After everyone left, the Su family began cleaning up—washing dishes and tidying the place.
Suddenly, Old Madam Su noticed that her precious granddaughter was holding something shiny and golden in her hand.
She quickly put down what she was doing and went over to take a closer look—and was instantly shocked.
Without a word, she scooped the little girl up and hurried into the room.
The others outside were confused, but soon they heard Old Madam Su calling from inside:
“Everyone, come in—quick! Eldest, lock the door!”
Hearing this, they knew something serious must be going on—something that couldn’t be seen by outsiders.
The eldest son hurried to shut and lock the door, and only then did everyone enter the room.
Inside, they saw Su Muyao sitting on the bed, her short legs swinging back and forth, looking like an innocent child.
Old Madam Su sat beside her, clutching something in her hand, looking extremely nervous.
“What’s got you so worked up?” Old Master Su asked. “What’s going on?”
Old Madam Su quickly handed him the object.
He took a closer look—and it turned out to be a lump of gold, gleaming brightly.
“Sweetheart, where did you get this?”
As soon as the question was asked, everyone in the room turned to look at Su Muyao.
“Grandpa, Grandma, my master gave it to me! He said knowledge can change one’s fate and told me to go study at a school.”
Only then did Old Master Su recall that a couple of days ago, the girl had mentioned having a “master” in her dreams. But still…
Before anyone could process it, Su Muyao suddenly produced a large chicken drumstick out of thin air and started happily gnawing on it.
This nearly scared Old Madam Su into fainting, and everyone else in the room was equally stunned by the sudden sight.
Only Su Sanlang reacted differently—his face lit up with excitement.
“Daughter, daughter! Is this what they call turning stone into gold in those opera stories? No, wait—that’s not right… you didn’t even touch anything, and it turned into a chicken leg!”
He slapped his forehead and fell into thought again.
“What do they call this in those stories… Oh right! A magic artifact, isn’t it? We just can’t see it, right?”
Su Muyao casually replied, “Nope. It’s just something my master gave me. Since he gave it to me, I can take things out and show you.”
Hearing this, the others thought the “master” she spoke of might be right there with them.
Old Madam Su suddenly dropped to her knees and called out,
“Immortal, please don’t blame the child—she’s still young and doesn’t understand proper manners. It’s our fault as adults for not teaching her well. Please forgive us!”
Su Muyao quickly jumped off the bed.
“Grandma, get up! My master isn’t here—he’s on an immortal island.
He can talk to me with his spirit and teach me things in my dreams. Don’t be scared—he said he’s an immortal!”
Only then did everyone finally calm down.
Old Master Su and Old Madam Su exchanged a glance. When they looked back at their sons and daughters-in-law, their expressions had turned much more serious.
“Everything you saw and heard today stays in your stomachs.
If I ever find out any of you let this slip, don’t blame me for being ruthless.”
The three sons were visibly shaken. They had never seen their usually gentle mother act this fierce before.
Yes—fierce.
Like a hen protecting her chicks, ready to attack at any second.
Everyone nodded repeatedly. The third son’s wife spoke up first:
“Don’t worry, Mother. I swear I won’t say a word. This is our precious child—I’ll protect her and never let anyone harm her.”
The eldest, the second, and the second son’s wife all nodded in agreement.
“And as for the eldest,” Old Madam Su added, “don’t tell your wife about this. What if she lets it slip to her family? That would cause trouble.”
“Don’t worry, Mother,” he replied.
Still uneasy, she continued to warn them:
“It’s not that I don’t trust you—or your wife…”
“You know how it is with the eldest daughter-in-law—she’s just too kindhearted. She thinks of her family back home, so she tends to tell them everything. But if you think about it carefully, that bunch back at her family? They don’t see her as one of their own.
So just to be safe, this matter absolutely must not be mentioned to anyone.”
Eldest Son Su understood his mother’s concern. Naturally, he wouldn’t tell his wife—not because he didn’t trust her, but because her family really were… troublesome! When they married, her family demanded a hefty bride price—two taels of silver upfront, then added another one later after everything was settled.
Back then, a typical bride price was just around one or two taels! Over the years, his wife would occasionally visit her family and bring back small gifts, but every time she returned empty-handed, because her relatives were like bloodsuckers—they only knew how to take, never to give.
Old Madam Su sat down on the bed, gently patting little Fu Bao’s head.
“We’ve said enough about this today. From now on, you must never mention it again, understand? There are far too many bad people in the world. If anyone finds out about your abilities, they might try to kidnap you.
Do you understand? You must never tell anyone—no matter who it is.”
Su Muyao nodded eagerly. “Don’t worry, Grandma. I won’t tell anyone. Only you, Grandma.”
Old Madam Su’s heart melted at that.
That night, she repeated her instructions to each household again and again, just to make sure no one accidentally let it slip.
And the children? Not a single one of them spilled a word—they knew better than to let little lips blabber.
Later, Old Master Su noticed something on the room’s table—a ginseng root.
“Old Madam, come look at this!”
“Why the fuss?” Old Madam Su glanced over and froze. “Old man… this really looks like ginseng.”
Su Sanlang also leaned closer. Wait a minute—isn’t this the wild root our little girl dug up herself? And why is it inside, placed on such a fine cloth?
“Father, this is from yesterday. I took Fu Bao up the mountain to collect bird eggs. She insisted on digging this root, so I helped her. Why hasn’t it been thrown away yet?”
Old Madam Su almost wanted to smack her oblivious third son.
“What do you mean, a root? This looks like ginseng!”
Old Master Su immediately treated it like a treasure, holding it carefully in both hands.
“Wife, it really does look like ginseng.”
The root was pale yellow-white, with a thick main body, straight stem, and cylindrical shape.
Old Madam Su’s hands trembled with excitement as she pointed at the herb. “It really looks like it. I remember when we collected herbs before—I’ve seen one like this in the apothecary, fully intact.”
Old Master Su slapped his thigh in realization. “I remember now! Yes, but the ones I saw were much smaller. Those were said to be over a hundred years old—the pride of the old pharmacy.”
Peach Willow Village had always been poor. Everyone knew there were treasures on the mountains, but the mountains also held man-eating beasts. Life was far more important than any treasure.
They’d heard of people finding valuable herbs before, but only in other villages. Nothing like this had ever happened in their own village.
Old Madam Su’s mind raced. Should they sell this ginseng, or keep it as part of Fu Bao’s dowry?
Old Master Su picked up another root. “This one—could it be Sanqi?”
He recognized it immediately: beneath the green leaves, the root was gray-brown, with vertical wrinkles and small side roots.
“Yes, this is definitely Sanqi. I’ve seen it before,” he confirmed.
Su Sanlang was equally thrilled. If this really was ginseng and Sanqi, and he had dug it up with his own hands—what luck!
Luckily, they hadn’t mistaken it for an ordinary root and thrown it away. He leaned toward Su Muyao, planting a quick kiss on her little cheek, pride beaming in his eyes.