Chapter 175: Acting in Their Stead

Du Shanü's words fell silent, and the alley fell quiet for a moment.

Fucuzi raised his head; the layer of a smiling, baby-faced mask on his doll-like face was pared away by her two sentences, revealing a face excessively young underneath.

He blinked, neither panicking nor explaining, merely shaking his head unhurriedly, like a schoolmaster correcting a student's error.

You say that girl has solved her fate?

He tilted his head, his tone earnest to the point of innocence:

Sister, fate isn't something you can solve just by saying so.

No matter what you say, I truly see that she is deeply connected to the number forty-seven.

As for your talk of escape—I don't know how you concluded she escaped, but I think you and she merely believe you have escaped.

Fucuzi paused, then held up two fingers in front of him.

Without this forty-seven, there will be another forty-seven. Fate twists and turns; whatever is meant to meet will meet.

Fucuzi's words were spoken with absolute certainty, making Du Shanü's brows furrow involuntarily.

She disliked this argument, disliked the little Daoist's assured tone when speaking of fate, as if reciting a verdict already written, unchangeable by anyone.

Then Du Shanü stepped forward, lowering her voice slightly, laced with impatience:

She is a self-respecting, self-reliant girl. She won't casually marry just anyone, let alone become a concubine.

Yunniang lay in her arms, soft and fragrant, yet her soul and bones remained; though she wept, her eyes were full of resolve.

Such a person will surely grasp her own fate...

Or rather, Du Shanü hopes every woman can seize her own fate.

I never said she would become a concubine.

Fucuzi muttered softly, his voice low as if speaking to himself, the grievance on his doll-like face deepening further:

I only said she is related to forty-seven, and never said that person must be old...

He lifted his eyelids, glanced at Du Shanü, saw her displeased expression, lowered his voice further, and muttered the rest of the sentence:

What if that person is someone who has taken over another's fate?

Nowadays, vagrants who pick up death certificates are as numerous as cow hairs; it's not impossible that a man happened to grab the death certificate of someone who should have been forty-seven, assumed that person's identity, and then...

Du Shanü did not respond.

She had completely lost patience with this talk of fate, feeling the little Daoist spouted nonsense, his every sentence trying to drag people into his mystic calculations.

She turned her head and glanced at Chinu.

Chinu leaned against the alley wall, arms crossed, expressionless.

He sensed Du Shanü's gaze, withdrew his eyes from Fucuzi, and fixed them on Du Shanü's face.

The two locked eyes for a moment, saying nothing, yet each understood the meaning in the other's gaze—

This Daoist talks too much; instead of arguing here about whether his fate-talk is true or false, it's better to act, bundle him up, take him somewhere less crowded, and interrogate him slowly.

Du Shanü's eyelid twitched slightly—a response.

Chinu then straightened from the wall and stepped forward half a pace.

Fucuzi seemed to sense it.

His shoulders suddenly tensed; the earlier playful, aggrieved expression was ripped away, revealing a thin layer of genuine tension underneath.

He glanced at Chinu, then at Du Shanü, his eyes darting between them, as if gauging whether he could escape.

But after estimating for less than half a breath, he realized he had no chance to retaliate—

Thud!

Fucuzi dropped straight to his knees, his kneecaps striking the wet stone slabs with a clear, solid sound.

He braced his hands before him, lifted his face to look at Du Shanü; his doll-like eyes stared wide round, clearly spelling out the four characters 'Preserving life is paramount.'

The young Daoist's lips, which had been muttering moments ago, now pressed into a line; he dared not breathe, only fixing his round, unblinking eyes on Du Shanü.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, hear me out—I truly haven't lied!"

"The reason this prefecture has fallen into such a state isn't entirely my fault!"

"Two months ago I observed purple vapor rising to the heavens in the southwest, which is why I trekked mountains and rivers to this place to await your rise! I'm a bit slow, always getting lost on the road and finding no one; I happened to meet the prefect on his patrol, saw his fate was afflicted by the Chen star, knew he would be connected to you, and, finding my search fruitless, decided to follow him!"

"I never asked him for anything; he thought my calculations were accurate and insisted on giving me silver and a Daoist temple..."

"I advised him, knowing that if he continued he would surely meet a bad end, but he refused to repent, so I thought, since he would die anyway, I might as well use him as a whetstone to sharpen your authority..."

He calculated it!

He clearly calculated it!

The person bearing the Mandate of Heaven opposite him must undergo 【tempering】 once, so his resolve will harden, and thereafter commanding troops, he will not be lenient.

He, he is doing this for the sake of the common folk!

Now how could the Heaven's Mandate woman turn and strike at him!

Is this right?

Grievance.

This time, Fucuzi truly feels aggrieved.

And Du Shanü and Chinu had already been utterly stunned the moment the other called out 【Your Majesty】—

What the heck, suddenly '【Your Majesty】'?

If I recall correctly, they never revealed their identities before!

Moreover, how could the other know so much detail, even able to voice her plan to rebel?

Is this something a martial world swindler could possess?

Not good.

Really not good.

If one were to say earlier, Du Shanü had firmly believed this person was an evil daoist spreading heresy and confusing the masses...

Just this moment, only this moment.

She couldn't help but feel a moment of bewilderment.

Du Shanü didn't turn around, so she naturally couldn't see Chinu's expression; she could only see Fucongzi in front of her noticing that neither of them spoke, blinking his eyes, and then pitifully said:

"Buzhen, do you still want more?"

"Actually, after I went back, I really thought about it for a while!"

"After all, you only have one husband, one son from that husband, and you have seven sons; this situation is indeed rare."

Du Shanü, already unable to speak from feeling depressed, felt her heart jump at the words and immediately seized on the loophole in the other's speech:

"I don't care what nonsense you were spouting just now... Anyway, your words are indeed wrong."

"You say I only have one husband, but I actually have two."

Wrong.

Clearly, all of it is wrong.

What a messy excuse, and calling her 'Your Majesty'—that's probably also wrong...

"Oh, you're talking about this?"

Fucongzi's cheerful voice interrupted Du Shanü's thoughts; the young Daoist was still kneeling on the ground, but his expression was utterly serious.

"This is actually your own misunderstanding."

"From beginning to end, there's actually only one—the one you married."

"As for the one behind you... he stole your husband's life."

Life-stealing.

Again, life-stealing.

But what exactly is this "life-stealing"?!

Du Shanü narrowed her eyes slightly and then heard the young Daoist in front of her laugh:

"Rather, let the little Daoist say something more straightforward—"

Back then, the Young Emperor of Dayin was inept at governance, and there was a minister who acted as regent for him.

"And your husband, unable to fulfill his marital duties, naturally would have someone capable take over those responsibilities."

"This is life-stealing."

?? Finally got to write this major plot point...... Yay! (*^▽^*)

? If you need spoilers, dear, private message me in the group chat; from now on I won't post many spoilers in the comment section!