Chen Qing gave a nod. “I must thank the miss for her understanding. There is, in fact, one more thing I would like the miss’s assistance with.”

A flicker crossed Haoyue’s face. She smiled warmly. “Please go ahead, official.”

Chen Qing pressed a slip of paper down onto the table. On it were three lines — each line containing the date and hour of birth of a different person.

“Might I ask what the official intends?” Haoyue glanced at the paper and let her smile fade. Though her identity afforded her knowledge of many things, to narrow that down to specific individuals was simply not possible — unless they were people of great renown.

“These are the birth dates of the Fourth Prince, the Fifth Prince, and the Sixth Prince. I ask that you give them your attention — in whatever area you find fitting, the more detail the better.”

A quiet relief settled over Haoyue — though she did not begin calculating on the spot. She simply said, “This young woman has already cast three divinations today and can cast no more. Please come back tomorrow, official, and I will have the reading ready.”

“That works as well. I thank you for your efforts today, miss. The matters you have mentioned, I will look into as quickly as I can.” Chen Qing rose and clasped his hands in farewell, then took his leave in a few long strides. Rounding a corner, he concealed himself and watched as Haoyue walked out of the inner room with light, quick steps — clearly very pleased with how today had gone.

A servant on the other side made a signal. Chen Qing stepped out from behind the corner and entered the adjacent room. He closed the door and removed the mask. “Shizi.”

“What did she say at the end?”

Chen Qing drew a slow, deep breath, lowered his head, and said quietly, “She said… the star of the Purple Tenuity Palace grows dim beside the throne, showing signs of a lateral shift.”

Before Gu Yanxi could say anything, Hua Zhi was already on her feet, composure lost. “Did she say a lateral shift — not a lateral fall?”

Chen Qing found the question a little strange. The two phrases sounded similar, but their meanings were worlds apart. A lateral shift meant only a movement in position, the root remaining unchanged — a lateral fall, however, would signify that imperial power was set to pass into another’s hands.

He glanced at the Shizi, then confirmed that this was indeed what she had said.

Gu Yanxi drew A’zhi back down beside him. “Whether it is a shift or a fall, she has no say in the matter. You need not—”

“Yanxi, do not underestimate her.” Hua Zhi cut him off, her tone more earnest than he had ever heard from her. “Do not think that because everything she mentioned today has already happened and is already trending toward a better outcome that it means she is without ability — that is not so. I am certain you have already mapped out her circle of connections. Even with thousands of followers, there is absolutely no way she could have known that Wu Yong’s life was in danger, and what happened with Tong Yi was known to even fewer. If she dared deliver herself into your hands, she must have something to lean on.”

Gu Yanxi had not actually been underestimating Haoyue — he simply found her displeasing. He heard this and adjusted his attitude accordingly. “Do you think she truly has the gift of foresight?”

“Whether she does or not, if the results serve our purposes, then it is all very welcome. While she is still eager to prove herself, make full use of her. By the way — were those birth dates truly the princes’?”

“All fabricated.”

Hua Zhi was not surprised — a prince’s birth date was not something to be shown to just anyone. Yet she had not expected to hear Yanxi add, “It was also a deliberate test. Haoyue may well have seen through it. We shall see how she responds.”

“And if she sees through it, give her the real ones?”

“Two real, one false.”

“Xiao Liu’s is the false one.” Hua Zhi used a declarative statement. She had come to know enough to understand that Gu Yanxi was someone who protected those under his wing with fierce loyalty — having taken Xiao Liu under his protection, he would not allow anything to become an avenue for harm to reach him, even if he did not believe in the metaphysical arts, he would certainly not hand Xiao Liu’s birth date to another.

This also revealed clearly what his attitude was toward the other two princes.

“Let me think.”

Gu Yanxi motioned to Chen Qing to wait quietly and not disturb A’zhi.

