After Luo Mingpu was imprisoned, Shen Chen was gripped by utter panic.
He sat motionless in the palace hall, spreading out his hands and realizing that he no longer had anyone he could use.
The civil and military officials throughout the court had already tacitly accepted Shen Zheng as the next emperor.
Anxiety gnawed at him like a festering disease. Night after night, Shen Chen found himself unable to sleep, and he gradually developed severe headaches. Whenever an attack came, the pain was splitting, making him wish he could smash his head against a wall just to find relief.
He could no longer firmly believe that he was the one chosen by Heaven. In his desperation, he began seeking any remedy he could find. Like a madman, he pressured Consort Yi to track down the Taoist from their old hometown and perform the evil ritual again—to forcibly drag Shen Zheng’s soul away and curse him to death once and for all.
Consort Yi staked everything on one final attempt. She spent the private fortune she had accumulated over half her life, sending people all the way to Nan Province. After scouring its mountains and rivers, they finally located the old Taoist and brought him to the capital in a luxurious carriage, offering him a fortune.
Having accepted such a substantial reward, the old Taoist finally agreed to try once more. He instructed Consort Yi to prepare a piece of clothing Shen Zheng had worn, along with some of his hair, so that she could perform the ritual in tandem with him from within the palace.
Consort Yi hardened her heart and decided to make Jun Mulan her point of attack.
She calculated that Jun Mulan still knew nothing about Shen Zheng’s soul being targeted. Thus, she carefully orchestrated a scene of reconciliation and personally went to Jingren Palace to apologize.
When enemies met, Jun Mulan did not give her the slightest courtesy. Consort Yi, however, paid it no heed. With a thud, she dropped to her knees and began sobbing as she reminisced about the past.
“Sister, back when we were at the Yongning Marquis’s Residence, you taught me to read and write and taught me how to wield a sword for self-defense. You treated me like your own sister. I was foolish, ungrateful, and repaid the Jun family’s sincerity with betrayal…”
As she cried, she also tried to excuse herself. “I was born into humble circumstances. Unlike you, Sister, I had no powerful family to rely on. Every step I took outside was fraught with hardship, and I had been bullied so much that I could only fight desperately to climb higher. Only when I reached the top could I feel safe. By the time I realized what I had done, I had already made an irreparable mistake. I regret it beyond words!”
After saying this, she took a pair of embroidered shoes from her sleeve and choked out, “Sister, I embroidered these myself late into the night. I hope you won’t hold a grudge against me anymore and will give me a chance to atone.”
Jun Mulan slapped Consort Yi’s hand away. The embroidered shoes flew from her grasp and landed on the floor.
Jun Mulan had seen far too much of the hypocrisy and insincerity within the palace. When someone whose nature had never changed suddenly lowered herself and wept bitterly, it could not mean that she had truly seen the light. It only meant that she had run out of options.
Jun Mulan had never been softhearted, nor would she forgive someone who had repeatedly harmed both her and Shen Zheng.
Consort Yi did not grow discouraged. After being driven out once, she returned the very next day, then came to Jingren Palace day after day without fail, weeping and begging for forgiveness.
The servants of Jingren Palace watched with great satisfaction. They felt as though they could vent their frustrations every day, and seeing Consort Yi leave in disgrace was enough to make them eat an extra bowl of rice.
Jun Mulan, however, gradually grew suspicious.
For Consort Yi to endure such humiliation and cast even her dignity aside—there was no way things could be that simple.
On her ninth visit, Jun Mulan pretended to be moved and accepted the embroidered shoes Consort Yi brought her. “I can’t say that everything between us is forgiven, but if you truly regret what you’ve done, then behave yourself from now on.”
Consort Yi was overjoyed, believing that her scheme had succeeded.
Jun Mulan simply went along with it, playing her part in the performance.
Four days later, Shen Zheng happened to visit Jingren Palace that afternoon to see his mother.
At the sight of Shen Zheng, Consort Yi instantly became exceedingly warm and attentive. She threw herself before him, weeping as she begged forgiveness, even slapping herself hard across the face twice.
She cursed herself for the utter madness and cruelty of her past deeds.
When she was done, she looked up through tearful eyes and said, “I am willing to personally sew a court robe for Your Highness, as atonement for my sins.”
Her gauze embroidery surpassed even that of the Imperial Needlework Bureau. Over the years, she had sewn garments for no one but the Emperor, making this an exceptionally weighty gift.
Shen Zheng exchanged a glance with Jun Mulan, curious to see what trick she intended to play.
Overjoyed, Consort Yi immediately took out a soft measuring tape and put on a show of taking Shen Zheng’s measurements for the robe.
As her fingertips brushed past Shen Zheng’s hair, she swiftly plucked several strands while no one was watching and concealed them in her sleeve.
While sewing the garment, she deliberately left an extra strip of fabric protruding from the hem.
When the finished robe was delivered to the Eastern Palace, Shen Zheng tried it on. Upon hearing the news, Consort Yi hurried over, feigning alarm as she apologized. She promptly produced a pair of scissors, cut off the extra piece of cloth, and carefully clenched it in her palm.
