Guide to the Rebirth of the Evil Woman in the Immortal Realm - Chapter 33

The day of Emperor Ruwen’s birthday arrived with the rainbow fading and the rain clearing; it was a rare and beautiful day.

The flowers battered by yesterday’s rain had been cleared away. In the palace courtyards prepared for the birthday banquet, new plants and flowers, transported overnight from outside the palace, were freshly arranged.

Early in the morning, Chu Huailing sent someone to invite Shen Fuxin and the other two. After they finished breakfast in the side hall where they were temporarily staying, the palace servants led them to the site of the Emperor’s birthday feast.

Usually, the imperial palace was solemn and cold, but today it possessed a rare touch of human warmth.

When they arrived, Chu Huailing was standing with Chu Huaizhuang. Chu Huaizhuang still wore that beaming smile, holding an exquisite parrot cage. Seeing Shen Fuxin and the others arrive, she walked over with the cage, making a show of showing it to them while urging the bird to speak.

Shen Fuxin, clinical about the “bird smell” emanating from it, refused to take it. Ji Ting, however, liked it very much and took it with a smile. As soon as the cage reached her hand, the well-trained parrot let out a shrill cry: “Mother! Mother!”

Ji Ting flicked the cage. The bird, startled by her, jerked its tail feathers and turned toward Shen Fuxin: “A joyous birthday! A joyous birthday!”

Chu Huaizhuang grinned, her white teeth showing, looking entirely carefree. It was hard for Shen Fuxin to connect the person before her with the one who had smashed the divine statue two days ago; she began to understand why the Imperial Physicians suspected she was suffering from hysteria.

Chu Huailing was indeed a flawless hostess. Seeing Shen Sha standing aside, she invited her to take a seat first. Shen Sha sat beneath branches heavy with blossoms, watching the flower shadows in her cup. Though it was her first time at such an event, she did not feel out of place, pouring herself wine and drinking quietly.

The banquet was set outside the largest palace hall. It was highly elegant, with the princes’ seats positioned close to the Emperor’s main throne, while the other guests were arranged according to their status.

Crown Prince Chu Huaijing had accompanied Emperor Ruwen to the inner hall to change. Chu Tian, who had suffered quite a bit at the hands of the teaching eunuch yesterday, sat in a corner. His body ached, but he dared not show it. He didn’t want to lose face publicly on the Emperor’s birthday, and more importantly, a servant of the Third Princess stood behind him. Should he move even slightly, a small needle would quietly prick his back.

Once all the invited guests were seated, Emperor Ruwen emerged from the inner hall dressed in red ceremonial robes. Following a step behind her mother was Chu Huaijing, who possessed eyes strikingly similar to the Emperor’s. Her fifty-year-old mother was like a sturdy pine atop a mountain, while Chu Huaijing, by comparison, was as elegant as bamboo but lacked the same weight of experience.

Emperor Ruwen took her seat with a smile, and everyone rose to salute her. Shen Fuxin and the other two did not need to perform the salute. She took this chance to observe the sovereign of Taiyin; she did not look like someone over fifty at all, appearing seven or eight years younger than her actual age, with no white in her hair and a very spirited demeanor.

She was not a woman of many words. Her gaze felt heavy when it landed on someone. After the master of ceremonies finished a congratulatory speech, she simply nodded with a smile. Surrounded by her daughters, she exchanged a few words with the gathered officials and royal kin before settling into her seat to watch the birthday gifts prepared for her.

Chu Huaijing presented a hand-carved jade-gold dragon. Chu Huaizhuang went up with her parrot cage, making Emperor Ruwen laugh repeatedly. Chu Tian had nothing impressive to offer and presented a landscape embroidery he had made himself.

He knew from others that he resembled his deceased mother, and he knew that the Emperor and his mother had once been very close. He secretly used this as a bargaining chip for his continued wealth and safety. Thus, Chu Tian looked up, intentionally adopting a fawning expression as he peeked at his imperial aunt. However, Emperor Ruwen merely nodded indifferently and said the embroidery was “not bad.”

When it was Chu Huailing’s turn, she stood up and introduced Shen Fuxin and the others: “These are immortals traveling through Taiyin. Having heard of Imperial Mother’s birthday, they have come specifically to offer their congratulations.”

Emperor Ruwen smiled and nodded. “That is excellent.”

Just as Shen Fuxin stood up, she sensed the spiritual energy attached to Immortal Guteng fluctuating again. It was hidden within a few paces of her, causing her to immediately sharpen her focus.

In the imperial garden outside the hall, the newly transplanted flowers were all in bloom, attracting many fluttering butterflies and bees. Shen Fuxin realized why the energy had been drifting in and out; it turned out that in this reincarnation, Immortal Guteng had grown a pair of wings.

Shen Fuxin sneered inwardly. I’ll pluck them all and crush you into the dirt in a moment.

Under a multitude of expectant gazes, she plucked a flower. The flower instantly transformed into a crimson-gold flying dragon that lunged toward Emperor Ruwen on the throne, drawing a round of gasps.

While Emperor Ruwen reached out to touch the dragon’s scales, Shen Fuxin flicked her finger. The vibration caused all the leaves and flowers in the garden to rustle loudly, shaking out all the nectar-gathering butterflies.

Ji Ting coordinated perfectly, exclaiming, “Look, this is truly the sign of ten thousand officials bowing to their sovereign!”

Guided by the spiritual energy, Shen Fuxin snatched a black-winged, red-eyed butterfly that was attempting to fly away, crushing it in her palm.

Father, you may depart in peace.

She applied pressure with her fingertips. The wing scales of Immortal Guteng covered her hand. The butterfly had no blood, only a burst of fluid mixed with mangled limbs.

