Jiang Xiu raised her eyes, her expression gentle yet distant. “Marquis, since there is an urgent summons from the palace, you should hurry and attend. I will look after the guests on your behalf.”
Wu Xiong was taken aback.
Her words were faultless.
Yet hearing them only deepened his frustration.
His hands clenched tightly within his sleeves, and he could only respond in a low voice, “I’ll trouble you, Madam.”
With that, he hastily changed into his formal robe and left the estate with the palace messenger.
Once Wu Xiong departed, the atmosphere in the flower hall grew even more delicate.
Old Mrs. Wu tried to maintain her matriarchal air, but she noticed the guests’ gazes were no longer as warm as before.
Wu Jiaojiao, unable to save face, complained outright, “How could such a thing happen on a perfectly fine birthday banquet?”
At her words, several of the ladies present frowned almost imperceptibly.
Jiang Xiu said calmly, “Border military affairs concern the state. The Marquis being summoned to discuss matters shows His Majesty’s trust. Sister, you should be more careful with your words in the future.”
Wu Jiaojiao’s face stiffened.
Only then did she realize that if her earlier remark spread, it would sound as if she were complaining that the palace summons had ruined the banquet.
Instantly, she felt both ashamed and angry.
“That’s not what I meant!”
Jiang Xiu did not argue with her, merely patting Fu Fu gently.
The ladies observing this scene felt a growing respect for Jiang Xiu.
A favored concubine entering the household, a mother-in-law seizing authority, a husband showing favoritism, and young children to care for.
Anyone else would have lost composure long ago under such circumstances.
Especially given that the condition of her children was widely known throughout the capital…
Yet Jiang Xiu remained steady from start to finish.
The ones truly behaving improperly were the Wu family members who had been making a scene.
Old Mrs. Wu also sensed this, her heart growing more stifled.
She had originally intended to use Ling’er to suppress the strange child in Jiang Xiu’s arms.
But not only had Ling’er failed to outshine the child, Jiang Xiu had instead appeared even more composed.
Lin Shuang sat to the side holding Wu Ling, her face deathly pale.
Wu Ling remained silent, clutching Lin Shuang’s collar tightly.
She refused to accept it.
She was the one who knew the future.
Everything should have followed her memories.
Why hadn’t Jiang Xiu adopted her?
Why could Wu Zhan speak?
Why hadn’t Jiang Huaian gone to war?
Why had the great border victory vanished?
The more she thought, the more frightened she became, and the more frightened she was, the more hatred swelled within her.
It must be that child who should have died in the womb—it had stolen her fate, stolen her protagonist’s aura!
A shadow of malice gradually surfaced in Wu Ling’s eyes.
She was still too young, unable to speak in full sentences or accomplish much.
But she had time.
As long as she lived, she would reclaim what was rightfully hers.
The banquet ended in disarray.
The guests maintained polite facades, but as they left, they couldn’t help stealing a few extra glances at Jiang Xiu and Fu Fu.
It wasn’t because Fu Fu had done anything.
Rather, after today’s events, everyone had seen clearly:
The Marquis of Zhongbo’s household was in utter chaos.
Once the guests had all departed, Old Mrs. Wu could no longer hold back and swept a teacup to the floor.
The flower hall was left in complete disarray.
Leftover dishes and cold food had yet to be cleared away; broken porcelain, spilled wine, and trampled handkerchiefs littered the floor.
The servants lowered their heads as they cleaned, not daring to utter a single word.
Old Mrs. Wu sat at the head of the hall, her face so dark it seemed ink could drip from it.
During today’s birthday banquet, Wu Ling’s “prophecy” had been immediately contradicted by the urgent palace summons. Though none of the ladies from across the capital had said anything outright, the looks in their eyes as they left were unmistakably filled with mockery.
The more she thought about it, the angrier she became, and her gaze fell upon Fu Fu in Jiang Xiu’s arms.
“It’s all because this child is ill-omened!”
Old Mrs. Wu slammed the table abruptly.
Jiang Xiu looked up, her expression darkening.
“What does Mother mean by that?”
Old Mrs. Wu sneered, “What do I mean? Since she was born, has there been a single peaceful day in this household? Ling’er was perfectly fine before, but now she’s scared out of her wits just by touching her. Today, on the Marquis’s birthday, everything turned into such a mess—what else could it be but ill fortune?”
