“Stop playing with feudal superstition.”
Wang Zhaoming straightened her expression and said it very seriously.
Qi Chunchun was taken aback.
Song Meihua looked at the savior her mother had been praising.
Aside from having fair skin and a pretty face, she couldn’t see anything unusual about her.
“That wasn’t fortune-telling; it was just a wild guess with a pinch of the fingers.”
“You’re very lucky; I guessed right.”
Wang Zhaoming curved the corners of her mouth, putting on an expression that screamed *I am professional and completely trustworthy*.
Qi Chunchun was amused by this explanation. “Yes, yes, yes, you guessed right on the money. Don’t you love the pancakes I make? Take these to eat first. When you finish them, tell me, and I’ll make more for you.”
After placing the basket she had brought in front of Wang Zhaoming, she pulled a string of copper cash worth one silver coin out of the hidden pocket at her waist. “Auntie, please help Zhaozhao keep this silver.”
“You all know what the situation is like at my house. It was the worst stroke of bad luck in eight lifetimes to run into those beasts.”
“Fortunately, we met Zhaozhao, and the clan handled matters fairly without driving us away.”
“This is all the money I can scrape together right now. Once we sell the grain later, I’ll make up the rest.”
“Leave the pancakes, take the silver back.”
Upon hearing her daughter’s words, Wen Caimei immediately pushed the money back. “You heard what my Zhaozhao said. Take it back. Meihua suffered quite a bit this time, so use this to get some good things for the child to build her strength back up.”
“Auntie, I…”
Qi Chunchun started to cry again as she spoke.
She didn’t even know how many times she had cried over the past two days.
“Life, you know, there’s no hurdle you can’t get past. If you can’t clear the hurdle right in front of you, just pick another one to cross. Eventually, there’ll be one you can step right over.”
“Don’t make things hard on yourself. In this matter, you did nothing wrong, and your daughter even less so. If those people in the village start running their mouths with unpleasant words, don’t let them climb all over your head. Pick out two of the main troublemakers, give them a thorough beating, and everyone will quiet down.”
“Our family is poor and we can’t help much with other things, but as for helping you beat up a few people, this old set of bones of mine can still move.”
Wen Caimei genuinely sympathized with and pitied Qi Chunchun. At the same age as her own eldest son, she had run into such a mess; if she had a weaker personality, who knew how badly she would have been bullied.
Qi Chunchun left with a heart full of warmth.
After stepping out of the Wang family’s door, Qi Chunchun held Song Meihua’s hand and looked back together. “Meihua, you must keep in close touch with the Wang family from now on.”
Song Meihua peered through the crack in the door at Wang Zhaoming, who was surrounded by the Wang family members, and then turned to look at Qi Chunchun, smiling as she tightened her grip on her hand.
“Mom, I know.”
After the two of them left, the gazes of everyone in the Wang family never left Wang Zhaoming.
“Child, where did you get that kind of skill? Could it be that you received guidance from immortals while you were unconscious?”
“I was wondering why you suddenly got better for no reason. Tell Mom, were you taken away by immortals to cultivate over the past few years? Now that your spiritual power is sufficient, the immortal masters have let you back, right?”
Wen Caimei directly cupped her daughter’s face in her hands, looking at her every which way and feeling she couldn’t possibly look enough.
How could she be so endearing!
When she used to be foolish, the child was so utterly obedient that Wen Caimei wished she could keep her tucked in her pocket and take her wherever she went.
Except for not speaking and not recognizing people, her daughter didn’t have a single bad trait.
Every single day, Wen Caimei would tidy Wang Zhaoming up until she was spotless.
For all these years, her youngest daughter’s braids had always been tied by her own hands, without letting anyone else interfere.
Her youngest daughter was born beautiful. After her birth, both daughters-in-law wanted to help take care of the little sister, but Wen Caimei had refused them all.
She didn’t know how many more years she could take care of her daughter, so she wanted to spend as much time being close and intimate with her while she still had the energy to move around.
Thinking of this, Wen Caimei inevitably remembered the Scar-face Zhang that Qi Chunchun had mentioned, and instantly felt a burning hatred flare up in her heart.
She wished she could grab a knife and hack that short-lived bastard to death!