Satisfied, Shen Fuxin lowered her eyes and blew away the residual black-red powder. In an instant, a shower of glittering crystalline dust, like fireworks, erupted from her palm and scattered over the crowd, not a single speck wasted.

Emperor Ruwen clearly loved the immortal magic performed for her. She watched the golden dragon circle her three times before flying toward the nine heavens, appearing somewhat reluctant to see it go. “The immortal is truly thoughtful.”

Shen Fuxin was in high spirits and smiled. “It is the Third Prince who is thoughtful in his filial piety toward Your Majesty.”

Watching the scene of motherly love and daughterly piety, Shen Fuxin sat back down. She brushed the dust of her adoptive father’s corpse off the table and began looking forward to his next reincarnation. Shen Sha, having witnessed the whole thing, turned to Ji Ting and asked hesitantly, “…Is she also some kind of Great Goddess?”

Ji Ting gave a confused hum. Shen Sha hesitated for a moment before whispering, “Like… a King of Hell or something.”

Shen Fuxin turned her head. “What are you two talking about? Is there something you’re keeping from me?”

Shen Sha didn’t know whether to tell her, biting her lip in a difficult position. Just then, all the birthday gifts had been presented. Palace servants pushed out several divine statues, each half as tall as a person, arranging them in the expansive imperial garden. A court dance troupe arrived to perform songs and dances based on the legends of the Great Gods.

Seeing Shen Fuxin’s attention diverted, Shen Sha breathed a silent sigh of relief.

Good, good.

As the flowers vied for beauty, under the bated breath of the crowd, twelve performers dressed as goddesses ran out with fluttering colorful sleeves, singing and dancing. The Taiyin Kingdom believed in the Great Gods, and such performances were a traditional staple of the program.

While the artists performed, the twelve flower goddess statues were placed behind them.

Shen Fuxin looked at them in turn. Although the features of the statues varied slightly, she could roughly distinguish who was who. They were indeed the flower goddesses she and Ji Ting had seen at the Divine Court’s flower banquet. She searched specifically for the Narcissus Goddess, Wenren Yi. But after examining all twelve statues carefully, she could find no trace of her.

Chu Huaizhuang was sitting not far from her. After searching to no avail, Shen Fuxin turned to ask her, “Which one is the Narcissus Goddess?”

“The first one from the left,” Chu Huaizhuang indicated. “Look at that statue; the one holding a clean vase with a few narcissus stalks inside is her.”

Shen Fuxin followed her gaze and saw that the so-called Narcissus Goddess bore no resemblance whatsoever to Wenren Yi.

For some reason, her heart turned cold, like a block of unmelting ice dragging her down toward the earth. Ji Ting’s expression wasn’t good either. She stared at the Narcissus Goddess statue, seemingly deep in thought.

As a mortal, Chu Huaizhuang was naturally oblivious, still holding her wine cup and smiling. “What is it? Is the carving not good enough?”

“No,” Shen Fuxin shook her head. “The Narcissus Goddess surely has a true name. Do you happen to know what it is?”

Chu Huaizhuang didn’t usually worship the flower goddesses. She swirled her wine cup, thinking for a few moments before it came to her. “Ah, the Flower Goddess’s surname is Bai, with the single given name Yin.”

Shen Fuxin thought of the vivid Wenren Yi she had met and felt a deep sense of confusion. If the Narcissus Goddess was this person—completely unrelated in appearance and name—then who was Wenren Yi, and why had she appeared there as the Narcissus Goddess?

Most importantly, was Wenren Yi aware of the situation in the mortal world? If she wasn’t, were the other Great Gods aware? Had she taken the place of the Narcissus Goddess, or had the Narcissus Goddess taken hers?

As she pondered, she felt a slight chill all over her body.

The Divine Realm felt like a distorted, twisted chessboard; no matter how she moved, she couldn’t find the right path. Since the deceased Wu Zhen was like this, the banished Shen Sha was like this, and even the seemingly high-cultivation Wenren Yi was like this, what was her mother’s current situation?

Even further, was her mother even still alive?

Just as Shen Fuxin’s mind was in turmoil, Ji Ting’s hand reached over and touched her fingertips.

“Don’t dwell on it,” Ji Ting said. “If things are wrong, we will simply correct them.”

She spoke with such nonchalance, despite being in the mire herself.

Shen Fuxin was stunned for a moment, then couldn’t help but smile slightly.

She remembered having the exact same thought in her previous life hundreds of years ago. Back then, she had looked at a headless divine statue in the snow, thinking that if the goddess couldn’t even protect herself, how could she look after Shen Fuxin? Yet she had come, arriving through the snow without any promise, and from then on, fate had been rewritten.

Ji Ting’s black hair fell forward. She reached out to catch a small falling flower and tucked it into her own hair.

Chu Huailing watched this scene quietly from the side. Seated near Emperor Ruwen, her fingertips squeezed a small golden-yellow statue.

This statue was extremely exquisite; although it was somewhat worn, one could still recognize the meticulously carved features. It was a female figure wearing imperial robes, holding a sword, her eyes resolute and piercing. No matter how Chu Huailing observed it—looking left, right, or even turning it upside down—the figure looked exactly like the jade-clad person sitting beside the Immortal Shen.

She fell into deep thought. Yesterday, she had gone to the Treasure Vault to search, spending half the day before finding the statue she had seen years ago. Chu Huailing had asked several palace jewelers, and they all said it was likely a statue of a female general from some previous dynasty.

But how could a female general wear imperial robes? Chu Huailing was lost in thought while fiddling with the gold statue when suddenly a hand reached over from her left and snatched it away.

Chu Huailing looked up. It was the Second Prince.