When Consort Yi left the Eastern Palace that day, her steps were unusually hurried.
Shen Zheng immediately took off the court robe and tossed it aside. “Chen Ping, inspect it carefully.”
Chen Ping turned the robe over and examined it several times. The embroidered python design was lifelike, yet he could not find the slightest trace of anything suspicious.
“Your Highness, could it be that Consort Yi sees that your position is now secure and is sincerely trying to curry favor with you, merely hoping to leave herself a way out in the future? Perhaps she has no ulterior motive.”
Shen Zheng gave a cold laugh. “No. How could an experienced embroiderer misjudge the measurements and add an extra strip of cloth for no reason? She did it deliberately.”
Jun Mulan ordered icily, “Keep a close watch on her. Whom she meets, where she goes, and what she does over the next few days—I want every detail reported.”
At last, the day of the ritual arrived. That night, neither stars nor moon shone in the sky.
At a secluded estate outside the palace, Shen Chen stood beside the ritual altar. The old Daoist priest, his hair hanging loose, wielded a ritual sword as he burned incense and shook a bell, muttering incantations beneath his breath.
Meanwhile, Consort Yi had shut all doors and windows tight. Trembling, she sprinkled talisman-infused water over the cloth and the strands of hair.
When the appointed moment came, a vicious light surged in Consort Yi’s eyes. Gritting her teeth, she brought a candle flame to the cloth—but this time, something strange occurred. The flame licked at the fabric, yet it would not catch fire at all. It left only a few blackened marks before going out in an instant.
Consort Yi panicked. She brought the flame closer again, desperately trying to burn the cloth, but no matter how she applied the fire, it was useless.
“No... no!” Consort Yi’s face turned deathly pale as she murmured in shock.
Back then, all she had needed was the slightest touch. The flame would leap half a man’s height into the air, reducing the hair and cloth to ashes in moments. Why was it not working today?
At the altar outside the palace, the old Daoist swung his sword as he performed the ritual, but cold sweat streamed ever more heavily down his brow.
He moved the sword faster and faster, yet the night remained utterly still, without so much as a breath of wind. Then, the incense stick burning on the altar suddenly snapped in half and fell to the ground, shattering.
The old Daoist’s face went ashen. Staggering backward again and again, he dropped his sword with a clatter.
“This is bad... His soul has stabilized. The person who returned his soul to him possesses far greater spiritual power than I do. I cannot shake it in the least!”
Shen Chen’s face blanched at his words. He seized the old Daoist by the collar and shook him frantically. “Impossible! Aren’t you supposed to be immensely powerful? Shen Zheng is only a mortal of flesh and blood—where could he have obtained such power?”
The old Daoist closed his eyes and offered no reply. After a long while, he waved a hand and sighed. “The Ziwei Star is steady. His soul has returned to its rightful place, and his destiny has taken shape. There is no turning this around.”
“I spent my entire fortune to bring you here, not to listen to this nonsense!” Shen Chen roared, his eyes blazing with rage.
The old Daoist was shaken so hard he nearly lost his footing. Yet, thinking of the generous payment, he finally gritted his teeth and revealed one last possibility. “There is only one path left to you: wait for him to throw himself into disarray and destroy the light of his own Ziwei Star with his own hands.”
Shen Chen abruptly fell silent. A sinister, greedy gleam flashed in his wolfish eyes as he stared fixedly at the old Daoist. “What must I do?”
The old Daoist counted on his fingers as he calculated, then said gravely, “Beside the Ziwei Star lies a faint shadow. It is the Star Lord’s weakness. Should an outside force discover it and use the situation to interfere, the celestial signs will waver and his foundation will collapse from within. As for what that weakness may be, this poor Daoist cannot tell.”
Shen Chen’s eyes trembled sharply. Better than anyone, he knew exactly who Shen Zheng’s weakness was.
At that moment, a sudden commotion broke out in the street. The thunder of hooves and the shouts of soldiers drew rapidly nearer.
Shen Chen frowned, a sense of foreboding rising in his heart. The old Daoist, meanwhile, did not even pause to gather his ritual implements. Snatching up the bundle of gold and silver, he vaulted over the wall and vanished in an instant.
No sooner had the old Daoist fled than the gates of the estate were kicked open. Men from the Five Cities Military Patrol Office surged inside, their leader declaring righteously, “The Military Patrol Office is conducting an investigation. We are here to inspect illegal gambling!”
They paid no heed to Shen Chen’s furious rebukes. The soldiers efficiently searched the entire compound, circling the altar again and again, where prayer banners, an incense burner, and peachwood swords had been arranged.
“You insolent fools! Do you know who I am?” Shen Chen trembled with rage, his face livid.
Only after the leader spotted the prince’s tally at Shen Chen’s waist did he hastily fall to his knees and offer a perfunctory apology. After a few ingratiating words, he quickly withdrew with his men.
Shen Chen hurried outside, only to find that every one of his trusted attendants had been knocked unconscious. No wonder the soldiers had entered so easily.
Inside the palace, turmoil was rising as well.