“Eldest, Second, go clean up some of those unruly scum later.”
If anyone dared to touch her daughter, they could ask the butchering knife in her hand whether it allowed it or not!
Wang Yuanchuan and Wang Chinzheng exchanged glances and silently went to the firewood room to pull out two extremely thick wooden clubs, tucking them into their waistbands.
“Little Aunt, see if I’ll have a great future in the future.”
“Little Aunt, look at me first! Can I become a high-ranking official in the future?”
“Little Aunt, first look at my elder sister Nuannuan’s marriage prospects. I don’t like the Yan family; get my sister a new fiancé instead.”
The one speaking was Wang Chinzheng’s eldest son, Wang Qingyi, who was nine years old.
They also had a daughter named Wang Yitang, who was six years old.
The older sister Wang Qingyi mentioned was the second brother’s eldest daughter, Wang Zhinuan, who was the same age as Wang Zhaoming at ten years old.
Wang Yuanchuan’s wife, Zheng Duowei, was close friends with a fellow villager who had married into the Yan family.
They happened to be pregnant and give birth around the same time, with only a three-day gap between the two children, so the two women had made a verbal betrothal as soon as the babies were born.
The one who wanted to become a high-ranking official was Wang Chinzheng’s youngest daughter, Wang Yitang.
The Wang family was small in number. Wang Zhaoming only had two older brothers, both of whom were already married and had one son and one daughter each.
Wang Zhaoming’s appearance had been a complete accident.
When she was pregnant with her, Wen Caimei hadn’t imagined for a moment that she was pregnant, always thinking she just had a stomachache.
How could a farming family afford to see a doctor for an illness? They simply relied on experience and took some folk remedies.
Wen Caimei had consumed quite a few folk remedies.
It was only because her morning sickness was too severe that Wang Chengye forcibly dragged her to see a doctor, where her pregnancy was discovered.
At the time, Wen Caimei hadn’t wanted this child at all.
She was already over thirty and about to become a grandmother, yet she was actually pregnant at the same time as her daughter-in-law. If word got out, people would die of laughter.
But feeling the movements coming from her belly, she couldn’t bear to let go.
With the rest of the family members persuading her to keep the child, Wen Caimei went along with the flow and agreed to keep Wang Zhaoming.
When Wang Zhaoming was born, she looked completely different from the previous two children. She was bright red, but had an abundance of hair, huge eyes, and a nose that most closely resembled Wang Chengye’s—straight and prominent. Once she grew into her features, she became extraordinarily pretty.
Everyone in the family scrambled to hold her.
However, as the child grew a bit older, they discovered Wang Zhaoming’s peculiarities.
She didn’t cry, nor did she laugh.
Her gaze when looking at people was blank and dull, showing no reaction no matter how she was teased.
Except when she was drinking milk, when she looked somewhat like a living child, the rest of the time she resembled an exquisite wooden puppet.
After discovering that something was wrong with Wang Zhaoming, Wen Caimei hated herself.
She always believed that it was because she had taken random medicine while pregnant with Wang Zhaoming that the child had ended up foolish at birth.
She always held a deep sense of guilt toward Wang Zhaoming.
Even so, after discovering Wang Zhaoming’s condition, the family never disliked her for it.
Zheng Duowei and Zhao Guizhi adored this little sister-in-law immensely.
Wang Chengye waited until Wang Zhaoming turned one year old before giving her a name.
He chose the characters *Zhao* and *Ming*.
*Zhao* represents brightness and sobriety.
*Ming* represents wisdom and clarity of mind.
Wang Chengye was literate, and he named all the younger generation in the family.
He had come to Songjiacun to settle down as a refugee fleeing famine.
Before escaping the famine, he had already attained the scholarly rank of a child student (tongshi).
However, during the flight from famine, he injured his leg, losing his qualification to continue participating in the imperial examinations.
Precisely because he was a scholar, the names of the children in his family were not like those of other people in the village who used flowers, grasses, or stones.
Later on, children born in the village would come to him for help in looking through books to find names.
He hoped his daughter would project brightness, openness, and clarity of mind, unbothered by worldly gazes, which was why he named her Zhaozhao Ming.
“People with a bright future all go to sleep early.”
“Therefore, it’s getting late, and you lot should go to sleep.”
