She recognized him.

The young monk, sitting quietly behind the Buddha statue, stood tall and straight, his white robes spotless, as if bathed in the radiance of the moon.

Importantly, he had an extremely handsome face, but because he was in a secluded place of meditation, it was difficult for people to look directly at him.

Except for Xin Jiuwei. The teenage girl held the fortune slip in her hand, mustered her courage, and looked directly into those cold, deep eyes.

"Master Jueming, do you not know how to interpret divination slips?"

"Or is it because I drew the worst possible lot that the holy monk also felt it was unlucky?"

Jueming finally spoke, his voice clear and crisp: "How did you know it was such a bad omen?"

Xin Jiuwei's voice was tinged with melancholy: "Of course, I'm never that lucky."

Jueming twirled the prayer beads in his hand and said, "If your heart is not sincere, you will naturally not draw a good fortune. No matter how I interpret it, it will not be as you wish. You might as well go home early."

After hearing what he said, Xin Jiuwei fell silent.

Only the faint sound of wind could be heard inside the hall.

Xin Jiuwei's eyes flickered slightly, and her expression immediately changed. She knelt helplessly on the empty prayer mat, a pitiful look on her fair face.

"Holy monk, you saw what I just did, didn't you?"

"You don't know this, I really didn't mean to play a prank. The horse owner is a spoiled brat who came here today to force my sister to marry him..."

"The young girl lost her mother at a young age and is in dire straits. She has no other choice but to let his horse go, which was just a way to vent her anger. Holy Monk, please have pity on me and don't tell anyone..."

She acted so convincingly that she was afraid Jueming wouldn't hear her clearly, so she unconsciously leaned forward as she spoke.

Jueming slightly turned his body to the side. "Please rise, benefactor."

He spoke politely and courteously, but Xin Jiuwei keenly caught the displeasure that flashed in his eyes. Only then did she realize that she was standing a little too close, so she quickly stood up.

Xin Jiuwei was also a little flustered for a moment, but she forced herself to calm down.

"If the master doesn't interpret it for me, how can I know that this divination slip won't go as I wish?"

Jueming said, "Your obsession is too deep, and you are too rigid and easily broken."

"What do you mean?" Xin Jiuwei asked, biting her lip. "Just because I insist on interpreting this very unlucky fortune?"

Jueming stopped speaking.

The sandalwood incense wafted into her nostrils, and Xin Jiuwei seemed to hear the chanting of other monks in the distance.

Outside the hall, the sky was clearly clear, yet she felt as if she had returned to that rainy night in her past life, when she had drawn the worst possible fortune in front of Jueming. She was momentarily dazed.

“Master, what qualifies as an obsession?” Xin Jiuwei’s tone softened. “What if I just want to do what I should do?”

Jueming closed his eyes, showing neither sorrow nor joy: "Since you claim to be in a difficult situation, how should you proceed?"

Xin Jiuwei smiled gently, raising her slender neck like a small flower swaying in the wind and rain.

"Holy Monk, have you never been forced into a corner?"

Before Jueming could answer, she bent down and took the fortune slip back from his hand, saying softly, "If you had met me at that time, I would never have been as heartless as you."

Having said that, she left as lightly and silently as she had come.

Jueming slowly stopped spinning the prayer beads in his hand. He bent down and picked up the divination tube that Xin Jiuwei had left aside.

Xin Jiuwei walked faster and faster until she could no longer see the Great Compassion Hall when she turned around, then stopped and breathed a sigh of relief.

Unexpectedly, I actually met Jueming so soon!

The youngest enlightened monk in Yingzhou, even Xin Jiuwei's father, the head of the Xin family, had to show him some respect.

What Xin Jiuwei fears, however, is the other party's currently unknown identity.

She walked to an ancient tree and touched its withered trunk with trembling hands.

Jueming, Jueming, was merely the shortest-lived name that man ever used in his life.

A few years later, this young high monk will take off his kasaya, don a yellow robe, and wield immense power.

The holy monk Jueming was actually the sixth son of the current emperor, the one in his previous life who enabled Qi Huaiyu to gain favor with the emperor and make Qi Huaiyu a hot commodity in the capital.

The new emperor, Xiao Xun.

Xin Jiuwei's trembling was no longer due to nervousness, but excitement.

She met Xiao Xun before Qi Huaiyu!

Qi Huaiyu disliked Xin Jiuwei the most because she was weak and useless, so why couldn't she follow Qi Huaiyu's example from her previous life and climb up to the Sixth Prince?

She wanted to show Qi Huaiyu that even the most useless and weak young lady could actually cut off his lifeline!

Xin Jiuwei calmed herself down and went to the main hall to find her sister. Just as she arrived at the door, she heard Madam Xie scolding Xie Changjing.

"Jing'er, how can you speak to Miss Xin like that!"

Inside the side hall, several people stood up. Xin Xiyao stood beside a table, holding a thin brush in her hand, which was for drawing, but she didn't move at the moment, and her expression was somewhat unpleasant.

Xie Changjing stood far away on the other side, looking disdainful.

Xin Jiuwei had just stepped one foot inside when she heard him say:

"Who doesn't know that Miss Xin is melancholic and jealous? So what if she's a good painter? With such a sharp temper, if I can't appreciate your masterpiece in the future, I'm afraid I'll end up in a lot of trouble."

Madam Xie was furious and slapped him hard. "It was I who asked Miss Xin to paint a picture of Buddha to show our sincerity today. Why are you saying such impolite things?"

Xie Changjing scoffed, "Mother, I've heard everything. She's no pushover, and she's incredibly arrogant. Asking her to paint is just playing into her hands."

“I, Xie Changjing, am not very learned and cannot understand a woman of great talent. Miss Xin, you might as well give up your ambitions and go find a family where you don’t need to be a wife and mother.”

He kept calling her a talented woman, but it was all sarcastic, which made Xin Jiuwei furious!

Xie Changjing is tall and strong, but he's actually stupid. He was influenced by Qi Huaiyu's words and developed a bad impression of Xin Xiyao. He even publicly humiliated the eldest daughter of the Xin family!

Xin Xiyao's face was very unpleasant. She was proud and had never been good at arguing with others, but she suppressed her temper because of the marriage proposal.

At this moment, Xie Changjing was mocking him to his very face, and he was so angry that he couldn't speak.

Xie Changjing became even more disdainful: "Mother, let's go back. I will not marry her."

Xin Jiuwei composed herself, lifted her skirt, and stepped into the hall. "Thank you for your joking, Third Brother. Our two families have a long-standing friendship. It's just a normal thing for my sister to accompany my aunt to offer incense. There's no question of whether she'll marry or not."