Chapter 5: The Heavenly Empress Mazu

“Anan!”

A tall young man hurried over, instantly drawing the attention of everyone around.

Among the villagers, this clean and bright young man stood out. His clear eyes were filled with anxiety.

He rushed forward to examine the boat’s underside, then looked at Xu Sinan with deep concern.

Cui Jinfeng, watching the two of them with what she thought was “intense affection,” gritted her teeth and said, “Haitong, the evidence is irrefutable, and it concerns the whole village. You cannot shield them!”

Xu Sinan ignored the troublemaker and began thinking of a solution. Since the villagers were so superstitious, she could only fight fire with fire.

“We did indeed go to the Forbidden Sea!”

Cui Jinfeng laughed triumphantly. “So you admit it at last!”

Xu Qianxing and Li Haitong were both shocked and looked at Xu Sinan in disbelief.

The crowd was split in their opinions, with some claiming they had known all along, while others believed the Xu siblings had made an honest mistake.

“Anan, did you accidentally enter the Forbidden Sea?” Li Haitong asked urgently. If it was an accidental intrusion, there might still be hope.

Xu Sinan shook her head. “I asked to go, my brother was forced to go with me.”

Xu Qianxing clenched his fists tightly and stepped forward, standing protectively in front of his sister.

“We didn’t go willingly. Cui Jinfeng is falsely accusing us. I, Xu Qianxing, will bear the punishment alone, and my sister is innocent.”

Xu Sinan stepped forward, smiling at her brother. In her previous life, she had been an only child and always envied those who had brothers. Now, her wish had come true, and it felt wonderful to be protected.

Her expression turned serious, and she spoke earnestly, “Yesterday, Mazu appeared in my dream and asked me to do something.”

“Mazu said that part of her true form was lost in the Forbidden Sea and has been trapped there. She asked me to retrieve it and enshrine it in the Mazu temple.”

Cui Jinfeng scoffed. Who did she think she was? Could Mazu really contact her? She was just making excuses.

“Did you find the true form, then?” Cui Jinfeng sneered.

Xu Sinan didn’t even glance at her. Slowly, she took out a small white jade statue from her bosom.

It was a beautifully carved Mazu, with a gentle and compassionate gaze directed at the crowd.

The smooth, white jade had excellent quality, and in the sunlight, it gleamed with a soft light, adding to its sacred aura.

The villagers moved forward to examine it, shocked beyond words.

“It really is a Mazu statue!”

“Why is it glowing?”

“Could it be that Mazu has manifested herself?”

Some villagers immediately knelt, chanting prayers and offering their requests.

Cui Jinfeng snapped, “It’s just a statue. You probably hid it in your clothes long ago!”

“I ask you, do you have such a fine statue in your home?” Xu Sinan countered.

The villagers shook their heads. Such high-quality jade was rare, not only in the village but throughout the entire island of Jizhou.

“The statue was found on a sunken ship, and it’s inscribed with the year ‘Zhizheng 25.’ If you don’t believe me, you can go and see for yourselves. The ship is full of broken porcelain, all dated ‘Zhizheng 25.'”

The statue had indeed been recovered from the wreck. It had been placed in a bamboo basket, and Xu Sinan had discovered it while rummaging through the contents.

Xu Qianxing was overjoyed and immediately suggested that it should no longer be kept in a bamboo basket, as it would be disrespectful to Mazu.

Xu Sinan, helpless, had no choice but to keep it on her person.

The statue’s origin was real, but Mazu’s dream had been fabricated—half truth, half lie. This mix was most likely to be believed.

Li Haitong immediately stepped forward to inspect the statue, nodding in agreement. “It’s true.”

The villagers, upon hearing this, believed it even more.

Xu Sinan sighed, “Mazu instructed me very carefully, telling me that this matter must be kept secret. Otherwise, her true form may not be restored.”

She pointed at Cui Jinfeng and scolded, “This is all your fault! If Mazu is angered, what will happen to us?”

Everyone froze, suddenly worried. If they lost Mazu’s protection, how would they be able to go to sea?

They turned and glared at Cui Jinfeng, deeply displeased.

Cui Jinfeng had always been arrogant because she was the village head’s daughter, but now, she had offended Mazu. It seemed the true cause of the village’s misfortune wasn’t the Xu siblings—it was Cui Jinfeng herself.

Cui Jinfeng was livid and shouted in retaliation, “She’s making up lies, and you all believe her!”

“How can we not believe? In front of Mazu, how dare you be disrespectful!” Li Shanni was the first to retort.

