The Little Oracle Saves the Nation's Fortune, and the Court Officials Line Up to Curry Favor

When the great mystic Xie Suisui opened her eyes again, she had become a four-year-old "jinx," abandoned by her own father in a ruined temple.

Before she could fill her belly or even get her shoes on, she was dragged to the Golden Hall to be offered in sacrifice to Heaven.

Two hundred thousand Northern Di cavalry were at the border. The assembled officials couldn't think of a way to repel the enemy, but they were ready to burn a little girl like her for luck.

Xie Suisui pulled out three copper coins and cast an oracle in court: "Within three days, the Northern Di commander will die in his tent."

The general demanded that she be executed. Her father kowtowed and demanded that she be burned.

But she clung to the regent's leg, looked up, and haggled: "We can make a bet, but you have to feed me for these three days, and there has to be meat!"

Three days later, an urgent report arrived in the capital: the enemy commander had died suddenly, and the Northern Di army had retreated!

The general dropped to his knees and begged forgiveness. Her father pushed his way forward to claim her as his daughter.

Xie Suisui went around him and ran to the regent to ask for braised pork.

After that, she investigated military funds, saved the young emperor, and exposed enemy collaborators. The officials who had once shouted, "The demon child must be put to death!" lined up to ask her for a reading.

But someone at the Northern Di camp used a life-for-life ritual to replace their commander, and in the blink of an eye, two hundred thousand cavalry were back at the pass.

Xie Suisui tucked away her copper coins and tugged at the regent's sleeve. "Uncle Prince, it's our turn to settle the score with him."