Ox-Head and Horse-Face immediately began their investigation.
Soon.
They trembled as they reported, “His name is Si Ye, the second son of the Si Family, and Qing Jie’s second maternal uncle.”
Oh no, oh no, oh no—this fool actually dared to mock the Yama.
Ox-Head and Horse-Face could already imagine Si Ye being thrown into a boiling oil wok for five hundred years, then burned by fire for another five hundred years, making the neighboring ghosts drool with envy.
“Hahaha, hahaha, hahaha, how could this king stoop to the level of petty mortals?”
The Yama gritted his teeth, letting out three consecutive deathly laughs.
After laughing, he immediately declared, “Tonight, bring him down for a drink!”
Really, just for a drink.
Hahaha.
Definitely not to use him as a drinking snack.
Ox-Head and Horse-Face were so terrified their heads nearly morphed into human faces.
He’s done for, that kid is done for!
Meanwhile, in another scene from the painting.
“Haha, you drew the Yama like this to intimidate me? I, a dignified Minister of Revenue, am supposed to swear an oath to this shoddy painting?”
Lord Si couldn’t help but laugh at the sight of the painting.
Since when does the Yama look as sloppy as a turtle tangled in seaweed?
With this, does he still need to swear an oath?
The entire room was mocking Qing Bao.
Only Si He understood that Qing Bao was serious.
She said, “If your filial piety is beyond reproach, why dare not swear to the painting? If you don’t swear, I will never let Grandmother pass away!”
Grandmother was clinging to her last breath. Bound by filial piety, they wouldn’t dare take drastic actions.
After all, if family members resort to lethal measures, she would no longer protect her descendants from the afterlife.
The people of Da Xia deeply believe in such matters, so to secure the family’s future, every departed ancestor must be sincerely worshipped.
Yet, some become so deranged for wealth that they lose all reason.
Like Lord Si—who knows if he might harm Grandmother for her dowry?
Si He didn’t dare take that risk.
Thus, if this matter could be resolved today, it must be done swiftly.
At that moment, the matron who had long served the old lady stepped forward. She said to Lord Si, “Minister, you are the old lady’s only son. If you truly harbor no such intentions, please swear an oath so the old lady may pass in peace.”
She understood the old lady best.
The old lady’s refusal to let go was likely due to unresolved concerns.
Lord Si glanced at Gui Momo, a flicker of displeasure in his eyes.
He disliked being constrained by a servant, but only this matron knew the location of his mother’s dowry keys.
Gui Momo also personally managed the old lady’s assets—the fields, shops, and residences outside—all known only to her.
Lord Si couldn’t afford to offend Gui Momo.
Instantly changing his expression, he spoke amiably, “Bring the painting. I refuse to believe the Yama can hear my oath through this wretched drawing!”
He snatched the hastily drawn painting from Si Ye’s hands and swore an oath before it.
The Yama fell into deep thought. “Does this king hold so little deterrent power in the mortal realm?” Why does no one fear me?” Clearly, the little one had drawn him as handsome and mighty.
Why did they all treat him like a turtle?
Ox-Head and Horse-Face’s eyelids twitched violently. “It’s these mortals who are blind, unaware of your supernatural power.”
Heaven knows, they even wanted to kneel and beg those mortals to stop talking.
The Netherworld’s prestige was already low enough.
Any lower, and it would plummet to the eighteenth level of hell!!!
“That’s right, Lord Yama. Considering he’s Qing Jie’s maternal grandfather, whatever he says later, just grant it.”
Yama nodded. “That makes sense. For the sake of my good baby, I’ll patiently listen a bit more.”
“Whether you can hear it or not isn’t your concern. Come on, Grandfather, make your vow,” Qing Bao spoke crisply.
Tiny Qing Bao stood before the adults like a little bean sprout.
Lord Si raised two fingers. “I swear.”
“Wrong.” Qing Bao lifted four fingers, her small brows furrowed in correction. “To swear four, you must use four fingers.”
Two fingers reach the heavens, four fingers reach the Netherworld.
Lord Si was amused by her appearance.
Everyone laughed.
“You don’t even know how to swear properly, yet you dare force your grandfather to take an oath? It’s absolutely ridiculous.”
“Qing Bao, is there something wrong with your head? Let’s find a royal physician to examine you.”
“Thankfully a child like you wasn’t born into our Si Family, otherwise people would laugh their heads off seeing you like this.”
Lord Si desperately suppressed his laughter. Such an oath wouldn’t count anyway, plus that sloppily drawn picture couldn’t possibly be Yama.
He completely set aside his mental burdens.
Raising four fingers, he spoke toward the painting: “I, Si Qianzhi, hereby swear before Yama that my filial devotion to the old lady is genuine, and I absolutely do not covet her dowry! Satisfied?”
He looked down to ask Qing Bao.
Qing Bao said with a serious little face, “It’s not finished yet. If there’s even half a false word, what price will you pay?”
Lord Si hesitated.
“Lord Minister, didn’t you say this painting is too crude for Yama to see? If you don’t even dare state the consequence, could it be you have a guilty conscience?” Si He added quietly with a pointed remark.
Lady Si said with a cold face, “Husband, this doesn’t even count as a real oath. Why are you afraid of her?”
She’s just a Star of Calamity after all—what weight do her words carry?
“Exactly, Father. Qing Bao is only three years old—she’s just playing house with you. The urgent matter now is to persuade Si He to convince Grandmother to pass away peacefully,” Si Ye chimed in.
His tone was sour.
Why did Grandmother value Si He, who hadn’t lived at home for over a decade, more than all of them—the grandchildren who grew up in the Si Family since childhood?
How could Grandmother remain concerned about Si He until her dying breath?
Where is the justice in this?
Lord Si set his anxious heart at ease, not taking Qing Bao seriously at all. He continued, “If there’s even half a false word, I, Si Qianzhi, am willing to shorten my life by ten years, exchanging a decade of my lifespan for my mother’s healthy survival!”
“Satisfied now?”
He put his hand down with a dismissive expression.
Not regarding Qing Bao or that painting in the slightest.
Qing Bao brought her little face close to the painting and said to Yama, “Did you hear all that?”
Down in the Netherworld, Yama watched the baby’s chubby cheeks pressed close and couldn’t resist letting out an adoring chuckle.
“Heard it, heard it all. Come here, good baby, let me pinch those cheeks.”
Qing Bao ignored him, snorted, and turned her head away.
Making the Old King Yama utterly delighted by her cuteness.
The Old King Yama, pleased, waved his hand grandly over his newly created Book of Life and Death.
“Hehe, Si Qianzhi, right? Your wish is granted!”
Instantly, his lifespan was changed from sixty-five years to fifty-five years.
Having finished his oath, Lord Si was still smug, thinking he had brushed it off, and hurriedly called for Si He to persuade the old lady to pass away.
Qing Bao smiled with curved eyes. “Great-grandmother won’t pass away now.”
“Qing Bao, what did you say?” Si He asked, eyes wide.
Lord Si scolded, “Why believe her nonsense? After all this delay, do you want to be an unfilial daughter?”
Qing Bao cheerfully put away the painting in her hand.
And looked up at the sky.
The gift from Old King Yama arrived immediately.
The next moment.
Rumble—
A bolt of lightning suddenly pierced through the roof and struck Lord Si.
At the same time.
The elderly man on the sickbed opened his eyes, his complexion glowing with health.