“Exactly, you’re disrespecting the Sea Goddess. Don’t drag us down with you,” someone else chimed in.

“The drought is already severe enough. We can’t afford to anger the gods any further!”

As the villagers knelt and prayed to Mazu, they continued to scold Cui Jinfeng.

Xu Sinan smiled to herself, inwardly reflecting on the pros and cons of the villagers’ superstition. Cui Jinfeng had skillfully used it to her advantage, but why couldn’t she do the same?

“The Mazu temple has long been in disrepair. It’s about time it was renovated,” Xu Sinan said, her gaze fixed on Cui Jinfeng, a smirk playing at the corner of her lips. She was determined to make the village head’s family pay.

The villagers immediately nodded. The village head had taken advantage of them for years, growing rich in the process. It was time he gave something back to the community.

Many villagers started heading toward the village head’s house to discuss the renovations.

Xu Sinan weaved through the crowd and placed the statue carefully in Cui Jinfeng’s hands.

“Miss Cui, you should hold onto it carefully. The statue must be delivered to the Mazu temple.”

“You’ll kneel in front of Mazu to repent, and how long you stay there will depend on the sincerity of your remorse.”

Cui Jinfeng shook with fury but dared not throw the statue away. Her father had never punished her with kneeling, but Xu Sinan—how dared she make her kneel?

“That’s right! We’ll take turns watching over Miss Jinfeng as she kneels. If the time is too short, Mazu might not forgive her,” Li Shanni added with a smile, as she and several villagers began pushing Cui Jinfeng toward the Mazu temple.

Cui Jinfeng fumed with rage, her feet unwilling to move but forced to follow. Every so often, she turned to glare at Xu Sinan, her eyes filled with hatred. This little wench had humiliated her today and forced her to kneel. She swore she would make her pay a hundredfold in the future.

Xu Sinan waved goodbye with a grin, feeling completely satisfied. Cui Jinfeng had truly demonstrated the meaning of “hoisting a stone only to drop it on her own foot.”

“Little sister, you’re amazing!” Xu Qianxing exclaimed, his face lit with excitement. He had prepared himself to lose his hands, but the situation had completely turned in their favor.

“I told you not to worry. It’ll be fine,” Xu Sinan laughed.

“From now on, I’ll listen to you, little sister,” Xu Qianxing said with a faint sense of admiration. He felt a subtle change in his sister and found himself feeling more at ease with her, willing to trust her unconditionally.

“Good.” Xu Sinan nodded firmly.

As Xu Qianxing went to return the boat, Li Haitong approached with a worried expression.

“Anan, you’ve completely offended the village head’s family. They won’t let you off easily.”

“So what?” Xu Sinan responded nonchalantly, raising an eyebrow. Was she supposed to just let them chop off her hands?

She had plans to become the richest person in the Dusheng Dynasty. She wasn’t worried about a mere village head.

Li Haitong paused, surprised at the newfound confidence in Xu Sinan’s voice.

Xu Sinan turned to leave, not wanting to be further entangled with her “childhood sweetheart.”

The original owner might have had feelings, but she didn’t. Men only got in the way of making money.

Li Haitong wanted to ask if she needed help now that she had split from the family, but seeing how confident and composed Xu Sinan was, he assumed she didn’t need it. He felt a pang of melancholy in his heart.

---

“Mother!”

Xu Qianxing rushed into the house, bursting with energy.

“Ah Xing, you’re back?”

Zhu Wanrou, true to her name, was fair-skinned, with a beautiful face exuding warmth, quite unlike the other village women.

Years of hard living had worn on her, though. At just under forty, her back was slightly hunched, and traces of time had left their marks on her face.

Her father was the only scholar in the ten villages, and she had been raised with a modest education, carrying an air of bookishness.

Seeing her children return, she smiled and went to greet them. “What did you catch today?”

The siblings hesitated to mention the Forbidden Sea. They lied, saying they had just gone fishing.

Xu Qianxing stiffened, his movements faltering as he lowered his head and scratched his head, avoiding her gaze.

Xu Sinan realized that the commotion at the dock had been loud enough to attract attention. There was no way they could keep it a secret.

However, her mother had always been in poor health, especially after taking care of the sick original owner the other day. She looked terribly haggard.

Xu Sinan lowered her head, thinking carefully about how to explain everything without scaring her mother.

Suddenly, a voice called urgently from the doorway.

“Ah Xing, Ah Nan, hurry, come help save someone!”