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When Qingli arrived at the agreed-upon pastry shop, Su Qingyue was already waiting.
She was still wearing her veil and a white outfit, exuding a cool and ethereal presence as she sat by the window.
Qingli walked over with a smile. “Qingyue, you came so early.”
Upon hearing Qingli’s voice, Su Qingyue turned to look at her. Qingli was dressed in a green gown, though the style was slightly different. When the two saw each other, their eyes lit up with smiles.
After Qingli sat down, Su Qingyue pointed at the various pastries on the table. “A-Li, I ordered all these just now. Try them and see which ones you like.”
The table was filled with an array of pastries.
Qingli picked up a piece of peach blossom cake and tasted it, smiling and nodding. “Mmm, delicious!”
Seeing her smile, Su Qingyue also laughed. “If it’s good, eat more. I’ll bring you here often from now on.”
Qingli nodded, but as she looked at the joy and laughter in Su Qingyue’s eyes, she felt a bit puzzled. It seemed Su Qingyue was treating her unusually well.
Across the table, Su Qingyue pulled out many bags filled with dresses and jewelry.
“A-Li, these are for you. I think they will suit you. Take them home and try them on. If they don’t fit, we can buy more next time.”
Qingli was astonished by the sight of so many clothes and accessories. “You… why did you buy me so much?”
Su Qingyue smiled. “It’s not too much. If I hadn’t run out of space, I would have bought even more. It’s normal for a young lady to have more clothing and jewelry. I noticed you didn’t bring many outfits, so I thought I’d help you out. I believe you’ll like the ones I picked, as they match your usual style.”
Qingli shook her head. “But this is too extravagant! It must have cost a lot of money!”
Su Qingyue laughed. “It’s not too much. I have plenty of money, so don’t worry about it. If you feel guilty, just spend more time with me and keep me company.”
Qingli nodded helplessly. “Alright! Qingyue, why don’t I give you a fortune reading in return? Since you’ve given me so much, I’ll do a reading for you.”
Remembering her own fate, Su Qingyue hesitated.
Seeing her pause, Qingli looked at her curiously. “What’s wrong? Don’t you trust my abilities?”
Su Qingyue shook her head. “No, it’s not that. I’m just… a little worried.”
Qingli was puzzled. “Worried about what?”
Su Qingyue met her serious gaze and said, “A-Li, twenty years ago, someone read my fortune and said I had a natural phoenix fate. Now that I’m twenty-one and still unmarried, my parents are trying to marry me off to someone from a family with a chance to ascend the throne. But this isn’t what I want. The two marriage prospects I have now aren’t what I desire. A-Li, since you can read fortunes, can you tell me if there really is such a thing as a natural phoenix fate?”
Qingli looked at her in surprise. “Natural phoenix fate? Who read this for you?”
Su Qingyue replied, “It was Master Li Jiuhua from Jiuli Temple.”
Qingli furrowed her brows. So it was Li Jiuhua.
Qingli said seriously, “Qingyue, if you trust me, give me your birth details, and I’ll take a look for you.”
Su Qingyue naturally trusted her and quietly shared her birth details.
Qingli took out her compass and began to calculate Su Qingyue’s fate. However, she found it strange that she couldn’t see Su Qingyue’s destiny.
Furrowing her brow tightly, Qingli felt anxious; this had never happened before. She tried again, but it felt as if something was blocking her from seeing Su Qingyue’s fate. The harder she tried to look, the more her head ached.
Su Qingyue noticed the beads of sweat forming on Qingli’s forehead and how tightly she was frowning. She immediately grew worried but didn’t dare call out, only feeling anxious.
Determined, Qingli pushed through the obstruction and finally glimpsed Su Qingyue’s fate: it was indeed the natural phoenix fate. However, the phoenix bore signs of rebirth from flames, and while Su Qingyue’s fate was promising, it was fraught with challenges.
Before Qingli could finish her reading, she suddenly felt a sharp pain in her head, and in the next instant, she spat out a mouthful of blood, collapsing to the ground.
As she regained consciousness, she stared in astonishment at the blood she had coughed up.
