Chapter 42 Plotting Against Yun Shu, Others Dazed

Chapter 42: Trying to Set Up Yun Shu, but Others Are Dazed

Hui Jue took her fortune stick, frowned deeply as he examined the inscription, then asked Yun Shu to recount her koi dream. As he listened, Hui Jue's expression grew increasingly solemn.

"Master, is the situation very serious?" Yun Shu urged him to speak quickly, stop pretending.

"This benefactor, what you described as a koi saving your mother is likely incorrect. That was not a true auspicious koi but a water ghost transformed, carrying resentment.

You have already been tainted by evil influences, which may hinder the heir's ability to have children and affect the Duke's mansion's fortune.

However, this is not an unsolvable predicament. As long as you retreat to the temple for a year or so of quiet cultivation, it can be resolved."

Hearing this, Yun Shu thought to herself, 'Good heavens, the person behind this is really vicious—they want to make me retreat into seclusion!'

Isn't this just suspending me and isolating me? It's a velvet dagger, but it's cutting right into my jugular!

"What! A water ghost transformation? Not a koi auspicious sign?" someone exclaimed. Yun Shu glanced over and saw it was the scatterbrained Concubine Zhou.

The Duchess Ding's face darkened once more.

Liu Ruozhu, however, seemed deep in thought, already convinced that this whole drawing and interpreting of fortune sticks was a scheme targeting Yun Shu’s koi dream.

"Master Hui Jue, but I wasn't asking about offspring—I came to test my own fortune, good or ill. And I drew a 'very inauspicious' stick, meaning that someone is working against me right now!"

Yun Shu put on a look of confusion and fear.

"Master, could you be affected too? After all, in my dream it was clearly a golden koi, yet you say it's a water ghost, affecting the heir's ability to have children and the mansion's fortune.

If it truly were an evil spirit, how do you explain the times I’ve turned calamity into safety? Master, please explain!"

Hui Jue, caught in a logical error, nearly lost his composure, his heart already panicking. But he forced a twist in his explanation:

"Offspring are intimately connected to you; testing for offspring and testing your personal fortune are the same.

I called it a water ghost because it attaches to you, drawing on your childbearing luck and the fortune of those around you to keep you safe.

Even so, your safety is only temporary. The resentment of those people will accumulate on you.

That's why your stick is very inauspicious: you face a major crisis ahead, and you will bring harm to others as well. You need quiet cultivation to resolve it."

Hui Jue put on the air of an enlightened monk, feeling his explanation was solid.

"Master, you said it drains my childbearing luck? Does that mean I will never conceive?" Yun Shu frowned.

Hui Jue hesitated, then nodded, "Exactly, benefactor. It's best you resolve this soon."

Yun Shu decided not to argue further. Instead, she turned to the Duchess with a pitiful expression and said with feigned humility,

"Madam, I shouldn't return to the mansion with you. Maybe I'll just retreat to the nearby nunnery for seclusion.

I'm a bad omen who will bring misfortune to you and the heir. According to the master, all the recent troubles in the mansion have been caused by me!"

She stopped debating Hui Jue because she realized he had real skill—it would be difficult to out-argue him directly. But she could step outside the debate and focus on winning the Duchess's trust.

True, there had been incidents in the mansion. But for the Duchess, the deaths of the mansion doctor and Qiu Ju, the Fourth Young Master's castration, and the overhaul of the kitchen were all beneficial!

By playing the victim and retreating to gain ground, she aimed to make the Duchess take her side.

Hui Jue was not a famous, enlightened monk, but the Duchess was a first-rank noblewoman. With her status, she could easily suppress him.

So, the Duchess Ding cast a cold glance at Hui Jue and declared directly,

"Nonsense! Yun Shu exposed the medicine problem, uncovered the root cause of the heir’s childlessness, and rooted out the spy in my courtyard. Every single one of these actions helps the heir's chances of having children and the welfare of the Duke’s mansion!

Have you been bribed to talk such nonsense!"

Hui Jue’s heart raced with panic, but he pretended to be insulted and stood up,

"Madam, though you hold noble rank, you cannot humiliate me like this!"

The Duchess gave a cold laugh and, without more words, led Yun Shu directly to the abbot.

Hui Jue gritted his teeth, told a young novice, and followed.

Yun Shu followed behind the Duchess, but she turned her attention to the system, digging through the newbie gift pack she had received earlier.

She remembered it contained the "Allure and Charm Pill," and also something called the "Bright Moonlight Pill."

Taking this pill would make your aura calm, serene, elegant, and otherworldly—both Buddhist and celestial. Many men fancied this type.

Yun Shu had thought that to win over the heir, she needed to appear less pure and innocent, so she hadn't taken it.