Wang Zhaoming earnestly bluffed her nieces and nephews.
She said nothing about her eldest niece Wang Zhinuan’s marriage prospects.
Matters destined not to come to pass shouldn’t be spoken aloud to add trouble to the hearts of her eldest brother and sister-in-law.
Wang Yuanchuan and Zheng Duowei didn’t take the matter to heart either, thinking it might just be a petty spat between children that would blow over in a few days.
“Little Aunt, you haven’t answered Grandma’s question yet.”
Wang Qingyi wasn’t so easily fooled.
Wang Zhaoming sighed. “It’s not that your Little Aunt refuses to tell you; it’s truly that once your Little Aunt says it, she won’t have any food to eat and will go hungry.”
Having finished her deadpan bluff, Wang Zhaoming gazed mournfully toward the horizon.
Only the laughter she was desperately trying to suppress at the corners of her mouth betrayed her mischievousness.
The younger generation, who had yet to experience the beatings of society, were thoroughly subdued by Wang Zhaoming’s troubled expression.
Wang Yanli, the youngest son of the eldest brother’s household, said, “Forget it, forget it, Little Aunt. If you can’t say it, then don’t.”
Wang Yitang also looked up at the sky and asked, “Little Aunt, will you go back up to heaven in the future? Once you go back, will you become like how you were before—ignoring us?”
Wang Zhaoming smiled and asked Wang Yitang, “Then do you like the current me better, or the past me better?”
Wang Yanli chimed in first, “Of course the current Little Aunt! Although the current Little Aunt grabs my food to eat, I still like Little Aunt better.”
“Because Little Aunt smiles, gets playful, says things we don’t understand, and makes Grandpa, Grandma, Dad, and Mom much happier.”
“So, Little Aunt, can you please not leave? Just stay right here. I’ll grow up fast and be able to support the family; I can support you in the future too.”
Wang Qingyi quickly followed up with his stance, “And me! Little Aunt, I can support you too!”
Wang Zhinuan, who had a more introverted personality, spoke up with a blushing face, “Little Aunt, get married along with me when the time comes; I’ll take care of you.”
Wang Zhaoming really didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
At the same time, a warm current surged into her heart.
If the displacement and drifting of the first half of her life were all just to encounter this wonderful warmth, then wicked heavens, I forgive you!
“Crack!”
A sudden peel of thunder cracked through the clear sky without warning, startling everyone present.
“Why is it thundering out of nowhere on a fine day like this? Dear, take a look at the celestial signs.”
Wang Chengye looked around the sky and frowned. “It doesn’t look like it’s going to rain.”
No one saw Wang Zhaoming’s guilty conscience.
Heavenly Bodhisattva, I was wrong!
The little avatar inside Wang Zhaoming’s heart slid down into a prostration instantly.
Can’t even secretly curse in one’s heart? What a petty deity.
Wang Chengye didn’t take the matter to heart. Withdrawing his gaze, he looked at Wang Zhaoming with sharp, penetrating insight. “Alright, stop teasing your Little Aunt. Let your Little Aunt tell us herself what on earth happened to her.”
The center of attention returned once again to Wang Zhaoming.
Wen Caimei cautiously opened her mouth: “Youngest, when you fell ill some time ago, did you run into something?”
Half a month ago, Wang Zhaoming had suddenly developed a high fever. Bowl after bowl of medicine had been forced down her throat, but she remained unconscious without a single sign of waking up.
The visiting doctor looked at Wang Zhaoming’s thread-like breath and sighed, telling them to prepare for the funeral arrangements.
Unwilling to give up, they took turns watching over her and tried every single folk remedy for reducing fever they could find.
Wen Caimei stayed awake for entire nights on end, holding Wang Zhaoming in her arms, hoping to keep her here through such methods.
Hearing people say that the prayers at Fengshan Temple were the most responsive, Wang Chengye, holding onto the mindset of treating a dead horse like a live one, went to Fengshan Temple. Dragging his ailing leg, he made a full prostration every three steps and a kowtow every five steps.
He begged the heavens not to take his daughter away.
They didn’t know if their pious retention had worked, but Wang Zhaoming had woken up on an ordinary morning at the exact moment the sun just popped its head out from behind the mountains.