Shen Chuyun glanced at the young master. He was dressed rather luxuriously, tall, and reasonably good-looking. However, his eyes were dark and hollow. One look was enough to tell that he was suffering from kidney deficiency.
Young Master Gao walked up to Shen Chuyun and looked her up and down. “Are you the owner of this big dog? I’ve taken a fancy to it. Name your price and sell it to me…”
Oh, so that was what the innkeeper and the waiter had been plotting. They had taken a liking to her dog and wanted to use it to curry favor with Young Master Gao.
Young Master Gao was the son of Luocheng’s richest man, and he loved keeping dogs.
Shen Chuyun was terribly sleepy and had no desire to get entangled with this man. She gently patted Doudou on the head and said, “Doudou, he called you a dog. Give him a howl and let him hear what you really are.”
Doudou was delighted to hear this. Finally, it no longer had to pretend to be a dog!
It struck a mighty, ferocious pose and let out a howl at Young Master Gao.
“Awooooo!”
The howl was so loud and powerful that the gust of wind it produced blew Young Master Gao’s bangs and robes backward.
Everyone present was stunned.
Young Master Gao stood frozen for a moment before letting out a terrified scream.
“Ah!! A wolf! There’s a wolf! Someone save me!”
Young Master Gao fled in utter disarray with his entourage, and quite a few of the inn’s guests ran away as well.
Shen Chuyun picked at her ears. “Finally, some peace and quiet.”
She gave the innkeeper a cool glance. “I want to rest. Don’t disturb me, or I’ll have Doudou eat you.”
The innkeeper trembled. “I wouldn’t dare! I wouldn’t dare!”
After Shen Chuyun and the white wolf went upstairs and entered their room, the innkeeper wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and leaned weakly against the counter.
“It’s over! I mistook a wolf for a dog and offended someone I shouldn’t have. Worse, I frightened Young Master Gao with that wolf. Young Master Gao definitely won’t let me off!”
He had originally planned to use the little girl’s dog to curry favor with Young Master Gao and earn a generous reward. Now, not only would he receive no reward, but he had also offended someone important.
The innkeeper was consumed with regret.
Shen Chuyun paid neither the innkeeper nor Young Master Gao any mind. She rested until noon, then got up for a meal before leaving the inn to continue her journey.
After what had happened with Xu Zhixuan, she had gained a new understanding of something her senior brothers and sisters had told her: their words could not be entirely trusted. They had been psychologically manipulating her all along.
There might be many powerful people in this world, but they certainly weren’t everywhere. And she wasn’t nearly as weak as her senior brothers and sisters had made her out to be.
To test her suspicions, Shen Chuyun began stopping whenever she encountered evildoers along the way. She would observe them for a while before stepping in to punish them.
She killed bandits, stormed thieves’ dens, and raided evil cults. Wherever she went, she left a trail of defeated villains behind her. While gaining combat experience through one fight after another, she also recruited people to build her own power as she traveled toward the capital.
In just a little over a month, she had unwittingly made a name for herself throughout the martial world, earning the resounding title of Wolf Queen Heroine.
June was unbearably hot, and something new happened in the capital every day. Recently, the affairs of the Marquis of Anning’s household had attracted the most attention.
It had been less than a month since the heir of the Marquis of Anning had broken his leg, and now the young master, Su Ming’an, had come down with a strange illness. He had been bedridden for three days, and the marquis’s household had consulted every physician in the capital, yet no one could cure him.
Just then, an old Daoist appeared. After performing a divination, he declared that Su Ming’an’s illness had been caused by an ill-fated star. The daughter born to Shen Ling all those years ago had not died after all. To save Su Ming’an, they had to find her and use the blood from her heart.
With Su Ming’an’s condition worsening and no other options available, the marquis’s household decided to grasp at straws and believe the old Daoist. They began searching for the ill-fated girl.
To their surprise, they actually found her in a small mountain village outside the capital.
People throughout the city began discussing the affairs of the Marquis of Anning’s household.
“Have you heard? The daughter born to the Marchioness of Anning all those years ago didn’t die!”
“Really? I thought she’d been abducted by the marquis’s enemies right after birth, abandoned in the mountains, and eaten by wolves, tigers, and leopards!”
“She was abandoned in the mountains, but the wild beasts didn’t eat her. She was lucky enough to be found by a hunter who took her home and raised her.”
