Chapter 42

Once the butler left, Cheng Ruyi looked at Rong Mo with a confused expression. “Cousin, isn’t this Master Huiyuan that big monk with a stomach full of bad ideas? The butler’s reaction was so strange.”

Rong Mo narrowed his eyes slightly. “We’ll know in a moment.”

He had already sent his secret guards to investigate Master Huiyuan. There was indeed a connection to the Consort of Prince Rong, but it wasn’t deep; it seemed the Consort held some sort of leverage over him, forcing him to agree to three conditions. Now that the Master had settled his karmic debt with her, for him to show up here felt strange even to Rong Mo.

A moment later, the butler led Master Huiyuan in.

When the Marquis of Changle saw the monk, he nearly spat out his tea. “Ahem, Master Huiyuan, you… what is this?”

Cheng Ruyi’s eyes widened in disbelief. Had this Master Huiyuan been kicked out of Xiangguo Temple because of that lotus incident?

The last time she saw him, he wore a majestic yellow robe, chanting with sandalwood prayer beads—a picture of transcendental elegance and high-monk status. But the man before them wore a simple green cotton robe, a string of large wooden beads around his neck, and carried an alms bowl, looking exactly like a common wandering monk.

He looked destitute, a far cry from the man they remembered.

Maybe he got expelled and can’t afford to eat, so he has to beg for food, she thought. No wonder the butler looked so odd.

“Cousin, is this monk here to beg at our manor?” Cheng Ruyi cast a look of pity at him and whispered into Rong Mo’s ear.

A flicker of amusement passed through Rong Mo’s eyes as he whispered back, “…It’s a possibility.”

“This poor monk, Huiyuan, greets the benefactors.” Master Huiyuan gave a one-handed salute, perfectly composed and showing no signs of embarrassment.

After his initial shock, the Marquis asked curiously, “May I ask what brings the Master to our door?” Despite the monk’s current state or the Marquis’s personal dislike, Huiyuan was still a renowned figure, so the Marquis maintained his manners.

“Cousin, did you hear that? He didn’t call himself ‘this old monk’ anymore, he said ‘this poor monk.’ How fitting,” Cheng Ruyi remarked gleefully. “He looks like he’s living on air and can’t afford a meal. He must have been kicked out of the temple.”

Rong Mo: “…”

My little fiancée’s tongue is getting sharper by the day. But why does it feel so satisfying?

“I ask Benefactor Rong to grant this poor monk a chance for atonement and confession,” Master Huiyuan said, ignoring Cheng Ruyi’s mockery and looking sincerely at Rong Mo.

Cheng Ruyi’s eyes rounded. She suspected a hidden motive and grew upset. “Father, this monk is talking about ‘atonement’ to my cousin. He couldn’t be trying to get our manor to take him in, could he? What a beautiful dream!”

She shot the monk a harsh glare. She had zero good impressions of him. “Hey monk, is this ‘confession’ because you lied about my cousin having the ‘Lone Star of Heavenly Slaughter’ fate?”

Faced with her blunt hostility, Huiyuan merely gave a bitter smile. “Amitabha. It was all this monk’s fault. In truth, Benefactor Rong does not possess that cursed fate.”

“I knew it! You were just talking nonsense,” Cheng Ruyi snorted. “So much for ‘monks don’t tell lies.’ It’s all a scam.”

The Marquis silently agreed. This monk had previously conspired with the Consort of Prince Rong to frame his daughter and Rong Mo. That woman’s heart was poisonous; even though her reputation was currently in the gutter, she never stayed quiet. He had to be on guard against another scheme.

“Master Huiyuan, there is no need for atonement,” Rong Mo declined coldly.

Seeing the hostile stares from the family, Huiyuan sighed inwardly. He had come primarily for his own peace of mind. After today, he would become a dhuta (ascetic) monk, traveling the lands to study the Dharma and mend the cracks in his state of mind.

“Amitabha!”

He chanted the Buddha’s name, his calm eyes flashing as he looked at the handsome and composed Rong Mo.

Just as I suspected.

This Benefactor Rong’s fate had indeed been tampered with by a master. If not for the lady beside him—who possessed extraordinary luck and a thick aura of golden merit—and the fact that they were betrothed, causing their fortunes to intertwine, his altered fate would never have slowly returned to its proper track.

