Chapter 17: Birth (Part 12)

In the quiet depths of the Shuifu (Shui Mansion), Xiao Dong hurriedly walked with her skirt lifted.

She held the lady’s token as she went to find her mother. Upon seeing her, her mother was extremely happy, but when she learned that Xiao Dong had come from the lady’s room, her expression turned to one of worry. She scolded Xiao Dong for being too childish and for breaking the rules.

Her mother explained that, due to her age, she didn’t have heavy responsibilities in the embroidery room. Moreover, the head maid knew her situation and granted her a day off every five days, along with a token. From now on, she could often come to see Xiao Dong, so they wouldn’t have to be separated anymore.

Her mother borrowed the kitchen to cook longevity noodles for her. After they finished eating and talking for a while, her mother urged her to hurry back to the lady’s room. Xiao Dong clung to her mother’s embrace, reluctant to leave. Her mother still felt sorry for her and hugged her to sleep. They spent two days together, which was quite happy, but Xiao Dong gradually began to miss the lady. Thinking of the lady alone in her chamber, her eyes lonely under the candlelight, made Xiao Dong feel uncomfortable.

One day, Xiao Dong woke up at the fourth watch of the night. She left the birthday gift she had prepared on her mother’s bed, helped her mother tuck in the quilt, then jumped out of bed and decided to sneak back in the dark.

The lady hadn’t called for her to return at midnight, but she still chose to be quiet so that Xu Qianyu could see her as soon as he opened his eyes.

However, when she returned to the lady’s chamber, she found it eerily quiet, as if it were too silent.

She waited anxiously for a long time, gathering her courage to lift the bed curtain, only to be shocked: the bed was empty; the lady was truly not in the room.

Where could the lady have gone at this late hour?

Could she be sleeping elsewhere? But why was the bed so messy, with the curtain drawn as if someone were inside?

Had she gone to the toilet? But why hadn’t she returned yet?

Xiao Dong paced back and forth by the bed, and suddenly noticed in the darkness that the water-pushing fan had already dried up, having stopped turning, which further terrified her:

The lady was afraid of the heat, and the water-pushing fan needed the maid to refill it regularly. It was refilled once at midnight, allowing it to turn all night. This meant that before midnight, there had been no one in the room.

“Lady…” Outside, the great demon rampaged; the more Xiao Dong thought, the more anxious she became. She turned and rushed out the door, intending to inform the maid and clarify the situation. Even if she got scolded for making a mistake, it would at least ease her mind.

As Xiao Dong hurriedly swept through the door, a shadow flashed by the doorframe; it was the fox, which had jumped to a concealed spot behind the door, baring its teeth and watching Xiao Dong’s retreating figure.

It was the fox that had driven the people from Xu Qianyu’s chamber away, and it had been guarding here ever since to prevent anyone from discovering the lady’s disappearance. Just then, while it had dozed off, it had allowed Xiao Dong to enter the chamber.

It was already the fourth watch of the night, and the young lady had not returned, suggesting that her situation was dire. However, it was still not dawn, so there was still a chance. If the people of the household were alerted, with the temperaments of Guan Niang and Shui Rushan, they might immediately ride out of the city to search for her.

If, by any misfortune, she was indeed taken by that monster, then if the monster flew into a rage, both she and Sanniang would be finished!

With his fox-like eyes watching Xiao Dong’s disappearing figure as she ran away, he quickly picked up a few pebbles with his claws and arranged them on the ground into a confusing formation. Then he clapped his paws and shouted, “Go!”

Xiao Dong was taken aback.

She clearly remembered that she had just left the courtyard; how was it that in the blink of an eye, she was standing back in the courtyard again?

Rubbing her eyes, Xiao Dong continued to walk forward, only to panic when she realized that the layout of Shuifu (Shui Mansion) had changed: it resembled a square courtyard enclosing her. No matter whether she walked east, west, or north, wherever she went, after passing through the door, she would find herself back at her original spot.

