Chapter 473: The True Purpose

The Empress gave Mu Yuanzhi an annoyed look.

"This palace is so big, usually hardly anyone talks to me, and I dare not disturb the Grand Empress Dowager." The Empress sighed.

"I don't dare to bother the Empress, Your Majesty; if you want to chat, I'm happy to keep you company." Mu Yuanzhi said.

"As long as you don't mind the many rules in the palace, Xiao Di said you never liked the palace gates before."

"It's actually because of the people; the folks who used to be at the palace gates—better not mention them." Mu Yuanzhi said.

The Empress showed understanding, she skipped the topic and said: "Speaking of which, Princess, you've been married for several years and have children, while my several sons are still unmarried, which really worries me as a mother."

Indeed, the Empress summoned her to talk about this.

"Don't rush, Empress, marriages are fated; perhaps you could have the Sima official calculate the princes' fortunes." Mu Yuanzhi said.

"Have the Junior Superintendent calculate it?" The Empress hadn't thought of that, "It's indeed a method; mainly if one of them marries, I'd have less to worry about. Nowadays, is late marriage the trend in Jingcheng? Those princes and generals don't seem in a hurry to find wives."

"Maybe they just haven't met the right person yet; this sort of thing can't be rushed."

"I worry that if they don't hurry, they'll get older, and then His Majesty might pick a woman they don't like." The Empress sighed again, "As a mother, I naturally want my children to be with the ones they love, but the imperial family has many constraints."

After a pause, the Empress added: "However, Qi'er is not opposed to discussing marriage."

The Qi'er the Empress referred to is the Second Prince, Qi Fu; earlier they suspected something odd, but it turned out to be just a misunderstanding, and he's an unremarkable prince.

"In that case, Empress, you needn't worry; perhaps once the Second Prince marries, good fortune will follow for the Third Prince and the Crown Prince's auspicious matches as well." Mu Yuanzhi said.

The Empress listened, thought it reasonable, and said: "You're right, I shouldn't be too anxious; since Qi'er also has this intention, let's first attend to Qi'er's matter; Si'er can wait."

All right! Mu Yuanzhi thought.

"By the way, Princess, I heard you're acquainted with Si'er; do you know what kind of girl he likes?" The Empress asked again.

Mu Yuanzhi shook her head. "I haven't noticed the Third Prince having a particular preference for any type of girl."

"Then let's set Si'er aside for now; his personality doesn't like too much interference, so I usually just observe from the side." The Empress said, "Di'er is the most obedient, but when it comes to marriage, his stubbornness flares up, just like his father."

Saying this, the Empress recalled something and smiled happily.

"So you shouldn't rush either; take it slow."

"Yes, take it slow; indeed, chatting with people broadens one's horizons and improves one's mood."

Mu Yuanzhi felt she had today also lived up to Cao Cixiu's trust, hadn't she?

"Right, trouble the Princess to take my three sons' birth characters to the Junior Superintendent for calculation." The Empress said, ordering palace maids to fetch brush, ink, paper, and inkstone, "Although the Imperial Astronomy Bureau has records, I'd like to make another copy as well."

It was clear the Empress had racked her brains over her sons' marriages, wishing to handle everything personally.

"Sure, it's no trouble." Mu Yuanzhi readily agreed.

She bade farewell to the Empress, left the palace, and went to the Imperial Astronomy Bureau to tell the shaman-doctor what the Empress had entrusted.

The shaman-doctor didn't know what he was looking for, flipping through a thick file page by page.

Upon seeing Mu Yuanzhi arrive, he finally rose to greet her; after hearing her words, he took the Empress's handwritten paper, glanced at it, and nodded: "All right, I'll cross-check it against the records."

He sat down to look through the catalog, then flipped pages quickly; suddenly he stopped, pausing on a certain page.

"What's wrong?" Mu Yuanzhi stared oddly as the shaman-doctor lifted the whole volume and held it up in the sunlight to check.

"This... now I see!" the shaman-doctor smiled, curling his lips.

"What did you discover?"

The shaman-doctor pushed the file toward Mu Yuanzhi, his purple fingernail pointing at a name: "Princess, look—General Qi's birth characters are exactly the same as the Vice Minister of the Imperial Court of Justice's!"

He said this and also handed over the Vice Minister's birth characters file; Mu Yuanzhi examined it closely: "Really!"

"Take a close look." the shaman-doctor smiled, curling his lips.

"So the Vice Minister of the Imperial Court of Justice died because his birth characters matched General Qi's, making him a target?!"

"Mm-hmm."

In that case, the likelihood that the culprit is Fang Hua is basically certain.

"What does she want to do? Prolong General Qi's life or..."

"Take his life." the shaman-doctor chuckled, picking up the thread.

"Take his life? They're blood siblings; does she hate him that much?"

Mainly, Mu Yuanzhi didn't think Qi Shihuai would do anything excessive.

Surely it's not because of Fang Hua that she hates her own brother and the world just because of her misfortune, right?

The shaman-doctor countered: "Why do you think she doesn't hate? She could have been a noble lady, the general's sister, enjoying wealth and honor, yet fate toyed with her, leaving her displaced, or perhaps she endured something ordinary people couldn't bear; blaming everything on the sole surviving relative isn't hard to understand."

Mu Yuanzhi remained silent.

"A kind Princess might think grudges should be repaid with grudges and vengeance with vengeance, but some people aren't like that; I can understand that." the shaman-doctor said.

Mu Yuanzhi: "Others' good or evil is none of my business, unless they're in my circle; General Qi is my friend, Fang Hua is wicked, so I naturally won't concern myself with what wicked people think."

"I think we should tell General Qi about this; I'll take care of it." the shaman-doctor said, eager to try.

For some reason, Mu Yuanzhi always had the feeling that this person would get beaten.

"Sir Sima, a friendly heads-up: General Qi cares deeply about his sister; he'll turn into another kind of person."

"Princess, you care so much for your subordinates; I'm delighted." the shaman-doctor covered his mouth and laughed, "Don't worry, I might not last more than a few moves against General Qi's men."

"All right, indeed someone should tell Qi Shihuai about this; she'll also go back and inform Rongjin."

After returning to the Grand General's residence and telling Gu Rongjin, Gu Rongjin composed his expression: "So... could it be that Fang Hua has been aiming at the old General Qi all along?"

"You mean she's always been helping Hanlu Stronghold and Zhangmiao City, and everything else—all of it points to one thing: targeting her own older brother?"

"Quite likely." Gu Rongjin said, "Knowing her purpose makes things easier to handle."

Mu Yuanzhi pondered, then agreed: "Indeed quite likely; clarifying her purpose would be a major breakthrough for us!"