The next morning, the court session began.

As expected, the court was in an uproar. Prime Minister Cui was so angry that he wanted to retire on the spot, and several elderly censors even wanted to bang their heads against a pillar.

The emperor was so angry that he turned and left, claiming illness and refusing to attend court.

The court officials knelt in the Zichen Hall. The bewitching Consort Xi bewitched them and begged the emperor to rescind the imperial decree, obey the will of heaven, and banish them to the Cold Palace.

Another group of court officials were determined to find Marquis Fuyu.

Consort Xi came from the Jin family. Regardless of whether she was a true member of the Jin family or not, in their eyes, she was just a family of lowly merchants. Her elevation to the rank of Consort was already the ultimate honor.

They even dared to covet the position of Imperial Noble Consort.

With the Empress still alive, the merchant's daughter was promoted to Imperial Noble Consort. This was not only a slap in the face to the Empress and Lady Cui, but also an insult to the dignity of all the noble families, princes, and court officials.

This was not only an open struggle between the imperial concubine and the empress, but also a covert battle between aristocratic families and merchants.

Who knew—

Marquis Fuyu took sick leave early in the morning.

He sent a memorial directly and set off to guard the iron mine, taking all the able-bodied men and boys from his household with him.

Only the elderly, women, and children remained in the mansion.

This caused the ministers to jump up and down outside the gates of the wealthy Marquis's residence, but they were helpless. The only person in charge was the First-Rank Imperial Lady, who was taking care of the Imperial Noble Consort in the South Palace.

Before they even stepped into the South Hall, they were thrown out by several buckets of foot-washing water.

Then... someone else thought of the Yiren Mansion next to the Fuyu Marquis's Mansion.

Knock on the gate of the mansion.

I only found out that Yiren had gone to inspect the Jin family's shops. The Jin family owns many shops, and she would be back at any time.

As for the princess?

I went out early in the morning with the twelfth young lady of the General's Mansion.

White Horse Temple.

Jiang Jiaojiao gasped for breath, "You...you slow down."

"No, we absolutely must light the first incense of the day! To get rid of all the bad luck!"

Luo Twelve said indignantly, "Do you think that Brahma King is crazy? Why doesn't he just give up being a proper Buddhist disciple and insist on becoming some kind of national teacher? And he just spouts nonsense and talks rubbish!"

"The Empress Dowager herself bestowed this marriage upon my thirteenth brother, yet he claims that our horoscopes are incompatible and the wedding date needs to be postponed. He even said that my thirteenth brother's marriage will be after mine?"

"My mother is so afraid that the marriage might fall through. Yesterday, she sent out eighteen invitations in a row, as if she wanted to invite every young man in the capital. It's terrifying!"

Luo Shier was furious.

Jiang Jiaojiao frowned as she listened. This Brahma King was truly extraordinary. In her previous life... Luo Twelve's marriage did indeed precede that of the Thirteenth Prince.

However, that man was not a good one, and after marriage, his family almost tormented Xiao Twelve to death.

Later I learned that the person was a man of Prince Jing, and all the coincidences and chance encounters were part of a conspiracy.

"Hurry, hurry—we're almost there!"

Luo Shier grabbed Jiang Jiaojiao and leaped up, rushing towards the temple.

suddenly--

A person rushed out from the side path, and the two almost collided. Fortunately, Jiang Jiaojiao reacted quickly and grabbed him, thus avoiding a collision.

The man missed his target and fell to the ground.

Before she could even get up, she started apologizing incessantly, "I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry, are you alright, Miss?"

Jiang Jiaojiao recognized the person at a glance, and her eyes widened instantly. It was exactly what she had hoped for!

She quickly blocked Xiao Twelve's view and shouted, "Thief!"

These words were spoken.

Luo Shier's eyes widened, and she drew her soft whip. Before even seeing the face clearly, she lashed out with the whip, shouting, "Thief, take this whip from me!"

"ah--"

The man was by nature a weak scholar.

Unable to withstand the whip, he was sent flying on the spot, rolling down the hillside... accompanied by a shrill scream and the sound of bones breaking as he hit the rocks.

