Jiang Xiu’s heart tightened.
Someone was looking for her daughter… and it was Malevolent Spirits…
She tucked Fu Fu’s small hand back into the swaddling clothes.
Holding Fu Fu even tighter.
That night, the entire Wu residence remained lit.
Xing’er led a few trusted maidservants to keep watch outside.
The doors and windows were tightly shut, and even the lanterns beneath the corridor were refilled with oil twice.
Outside the Marquis’s residence, the capital was also restless.
Before dawn, news began to spread one after another.
In the Qian family of the southern city, black mist rose from a well at midnight, frightening two night-watching women into fainting on the spot.
At the Liu residence in the western city, a row of lanterns extinguished without wind, and the courtyard was covered in black ash, as if something had crawled through it.
The youngest eighteenth prince had a faint dark mark appear between his eyebrows, impossible to wash away no matter how hard he tried, as if marked by Malevolent Spirits.
Each of these incidents spread fear and unease among the people.
Yet, the Zhongbo Marquis’s residence had also been disturbed by Malevolent Spirits the previous night, but no one was harmed.
Not only was no one harmed, but the black mist had dissipated right before everyone’s eyes.
Thus, rumors began to circulate.
“Have you heard? The Zhongbo Marquis’s residence was also attacked by Malevolent Spirits last night.”
“I know, but no one in their residence was hurt. They say a child scared the foul thing away!”
“Exactly! I heard the child is so young, yet she pointed at the Malevolent Spirits and shouted for it to leave, and the black mist vanished on the spot!”
“No wonder she’s named Wu Ling—she truly has spiritual power. Isn’t this an Auspicious Omen?”
The rumors grew more and more fantastical.
By the end, it was said that Wu Ling had opened her eyes, pointed once, and the Malevolent Spirits turned to dust.
In the front courtyard, Old Mrs. Wu listened to Nanny Zhao’s report, and the gloom on her face finally lifted slightly.
The embarrassment of yesterday’s failed prophecy at the border still weighed heavily on her heart.
But now, with the term “Auspicious Omen” spreading, it felt as though her dignity had been restored.
She twirled her prayer beads and let out a long sigh.
“I always said Ling’er is blessed.”
“If it weren’t for her last night, how could our Marquis’s residence have remained unharmed?”
Nanny Zhao hurriedly agreed, “You’re right, Madam. Now everyone outside is saying that Miss Ling’er is extraordinary by nature, able to protect the household and ward off evil. She’s the lucky star of the Marquis’s residence.”
As Old Mrs. Wu listened, she even straightened her back.
…
In the side courtyard, Xing’er heard the news from outside and flushed with anger.
“Madam, they are utterly shameless!”
“Last night, Concubine Lin’s daughter was clearly frightened to tears!”
“It was our young lady who…”
Jiang Xiu raised her hand to stop her, looking down at Fu Fu in her arms.
The black mark on Fu Fu’s palm had completely disappeared, but Jiang Xiu couldn’t shake her unease.
The words, “Someone is looking for me,” lingered in her ears.
Could someone come to take her child away?
…
Outside the window, the sunlight grew stronger, and the rumors in the capital spread like wildfire.
Some hurried to invite Taoist priests to perform rituals, others rushed to temples to offer incense, while a few quietly inquired about the appearance of the Auspicious Omen from the Zhongbo Marquis’s residence.
Old Mrs. Wu finally regained some of her confidence.
She even had two eternal lamps added to Wu Ling’s room.
As if this way, the embarrassment of last night could be covered up by the term “Auspicious Omen.”
Only Wu Ling herself, amidst everyone’s praises, suddenly felt a chill run down her spine.
She instinctively looked out the window. Though it was daytime, a patch of shadow beneath the eaves remained dense and unyielding.
As the wind blew, the window paper trembled slightly. Wu Ling’s face paled, and she tightly clutched Lin Shuang’s collar.
Something was wrong. This lifetime was far too strange!
She controlled her inner thoughts.
“Mother, I want to enter the palace! I know the pattern of the Malevolent Spirits’ arrival!”
“I can remove the mark on the eighteenth prince’s forehead!”
She desperately recalled all the information about the Malevolent Spirits.
Many events in this lifetime had occurred earlier than before. She didn’t know if it was the butterfly effect caused by her rebirth.
She must quickly solidify her identity as the Auspicious Omen and eradicate the entire Jiang family, including that little infant…
Lin Shuang’s arms tightened around Wu Ling, her eyes immediately filling with wild joy.
The eighteenth prince!
