Chapter 6 — The True Heiress Reads Fates

Xie Lanyian lowered his gaze and smiled slowly.

"Second Miss Shen, you are much slower at scolding people than you are at saving them."

I pressed a yellow talisman paper against his chest.

"Shut your mouth. It is time to save your life."

His pulse was more erratic than yesterday, as if something were violently pulling at it. I took out a spool of red thread and tied it around his left pinky finger. Xie Lanyian lowered his head to look.

"What is this?"

"A soul-guiding thread. If ghosts drag you away in the middle of the night, I can haul you back."

A hint of a smile flickered in his eyes.

"It sounds very much like a token of affection."

My hand trembled, nearly tying the thread into a dead knot.

"Your Highness, your life is slipping away. Spare us these romantic sentiments."

Xie Lanyian said in a low voice, "If I truly do not survive the Mid-Autumn Festival, would it not be a pity if I did not indulge in such thoughts now?"

I glanced at him. His complexion was ghastly pale, and a trace of blood stained the corner of his lips, yet his brows and eyes carried a faint smile, as though life and death were merely a passing, unimportant drizzle. Suddenly, a wave of annoyance washed over me. It was not hatred, but rather the vexing realization that someone was about to die, only to discover that he was so devastatingly handsome that his impending death felt like a genuine tragedy. I said, "Rest assured. With me here, you will not die."

Xie Lanyian asked, "Why?"

I replied righteously, "You still owe me three thousand taels."

He burst out laughing.

By the time we returned to the marquis’s estate, Shen Mingyao had already been brought back. Though she was delirious with fever, her fingers remained tightly clenched around that single coin. The Marchioness kept vigil by the bedside, her eyes red-rimmed. Seeing me return, she immediately pulled me by the hand.

"Quyi, Mingyao, she..."

I checked Shen Mingyao's face. The ominous red hue had faded; the immediate crisis was over. However, between her brows lingered a wisp of dark, baleful energy. Someone had channeled a burst of malevolent nether-force into her body when she fell into the water. If it was not exorcised, she would undoubtedly go mad within three days. I instructed the maidservant to bring clear water, yellow paper, and a pair of scissors. Pricking my fingertip, I drew a soul-pacifying talisman on the paper. The Marchioness looked on in horror.

"Quyi, your hand..."

I replied, "It is fine. Ten taels of silver per drop of blood, put it on your tab."

The Marchioness was left somewhere between tears and laughter. After she forced down the talisman water, Shen Mingyao gradually quieted down. In the middle of the night, she woke up. I sat at the table cracking melon seeds. Seeing me, tears instantly spilled from her eyes.

"Little sister, I truly did not lie to you. Someone pushed me—a palace maid dressed in green."

I spat out a melon seed shell.

"I know."

She choked back a sob. "I even heard her say that fakes should replace the real one in death."

I placed the empty shells back onto the plate and remained silent for a long while, unable to bring myself to crack another seed. Shen Mingyao looked at me, her face deathly pale.

"Quyi, is it because I stole what belonged to you that I am now facing retribution?"

I walked over to the edge of her bed and pulled the quilt up around her shoulders.

"No."

Shen Mingyao grabbed hold of my sleeve. "It was only yesterday that I found out. The Empress summoning me into the palace had nothing to do with the marriage alliance. Her personal matron took my blood, claiming it was to divine the fortune of the match, but in truth, it was to test whether I could act as a life-shield for the Crown Prince. At the time, I foolishly thought it was merely tedious palace ritual."

Her entire body trembled. "Only later did I realize they were figuring out whether I could be used as a human sacrifice to die in his stead."

I remained silent. Shen Mingyao wept so hard her frame shook.

"I thought I had stolen a marriage contract. Only later did I realize that what I had actually stolen was the right to die for the Crown Prince."

So this was the real reason Shen Mingyao had knelt to annul the engagement. She was terrified of my return, yet equally terrified of staying away. She wanted to hold onto her glory and wealth, yet refused to sacrifice her life for another. Human nature was endlessly complicated indeed. I let out a soft sigh.

"Elder sister, clinging to what you have is not a sin. But harming others to keep it—that is a crime. Today, you blocked a disaster in my place, so let us call it even."

Shen Mingyao stared at me in a daze.

I continued, "However, the coin cost ten wen, the talisman water two taels, and the fingertip blood ten taels. The life-saving grace will be calculated separately. Since we are sisters by blood, I will give you an eighty percent discount."

She cried for a moment, then suddenly laughed. Once she finished laughing, she started crying again. It seemed to me that everyone in the marquis’s household was excessively fond of tears.

The next day, Xie Lanyian sent someone to deliver a box. Inside lay three hundred taels in silver banknotes alongside a letter. The note contained a single sentence: "Compensation for injury, an advance payment."

I counted the banknotes three times, my mood exceptionally bright. Then, I discovered a jade bracelet pressed beneath the bottom of the box, accompanied by another slip of paper. "Since the soul-guiding thread is already a token of affection, this prince should naturally offer a return gift."

I stared fixedly at the jade bracelet, my ears growing slightly warm. This short-lived ghost possessed quite a bit of courtesy.

My master was released on the third day. The old man wore tattered Daoist robes and leaned on a bamboo cane. The moment he stepped out of the Ministry of Justice, he unleashed a torrent of curses directed at Xie Lanyian’s passing carriage:

"Which lacking-virtue ghost tricked my disciple into the marquis’s estate? Her destiny clashes with nobility, getting mixed up with the powerful and elite only brings bad luck!"

I stood beside the carriage and let out a quiet cough.

My master’s ears twitched as he instantly whipped his head around. "Little half-immortal?"

I said, "Master, it is me."

He fumbled his way over, grabbing my hands. First, he felt my sleeves, then patted my head, confirming that I was missing neither arms nor legs before letting out a breath of relief. Then, his fingers brushed against the wound on my fingertip, and his expression abruptly darkened.

"Who took your blood?"

I replied, "I took it myself."

"Foolish girl."