“Whoa, stop!”
The sudden interruption made Zhao Tieniu’s entire body jiggle.
He threw all his weight backward and yanked hard on the cart harness.
With a harsh scraping sound, the heavy cart ground to a halt less than half a meter from the two tiny figures standing in the road.
The bundle of hay piled on the cart nearly slid off from the momentum.
“Are you blind? How dare you block Master’s cart! Looking for death, are you—”
Zhao Tieniu instinctively raised his whip and started cursing.
But the moment he saw who was standing there, the rest of the insult lodged in his throat.
Even the whip hanging in midair froze awkwardly.
The ones blocking the road weren’t vicious bandits.
They were two little children who barely reached his thigh.
The boy on the left looked about four years old.
His entire body was covered in dried yellow mud, making him resemble a little mud monkey.
Yet beneath all that dirt was an exceptionally handsome face. Sharp brows, bright eyes, and an expression filled with arrogance and vigilance far beyond his years.
The girl beside him appeared to be around the same age.
Her hair was tied into two adorable little buns, and her large eyes sparkled like ripe black grapes.
Unlike the muddy boy, although her clothes were worn and patched, her face was surprisingly clean.
She was so soft and adorable that anyone who looked at her would feel their heart melt.
At that moment, the little boy was gripping a battered wooden sword.
Like a wolf cub guarding its territory, he spread his arms and planted himself firmly in front of the cart.
“Ugly woman!”
He raised his head and shouted at Sang Wanwan with a stubborn, childish voice.
“Get down here right now! You’re not allowed to sit next to Ninth Uncle!”
Sang Wanwan had been resting with her eyes closed.
Hearing herself called ugly made her open them immediately.
She looked at the tiny child standing in front of her and raised an eyebrow.
Ugly woman?
She was the most beautiful poison doctor in the ancient martial world.
Sure, she’d picked up a little dust from traveling, but ugly?
Was this kid blind?
“What, are you trying to rob me?” she asked lazily.
“I don’t want your stuff!”
The boy snorted and puffed out his little chest.
His wooden sword pointed directly at her.
“I saw everything last night! You were eating delicious meat and didn’t give Ninth Uncle any!”
“You’re selfish! You’re a bad woman! You can’t hog all the food yourself!”
“Get down here! I’ll protect Ninth Uncle!”
Sang Wanwan blinked.
Then she turned toward Zongzheng Zhan, who was sitting beside her playing with a foxtail grass stalk.
Last night, he’d eaten at least half the pot of braised pork.
How exactly had she become the one eating alone?
While she was still speechless—
“Big brother, don’t be mean. Mommy smells nice.”
The little girl stared at Sang Wanwan with sparkling eyes.
Sang Wanwan was just about to marvel at how adorable human children could be.
Then her gaze landed on the little girl’s hand.
Her pupils contracted instantly.
In that small, chubby hand was a spider the size of an infant’s fist.
The creature’s body was a sinister purple-black color.
A pattern resembling a human face decorated its back.
Its eight hairy legs struggled frantically between the little girl’s fingers.
Human-Faced Purple Venom Spider!
A legendary poisonous creature recorded only in ancient texts.
Any ordinary adult bitten by it would bleed from all seven orifices and die within three steps.
The nearby guards had apparently recognized it too.
Zhao Tieniu let out a shriek and stumbled backward several steps.
His face turned white.
“A poisonous spider! Master, get away!”
But the little girl seemed completely unaware of the danger.
She raised her tiny hand and proudly offered the spider toward Sang Wanwan.
“Mommy isn’t ugly. Mommy is the prettiest.”
“Tuantuan wants to give Little Black to Mommy.”
“It’s really fun to play with. It’s all fuzzy!”
Her sweet, childish voice was filled with innocent affection.
Sang Wanwan sucked in a sharp breath.
As a poison doctor, she naturally wasn’t afraid of a mere venomous spider.
What shocked her was something else entirely.
The little girl’s fingers clearly bore several fresh bite marks.
Yet there wasn’t the slightest sign of poisoning.
An Innate Hundred-Poison Immunity Body?
This was a once-in-a-lifetime genius that every poison master dreamed of finding.
Just as waves of shock surged through her mind—
The man beside her suddenly threw away his foxtail grass.
