At the same time, Jiu Jiu broke away from Qing Wu and followed Xiao Hui to the backyard.
"Xiao Hui, are you saying there's something bad in here?"
Jiu Jiu peeked through the crack in the door. Incense smoke curled through the air—this was clearly a Buddhist hall, yet Xiao Hui insisted there was something evil inside.
After a moment's thought, Jiu Jiu pushed open the door and walked into the hall.
Ugh… so smelly!
Pinching her nose, Jiu Jiu looked toward the porcelain vase in the Buddha statue's hand. The foul odor was emanating from inside it.
She climbed onto the offering table, intending to take the object down for a closer look.
"Stop! What do you think you're doing?"
A childish voice interrupted Jiu Jiu.
It was a girl as delicate and lovely as carved jade, around the same age as Jiu Jiu. The floral adornment at the center of her forehead added a touch of liveliness to her appearance.
Who is this?
Before Jiu Jiu could react, the figure rushed toward her, grabbed Jiu Jiu's ankle, and yanked her down from the offering table.
Jiu Jiu had intended to resist, but the moment her ankle was seized, she felt countless strands of icy, sinister energy invade her body.
Her body instantly stiffened, rendered completely immobile.
"Chop off her hands!"
The words spoken by the jade-like little girl were eerie and terrifying, sending chills down one's spine.
As soon as the hand gripping Jiu Jiu's ankle released its hold, Jiu Jiu could move again.
She scrambled back onto the offering table in a few quick movements, frowning as she questioned the girl before her, whose aura was strangely mixed.
"Who are you?"
It was so strange. The person before her clearly possessed profound blessings and immense Qi Luck.
Yet, there were also faint, wispy threads of black energy at the center of her forehead, sinister and repulsive.
How could such extreme, opposing auras coexist within one person?
"Go ask the King of Hell!" the jade-like little girl replied coldly.
Her gaze toward Jiu Jiu was as if looking at a corpse.
As soon as she finished speaking, the maids beside her advanced toward Jiu Jiu with malicious intent.
Jiu Jiu grabbed the porcelain vase from the Buddha statue's hand, tossed it up and down a couple of times, placed one hand on her hip, and grinned mischievously. "Come catch me if you can. If you catch me, I'll let you hehehe…"
"Seize her!" the jade-like little girl ordered through gritted teeth.
Jiu Jiu was as slippery as an eel, elusive and hard to pin down.
Not only did the two maids fail to catch her, but they also ended up making a complete mess of the Buddhist hall.
"What is the meaning of this?"
An angry, authoritative voice echoed through the hall.
The jade-like little girl hurriedly bowed to the newcomer. "Your subject pays respects to Princess Chang. May Your Highness enjoy boundless fortune and peace."
Jiu Jiu's eyes lit up.
Was this the aunt who almost became empress?
A pity—in the book, she died too early.
"Fu Bao, what happened? Why has it come to this?" Princess Chang frowned slightly, her gaze falling upon Jiu Jiu.
When she clearly saw Jiu Jiu's features, Princess Chang's brow furrowed deeper.
She thought to herself: Her dear imperial brother had gone to great lengths just to earn a few more glances from the one in the palace.
"Replying to the Eldest Princess, your subject had just arrived at the Buddhist hall when I saw this person sneaking around…"
The jade-like little girl recounted the events smoothly, glossing over the important details and presenting an incomplete version of what had transpired.
After listening, Princess Chang's frown deepened further.
"Someone, escort her back to Donggong."
Without even asking Jiu Jiu a single question, Princess Chang directly ordered her to be sent back to Donggong.
Jiu Jiu raised a small eyebrow. "You believe her just because she says so? Is that thing on your neck just for decoration?"
"How dare you! Do not disrespect Her Highness the Princess!" the Nanny sternly rebuked Jiu Jiu.
Jiu Jiu stood with her hands on her hips, fiercer than Nanny herself. "Shut up! Did I say anything wrong? Even death row inmates get a chance to plead their case, yet you lot believed her story without even asking me a single question."
"If you believe her when she says I was sneaking around, then do you believe me when I say she’s full of malice and wants to harm you?"
This last remark was directed at the Eldest Princess.