Consort Yi was pacing in anxious confusion when the doors to her hall crashed open. Dressed in fitted riding clothes, Jun Mulan strode straight in, followed by palace attendants and guards.
“What are you doing here?” Jun Mulan demanded coldly, her expression darkening at the pungent stench of talisman-infused water in the room.
Consort Yi forced herself to remain composed and hastily tried to conceal the truth. “They are merely discarded things. I was having them disposed of. Why has Elder Sister suddenly come here?”
Shen Zheng entered at an unhurried pace. His gaze fell upon the bronze basin containing scraps of cloth and strands of hair, and he immediately concluded that this was sorcery directed at him.
Just then, the trusted man sent beyond the palace returned and reported to Jun Mulan and Shen Zheng that Shen Chen had secretly erected a ritual altar at an estate outside the city.
When Consort Yi heard that the scheme beyond the palace had failed, her whole body went weak, and she nearly collapsed to the floor.
Jun Mulan stared at the strands of hair, and a thunderous realization struck her.
Not long after she had given birth to Shen Zheng, while her body was still frail, Consort Yi had once forced her way into Jingren Palace under the pretense of paying her a visit.
Though Jun Mulan had despised Consort Yi at the time, she had not yet openly fallen out with her. Claiming exhaustion, she refused to receive her. Consort Yi offered a few feigned words of concern before taking her leave.
Yet not long afterward, when Jun Mulan’s personal maid brought her some water, she reported that Consort Yi had gone to the side room without permission to visit the sleeping young prince.
Jun Mulan had been beside herself with panic. She struggled to her feet and rushed into the side chamber. Only when she saw Shen Zheng sleeping peacefully, his breathing even, did she relax slightly.
She gathered the child into her arms and examined him carefully. There was nothing amiss anywhere on his body, save that a small tuft of fine baby hair was missing from the back of his head.
The prince had been very young then, and his infant hair was sparse to begin with. She had assumed she was merely being overly suspicious, that she had remembered incorrectly.
Yet after that, Shen Zheng became unlike other children. He rarely cried. When called by name, he would only turn his eyes toward the speaker with detached indifference, showing no curiosity whatsoever about anything around him.
Later, he learned to speak and walk far later than the other princes. The Imperial Astronomical Bureau and the imperial physicians took turns examining him, but could only offer a vague conclusion: “Congenitally deficient in all five vital faculties; his spiritual aperture has yet to open.”
Thinking back on it now, Jun Mulan felt a chill seep through her entire body, terror piercing her to the bone.
Back then, Consort Yi must have taken Shen Zheng’s hair as well, performing rites both inside and outside the palace. That was why Shen Zheng had been slow-witted since childhood, his spiritual aperture sealed shut!
And now, seeing that Shen Zheng’s soul had returned to its rightful place and his intelligence restored, she had tried to use the same trick again, to reduce him once more to a mindless fool!
Overwhelming fury instantly swept away Jun Mulan’s reason. She strode forward, seized Consort Yi by the collar, and delivered a vicious slap. Consort Yi’s head snapped to the side, blood streaming from her nostrils.
“When I had just given birth, did you sneak into Jingren Palace and steal the Crown Prince’s baby hair? Did you set up ritual altars inside and outside the palace, using sorcery to harm my child?”
Dazed from the blow, Consort Yi clenched her teeth tightly. Through broken sobs, she stubbornly denied it. “I did no such thing! The Crown Prince is healthy and well now. How can Your Highness accuse me without proof?”
“You still dare deny it!” Jun Mulan was beside herself with rage and raised her hand again.
Shen Zheng reached out to stop his mother. Looking inward, he found no sign of discomfort. Still, he faintly suspected that the many coincidences between himself and the Fifth Prince of Daqian might have something to do with Consort Yi.
His expression was cold and grave, the pressure around him oppressive as he ordered those behind him, “Father has always detested witchcraft and curses above all else. Lock Consort Yi in a side hall under strict guard for now. Report this to Father at once and await his judgment.”
The palace servants answered and stepped forward, firmly restraining the crying, struggling Consort Yi.
After Consort Yi was taken away, only mother and son remained in the hall.
The scent of talisman water still lingered in the air. Jun Mulan’s fingers trembled where they gripped Shen Zheng’s shoulders. Her eyes brimmed with tears and anguish, and her voice was nearly unsteady beyond recognition. “Mother has failed you... If I had been more vigilant back then, how could you have suffered so much? Years of being treated as a fool, having to endure others’ looks and scorn...”
Shen Zheng lifted a hand and gently embraced his mother, his palm resting against her trembling back as he patted it softly. “That is all in the past. Aren’t I well now? Besides, a loss may yet prove to be a blessing.”
“As your mother, I failed to protect you.” Jun Mulan shook her head bitterly, unable to forgive herself for having harmed her own flesh and blood through a moment’s negligence.
“But even when I was thought to be a fool, you never abandoned me.” Shen Zheng reached up to wipe away Jun Mulan’s tears, his voice gentle with consolation. “These years have been hard on you too, Mother.”