If Ling’er could truly dispel the dark mark on the eighteenth prince’s forehead, then things like the failed border prophecy or the embarrassment at the birthday banquet would no longer matter.
That is a prince, after all!
Moreover, the eighteenth prince is the youngest and has always been favored!
Suppressing the excitement in her heart, she quickly carried Wu Ling to Old Mrs. Wu’s courtyard.
Old Mrs. Wu stopped her prayer beads upon hearing this.
“What did you say!”
Lin Shuang’s eyes reddened: “After Ling’er heard the rumors in the capital, she cried incessantly, pointing toward the palace and uttering a few words related to the eighteenth prince!”
“At first, this humble concubine didn’t understand what Ling’er meant, but upon careful thought, I fear Ling’er truly has a method to resolve the mark on the eighteenth prince’s forehead!”
Old Mrs. Wu’s breathing quickened.
If it were anything else, she might still hesitate.
But now, with rumors spreading that Ling’er is the Auspicious Omen, and the eighteenth prince in the palace coincidentally encountering trouble—
This is clearly a heaven-sent opportunity!
Remembering Jiang Xiu’s attitude toward her these past few days, she felt a surge of anger.
If they could gain the royal family’s favor, what would Jiang Xiu’s meager dowry amount to?
“Summon the Marquis back! Submit a request to enter the palace!”
…
In the side courtyard, Xing’er paced angrily around the room.
“Madam, the old madam and the others have taken that child into the palace.”
“Just now, the maids in the courtyard were all saying… that the rightful daughter should be someone like Miss Ling’er, the Auspicious Omen…”
“If she truly gains favor in the palace, won’t they overshadow us in the future?”
Xing’er’s eyes reddened with anxiety.
But Jiang Xiu merely glanced up calmly.
“Don’t worry.”
“More importantly, how is the investigation of the shops I asked you to look into?”
Xing’er immediately wiped her tears and handed Jiang Xiu an account book, speaking seriously: “Madam, this is all the silver you have left.”
“And this—these are suitable shops and farm estates.”
Jiang Xiu lightly tapped her finger on the account book.
In the past, all her silver had flowed into the bottomless pit of the Marquis’s household.
But what had it brought her in the end?
She would reclaim all her silver and invest it where it could truly generate wealth.
Shops, farm estates, trade caravans, connections.
These would be the retreat for her and her children in the future.
“Acquire all the shops in the west of the city and the farm estates in the outskirts of the capital that can be secured.”
Xing’er’s eyes gradually brightened.
Jiang Xiu added calmly:
“These assets must not be registered under the Marquis’s household, nor should the Wu family know about them.”
“Register them separately under different deeds, and keep the account books stored apart.”
…
Meanwhile, in the imperial palace.
Wu Xiong knelt in the hall, his expression respectful.
Old Mrs. Wu held Wu Ling as she knelt to the side, hurriedly explaining: “Your Majesty, Ling’er usually struggles to speak clearly, but today she kept pointing toward the palace and crying.”
Lin Shuang knelt behind Old Mrs. Wu, her eyes reddened as she whispered: “This humble concubine, of lowly status, dared not speak out of turn. However, Ling’er kept murmuring words related to the Malevolent Spirits… That is why I boldly accompanied the old madam into the palace.”
As she finished speaking, Wu Ling uttered indistinct yet startling words.
“Full moon… every month… comes…”
Everyone in the hall was shocked.
The Empress immediately pressed, “What did you say!”
Lin Shuang immediately prostrated herself, her voice trembling: “Your Majesty, Your Highness, perhaps what Ling’er means is that every full moon, the Malevolent Spirits will come once!”
The expressions of everyone in the hall changed.
The Emperor’s eyes darkened considerably. Just yesterday, the Imperial Astronomer’s Bureau had observed the night sky and calculated an anomaly in the lunar phase.
This child had actually hit the mark with a single statement.
“Continue.”
Wu Ling curled the corner of her mouth.
In her previous life, the eighteenth prince had also been plagued by yin energy.
It took the Imperial Astronomer’s Bureau several days to find a method to break it.
Using cinnabar and gold thread to draw talismans, then feeding him the talisman-infused water, they managed to save his life.
She didn’t know the specific method.
But knowing these few keywords was enough!
She extended her small hand, pretending to struggle: “Cin… gold…”
The leading black-robed man from the Imperial Astronomer’s Bureau sharpened his gaze, his pupils trembling.
“Cinnabar as the guide, gold thread to draw the talisman…”
“Your Majesty, this method can be tried!”