The voice was soft and hoarse, stumbling its way into complete human speech.
Yet it was just these two words that made Jiang Xiu’s hand tremble violently.
Tears fell almost instantly.
“Zhan’er…”
“You spoke? You can speak?”
Her voice quivered—she had suppressed too much over the past ten years.
Her eldest son, Wu Che, had been born slow-witted. Now nine years old, he still couldn’t string together a full sentence and needed constant care for every aspect of his life.
Her second son, Wu Zhan, had been unable to speak since birth. Despite being exceptionally intelligent, with a photographic memory, he was barred from even stepping into the academy gates because of the label “mute.”
People outside looked down on them.
The Wu family despised them…
So she sheltered her two children in a secluded courtyard, day and night seeking doctors and medicines, praying to gods and buddhas, hoping that heaven would show them mercy just once.
Tears welled in Wu Zhan’s eyes as he struggled to squeeze out a few more broken words.
“Mother… Mama… don’t cry…”
Jiang Xiu could no longer hold back, tears falling one after another.
Nestled in her swaddling clothes, Fu Fu narrowed her eyes in satisfaction at the sight.
[That’s more like it.]
[Spend more time with me, and both Elder Brother and Second Brother’s conditions will gradually improve.]
[Though those wretched beings cursed me as the world’s greatest villainess, I’ve still accumulated some merit.]
[As long as I recover a bit of Demonic Qi, not only can I protect Mother, but I could even kick those scoundrels one by one into the gutter—no problem at all, haha.]
Holding Wu Zhan, Jiang Xiu listened to her daughter’s words, her heart both warmed and aching.
Her daughter truly was a blessing bestowed upon her by heaven.
Before she could ponder further, she saw Fu Fu suddenly furrow her little brow, as if remembering something, her expression growing serious.
[Counting the days…]
[Eldest Uncle should be about to lead the troops to the border, right?]
[How tragic.]
[He’s clearly the mortal realm’s number one War God.]
[After finally driving back the foreign invaders, he ends up severely wounded and loses his right arm.]
[Returning to the capital in triumph with his crippled body, before he can even catch his breath, he runs into Wu Ling prophesying the Jiang family’s rebellion.]
[Over a decade of military achievements, wiped out in a single day.]
[In the end, he suffered every humiliation before his death.]
[The Jiang family… truly, each one is more tragic than the last.]
Each sentence sent chills down Jiang Xiu’s spine.
She remembered the letter from her maternal family a few days ago—
Her eldest brother, Jiang Huaian, was to lead the troops to battle tomorrow!
If her daughter’s words were true, then this departure would mark the beginning of the Jiang family’s downfall.
The tears in Jiang Xiu’s eyes quickly faded, replaced by a sharp, almost piercing clarity.
She could wait no longer.
Not a single step could be delayed!
That very night, Jiang Xiu immediately had Xing’er prepare a carriage. Carrying Fu Fu, she rushed back to the Jiang residence under the cover of darkness.
The night was deep and thick, the carriage wheels rumbling over the bluestone-paved road. A bitingly cold wind seeped through the gaps in the carriage curtain.
Wrapped tightly in thick swaddling clothes, only her eyes visible, Fu Fu yawned sleepily but stubbornly refused to doze off.
[Sigh.]
[Even I, the Demon Lord, have to travel through the night to save people.]
But though she complained, she didn’t close her eyes after all.
Because this trip was to save the Jiang family, and to save Jiang Xiu.
These past two days of closeness seemed to have softened her Demon Heart a little. Unconsciously, she had truly begun to see Jiang Xiu as her own mother.
In the past, those wretched beings always said she had no father or mother, that she had sprung from a crack in a stone.
When she returned to the Demon Realm, she would make sure to flaunt this properly in front of those wretched beings.
At this thought, Fu Fu unconsciously curved the corners of her mouth.
By the time they arrived at the Jiang residence, the night was already deep.
The mansion was still brightly lit.
Jiang Huaian, still clad in his battle armor, stood in the front hall, bidding farewell to his parents and several younger brothers.
Naturally tall and imposing, the cold, hard armor made him appear even more towering and majestic, though a hint of heaviness was concealed between his brows.