Usually, if someone with a great fate is connected to the Royal Family, they carry a trace of the Great Zhou Dynasty’s fortune. Rong Mo was likely such a case. Even if his fate was tampered with, he was still a “dragon among men,” merely stripped of his noble aura.

Thinking of the life-and-death karmic debt between Rong Mo and the Consort…

Huiyuan couldn’t help but speculate that Rong Mo was deeply connected to the Prince Rong’s Manor. It was highly possible he was the infant stolen by the trusted wet nurse back then.

“Cousin, the monk is acting all mysterious again,” Cheng Ruyi grumbled.

Rong Mo didn’t answer. For a moment, he felt as if Huiyuan had seen right through him, an uncomfortable sensation. “I wonder what the Master has seen?”

Huiyuan looked deeply at him. “Benefactor Rong has both wealth and honor. A disrupted fate will surely return to its track, and all things shall turn from misfortune to great luck.”

Rong Mo narrowed his eyes. “Disrupted fate… turning from misfortune to luck…” The monk seemed to be speaking in riddles with a hidden meaning.

The Marquis, who appeared reckless but had his own internal scale, looked at Huiyuan with scrutiny. “Master, could you explain clearly what you mean by ‘a disrupted fate returning to its track’?”

Only Cheng Ruyi remained confused. Seeing her father seemingly falling for it, she grew anxious. “Father, he’s just tricking people again! Don’t believe him, he’s just trying to swindle some silver!”

Marquis of Changle: “…”

My daughter has a point.

The Marquis went silent, his gaze now practically labeling the monk a fraud.

Huiyuan merely smiled. This young lady’s prejudice against him was too deep to change. “The hour is late. This monk shall take his leave.”

After a single-handed bow, he drifted away. Suddenly, Rong Mo called the butler over and handed him a hundred-tael banknote as an “alms donation” for the Master.

“Cousin, why give money to that big liar?” Cheng Ruyi wrinkled her nose.

Rong Mo smiled. He had a profound feeling that Huiyuan had come specifically to see him. “Cousin, Master Huiyuan is not a fraud. He is a high monk—even if he looks destitute, he remains one. He was simply confused by worldly attachments and broke his vows momentarily.”

“But he was in league with the Consort of Prince Rong!” Cheng Ruyi pouted.

The Marquis added, “Exactly, Rong Mo. Don’t be fooled by that kind-looking facade.”

Rong Mo curled his lips slightly. “Uncle, times have changed. He no longer has a connection to her. Remember when he said their karmic debt was settled?”

Cheng Ruyi recalled that day and nodded. “So he really broke free? How is that possible? A cold-blooded person like the Consort wouldn’t just let him go. She’s so obsessed with ruining you, Cousin, even though you have nothing to do with her. She’s practically insane.”

“You’re right,” Rong Mo laughed, “but Master Huiyuan is not someone she can truly command.” There was clearly an internal story he didn’t know yet.

The Consort of Prince Rong was indeed strange. He still didn’t understand why she was so desperate to kill him. This matter had to be investigated—specifically, whether Huiyuan was involved in the massacre of the Rong family.

Master Huiyuan’s visit didn’t leave a dent in Cheng Ruyi’s happy daily life.

However, in the small Buddhist hall of the Prince Rong’s Manor, the Consort—who appeared to be quietly praying but remained well-informed—looked pale with rage. After the lotus incident, Huiyuan had actually proposed to the Abbot to become a wandering ascetic.

To lose such a useful “helper” like this…

Worse, before leaving the capital, he had visited the Marquis of Changle’s Manor. She felt an immense sense of unease, feeling things slipping out of her control. She had been unwilling to lose his help, thinking she could force him to stay with the secrets she held. But man proposes, God disposes.

With so many eyes on her now, she had to be extremely cautious just to keep her title as Consort.

As the autumn imperial examinations approached, the capital became unprecedentedly crowded with scholars. Cheng Ruyi went out a few times but lost interest; many of these “talented” scholars spent their days in taverns criticizing her father’s donation as “fishing for fame.”

Meanwhile, the “female lead” Cheng Qingyao had started making moves again, constantly building up her own good reputation.

Rong Mo had also been acting mysteriously lately, disappearing for days at a time. According to little Cheng Yu, his cousin had apparently saved a scholar who had come to the capital for the exams.

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