Seeing that he was so insistent, the emperor did not press further.

He only warned Wen Yuesheng not to cause any more trouble before allowing them to leave the palace.

Wen Xun breathed a sigh of relief.

He had intended to reprimand Wen Yuesheng, but on their way out, Marquis had been following them.

His excitement was genuine, and he was truly grateful to Wen Yuesheng.

“Shall I have Yu Lin come and bow to the princess?”

Wen Yuesheng replied, “No need.”

“From now on, the princess will be the benefactor of the Marquis Zhongyong’s mansion, and your matters will be our concerns! When Yu Lin has recovered in a few days, I will bring my whole family to express our gratitude.”

Marquis Zhongyong accompanied them all the way to the palace gates.

Before Wen Yuesheng got into the carriage, he called out loudly, “If anyone dares to harm the princess in the future, they are going against the entire Marquis Zhongyong’s family. Be careful, princess, the roads are slippery.”

Wen Xun tugged at the corner of his mouth and glanced at Wen Yuesheng, who was already closing her eyes and playing with her prayer beads.

He finally kept quiet.

A few days later, Marquis Zhongyong really did bring Zhang Yulin to the palace to thank them.

Zhang Yulin was tall and sturdy, moving like a small mountain.

However, his personality was simple and honest.

As soon as he saw Wen Yuesheng, he immediately kneeled down and tried to bow to her.

Zhao Mama and Gu Yu hurriedly stepped aside, and after taking a few deep breaths, Gu Yu approached to help him up.

But he was so muscular that no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t budge him an inch

The weather was too hot, and Zhang Yulin was sweating heavily.

He took the handkerchief that Gu Yu handed him and smiled foolishly, saying, “Miss, don’t help me up, I can do it myself.”

With that, he stood up straight, and Gu Yu, an adult woman, looked like a child standing next to him.

Marquis Zhongyong looked on, both pleased and a bit melancholic. “He’s better now, but he’s twenty-one and still doesn’t know poetry, calligraphy, or even the basics of social interaction. We’ll have to teach him slowly.”

After being mentally challenged for many years, it was very difficult to make him seem like a normal person immediately.

Still, Marquis Zhongyong was extremely satisfied with how far he had come.

Wen Yuesheng stood by the pavilion.

In the scorching summer heat, she had no trace of sweat on her.

The wind lifted the strands of hair at her temples, and even her voice became lighter.

That day in the palace, she hadn’t taken a good look at Zhang Yulin.

But today, she noticed his appearance was about seventy or eighty percent similar to No. 9.

Before becoming Wen Yuesheng, she had been the No. 7 experiment in the “Slaughter All” laboratory in the apocalyptic world.

There were a total of 10,000 experimental subjects in the “Slaughter All” plan, and by the 277th year of the apocalypse, only four remained: No. 0, No. 4, herself, and No. 9.

Apart from her, the other three had all died in the Great Battle of Mountain, River, and Sea in 279.

No. 9 was 3.16 meters tall and weighed about 500 jin, like a moving cannon mountain.

However, after many years of fierce battles, zombies and viruses had constantly evolved. Even beings like No. 9, with innate strength, couldn’t contend with the advanced zombies in the battle.

No. 9 finally fell in a sea of corpses and blood, and when his body was found, most of his flesh had been eaten away, and his face was unrecognizable.

Clink—the sandalwood prayer beads in Wen Yuesheng’s hand broke with a sound.

The round, smooth beads scattered on the ground, and those beside her were momentarily stunned.

But she seemed unaware and said softly, “The heir of the Marquis Zhongyong has great strength. If the Duke intends to cultivate him, he should learn martial arts.”

No. 9 had been a specially engineered body created in the laboratory, with physical abilities far beyond ordinary humans, but Zhang Yulin was not comparable.

However, this was no longer the apocalyptic world.

When Marquis Zhongyong left, his expression was especially cheerful.