Luo Shier was about to give chase, but Jiang Jiaojiao grabbed her arm.

"Don't go. Aren't you going to be the first to offer incense?"

"Qiu Xiang, go."

"yes."

Qiu Xiang obeyed and leaped down, her skills no less than Luo Twelve's.

Seeing this, Luo Shier felt relieved and quickly pulled Jiang Jiaojiao towards the temple, his eyes never lingering on the slope below.

Jiang Jiaojiao secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Prince Jing was indeed persistent and arranged for someone to arrange another chance encounter... Luckily, she reacted quickly!

The two walked quickly and finally managed to be the first to offer incense.

After offering incense.

The two ate a vegetarian meal in the backyard, but Luo Shier's anger could not be quelled, so he took his bow and arrows and went into the mountains to hunt for prey to vent his frustration.

Jiang Jiaojiao led Shiliu and Ayuan to enjoy the flowers and scenery, and they walked all the way to the Half-Mountain Pavilion.

As soon as I stepped into the pavilion, I saw a figure standing gracefully. The person was dressed in a monk's robe, but had long hair. He was holding a string of Buddhist prayer beads in his hand and closing his eyes to meditate.

Is anyone there?

Jiang Jiaojiao frowned and turned to leave.

A faint, ethereal voice suddenly sounded from behind, "It is fate that we met, Princess, please wait."

Jiang Jiaojiao suddenly turned around.

Gazing at the monk, two words came to mind: Brahma.

The monk opened his eyes, his gaze piercing straight at Jiang Jiaojiao, who felt a chill run down her spine, as if the person before her had seen right through her.

"Brahma."

Jiang Jiaojiao called out his identity.

"Princess, have you heard? The will of Heaven cannot be defied."

Brahma said the same words he had spoken to King Ding that day, looking towards the steps of the White Horse Temple: "A predestined marriage cannot be defied."

Jiang Jiaojiao's expression changed. "Did you bring this person?"

"It's just following the will of Heaven."

"hehe--"

Jiang Jiaojiao laughed angrily, "Does obeying fate mean I have to watch my sisters walk into the lion's den? Is your so-called fate only yours?"

Brahma's voice was hollow.

"Do you know that the will of Heaven cannot be defied? Those who defy it will face the collapse of mountains and rivers and chaos throughout the world."

“You are not from this place, so you should go back to where you are.”

Jiang Jiaojiao felt as if an invisible hand was gripping her heart tightly. "Where am I going? Heh, is Brahma here to take my life today?"

"Your life shouldn't have ended by my hand."

"Heh... So what? I should end my own life for your so-called destiny?"

"What chaos in the world? Why should our lives, my family and friends, be sacrificed for your peace and tranquility!"

"Aren't our lives lives too?"

Jiang Jiaojiao's eyes turned red with anger.

What a wonderful way to follow the will of Heaven!

Is this a way to make her die as recklessly as she did in her previous life, to benefit those so-called victors?

A moment of distraction flashed across Brahma's usually impassive face.

But it was only for a moment before he regained his compassionate expression. If you ignored the pity on his face, his face actually... looked just like Prince Jing.

Jiang Jiaojiao suddenly laughed, "Is it destiny? Or selfishness?"

"Why is Prince Jing the chosen one? And we are defying fate?"

"Take our lives if you want them! We won't hand them over!"

A flash of anger crossed Brahma's face.

"An ant trying to shake a tree!"

"Then let's give it a shot. Either way, we'll just die. What if it's a rotten, withered tree?"

"Incomprehensible!"

"Heh... Now that I've come here, how can I be sure it's not destiny? Destiny is hard to defy, Brahma... which destiny will you choose?"

As soon as Jiang Jiaojiao said this.

The expression on Brahma's face finally changed. He looked at Jiang Jiaojiao, and after a few breaths, he once again showed that compassionate expression, "If you are willing to convert to Buddhism, there may be a glimmer of hope for your life."

"Otherwise...those who come near you will surely suffer a backlash."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Jiaojiao almost burst into a tirade of curses. This guy, having failed to entice her to commit suicide, was now trying to force her to become a nun.