“Wasn’t she supposed to be an ill-fated star? How could someone like that be so lucky?”
“An ill-fated star only brings misfortune to their relatives and friends, not to themselves. If the young master of the marquis’s household hadn’t fallen seriously ill, and a Daoist hadn’t divined that the ill-fated star was responsible, the marquis’s household wouldn’t even have known she was still alive.”
“This marquis’s household is ridiculous. How could an illness affecting Su Ming’an be blamed on a little girl living so far away?”
“Exactly! I think the people in that household have something wrong with their heads. They actually believe the words of some wandering Daoist. They’re clearly bullying a little girl who has no mother to protect her.”
“I also heard that the reason the marquis’s household sent people to find her was so they could use the blood from her heart to save Su Ming’an.”
“Come to think of it, she’s actually the legitimate daughter of the Marquis of Anning’s household!”
The public’s attitude gradually shifted from indifference to sympathy. More and more people began speaking up for the so-called ill-fated girl and condemning the marquis’s household.
Upon hearing the rumors circulating through the streets, Su Zhen was so furious that he smashed a teacup.
“Who leaked the news that Ming’an needs blood from the heart to be cured? How will outsiders view our household now? We’ve finally found the daughter we lost all those years ago, yet instead of treating her well, we’re going to take blood from her heart! Outsiders will only say that I’m a cold-blooded father. The Censorate will send an impeachment memorial to His Majesty!”
“Bastards! Investigate this! Find out who leaked the information!”
Then Su Zhen summoned the steward.
“Has she been brought back yet?”
The steward replied, “That mountain village is rather remote, and the roads are difficult to travel. It will be at least after the hour of the monkey before we can bring her back.”
Su Zhen snorted coldly. “Once she arrives, have her enter through the back gate and lock her in a side room. Don’t let her wander around and bring bad luck to the household.”
“Yes, my lord.”
Meanwhile, at noon in a small village outside the capital, a carriage slowly came to a stop outside a farmhouse courtyard.
Inside the courtyard, a maid dressed in pink respectfully addressed a nine-year-old girl lounging in a reclining chair.
“Miss, people from the marquis’s household have arrived.”
Shen Chuyun removed the book covering her face and stretched lazily.
“Finally! I’ve been waiting so long that my whole body aches. Go open the gate and let them in. If they act rudely, you don’t need to show them any courtesy either. If you beat them to death, I’ll take care of burying them.”
Standing opposite the maid in pink was another maid dressed in blue. The two looked exactly alike.
Upon hearing Shen Chuyun’s words, they exchanged glances and smiled behind their hands. Then they answered in unison, “Yes, Miss!”
Only then did the maid in blue go to open the gate.
The marquis’s household had sent a matron, two maids, and four guards. At that moment, all seven stood beside the carriage with arrogant expressions.
When the gate opened, the person who emerged was a young woman of sixteen or seventeen. Chen Matron looked down her nose at her and said, “Who are you? Where is Shen Chuyun? People from the marquis’s household have arrived, so why hasn’t she come out to welcome us? As expected of a country bumpkin—she has no manners at all!”
Miao Chunxiu gave the matron a contemptuous glance and replied without the slightest courtesy, “You certainly seem to know your manners. You’ve come to fetch the eldest young lady of the marquis’s household, yet this is how you behave? Anyone who didn’t know better might think you were the marquis’s wife yourself!”
Matron Chen was furious. “Where did this little wretch come from? What nonsense are you spouting? I’m the matron serving the madam. I’ve come here on her behalf to escort Shen Chuyun back to the marquis’s household!”
Miao Chunxiu let out a mocking laugh.
“Oh, so you’re not the marquis’s wife. You’re just a matron. Doesn’t that make you a household servant? How dare a mere servant call the eldest young lady by her name without showing the slightest respect? If the marquis’s household doesn’t know how to teach its servants proper manners, then allow me to teach you what manners are!”
As soon as she finished speaking, she pulled a whip from her waist. With a light tap of her foot, she soared gracefully toward Matron Chen and lashed her across the face.
“Ah!”
Matron Chen let out a piercing scream. Covering her face, she pointed at Miao Chunxiu in disbelief.
“You little wretch! You—you actually dared to hit me?!”
She turned to the guards and maids standing nearby and shouted, “What are you all standing around for? Attack together! Beat this little wretch to death!”