Now it came in useful.

Finding it, Yun Shu quickly swallowed it while no one was watching.

The moment she took it, she felt her heart calm down and desires vanish, a sense of total emptiness (the four elements all empty).

Yun Shu gave a mental thumbs-up to the system!

When facing the abbot, with her aura pure and serene, presenting a picture of peaceful times, surely the abbot wouldn't call her an evil spirit.

However, when they reached the abbot's meditation room, the abbot wasn't there; he was in the neighboring yard performing a ritual for the Eldest Princess.

The Duchess decided to wait until the abbot finished the ceremony, and everyone agreed.

Then the Duchess sent a matron to check whether the Weiyuan Marquis family's ladies and legitimate son, who were scheduled for a matchmaking visit today, had arrived. If so, they could be guided here.

Though the abbot was absent, a young novice attended them, pouring tea.

Soon, another monk from the temple, Master Huifa, arrived, accompanied by Master Huijue, who had brought him as a referee.

When Master Huifa entered the courtyard, his gaze immediately fell on Yun Shu.

He perceived in this woman a pure, clear aura, has an affinity with Buddhist teachings!

"This benefactor, I see your eyes clear and pure, your demeanor peaceful and transcendent. You possess a Buddha-nature."

Master Huifa walked directly to Yun Shu, bowed with a Buddhist salute, and addressed her with great respect,

"May I ask this benefactor, would you be willing to stay in the temple, keeping your hair, to practice and study the dharma together?"

Yun Shu was at a loss for words...

Was she laying it on too thick? Or was this new master also a mole, using this new method to isolate her in the temple?!

She felt a bit numb.

When Hui Jue heard his senior brother actually praise Yun Shu for being pure and having a Buddha nature, he nearly choked on the spot.

Just now he had said Yun Shu was a malevolent spirit!

He had invited Hui Jue to help, not to make a fool of himself.

"Master, I am a maidservant of the Duke's residence, just a layperson. I don't understand Buddhism and have no desire to become a nun."

Yun Shu smiled faintly, politely returned the greeting, and declined.

Master Hui Fa sighed, "Indeed, indeed."

"Master, are you saying that my maidservant possesses Buddha nature and is not haunted by evil spirits?" asked Duchess Ding.

"This person has a peaceful, pure, and transcendent aura that brings peace to all who see her. So of course she's not possessed by evil spirits," Hui Fa stated with certainty.

Duchess Ding smiled contentedly, then turned to look at Hui Jue beside her, her smile already fading.

"Now, Master Hui Jue, explain yourself..."

Just as Duchess Ding was about to confront Hui Jue, two black cats suddenly ran out from nowhere, meowing loudly, and charged toward Yun Shu and the others.

They reached out with sharp claws, scratching at faces and hair.

Among them, Concubine Zhou had the worst luck—a black cat jumped right onto her head. Concubine Zhou screamed and tried to bat the cat away, but her hands ended up with several bloody scratches.

Fortunately, her face was not scratched.

The Second Madam was also attacked, and unfortunately got a bloody scratch on her face. Several maids and nannies protecting their mistresses were also scratched.

Yun Shu shielded the Duchess, and with other maids and nannies protecting them, neither she nor the Duchess was attacked.

For a moment, the air was filled with the women's screams, cries of pain, and angry shouts.

"Hurry, hurry! Catch those two crazy cats!"

The two fierce cats were very fast, and here there were only maids and nannies—the guards were waiting by the temple gate. So, despite the loud commotion, not only did they fail to catch the cats, but the commotion also disturbed the ritual of the Grand Princess in the neighboring courtyard.

While they were still in a panic, the Grand Princess, flanked by guards, arrived with a dark expression to confront them.

"Greetings, Grand Princess!"

When Duchess Ding saw the Grand Princess, her heart skipped a beat, and she quickly led everyone in kneeling to pay respects.

"What is going on here! The Grand Princess's ritual was at a critical juncture when you disturbed it. The ritual implements fell, and the ceremony was cut short. If the spirit of Princess Huaiyu is disturbed because of this, how will you answer for it!"

Nanny Huang, standing beside the Grand Princess, stepped forward and delivered a harsh reprimand on her behalf.

Duchess Ding's face turned pale, and she opened her mouth to explain that they were attacked by mad cats and did not intentionally disturb the ritual.

But just as she spoke a single word, Master Hui Jue stepped forward, pointed at Yun Shu, and declared with conviction,

"Your Highness, it is all because she is possessed by an evil spirit, which attracted the black cats, causing the Grand Princess's ritual to be interrupted and disturbing the spirit of Princess Huaiyu."

For a moment, everyone's eyes were on Yun Shu.

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