The Princess Who Reads Fortunes

“You’re a fortune-teller. What makes you think you’re fit to be a princess consort?” She smiled. “Even the King of Hell wouldn’t dare take my life. What chance do you have?” Six years ago, Shen Wenyuan, Chief Astronomer of the Imperial Astronomical Bureau, was falsely accused of treason and beheaded in public. Six years later, his daughter, Shen Qingci, set up a fortune-telling stall on the street. When her uncle tried to force her into marriage, she produced a stack of evidence of an affair. “Uncle, did you forget that I’m a fortune-teller?” Her fellow fortune-tellers tried to drive her out. She glanced at one rival’s stall. “Your brow is dark today.” That afternoon, a signboard crashed down on the man and sent him straight to the infirmary. Grand Tutor Qin made things difficult for her, so she issued a prophecy before the court. “Your Excellency, disaster will befall you within three days.” On the third day, Emperor Qin was reprimanded by the emperor in front of everyone. Everyone said fortune-tellers were frauds. But every prediction she made came true. She used feng shui to break into a death-row prison and rescue a loyal official. Then she used divination to uncover the truth and clear her father’s name. She even used forbidden arts to defy fate and save the one she loved. She rose from the streets to the imperial court, from celestial master to princess consort. Someone asked her, “You’re a fortune-teller. What gives you the right?” She closed her divination compass. “Because even the King of Hell wouldn’t dare take the life of me, Shen Qingci.” She could read the fate of the world, but there was one heart she could never read. The first time that man sat before her stall, she looked at the hexagram and froze. “What’s wrong?” “I can’t see clearly.” For the first time, she couldn’t read someone’s fortune. He said, “I want you. Not out of gratitude, but because I love you.” She replied, “Heaven’s secrets must not be revealed… but for you, I can make an exception.” This is the story of a fortune-teller who rises to become a princess consort. It is also the story of a woman who could read every secret of fate, only to have one man read her completely.