Chapter 2: How Can the World Grant Both Bliss (2)

Chapter 2: How Can the World Grant Both Bliss (2)

Zhen Shan lowered her long, dense lashes, concealing the amusement in her eyes. This was one of the hundred gods she was supposed to "assist."

A monk?

Falling in love?

Wouldn't that mean dragging him from his pristine lotus pedestal into the tumultuous mortal world?

Truly a calamity!

But, how intriguing.

The Empress's mood was exceptionally good; even the discomfort brought on by this dilapidated body was disregarded.

"Master Wuchen, please come take a look at my young miss," the maid wiped her tears and made way for him.

"May Buddha forgive me, I have been disrespectful!"

Wuchen kept his gaze straight, not diverting his eyes to the fragile beauty on the bed, delicate as a breeze and vulnerable as glass.

Zhen Shan's beautiful eyes flickered slightly as she observed the pure and courteous young monk before her. She felt no hint of disturbance in the crystal heart depicted on the Scroll of Divine Ascension.

Tsk, as expected of an incarnation of a true god, devoid of emotions and desires.

Empress Zhen Shan commented inwardly, Little monk, you've successfully caught my attention.

Zhen Shan softly coughed and extended a fair wrist, its skin like porcelain, snowy and flawless, so delicate it seemed it could break at a touch.

A maid placed a handkerchief over Zhen Shan's hand, and only then did Wuchen lay his fingers on her pulse.

The serene and compassionate monk sighed gently, "Patron, do not force what cannot be had. You must learn to let go."

Zhen Shan covered her lips with a sob, "What once belonged to me was taken away by another, leaving me to linger in this world with a broken body."

"Miss..." The maid looked at her mistress with concern.

"Enough is enough. Having died once before, what difference does it make if I demean myself further?"

With that, Zhen Shan gently closed her eyes, a teardrop shimmering on her eyelashes, suspended in mid-air, evoking an overwhelming sense of pity.

Of course, the one filled with compassion was the young maid by her side. Clenching her teeth, she wished to tear apart the one who had brought such suffering upon her mistress.

Wuchen, on the other hand, clasped his hands together and chanted a Buddhist mantra, devoid of sorrow or joy, his demeanor serene and detached.

"Wuchen, my lady..."

"Patron Zhen is troubled and her organs are obstructed. Earlier, she was unable to catch her breath, which led to her fainting. Now that she's awakened, there should be no major issues. I'll prescribe some medicine. Take it diligently and refrain from overthinking and worrying. Her health will gradually improve."

"In that case, I trouble you, Wuchen."

"Patron, please don't mention it."

"Miss, rest well first. I'll fetch the medicine with Wuchen."

"Mm."

Wuchen nodded subtly, entering like a gentle breeze and leaving with composure, leaving not a trace behind.

What a serene and detached monk, steadfast in his adherence to the rules of solitude.

Yet, could the Buddha in his heart truly hinder the workings of fate?

...

Once the room had settled into silence, the Empress Demon's furrowed brow from her excruciating pain eased considerably.

Who could have imagined that while the Empress was probing the mission target, she was simultaneously merging with the memories of the original owner?

She had endured all sorts of excruciating tortures in the eighteen hells without revealing any pain on her face; naturally, the discomfort of assimilating memories was insignificant in comparison.

With grace, Zhen Shan turned over and sorted through the recollections of her original self in her mind.

The original Zhen Shan was also named Zhen Shan, the legitimate second daughter of Liang Kingdom's Minister of Revenue, Zhen Wanjiang. Her mother hailed from the once-prosperous Shang family, a prominent merchant clan.

Her mother had originally been Zhen Wanjiang's first wife. But after the Shang family declined, Zhen Wanjiang, driven by ambition for power, secretly became involved with Zhu, the daughter of an imperial cousin.

Subsequently, Zhen Wanjiang, due to his original wife's failure to bear a child in three years, demoted her to a concubine and took Zhu as his official wife.

The original mother was utterly heartbroken, compromising her health. She passed away not long after giving birth to the protagonist.

The life of the original owner, a concubine-born daughter with no mother and a fallen maternal grandfather in the Zhen household, could well be imagined.

Given that she is also the current emperor's fiancée, how could she not be seen as a thorn in the eyes and a splinter in the flesh by the Zhu mother and daughter?