Noble Consort Shen twisted her handkerchief and said irritably, "Oh? Could it be that something went wrong over there... Is there still a way to make amends?"
The Great Shaman shook his head in distress, "The curse has been broken. If we force another one in the short term, I fear the little Princess will suffer mental damage and fall into a state of madness."
"Truly useless!"
Noble Consort Shen was so angry that she flicked her sleeves, sweeping all the cups and saucers onto the floor.
It was all because of that prophetic dream the Emperor had several years ago, which claimed that a Goddess would be born in the future who could rewrite the fate of the dynasty and could serve as the Crown Princess.
Ever since then, she had painstakingly studied and finally, with the assistance of the Great Shaman, made the world and even the Emperor believe that her Xi'er was that Goddess.
But now... such a change has occurred; it is truly detestable!
Seeing this, the Great Shaman hurriedly tried to make amends, "Your Highness, do not be anxious. We placed two curse tokens at the time. Now that only one person's has been broken, the other's talisman token is hidden in the mansion; there will definitely not be any more mishaps."
Hearing this, Noble Consort Shen finally calmed down slightly and sat down with a gloomy expression.
"Very well. Although we have temporarily lost the martial power, fortunately, Xi'er still possesses literary talent, which can also be used to bluff others."
"The remaining curse must not go wrong again, or if it arouses suspicion from others, I will hold you accountable!" Noble Consort Shen clenched her fists and shouted with a distorted face.
"Yes, Your Highness..."
……
Over at the Marquis's Estate, after a bout of joy, the sky gradually darkened.
Xiao Sui An was full and satisfied, so she patted her little belly and pulled her brother to the backyard to play.
At this moment, Chaoyan walked into the inner chamber and informed Su Jinhan about the discovery of the talisman token that morning.
Su Jinhan was extremely shocked upon hearing this and nearly shattered the corner of the table with one palm.
"What? There is actually an evil object of unknown origin under the begonia tree in the courtyard!"
No wonder the mansion has been plagued by disasters for the past year; I fear it is related to these vile methods. It must be investigated thoroughly!
Chaoyan nodded calmly and lowered her voice, "The Second Young Master only just woke up, and this servant did not want to startle him, so I waited until now to speak. This is all thanks to our Little Miss that it was discovered."
Although a monstrous wave surged in her heart, Su Jinhan did not forget to be cautious and hurriedly urged.
"This matter must not be spread, lest we alert the enemy. Furthermore, do not let anyone know that it was our Sui An who took that thing, understand?"
Chaoyan nodded and said, "Madam, rest assured. Both this servant and Bai Zhi know what to do."
As soon as the talisman token was taken away by Xiao Sui An, Jing Zhao woke up.
In that case, Jing Zhao's survival was entirely due to the blessing of Sui An.
After Su Jinhan caught her breath, she gripped the safety talisman the Marquis had left her, and tears gushed out.
"Marquis, our Marquis's Estate has truly found a way out of a desperate situation. To think that you and I have gained such a good daughter; how am I to cherish her enough?"
Then she said with tears in her eyes, "Pass on my words! From now on, seeing Sui An is the same as seeing me and the Marquis. As long as it is Sui An's instruction, no matter how strange it may be, everyone in the mansion must obey!"
The arrival of Xiao Sui An was like a spring rain, allowing the dying Marquis's Estate to sprout green buds of vitality.
However, when things are abnormal, it is inevitable that they will attract the attention of those with ulterior motives.
Over at Pine and Crane Hall, Old Master Shen pondered for a long time. Hmph, why did Su Jinhan not adopt a child earlier, but chose to bring back a girl at this critical juncture, and the dying Jing Zhao just happened to be reborn?
Two events within a single day made him inevitably link them together.
Old Master Shen rubbed the Pixiu pattern on his staff, "That little girl in Yingyue Courtyard might not be simple."
"Someone, call the guards who returned to the mansion last night and ask them if they encountered any other strange things after meeting that girl," he said in a deep voice.
……
As for what happened in Pine and Crane Hall afterward, others did not know.
It was only known that around dusk, after a few guards went in and out, Old Master Shen flew into a great rage and smashed a set of purple-gold glazed tea sets into pieces.
By the next day, Bai Zhi had found out clearly and ran back happily, her waist trembling with laughter.
"Madam, guess what happened."
"Hmm?" Su Jinhan was looking at her dowry list, preparing to take out the best set of head ornaments, remove the precious pearls from them, and have a gold-inlaid jade safety lock made for Xiao Sui An.
