was draped in a dark brocade robe, a white jade pendant hanging from his waist that only served to accentuate his pale complexion. As I walked past him, I could not help but ask, “Your Highness, you appear even closer to an early grave today than you did yesterday.”

The eunuch trailing closely behind him nearly slipped and fell. Xie Lin Yan, however, merely chuckled.

“Then I must trouble the Second Young Lady of the Shen family to gaze upon me a few more times. Who knows? Perhaps with enough looking, my lifespan might actually stretch a little longer.”

I felt there was something rather peculiar about those words. Yet he was exceptionally handsome, so I magnanimously chose not to argue with him. Once we entered the inner palace, our first stop was the Empress’s chambers. The Empress was the birth mother of the Crown Prince and the legal mother of Xie Lin Yan. She appeared poised and gentle, taking my hand to ask me a multitude of questions while showering me with countless gifts. Lowering my gaze, I replied to her inquiries while discreetly observing her hands. On the ring finger of the Empress’s left hand rested an extremely faint black streak. It was not a sign of physical illness, but rather a persistent trace left behind by frequent contact with baleful, sinister objects. My heart grew a fraction heavier. Xie Lin Yan stood quietly to the side, his expression completely composed, as though he had known all along what I would see. With a warm smile, the Empress spoke.

“I hear that Kuei Yi is skilled in the art of physiognomy. Why not read this Empress’s fortune as well?”

I raised my gaze, meeting her gentle eyes. She was testing me. I smiled.

“Your Ladyship possesses a natural grace and nobility that words cannot capture. It is simply that recently, your sleep has been somewhat restless, and at night you frequently dream of water.”

A subtle ripple passed through the Empress’s eyes. “Oh? Is there a way to dispel this?”

I drew a yellow talisman from my sleeve. “Paste this in the southeast corner of your bedchamber, and within three days, the affliction will vanish.”

The Empress instructed a palace maid to accept it. At that exact moment, a flurry of hurried footsteps echoed from outside, and the Crown Prince arrived. Crown Prince Xie Cheng Jun was two years older than Xie Lin Yan, possessing a handsome and upright appearance, save for the dark bruises under his eyes and an unnatural flush staining his lips. Upon entering the hall, his gaze locked onto me first. That look made me feel deeply uncomfortable, resembling the gaze one might cast upon an object destined to fall into one’s hands sooner or later. The Empress smiled and said, “Cheng Jun, this is the Second Young Lady whom the Yongning Marquis’s estate has recently brought back. Your former betrothal was, in truth, meant for her.”

The Crown Prince looked at me with an ambiguous expression. “I heard that yesterday, the Second Young Lady declared that my third brother would not survive the Mid-Autumn Festival?”

I nodded. “Indeed.”

The atmosphere within the hall instantly froze solid. The Crown Prince let out a cold laugh. “Then read my fortune as well. Just how long can I live?”

I looked at his face. At a single glance, a cold sweat broke out across my back. No aura of death clung to the Crown Prince’s face, but crouching within his shadow was a woman. Her hair hung in wild disarray, her neck was broken at a grotesque angle, and one of her hands was gripping the hem of the Crown Prince’s robe in a death-grip. I abruptly closed my eyes. When I opened them again, everything appeared completely normal. The Crown Prince was still smiling, and I smiled back.

“Your Highness is surrounded by an aura of supreme fortune and longevity; naturally, you shall live for a hundred years.”

Xie Lin Yan tilted his head to glance at me. I knew he was wondering why I had withheld the truth. It was because my master had once taught me that in physiognomy, there are three types of people whose fortunes must never be spoken aloud: those on the brink of death, those guilty of monstrous evils, and above all, those who will ultimately bring about your own demise. The Crown Prince smiled with satisfaction.

“It seems the Second Young Lady of the Shen family does not go about cursing everyone she meets after all.”

Just as I was about to reply, a shrill shriek pierced the air from outside the hall. Immediately afterward, a panicked palace maid came stumbling inward.

“Your Ladyship, this is terrible! The Eldest Young Lady of the Shen family has fallen into the water in the imperial garden!”

The copper coin hidden within my sleeve trembled violently. Shen Ming Dao.