The situation at the border this time was extremely perilous.
Once he left, there was no guarantee he would return.
As soon as Fu Fu entered, she was momentarily dazzled by the crowd filling the room.
[So these are my uncles.]
[They really don’t look bad.]
[In that Mirror of the Mortal Realm before, I only saw their miserable state after being beheaded and hung on the city walls.]
[Each of them had bled dry, their faces turned blue and black from the wind, nothing like the imposing figures they are now.]
Everyone in the room: “…”
For a moment, no one spoke.
All instinctively glanced at each other, trying to confirm whether they had misheard.
Heads hung on the city walls?
What kind of nonsense was this infant spouting!
What was even more chilling—
Her tone as she said this even carried a hint of regret, as if sighing.
Fu Fu continued.
[And Grandfather.]
[He worked tirelessly to support that scoundrel Wu Xiong, only to lose his integrity in the end, thoroughly smeared with the dirty accusation of treason.]
[Not a single member of the entire Jiang family met a good end.]
[Especially Eldest Uncle—this time, he lost his right arm and was never again hailed as the number one war god.]
Jiang Father’s expression changed abruptly.
Jiang Huaian’s hand also clenched suddenly, his knuckles turning white.
The words “Eldest Uncle loses his right arm this time” pierced everyone’s hearts like a needle.
Blades and swords were blind; such a thing was not impossible.
Seeing the expressions on her father and brother’s faces, Jiang Xiu’s heart settled instead.
Indeed.
Just like Zhan’er, they too could hear her daughter’s inner thoughts.
This was precisely why she had rushed back to the Jiang residence in the dead of night with her child.
Without wasting a single word in the front hall, she handed Fu Fu to Jiang Mother’s arms and then entered the study with Jiang Father, Jiang Huaian, and her brothers.
No one knew exactly what they discussed.
All that was known was that early the next morning, news suddenly spread that Jiang Huaian, who was supposed to lead the troops to battle, had “suffered a relapse of old injuries, plagued by severe illness, and was unable to depart.”
The court was in an uproar.
Before dawn, Jiang Xiu quietly returned to the Wu residence, carrying Fu Fu, who was swaying drowsily.
When she returned, the Wu household was in chaos.
Old Mrs. Wu had gone early in the morning to open the public treasury, intending to allocate funds for expenses.
But upon checking the accounts, her face turned ashen.
Yesterday’s dinner, along with Wu Jiaojiao’s massive pile of cosmetics from Huaxiang Pavilion, had already exhausted all the cash she had on hand.
She gasped in pain, unable to help but berate Wu Jiaojiao fiercely, calling her wasteful and a spendthrift.
But what angered her most was that Jiang Xiu had truly refused to cover their expenses.
She had spent the entire night poring over the account books, her eyes nearly strained, but found not a single trace of Jiang Xiu “lining her own pockets.”
Over all these years, Jiang Xiu had truly not taken a single coin from the marquis’s estate!
At this thought, Old Mrs. Wu felt even more suffocated.
Didn’t that mean that all the extravagance, the prestige, and the daily expenses of the household had largely been subsidized by Jiang Xiu’s dowry?
Unwilling to admit it, she dragged Wu Jiaojiao early in the morning to complain to Wu Xiong.
Lin Shuang was also there.
Today, she deliberately wore a dress that was neither new nor old, with only a plain silver hairpin in her hair, making her appear particularly delicate and fragile.
“Husband, this is all I have left…”
She took a silver ingot from her sleeve and carefully placed it on the table, tears welling up in her eyes.
“I also had a share in yesterday’s rouge and powder. If I can help ease the burden on the household, I will feel a little better.”
“It’s all my fault. If I had stopped my sister, I wouldn’t have caused the old lady such trouble…”
Her voice was soft, and she subtly shielded Wu Jiaojiao behind her.
Wu Jiaojiao immediately flared up.
“How can this be your fault!”
“When a new bride enters the household, it’s only right for the mistress to provide her with proper jewelry and clothing! Jiang Xiu is clearly trying to humiliate you on purpose!”
“She won’t even give you anything decent. As soon as you entered the household, she treats you like this. If word gets out, people will think our Wu family mistreats newcomers!”