Bai Zhi's face turned red from holding back, and she giggled, "At dinner time yesterday, the Old Master took a bag of reward money and called Rong Feng and the others to ask questions, inquiring if they had encountered any strange things the night they returned to the mansion."
Su Jinhan did not even lift her head, "And then?"
"At first, they all nodded desperately."
"But when the Old Master leaned his ear in, Rong Feng suddenly shouted, asking if stepping on a huge pile of dog poop counted as a strange thing. It made the Old Master cover his ears and curse them to get out several times!"
"Hahahaha!" Bai Zhi finished speaking while holding back, then buried herself in Chaoyan's arms, laughing into a heap again.
Chaoyan was helpless and tapped her forehead, "You girl."
Su Jinhan raised the corners of her lips, revealing a look of confidence.
"His old man's efforts were in vain. The people I, Su Jinhan, have trained, even if not exceptionally clever, are absolutely beyond reproach when it comes to loyalty."
Not to mention the guards who have followed her for many years, as well as Bai Zhi and Chaoyan.
Even the most inconspicuous cleaning woman in this courtyard would never act in defiance of her orders or secretly do things to harm her.
However, precisely because of this, Su Jinhan felt even more puzzled.
Who exactly had such great means to be able to take action against Yingyue Courtyard right under her nose?
I also wonder if the Marquis's disappearance is related to this kind of harmful evil magic. Is the Marquis... still alive in this world...
Su Jinhan dared not think further, and could not help but feel a sense of sorrow.
"Second Brother, don't step on the grass, they will hurt too~"
At this moment, Xiao Sui An's voice came, very sweet and soft, like the clearest spring in a mountain stream, making her heart feel suddenly light.
"Sui An and Jing Zhao, are they together again? Are they over by the garden?" Su Jinhan stood up with relief.
After leaving Yingyue Courtyard, a few steps away was the small garden.
Xiao Sui An was carrying a large water ladle, wandering around.
Following behind her like a tail, sticking to her wherever she went, was Shen Jingzhao, who was holding a large candied hawthorn and sesame balls for her.
Seeing this, Bai Zhi chuckled, "The Second Young Master has been waiting outside the warm pavilion since he woke up this morning, as if he were afraid that after our Little Miss woke up, she would be snatched away by someone else."
Just then, Xiao Sui An had only watered some flowers and plants when she suddenly squatted down beside the flower bed, her soft white chin resting on her knees, and reached out to probe the stone crevices in the bed.
Shen Jingzhao hurriedly leaned in again and said, "Little sister, don't dirty your hands. What are you looking for? Second Brother will help you!"
Xiao Sui An held her finger to her lips, squinted her eyes, and listened sideways, "Wait a moment, Second Brother."
Under the stone at the very back of the flower bed, a faint voice was constantly wailing.
"Little girl, can you hear me speaking?"
"Please quickly dig out my corpse and offer a stick of incense, and you can help me achieve the Dao and ascend."
"Wuwuwu, I have practiced for a hundred years and finally waited for this opportunity. Just consider it a good deed."
Xiao Sui An's eyes lit up upon hearing this. Without a word, she grabbed Shen Jingzhao's large hand and followed the sound to dig into the stone crevice.
"There is a good deed to be done, Second Brother, you do it!"
Although Shen Jingzhao did not understand, he still obeyed. Before long, the rubble loosened a bit, and he felt he had touched something.
"This is... Ahhh!!!"
When he pulled it out to look, it was actually a curled-up, dead rat with only a skeleton left!
Xiao Sui An looked serious, "Second Brother, you are not allowed to throw it away. Quickly place it next to the incense and offer it for a while. This is accumulating virtue and doing good."
It turned out that this was originally a black rat spirit.
It was just a pity that its cultivation was still shallow, and it needed someone to offer it respect after death to assist in its ascension.
Shen Jingzhao could not disobey his sister's orders, so he could only endure the disgust and offer it, "Alright... little sister."
After half a stick of incense had passed, a small ball of white light leaped into the air and rushed toward the sky.
"Little girl, I have succeeded! Thank you, thank you!"
"To repay today's kindness, I can reveal a heavenly secret that can resolve the current sorrow in the hearts of the owners of this household. You must watch carefully!"
After the excited voice faded, the black rat's physical body dissipated, turning into spring dust, and flew into the sky along with the light.
But on the steps nearby, more than a dozen large characters were left behind...
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