News spread quickly in the capital, and the matter of the Marquis Zhongyong’s “idiotic” heir returning to normal caused quite a stir for several days.

Since this was related to Wen Yuesheng, people couldn’t help but think of her habit of worshiping Buddha.

This led to an increase in people visiting the Tianci Temple lately.

Many families in the capital also started keeping Buddhist statues in their homes.

Wen Xun had previously thought it strange to keep a large Buddha statue at home, but after hearing the rumors in the capital, he began to reconsider.

A few days later, the Princess’ residence became busy.

When Zhao Mama went out to receive the monthly allowance, she learned what had happened.

“So, the master plans to bring a Buddha statue into the second young lady’s courtyard for worship?” Gu Yu said indignantly, “When the princess wanted to bring a Buddha statue home, the master was unwilling. Now, look at this!”

Zhao Mama quickly said, “Shh, be quiet. If the princess finds out, who knows what kind of fuss she’ll make.”

“I heard it’s to pray for the second young lady’s health. The master and mistress personally went to the Tianci Temple, but since the temple is unwilling to give up the big Buddha, they donated a large sum of incense money and brought back a jade Buddha statue that had been in the temple for years.”

“I also heard from a monk that it’s best if someone of high status lights the first incense at home to ensure the safety of the second young lady.”

“Master personally went to the manor and invited the Duke of Zhen to light the first incense stick,” Zhao Momo said in a low voice. “Now, people outside are saying that our Princess’s luck has changed because of her belief in Buddhism.”

“This is such a ridiculous matter. I thought the Duke of Zhen would never agree to it, but unexpectedly, he did.”

Now, except for the side courtyard, the whole manor is busy with this event.

Fearing that Wen Yue Sheng might feel dissatisfied and cause a scene, everyone kept it from her.

But such a thing is not easy to hide.

Early this morning, when Zhao Momo went out, she saw the carriage of the Duke of Zhen, and even the King of Yong’an had arrived.

With such a commotion, even if Wen Yuesheng didn’t want to know, it was impossible for her not to notice.

Wen Xun had gone too far with this, and not only Gu Yu, but even Zhao Momo felt quite uncomfortable.

But Wen Yuesheng’s expression remained unchanged, and she didn’t ask about it at all.

As usual, Wen Yuesheng went to the quiet pavilion to meditate.

Zhao Momo, feeling uneasy, went to the front yard to gather information, with only Gu Yu staying by Wen Yuesheng’s side.

August was the hottest month, but today a breeze had picked up.

Gu Yu worried about Wen Yuesheng catching a chill, so she went back to the side courtyard to fetch a robe.

The quiet pavilion wasn’t far from the side courtyard, and it was even closer to the manor’s garden.

The view here was excellent, with green trees providing plenty of shade, making it a great spot for cooling off in summer.

It had always been used as a gazebo.

Today, the Duke of Zhen was invited, and Wen Yurou, as the host, naturally had to entertain the Wei siblings and the King of Yong’an.

The Buddhist rituals were complicated, and there was also a high monk presiding over the ceremony.

The yard was too crowded, so Wen Yurou led them to the manor’s garden to take a stroll.

After entering the garden, she suddenly remembered the quiet pavilion.

She instructed a servant to bring a chess set, as she intended to play a game with Xiao Jin in the pavilion.

Xiao Jin was always willing to comply with Wen Yurou’s requests.

However, when they arrived, they didn’t expect anyone to be in the pavilion.

Seeing that the pavilion had curtains hanging around it, they thought the servants had set it up in advance for them to rest there.

Wen Yurou was holding Wei Lanzhi’s arm, walking behind and chatting about some private matters.

Xiao Jin walked ahead with Wei Lanzhi’s older brother, Wei Hengzhi.

Wei Hengzhi, the legitimate eldest son of the Duke of Zhen, had grown up with Xiao Jin.

After entering the court, he often worked on matters for Xiao Jin.

