Xiang Liren lowered his voice. "Do you really expect her to stand on our side and help us deal with Li Chenzhou?"
Dong Bingtai said meaningfully, "As long as we offer terms she cannot refuse, anything in this world is possible."
Yet Xiang Liren sighed again. "Even so, we may not be able to bring him down!"
Dong Bingtai said, "You are being rather pessimistic, Grand Tutor. Play on. This game has yet to be decided. How can we give up?"
Xue Lingjun stood before a solitary grave mound. Today was the anniversary of her late husband Hong Xinglian's death. That short-lived scholar of Great Yong had breathed his last just three months after their wedding, and before long, his parents had died one after the other as well. From then on, word that Xue Lingjun was fated to bring death to her husband had spread throughout the land. Gazing at the snow-covered grave mound, she actually felt her eyes grow moist. She set down the offerings she had brought, lit three sticks of incense, and placed them in the incense burner before the grave. With a soft sigh, she said, "My husband, this is the first time I've come to see you in all these years. Do you blame me?"
Naturally, the snow-covered grave mound gave her no answer. Xue Lingjun smiled sadly, pressed her lips together, and said softly, "Of course you wouldn't blame me. You loved me so much. How could you? You were the only person in this world who ever treated me sincerely..." After a pause, she added, "But I brought you harm. I am an ill-omened woman. I should never have lived in this world."
A sigh sounded behind her. Xue Lingjun spun around. Before entering the cemetery, she had ordered it cleared, and