The Eldest Princess rubbed her temples and said, "Enough. There must have been a misunderstanding today. It was my fault for jumping to conclusions without asking clearly."
"You believe me?" Jiu Jiu asked the Eldest Princess suspiciously.
The Eldest Princess didn’t answer her question. Instead, she said, "Fu Bao is the seventh daughter of the Luo Family, born with an extraordinary fate. Master Wangchen himself said that Fu Bao is inherently kind and blessed with profound fortune—a person under the protection of heaven."
"She would never harm me, much less be a bad person."
Jiu Jiu rolled her eyes at this.
Inherently kind?
Profoundly blessed?
Pah!
What kind of inherently kind person would try to chop off someone’s limbs and take their life upon first meeting?
Lucky Star? More like a calamity star.
Wait… Fu Bao?
"Are you Luo Mingzhu?" Jiu Jiu suddenly remembered.
Fu Bao’s full name was Luo Mingzhu—the heroine of this novel.
And also the very person who would soon cause the deaths of Jiu Jiu and her worthless, short-lived father.
"You know me?" Fu Bao sized up Jiu Jiu as she asked.
Jiu Jiu looked at her with a half-smile. "Guess?"
A flicker of anger flashed in Fu Bao’s eyes, gone in an instant.
She turned to the Eldest Princess and reminded her, "Eldest Princess, the time is almost here."
"All unrelated people, leave!"
The Eldest Princess’s voice carried a hint of excitement as she dismissed everyone.
Only Jiu Jiu remained standing in place.
"Why aren’t you leaving?" The Eldest Princess frowned at Jiu Jiu.
Jiu Jiu sat on the altar table, swinging her legs casually. "You go about your business. Just pretend I’m not here."
"That’s not allowed, you—" The Eldest Princess was cut off mid-sentence.
"Eldest Princess, let her stay! She might be of use." Fu Bao interrupted the Eldest Princess, allowing Jiu Jiu to remain.
When Jiu Jiu locked eyes with Fu Bao, she saw malice in her gaze.
But she didn’t care.
A mere human was nothing to her.
Fu Bao instructed Jiu Jiu to hand over the porcelain bottle in her possession, placing it on the altar table and bowing reverently.
Then, Jiu Jiu noticed that the black aura inside the bottle was enveloped by a layer of golden Qi Luck.
The originally nauseating stench transformed into the refreshing fragrance of lotus.
A faint chant seemed to linger in the air.
This was…
What a clever trick of deception!
A glint of insight flashed in Jiu Jiu’s eyes!
"Eldest Princess, it’s done."
Fu Bao held the porcelain bottle with both hands and presented it to the Eldest Princess.
"It’s done?" The Eldest Princess took the bottle excitedly, her voice trembling.
Just as the Eldest Princess raised her head to consume the contents of the bottle, a streak of black light shot out, knocking the bottle from her hands.
With a sharp "crack,"
the porcelain bottle fell to the ground and shattered.
The liquid inside spilled everywhere.
"No…"
The Eldest Princess let out a heart-wrenching cry, throwing herself to the ground in a desperate attempt to salvage what was lost.
Fu Bao, meanwhile, glared furiously at the instigator, Jiu Jiu. "Have you gone mad? Do you have any idea how much effort the Eldest Princess has put into this day? You’ve destroyed her only hope."
Jiu Jiu shrugged her small shoulders. "Yes, but it’s already broken. It’s too late to say anything now."
"Since you were the one who made that thing in the first place, just make another one. All this fuss is hurting my ears."
She even impatiently dug at her ear with her little finger, her small face full of disdain.
This infuriated Fu Bao, whose face turned ashen. "Having caused such a great disaster and still showing no remorse—you are utterly hopeless!"
"Eldest Princess, your long-cherished wish was destroyed not by fate, but by human hands. I have done my best, and I beg for your forgiveness!"
Fu Bao knelt before the Eldest Princess to plead for mercy.
After a long while, the Eldest Princess finally raised her head, her eyes bloodshot.
Her gaze toward Jiu Jiu held both fury and murderous intent!
"You deserve to die—"
The Eldest Princess staggered to her feet, pulled the phoenix-head hairpin from her hair, and lunged toward Jiu Jiu's neck like a madwoman.