“Mother, do you believe in Qing Bao?”
Qing Bao sat on the edge of the table, swinging her short little legs comfortably, her plump toes spreading open.
Si He stepped forward and pulled the little one into her embrace.
Silence spoke louder than words.
Warmth flooded Qing Bao’s heart as she lifted her small face. “Qing Bao is a capable baby, but some things cannot be spoken of. Mother must trust Qing Bao – only by returning to the capital can we find grandfather and grandmother.”
Back when she had read the Book of Life and Death containing everyone’s lifetime, she had seen Si He’s early years – how her adoptive parents had cherished her deeply. Her adoptive father would chop wood for half a year just to save enough silver to buy Si He a birthday hairpin, while her adoptive mother went three years without new clothes, always giving the best food and drink to Si He, truly treating her like their most precious treasure.
But when Qing Bao tried to see her grandparents’ lives, everything turned pitch black.
Though their allotted lifespans had ended, they never appeared in the Netherworld to register.
Thus Qing Bao had searched desperately until Ox-Head and Horse-Face, who roam the human realm, brought back news that their souls remained trapped in the capital, unable to be retrieved.
Calculating the timing, Qing Bao realized their natural lifespans should still be ongoing now. Their disappearance likely had something to do with the Si Family.
Therefore, if Mother wanted to find her parents, she absolutely needed to return to the capital.
Qing Bao would work hard to help Mother find both her loved ones.
Though Si He’s eyes reddened, there was no time for sorrow. She immediately returned to her room to pack, preparing to go back to the capital.
When the Si Family had found her back then, they had without explanation tied up her parents, claiming they had stolen Si He as an infant.
But the truth was, after Si He had been stolen at birth, her adoptive parents had found her pitifully abandoned on a village path and used their life savings to purchase and raise her.
When she came of age, her parents had told her the truth, but she never resented them, always treating them as her biological parents and caring for them filially.
Just as the family was settling into peaceful stability, the Si Family appeared.
After taking Si He away, they kidnapped her parents. Only through her desperate pleading did the Si Family agree to spare their lives.
Their condition was that when she married her childhood sweetheart Su Xiao, she must bring along the fake young mistress – her adoptive younger sister Si Yao – to marry together.
Later, Si He could never locate her adoptive parents again. The Si Family claimed they had extorted a large sum of silver before leaving.
How could Si He possibly believe that?
After fruitless searching, she discovered her husband’s relationship with his Co-Wife was rapidly warming. Both sisters gave birth to baby girls around the same time.
General Su even brought his Co-Wife along to the battlefield.
After her husband departed, Si He had no choice but to take Qing Bao to raise in the countryside, all to avoid Old Madam Su’s schemes.
Never did she imagine they would still try to eliminate both mother and daughter before her husband’s return.
And when Su Xiao finally came back, his attitude crushed the last hope in her heart.
While packing, Si He discovered a carefully preserved pair of small clay figures in her cabinet.
These were love tokens Su Xiao had handmade for her back when his father wasn’t yet a General and they lived in the village.
The young boy had even stolen his teacher’s ink to dot eyes onto the clay figures.
Now the ink had faded and the clay bodies cracked.
Si He took them out, squeezed them in her hand, and crushed both figures into dust.
On the country road back to the capital.
Su Xiao rode ahead on horseback while Su Mengmeng and Old Madam Su chatted and laughed inside the carriage.
Three generations of the family enjoyed harmonious happiness together.
“Daddy is so amazing. With you accompanying us back to the capital, Mengmeng feels completely safe.”
Su Mengmeng clenched her small hand into a fist and pressed it against her chest, leaning out the carriage window to gaze adoringly at Su Xiao.
It was wonderful not bringing along that mother-daughter pair.
If they encountered any bandits, those two would surely perish.
From now on, only she and her mother would be Father’s sole wife and daughter.
Su Xiao smiled proudly and said, “Someday Mengmeng should also practice martial arts and horseback riding, growing up to become a woman like your mother.”
Speaking of Si Yao, General Su’s eyes filled with affection.
Su Mengmeng said with an innocent expression, “But I want to be like Aunt Si He – someone who can endure hardship while remaining delicate.”
At the mention of Si He, Su Xiao’s eyes immediately showed disappointment. “Someone like her can’t compare to your mother.”
A woman who only relies on men for protection would never survive on the battlefield.
He had lost all respect for that type.
Hearing her father’s response, Su Mengmeng smiled contentedly and withdrew her head back into the carriage.
“Mengmeng, when do you think the ancestors will come find me?Old Madam Su was still immersed in the joy of anticipating the ancestors coming to thank her for raising such an outstanding son like Su Xiao.
A flicker of impatience crossed Su Mengmeng’s eyes. “Grandmother, you’ve asked this three times already during our journey.”
Moreover, those ancestors weren’t good people – at least not from Su Mengmeng’s perspective.
But she couldn’t speak ill of the ancestors, so she could only advise her grandmother to stop dwelling on it.
Just as Old Madam Su was about to ask Su Xiao, she noticed he had reined in his horse and ordered the entire party to halt.
“Son, why have we stopped?” Old Madam Su asked in confusion, seeing her son’s solemn expression that had completely replaced his earlier relaxed cheerfulness.
Su Xiao frowned as he scanned their surroundings. “Mother, haven’t you noticed we’ve been traveling through this area for quite some time?”
His military training had given him the habit of memorizing landmarks, and the half-person-high boulder to his right was a feature he’d noted shortly after their departure.
“How long have we been traveling?” Su Xiao asked his subordinate.
After calculating, the subordinate replied, “Reporting to the General – half an hour!”
“Half an hour, and we’re back where we started!” Su Xiao dismounted to examine the boulder.
He found this path unusually eerie, as if they couldn’t escape it.
Old Madam Su broke out in goosebumps. “Son, don’t scare me. We’ve often taken this route back to our hometown – how could we possibly be lost…”
Su Mengmeng also looked out and pointed at the stone. “It’s true, I saw this rock earlier, and now it’s appeared again.”
What in the world was happening?
Su Xiao’s face turned grave.
“This is bad – we must be trapped in someone’s formation.”
He became alert and shouted for all soldiers to gather. “Guards! Protect the carriage!”
As soon as he gave the order, the sky instantly darkened, and waves of yin wind began blowing, sending chills down everyone’s spines.
“Jie jie jie, jie jie jie…”
“Wuu wuu, wuu wuu…”
Countless strange and terrifying sounds emerged from the base of the mountain cliffs.
They transformed into waves of black malevolent energy that surged toward Su Xiao to attack him.