Su Qingyue was taken aback, quickly getting up to check on her. “A-Li, what happened? Why did you suddenly vomit blood?”
Su Qingyue was almost in tears, looking at Qingli’s pale face, which was stained with blood. She felt an overwhelming sense of distress.
Qingli, still in shock, managed to say, “I… I think I was backlashed.”
She didn’t understand how she could have faced such a backlash.
Su Qingyue, confused by the term “backlash,” quickly asked, “What do you mean? A-Li, let me take you to see a doctor.”
As she spoke, Su Qingyue was about to call for help, but Qingli stopped her. “It’s fine, a doctor can’t help. I just need to rest for a bit.”
Qingli rummaged through her Qiankun bag and took out a bottle of pills. “Qingyue, help me open this. I just need to take one.”
Feeling weak, Qingli thought her body felt incredibly light.
Su Qingyue hurriedly opened the bottle and poured out a pill for her to take.
Filled with guilt, Su Qingyue said, “A-Li, is it because you read my fortune that you ended up like this?”
After taking the pill, Qingli felt her breathing ease and regained some strength.
She explained, “Backlash usually occurs for three reasons: one, if I violate the laws of heaven and attempt to read fortunes without enough merit; two, if I practice unorthodox techniques; and three, I cannot read fortunes for my close relatives. If I do, I will also face backlash.”
Upon hearing this, Su Qingyue immediately felt regret. She hadn’t known it would turn out like this.
No wonder Qingli suddenly started coughing up blood.
Su Qingyue felt extremely remorseful, her words tumbling out. “I’m so sorry! A-Li, I’m so sorry! It’s all my fault.”
Qingli smiled gently, trying to comfort her. “It’s alright; this backlash isn’t too severe. It’s just a minor injury. I find it quite strange, though. I’ve been accumulating merit since I was young, and I never exceed the limit—at most three readings. I don’t practice any unorthodox methods, so how could I face backlash? It can’t be because of you, can it?”
Su Qingyue felt a surge of guilt. “I… A-Li, I…”
Before she could finish her sentence, Qingli suddenly closed her eyes and fainted.
Su Qingyue was startled. “A-Li? A-Li?”
“Ziluo, come in quickly!”
Su Qingyue called out, and Ziluo and Yuzhu had already heard her earlier cries. Since Su Qingyue hadn’t called them in, they didn’t dare enter. But upon hearing her frantic call, they rushed in.
“Miss!”
Su Qingyue quickly said, “Hurry, A-Li has fainted! We need to take her to a doctor!”
Ziluo immediately lifted Qingli onto her back, and they hurried toward the medical clinic.
Meanwhile, the two individuals who had been following Qingli quickly reported back to the palace. When Nangong Yan received the news, he frowned, put down the memorial he was reading, and took the imperial physician with him as he discreetly left the palace.
After arriving at the clinic with Qingli, Su Qingyue immediately asked the doctor to examine her.
The doctor assessed Qingli and said that there was no immediate danger to her life, but she had lost a lot of vitality and blood, which would require extensive recuperation and nourishing medicines. He suggested using various expensive herbs for a full recovery, which could take up to three months.
Su Qingyue felt slightly relieved but was also filled with regret for putting Qingli through such suffering. How could she have let Qingli read her fortune?
Now, having caused Qingli’s body to be in such a weakened state, Su Qingyue couldn’t help but feel guilt and self-blame.
“Doctor, please write a prescription for her. Any expensive medicinal herbs are fine, just let my sister recover fully.”
The doctor went out to write the prescription, packaging the herbs he had on hand. For those he didn’t have, Su Qingyue would have to find them herself.
After receiving the herbs, Su Qingyue hesitated, wondering whether to take Qingli back to the inn or find another place to stay.
The inn was bustling with people, making it unsuitable for recuperation.
However, finding another place on such short notice would be challenging; they couldn’t simply buy a house and move in right away.
Just as she was torn about what to do, a man appeared before her. “Miss Su, our master requests your presence.”
Su Qingyue frowned and looked up at the man before her, only to be taken aback.
“Captain Jin?”
Heijin, one of the emperor’s personal guards, was well-known throughout Nanyang City; few didn’t recognize him.