Shun Tao watched another gap open up in crown prince Jing He's scroll of fate. He didn't even sigh anymore. After experiencing it multiple times, he couldn't muster the energy for that.
"At least, this time I managed to injure one of them. Mn, I should work with that." He ground the ink and picked up his brush, his thoughts circling around this special fate. Separating the family to let something happen seemed to be the right approach. Even if he couldn't do something to Zhong Jing Yi directly, this would still influence him. And the loss of loved ones was a trial, too. Like that, the crown prince wouldn't fail his trial and the heavenly emperor might let Shun Tao keep his head. Wouldn't that be the perfect outcome?
With that in mind, he started to write: The Zhongs reach the capital and move in with the main family there. Mister Zhong, who doesn't want to inconvenience them too much, pours himself into work, disregarding his injury. His state of health slowly worsens, but Mister Zhong doesn't dare confess to his wife. When she finally notices, that something is wrong, it is already too late to help him.
Shun Tao put the brush down and nodded. He couldn't include too many details or it might go awry because of one of them. But such a broad situation should be able to come true. As long as Zhong Jing Yi didn't notice anything, whoever that person sent to help, it shouldn't make a difference.
Right, that person … Shun Tao furled the scroll of fate and put it into his sleeve again. It hadn't been a day, since Hong Bao went to investigate again, but maybe he was lucky and she had already found out something? He stood up and left the scribe's palace for the courtyard, where the young gods lived.
At that moment, Hong Bao still sat with Leng Jin Yu and pouted because of Shun Tao's lack of attention.
Leng Jin Yu had just grabbed the last cookie, when he saw Shun Tao outside the courtyard. He nudged Hong Bao and motioned outside with his head. "Stop complaining, your crush just came here on his own accord."
"Ha? What?" Hong Bao turned around. Her face lit up, as soon as she saw Shun Tao. "I'll go then!" Without deigning to look at Leng Jin Yu again, Hong Bao sprang to her feet and rushed out. "Fate's scribe!" She smiled broadly, but only got a slight movement of Shun Tao's lips as a response. Her good mood instantly deflated. "Did you come to see me?", she asked, but she didn't feel hopeful anymore. He really didn't seem interested.
"Mn. I wanted to ask … those two people, have you found out anything?"
Hong Bao stared at him unblinking. He came over because of that? Just how urgently does he need someone in the scribe's palace? "That …" She looked back at the courtyard and was met with the sight of Leng Jin Yu munching on the last cookie. What had he said? She should look for him for help, if she couldn't figure out Shun Tao's preferences?
I should get him to help me right now. What observing him? If Shun Tao doesn't like women, I shouldn't continue to hope. It's better, if I find out now. In case he does I still have time to make him fall in love with me. Mn, that's the right thing to do!
She turned back to Shun Tao and smiled again. "As I said, it's a little difficult to find out, without alarming them —"
"So you don't know anything." He hung his head, igniting Hong Bao's guilty conscience, because she hadn't told him the whole truth before.
"Ah, no no no! That's not it!"
Shun Tao instantly came back to life. He lifted his head and looked expectantly at her. Hong Bao gulped. If she didn't know, he was just asking about work related matters, she might misunderstand this.
"Well, I asked someone for help. I hope, that's alright?"
"Someone?" Shun Tao broke out in cold sweat. She couldn't have said something to someone who shouldn't know of this, right? What if the culprit knew, that he was trying to catch him?
"He's called Leng Jin Yu! He's also in the court—"
Shun Tao's eyes went wide.
Hong Bao waved her hands defensively. "Don't worry! He's not interested in the scribe's palace anyway. He wants to go to the god of war, Qiang Yan's, palace."
Shun Tao didn't calm down. Quite the opposite: His thoughts began to race. If that guy somehow managed to get into Qiang Yan's palace, he might speak to him about Shun Tao letting a servant monitor the gods in this courtyard and especially letting her pay attention to what those gods were observing in the mortal realm. The god of war wasn't dumb. He'd figure out in no time, that this had something to do with the crown prince! And the god of war was quite close to the incumbent heavenly emperor.
I'm finished!
Shun Tao turned around to the courtyard and instead came face-to-face with the wall. Somehow, he felt like smashing his head against it … Shun Tao bent forward.
"Ah! Shun Tao!" Hong Bao gripped his shoulders, turning him around to her again and hugging him. "There is nothing going on between Leng Jin Yu and me!"
Shun Tao furrowed his brow. Ha? When did I ask about that?
Hong Bao grew anxious at his lack of response. "Really!"
Shun Tao sighed and straightened up. "Hong Bao … Seriously, what did you tell him?"
"Ah?" Hong Bao, who had wandered somewhere completely unrelated with her thoughts, didn't understand, what Shun Tao was talking about.
"Leng Jin Yu. What did you tell him about the assignment I gave you?"
"Uh … Just that I need to observe some of the gods there for the fate's scribe."
"Did he talk with anybody about that?"
She shook her head. Shun Tao really doesn't care, that I spend time with Leng Jin Yu. So it is true? He doesn't like women? She pursed her lips at the thought, but Shun Tao was once again too preoccupied with his own worries, to notice anything strange.
Shun Tao gave a sigh of relief. "Good. Don't tell him anything else! The less he knows, the better!"
"Why that? Leng Jin Yu really helped me …", Hong Bao said, while thinking: In fact, I wanted to ask you, if you could help him with getting into the god of war's palace. She didn't dare to utter this thought, though. She could feel, that this was definitely the worst possible time to mention her promise to Leng Jin Yu.
"It's better, if he doesn't know." Shun Tao didn't offer any other explanation. Even in regard to Hong Bao, it was better if she knew less. It would be for the best, if only he himself and the culprit behind this whole mess ever knew what had happened. "So … What did you find out? Wait. Come with me." Shun Tao gripped her wrist and pulled her toward the scribe's palace.
"Ah, fate's scribe …" Hong Bao wanted to utter an excuse to bring him to see Leng Jin Yu, but he seemed way too anxious. She didn't dare say anything, when he didn't react.
In the courtyard, Leng Jin Yu stood up with the empty casket in his hand and walked to the entrance of the courtyard. He looked after the diminishing figures of Shun Tao and Hong Bao, his lips pursed in thought.
"Wasn't that fate's scribe, Shun Tao, just now?"
Leng Jin Yu turned around. Behind him stood none other than Qiang Yan, the god of war, whose palace was Leng Jin Yu's goal.