Yan Ling looked at the person beside him.

Her robes were subtly tinged with sandalwood scent, a fragrance typically used in temples to calm the mind and focus one’s spirit.

Yet, the scent on her was laced with a hint of sweetness, and the delicate red thread on her slender neck was faintly visible, resembling a symbol of both devotion and desecration.

Yan Ling’s gaze lowered slightly, his voice quiet but clear. “People in this world seek out gods and pray for two main reasons: to atone for their sins or to make wishes.”

“Or perhaps both.”

He paused, then added, “The princess is different from others.”

More than just different.

Their voices were low enough that Zhao Mama and the others couldn’t hear, but Yan Ling’s retinue was composed of exceptional individuals, and they heard Wen Yuesheng’s words clearly.

One of them involuntarily flinched, recalling the day a bodyguard accompanying Yan Ling had nearly thought the princess harbored murderous intent.

Now, looking at her, those words didn’t seem so exaggerated.

“I wonder,” Yan Ling spoke slowly, “Does the princess still intend to kill me today?”

The summer heat paused for a moment, and Wen Yuesheng met his gaze—empty, emotionless eyes.

His appearance was breathtaking, but his eyes were shrouded in mist, making it seem as if there were thousands of mountains separating him from the person in front of him.

“However.” Wen Yuesheng’s eyes were as dark as night, her voice light yet carrying a hint of cold fragrance. “You’re bringing a bloodstained sword into the temple.”

“Lord Yan, that’s sacrilege.”

Yan Ling’s eyes flickered slightly, then shifted to her neck.

His gaze fixed on the porcelain-white skin, where a fiery lotus flower bloomed, red and glaring.

“Lord Yan.” Xiao Jin walked over quickly, his attendant’s voice sharp and commanding.

Yan Ling turned his head, meeting Xiao Jin’s deep, shadowed eyes. “The palace banquet is about to begin. Why are you still here?”

He then looked at Wen Yueheng. “The Empress Dowager wishes to see you.”

Yan Ling paused, and Xiao Jin gave a slight nod, signaling Wen Yuesheng to follow.

Yan Ling remained still until their figures disappeared down the long palace path before he turned and began to walk away.

His servant softly asked, “Master, should we head to the banquet?”

Yan Ling’s tone was cold. “Return to the residence.”

The person he needed to meet had already been seen.

Meanwhile, Xiao Jin had originally planned for the palace attendants to take Wen Yuesheng to Cining Palace, but as they walked, Wen Yuesheng was oddly silent.

She no longer tried to engage him in conversation or acted in her usual playful manner.

The only thing that lingered was the faint sandalwood fragrance around her.

Xiao Jin’s gaze darkened as his thoughts deepened, and soon they had entered Cining Palace.

The Empress Dowager had long been devoted to Buddhism, and the palace was filled with sandalwood incense.

However, upon entering the hall, Xiao Jin felt that the incense here was overpoweringly strong, nothing like the subtle calming scent that clung to Wen Yueheng.

Once they entered, the attendants went to summon the Empress Dowager.

The Empress Dowager entered wearing a dark palace gown, holding a jade Buddha bead in one hand while lightly resting the other on an attendant’s shoulder.

As soon as she stepped into the hall, her gaze immediately fell upon Wen Yuesheng.

Due to old grievances with Wen Yuesheng’s mother, Princess Huiyi, the Empress Dowager had never held Wen Yuesheng in high regard.

However, she remembered that the princess had once been nothing more than a headstrong and capricious young girl.

But now…

“Please, have a seat.” The Empress Dowager’s gaze softened slightly as she looked at the two of them, especially because her beloved grandson Xiao Jin was present. “It’s been a while since I’ve seen Jin’er.”

The Empress Dowager’s hair had turned slightly gray, but her eyes still held a sharpness that reminded one of the imposing presence she had in the late emperor’s palace.

“Grandson is unfilial.” Xiao Jin said.

The Empress Dowager waved her hand dismissively and instructed the attendants, “Bring the Buddhist scriptures.”

Soon, the attendants presented a copy of the Buddhist scriptures that had been written by Wen Yuesheng herself.

But this was not the simple, casual piece she had once written on rice paper.

Now, the scriptures had been neatly bound and preserved carefully.

The attendant opened the scriptures and pointed to one page.

Before this, Xiao Jin, despite spending so much time in the palace, had never seen these famed scriptures. As he gazed at them now, he was momentarily stunned.

The paper was ordinary, even somewhat coarse, nothing like the high-quality rice paper favored by the noble families of the capital.

But the moment he looked at the scriptures, there was no way he could call them ordinary.

What stood out most were the characters.

The capital was filled with talented calligraphers, and Xiao Jin had seen his share of remarkable handwriting in the court. But even in the entire court, it would be hard to find anyone who could write like this.

The characters were strong and vigorous, like iron brush strokes.

Most striking of all was the overwhelming killing intent that seemed to permeate the strokes, the momentum so fierce that it was hard to believe these were Buddhist scriptures.

It was more like a series of brutal, blood-soaked words.

“The first time I saw this Buddhist scripture, I almost thought it was written by a great monk.” The Empress Dowager was clearly enamored with the scriptures. She looked at Wen Yueheng with a touch of surprise. “I didn’t expect it was written by you yourself.”

“However, there is one part of the scripture that is incomplete. I called you here today to have you complete it,” the Empress Dowager said, her voice trailing off as attendants brought out a desk with ink and brushes.

Zhao Mama realized at once that this wasn’t just about completing the scripture—it was a test.

The Empress Dowager clearly wanted to confirm whether this scripture had truly been written by Wen Yuesheng.

Xiao Jin understood the unspoken message as well.

The last time he had seen Wen Yuesheng’s writing was years ago when he complimented Wen Yuruo’s beautiful calligraphy.