Hua Zhi shut the world out and immersed herself in this tangled knot of threads. If she built everything on the premise that Haoyue was someone reborn, then whatever her previous identity had been, it could not have been low — otherwise she would not have known about Wu Yong, would not have known about affairs within the palace.

Suppose — suppose she had been a young woman from one of the capital’s noble houses… No. That was not right. If a young woman from a noble house were to be reborn, she would be reborn into the noble house — not into the identity she now occupied. Working from her present identity, the most likely conclusion was that she had always had some grounding in the arts of the heavenly masters, and had perhaps used those skills to catch the attention of a person of standing, or gained the favor of someone — and step by step made her way into the capital, earning recognition, or perhaps… into the palace.

But if that were the case, it did not quite fit either. She had lived a full life herself — in experience, in the way she carried herself and spoke, in every aspect, she would be incomparable to those of her own age. And by the same token, she would have lost the innocence, warmth, and youthful naivety that this age should naturally carry. If she had truly once entered the palace by her own abilities and weathered all the scheming and jostling that came with it, she should have emerged with an extraordinary depth of calculation and cunning — yet judging by what she had shown today, Haoyue was altogether too impatient and too naive.

And then there were things that even a young miss from a ducal household would not know — which confirmed with certainty that Haoyue’s former status had been extremely high.

Shifting the angle of thought: Haoyue’s state of mind was still very young, which meant that when she died in her previous life, she had probably not been very old either — not more than twenty. So young, and in that short time…

Hua Zhi looked toward Yanxi and asked with urgency, “How old is the Fourth Prince? Is he married?”

Gu Yanxi did not ask a single question in return, simply answering directly. “Sixteen this year. Barring the unexpected, it will not be long before a consort is selected for him.”

“And the Fifth Prince?”

“Twelve. Still some time yet.”

In other words, the only one of marriageable age was the Fourth Prince. Could it be that…

“When you give her the birth dates next time, give her the wrong one for the Fourth Prince.”

Gu Yanxi had no idea what A’zhi had worked out, but he nodded and indicated to Chen Qing to do as she said.

If Haoyue had been entangled with the Fourth Prince — a principal consort was out of the question, as that position would have come from one of a designated set of families. A secondary consort, though, could well be someone the prince himself had taken a liking to, and reaching that position would not have been difficult for Haoyue.

If that assumption held, the status of an imperial prince’s secondary consort would bring with it knowledge of a great many things — and if she was a favored secondary consort at that, she would know even more.

The star beside the throne showing signs of a lateral shift — it must have shifted toward Yanxi. Which was why she had come at him with every appearance of putting herself forward, even when the timing was far from ideal, determined to establish a connection. That made sense — Yuan Shifang had been a far too convenient stepping stone.

Hua Zhi exhaled slowly and deeply. “My speculation is a little far-fetched, and I still need to observe more before I can be certain. I will tell you when I am.”

Gu Yanxi simply agreed to everything she said.

“Steward Chen — please find an opportunity to ask Haoyue about the situation of the Hua family. There is no need to bring me up deliberately — just lead her into speaking about the various members of the Hua household.”

“Yes.”

On the way back, Hua Zhi said nothing, still clearly absorbed in her own thoughts. Gu Yanxi watched her with smiling eyes and made no move to interrupt. That A’zhi had this kind of reaction pleased him quite well — he had brought A’zhi to listen in precisely because he wanted to borrow her mind to find some lead. Haoyue’s existence was far too unpredictable, and every time he thought of her, he wanted to silence her for good. Only a dead person was truly safe.

“Oh, right.” Hua Zhi suddenly thought of something and looked up at Yanxi. “Yingchun was telling me that mushroom yields at the estate are already quite high, and the people we placed in there are now all capable of doing the work. It is time to expand this business properly.”

“I will have Chen Qing work with your family’s steward.”

Hua Zhi rested her cheek on her hand with a smile. “Chen Qing truly is the one person for every job.”

“Your maids are no less capable.”

The feeling of exchanging mutual compliments like this was simply wonderful — neither could hold back, and both laughed.