“Wow! It’s Tuantuan and Tuantuan!”
Zongzheng Zhan lunged forward excitedly.
His long arms swept both children into a giant hug.
He planted loud kisses on their dirty little faces and grinned like an overgrown child.
“Wanwan, look!”
“These are my adopted son and adopted daughter!”
“I found them in the dog hole in the palace garden!”
“They’re super good! They even catch bugs for me!”
With innocent pride, he introduced them to Sang Wanwan.
Sang Wanwan stared at the trio.
A foolishly handsome prince.
An arrogant little bodyguard with a wooden sword.
And a sweet little girl who treated deadly poisonous spiders like toys.
The combination was so bizarre it made her head hurt.
Tuantuan wriggled free from Zongzheng Zhan’s embrace.
Immediately, he stood guard in front of him like a miniature protector and glared suspiciously at Sang Wanwan.
Meanwhile, Tuantuan climbed onto the cart.
Like a clingy little kitten, she wrapped herself around Sang Wanwan’s leg and rubbed her cheek against her clothes.
“Mommy…”
She looked up pitifully.
“I’m hungry. I want yummy meat.”
Sang Wanwan took a deep breath and rubbed her temples.
Now she finally understood.
This fool of a prince had forcefully made her a mother.
“Fine, fine. Get on the cart.”
Letting out a long sigh, she reached into her sleeve.
A moment later, several steaming meat buns appeared in her hand.
She stuffed them into the children’s arms.
“Eat quietly.”
Then she glared at Tuantuan.
“And if you call me ugly again, I’ll throw you off the cart and let the wolves eat you.”
Tuantuan wanted to refuse on principle.
Unfortunately, the rich aroma drifting from the buns attacked his nose mercilessly.
His stomach growled loudly in betrayal.
In the end, he accepted the bun and began eating.
Though his cheeks bulged with food, his expression remained stubborn.
The exile caravan resumed its journey.
Only now, there were two extra little shadows following Sang Wanwan everywhere.
As the cart rocked gently down the road, Sang Wanwan found herself unexpectedly adjusting to life with children.
Without realizing it, the corners of her lips curved upward.
…
Meanwhile, hundreds of miles away in the capital, an entirely different scene was unfolding.
Night had fallen.
Cold winds howled through the streets.
The once-glorious Marquis Zhen Guo’s Manor now resembled a monster stripped bare.
Doors were gone.
Windows were gone.
Roof beams had disappeared.
Even the floor tiles had been pried up.
The entire estate stood exposed to the elements like an unfinished ruin.
“Sang Wanwan, you bitch!”
Sang Rourou stood amid the wreckage, screaming in fury.
She wore a rough servant’s outfit scavenged from somewhere in the estate.
Her treasured dowry was gone.
Her luxurious Shu brocade dresses were gone.
Her precious jewelry had vanished without a trace.
Now the entire capital mocked the marquis household.
People whispered that Heaven itself had punished them.
But Sang Rourou refused to accept fate.
She blamed every ounce of humiliation on Sang Wanwan.
“I won’t just let you suffer on the exile road.”
“I’ll kill you!”
Her eyes were bloodshot.
Her face twisted into something resembling a demon crawling out of hell.
She removed the embroidered shoes from her feet.
With trembling fingers, she used a pair of scissors to pry open the thick soles.
Hidden inside were two banknotes, crumpled and warped from being stepped on.
Her final secret savings.
Her last remaining wealth.
After changing into black night clothes and covering her face, she slipped out of the ruined estate like a rat sneaking through a gutter.
Under the cover of darkness, she headed straight for the most dangerous underground market in the capital.
Half an hour later, she arrived at the back courtyard of a damp, shadowy money house.
This was one of the contact points for Blood Blade Pavilion.
A low-tier assassin organization infamous for accepting any dirty job as long as someone paid.
Sang Rourou slapped the two banknotes onto the table.
Her eyes burned with venomous hatred.
“This money buys a life.”
“A convict being escorted to Kuhan Province.”
“Her name is Sang Wanwan.”
“I don’t care how you do it.”
“I want her dead.”
“I want her dead beyond all hope of survival.”
Her icy words echoed through the underground chamber.
And within the boundless darkness of the night, a deadly killing intent quietly began to move.