Wen Yuesheng had spent some time practicing and then showed off her writing to him.

Unfortunately, her handwriting had lacked both form and spirit, soft and weak, not even comparable to one of the maids in his household who had some skill with the pen.

She had always been like this—spending several days and then daring to claim it was intense practice.

Looking at the scene before her, the handwriting was indeed drastically different.

The Buddhist scripture written that day was indeed missing a few characters.

This led to her still holding the Buddhist beads that had been consecrated before the Buddha, yet her murderous intent was overwhelming.

Later, she took the white jade Buddha head, tied with a red cord, and wore it around her neck.

“Prepare the water,” Wen Yuesheng said.

The palace servant was stunned, looking up at the Empress Dowager.

After receiving a nod, they brought forward a copper basin filled with clear water.

Wen Yuesheng washed her hands and took the new silk handkerchief from the servant to dry them.

“Burn incense.”

The Empress Dowager paid her respects to the Buddha, and the hall filled with sandalwood fragrance.

A palace servant took a stick of incense and lit it on the desk.

She only wrote a few characters, yet had so many requests.

Had this been a normal day, Xiao Jin would surely have been impatient.

But she moved as smoothly as flowing water, and the same sandalwood scent, once it touched her, transformed into that faint and aloof fragrance.

For a brief moment, Xiao Jin even felt that the person before him was truly in the act of paying respects to the Buddha.

The servant prepared the ink, and Wen Yuesheng dipped her brush in it.

She picked up the brush and wrote directly on the already bound Buddhist scripture.

Seeing this, the servants were astonished.

The desk was laid with high-quality rice paper, and the Empress Dowager’s intent was to have her write first on the paper, but she had instead gone straight to the scripture.

It was too late for reminders.

The Empress Dowager’s expression darkened slightly as she stood and watched.

On the paper, the murderous intent was overwhelming, and the final stroke seemed to split the paper in two like a sharp sword.

The Empress Dowager’s face turned pale, and she immediately clutched her chest and took a step back.

The servant behind her rushed to support her, but she seemed delighted and exclaimed, “It’s like a miracle! Good!”

Wen Yuesheng had already set down her brush and dipped her hands back into the cold water.

Xiao Jin’s eyes, as deep as the ocean, quietly watched her.

She seemed… different from before.

The servant cleared the desk, and the Empress Dowager treated the completed scripture as a treasure.

Wen Yuesheng gently wiped her hands, for after the scripture was written, it no longer served her purpose.

“Go, bring my jade Buddha beads to the Princess,” the Empress Dowager said, her eyes growing more eager. “When Sining has free time, she should come to the palace and accompany me more often.”

Wen Yuesheng lowered her eyes and didn’t respond.

The Empress Dowager, absorbed in her joy over the completed scripture, didn’t notice.

After giving the beads to Wen Yuesheng, she dismissed them.

After leaving Cining Palace, Xiao Jin noticed that Wen Yuesheng had no intention of wearing the jade Buddha beads.

She only glanced at them before having the servant close the jeweled box.

The jade Buddha beads were something the Empress Dowager treasured, and no one in the palace had ever seen them.

The Empress Dowager had now gifted them to her, but she didn’t show much reaction.

Had it been before, she probably would have worn them immediately, showing them off at the palace banquet.

Xiao Jin looked at her porcelain-white profile and suddenly asked, “When did you learn to write such exquisite and unparalleled characters?”

This was the most gentle Xiao Jin had ever been with Wen Yuesheng.

The people following behind her were all surprised.

But she, having changed into a new silk handkerchief to dry her hands, did not even raise her head as she replied, “Perhaps in a dream.”

With that, she took a step and left.

Xiao Jin’s gaze shifted, but he did not ask further, following her behind.

The palace servants led them to the palace banquet.

The afternoon heat grew even more intense, so the banquet was moved to a lakeside palace.

All the windows were open, allowing them to admire the lotus flowers while avoiding the summer heat, making it a perfect spot to cool off.

Yet, neither the people inside nor outside the palace had expected Wen Yue Sheng to be with Xiao Jin.

Rumors about Wen Yue Sheng’s Buddhist practices had already spread throughout the capital, but no one had expected that when she appeared again, it would seem as though she had become a completely different person.

Before Wen Yue Sheng’s arrival, the Empress had been struck with a sudden illness, and the servants had summoned Wei Lan Zhi and Wen Yu Ruo to attend to her, without even mentioning Wen Yue Sheng.

Many still thought that she hadn’t come to the palace that day.

But the fact that Wen Yue Sheng was no longer favored wasn’t a new matter. The Empress’s neglect of her was natural. What was strange was that Xiao Jin had actually accompanied her.

Inside and outside the palace, people whispered, and just as Xiao Jin was about to enter, a palace servant hurried over.

“Prince!” the servant said in a panic. “Miss Wen has had an argument with Princess Furuo, and the princess is furious. She wants to punish Miss Wen!”

Xiao Jin’s expression darkened, and he coldly asked, “Didn’t she go to serve the Empress? How could she run into Furuo?”

Princess Furuo was born to Consort Duan, the same mother as Xiao Jin’s eldest half-brother.

She was also the Emperor’s first daughter, spoiled since childhood and quite unruly.

The servant hesitated, “…They crossed paths while taking a detour around the Imperial Garden, and Princess Furuo detained Miss Wen, not allowing her to leave.”

Before he finished speaking, another palace servant rushed over, greeted Xiao Jin, and anxiously reported, “Prince, Princess Furuo has punished Miss Wen to stand under the scorching sun. Miss Wen couldn’t bear it and fainted!”

Xiao Jin’s eyes instantly turned cold, and he ordered, “Lead the way!”