The two were discussing official business as they reached the pavilion.

When Wei Hengzhi reached out to open the curtain, Xiao Jin furrowed his brows.

He noticed that the plaque on the pavilion had been changed.

As he got closer, he saw that it was the character (calm).

The strokes were bold and full of an overwhelming murderous aura.

It was the kind of handwriting that, once seen, one would never forget.

Just as Xiao Jin was about to remind him, Wei Hengzhi had already opened the curtain.

The blue curtains fluttered in the breeze, and the faint scent of sandalwood filled the air, creating an extremely cold atmosphere.

Wen Yuesheng was sitting cross-legged in a moon-white dress, her hair unbound, one leg crossed over the other knee.

Her hands rested on her knees in an unusual seated posture.

Xiao Jin immediately recognized this as the half-lotus position, a Buddhist meditation posture, as he had once stayed with the empress dowager in the royal temple for half a year.

Wen Yuesheng was actually meditating here.

Wei Hengzhi also recognized Wen Yuesheng, but he had a very poor impression of her. He frowned and thought she had received the news and was waiting here on purpose.

Just then, Gu Yu hurried over and, upon seeing so many people gathered here, was startled.

Without caring to greet anyone, she quickly entered the pavilion and draped the robe she had brought over Wen Yuesheng’s shoulders.

“Why is the Princess here?” Wei Hengzhi asked coldly.

Wen Yuesheng opened her eyes and looked directly into his eyes.

For a moment, when their gazes met, Wei Hengzhi’s expression changed slightly.

Her deep, ink-black eyes seemed endless.

“Medicating. Can’t you see?” Wen Yuesheng replied expressionlessly.

Wei Hengzhi paused.

He had seen what happened just now, but he didn’t think Wen Yuesheng was the type of person who could meditate peacefully and respectfully.

Just as he was about to speak, there was a commotion outside.

“It’s Xia Zhi!” Gu Yu quickly said.

Xia zhi was the servant(maid) who had arrived on Wen Yuesheng’s first day and had blocked her from entering the room several times.

Xia zhi, hearing the noise, ignored the obstruction and entered the pavilion. “Princess! I have something to report!”

Wen Yuesheng stood up and walked outside the pavilion, only to see Xia zhi looking disheveled, her clothes stained with dirt, and her hair damp with sweat.

“What’s the matter?”

When Xia zhi saw so many people gathered, including the King of Yong’an, her face changed.

However, she gritted her teeth and said, “Just now, when neither the Princess nor Zhao Momo was in the yard, a few servants from the front yard came and, without explanation, took away the purple jade incense burner from in front of the Buddha statue in the study.”

“I couldn’t stop them, and the leader, Wang Shun, even shoved me. I had to watch them steal the incense burner!” Summerzhi’s face was full of anger.

Xia zhi was originally from Lady Chen’s courtyard and later assigned to serve Wen Yue Sheng. Because of Lady Chen, Wen Yue Sheng disliked her, making her do menial chores in the courtyard despite being a senior maid.

She resented Wen Yuesheng deeply and had been dissatisfied for some time.

However, in recent days, Wen Yue Sheng seemed to have changed.

Ever since Gu Yu was saved last time, she had been serving Wen Yuesheng and had gradually gained favor.

In contrast, Xia zhi’s situation had worsened, as she was casually assigned to clean the study by Zhao Momo.

Xia zhi was now extremely panicked.

The incense burner in Wen Yuesheng’s courtyard was not an ordinary one.

It had been left by Princess Hui Yi, and although Wen Yuesheng had once been impulsive and broken many ornaments, she had never touched the incense burner.

Now that it was taken away, she would likely be blamed for dereliction of duty.

Xia zhi couldn’t shake the feeling that Wen Yuesheng’s personality had changed drastically and that she was no longer the same person.

She felt an innate fear toward Wen Yuesheng now, which is why she rushed into the pavilion to report the matter.