Wu Jiaojiao chimed in tearfully, “Exactly! She didn’t even cry when she was born—that’s just plain strange!”
Lin Shuang sat to the side, holding Wu Ling in her arms. She didn’t speak, only lowered her eyes as if she had suffered a great injustice.
Wu Ling huddled in her embrace, her little face still deathly pale.
She was also staring at Fu Fu.
Her gaze held both fear and hatred.
Jiang Xiu tightened her hold on Fu Fu, her voice low but icy cold. “Fu’er is my daughter. No one will slander her.”
Just as Old Mrs. Wu was about to curse again, a cold gust of wind suddenly swept in from outside.
Even though it was late summer, the wind felt bone-chillingly cold, as if it had crawled out of a graveyard.
The candles in the flower hall flickered violently.
In the next moment, terrified screams erupted from the courtyard.
“There’s a ghost—”
A young maid carrying bowls and plates trembled in fright, dropping the remnants and shattering them on the floor.
Old Mrs. Wu’s face paled instantly, nearly dropping the prayer beads in her hand.
“Nonsense!”
But as soon as she spoke, several lanterns along the corridor went out one after another.
Darkness flooded in like a tide.
A faint black mist crept over the threshold into the flower hall, twisting and writhing as if alive, heading straight for Wu Ling in Lin Shuang’s arms.
Wu Ling’s pupils contracted sharply, her cries of fear stuck in her throat.
The monthly Malevolent Spirits invasion that occurred on the full moon in her previous life wasn’t supposed to start until a year later!
Back then, she had even been highly praised by the emperor for predicting this event!
How could it have started a full year earlier in this life?!
Lin Shuang screamed, clutching Wu Ling as she stumbled backward, nearly tripping over an overturned side table and almost dropping Wu Ling.
“Ling’er!”
Old Mrs. Wu was terrified out of her wits, wanting to step forward but not daring to.
Wu Jiaojiao clung to a pillar, crying and shouting, “Don’t come over! Don’t come over!”
Fu Fu’s little face scrunched up.
[So noisy.]
[Such filthy Ghostly Qi, and it dares to run wild in the mortal world?]
Hearing her daughter’s inner thoughts, Jiang Xiu instinctively tightened her arms.
She saw the black mist suddenly hesitate as it approached Wu Ling, as if sensing something terrifying, and abruptly recoiled.
Fu Fu stared intently at the black mist.
The mist trembled violently, emitting a sharp, inhuman shriek, then burst apart with a bang, dissolving into a wisp of gray smoke that vanished by the threshold.
The flower hall fell into dead silence.
No one dared to speak.
Old Mrs. Wu slumped into her chair, her face as pale as paper.
Lin Shuang held Wu Ling, trembling uncontrollably.
Wu Ling stared at Fu Fu in disbelief.
She had felt it clearly just now—the black mist wasn’t afraid of the crowd or the lights.
What it feared was actually a tiny infant…
As if finally snapping back to reality, she suddenly thought of something and burst into loud sobs, her small hand pointing frantically toward the door as she stammered out a few broken words, “Go… go…”
Old Mrs. Wu was stunned for a moment, then exclaimed as if grasping at a lifeline, “Ling’er! It was Ling’er who scared that filthy thing away!”
Lin Shuang immediately tightened her hold on Wu Ling, tears welling in her eyes as she said, “My Ling’er was staring at that black mist the whole time—she was protecting everyone from disaster!”
Wu Ling buried herself in her embrace, crying even louder, but a flicker of smugness flashed in her eyes.
Now, everyone’s gaze toward Wu Ling was tinged with awe.
Night had completely fallen.
Jiang Xiu paid no further attention to the Wu family, carrying Fu Fu as she turned and returned to the side courtyard.
Only after entering the room did she notice that Fu Fu’s small hand had been clenched tightly all along.
An inexplicable tightness gripped Jiang Xiu’s heart as she gently pried open her palm.
On the fair, tender palm, there was now a faint, almost imperceptible black mark.
The black mark vanished in an instant.
Fu Fu’s drowsy eyes suddenly darkened.
[Dammit.]
[Something filthy is looking for me…]