Maomao has settled back into her routines at the Verdigris House, but the poisoner's gift for noticing inconsistencies never rests. A seemingly innocuous detail about breakfast becomes the thread she pulls, unraveling toward something far more sinister. Meanwhile, Jinshi shoulders the weight of his newfound position as Imperial brother, haunted by Louran's cryptic final words: a catastrophe looms on the horizon, and no one knows when it will arrive. As whispers spread of a shrine maiden wielding unnatural influence over those who seek her counsel, the capital begins to fracture under mounting anxiety. The line between genuine spiritual guidance and calculated deception blurs dangerously. Maomao and Jinshi must race to distinguish truth from manipulation while piecing together whether these seemingly separate crises are actually threads of one grand conspiracy. With the nation teetering on the edge, their investigative partnership faces its greatest test yet.