The mansions around her were quiet, appearing shadowy and ghostly in the night.

“Miss…” Xiao Dong let out a weak cry, feeling frightened and at a loss. Someone had been on guard at Shuifu (Shui Mansion) at night, and there had even been someone checking her token when she returned. Why was there no one around now?

She quickly lifted her skirt and headed toward a nearby house, knocking on the door and shouting, “Is anyone there?”

The room inside was dark, and no one responded.

Xiao Dong ran to another house, calling, “Is anyone there? The young lady is missing!”

After knocking for a while, there was still silence.

Panicking, she went from house to house, crying out, “Help! Help! Is anyone there?”

She didn’t know how many houses she had knocked on, but suddenly one of the rooms lit up, followed by the sound of a pear wood bench scraping against the floor. Footsteps approached from a distance, as if someone were dragging their feet to the door.

After a while, a sweet yet unfamiliar female voice came from inside, softly asking, “What are you shouting about?”

Seeing a real person made Xiao Dong overjoyed and tearful. She hurriedly said, “I’m Xiao Dong, the maid from the young lady’s room! The young lady seems to be missing!”

“Missing?” The woman spoke slowly, with a hint of doubt in her voice. “You called for me. I’ve been right here.”

Xiao Dong was taken aback. She had just come to the mansion not long ago and mostly stayed in the young lady’s room, so she couldn’t be sure if there were other young ladies. But she was certain this was not Xu Qianyu’s voice.

The woman inside continued, “You just said you were looking for the young lady, right?”

“Yes!”

“I’m here,” the woman said urgently. “You’re the one sent by the Immortal Monarch to come get me.”

“I… I don’t know anything about the Immortal Monarch…” Xiao Dong’s eyes widened, feeling confused.

But the woman became frantic, and Xiao Dong could hear the sounds of her hurriedly packing things. “Xiao Dong, quickly help me open the door so I can come out.”

“I…” Xiao Dong tugged at the door, only to see a lock outside. It rattled with her movements. “This door is locked; I can’t open it.”

“I know.” The woman suddenly calmed down, her voice soothing, containing a reassuring power. “The key is under the third flower pot on the right. Pick it up and unlock the door for me.”

Xiao Dong lifted the flower pot and indeed found a key. She brought it to the lock, trembling as she unlocked it.

“I also need my token,” the voice inside said.

“Ah?”

“Hurry!” The female voice urged, “Slip my gold-foiled token through the crack in the door. I’ll come out and help you find the young lady.”

With no other options and feeling desperate, Xiao Dong could only hope this woman would help her, so she tearfully slipped the gold-foiled token through the door crack.

However, before the door could be opened, the pebbles that the fox had arranged for the confusion “cracked” into dust. Its cultivation was insufficient, and the confusion formation couldn’t last long before it failed. Xiao Dong felt the scene in front of her suddenly twist and distort, as if she were looking through smoke over a fire, feeling as if she were dreaming.

She blankly gazed upward, and when the smoke enveloped her face, she couldn’t withstand the force and finally fainted on the ground. The fox chased after her, seeing that Xiao Dong had run toward the western room, it cautiously looked around before dragging her ankle and pulling her away.

When Xiao Dong woke up, the morning light was faint.

She reached behind her and found herself lying on the small bed in Xu Qianyu’s boudoir.

Hurriedly, she rolled over, staggered a few steps, and lifted the curtain to check on the young lady.

Inside the curtain, Xu Qianyu was soundly asleep, lying on her side, her back to Xiao Dong. She was sleeping so deeply that even when Xiao Dong lifted the curtain, she didn’t wake up.

“Miss…” Xiao Dong cautiously tapped her shoulder.

“Too noisy,” Xu Qianyu groaned, furrowing her brow and swatting Xiao Dong’s hand away. Her eyelashes fluttered, but she didn’t open her eyes and fell back asleep.

She had only escaped from Madame Wang early in the morning and lay down after returning; she was exhausted.

Xiao Dong breathed a sigh of relief and lowered the curtain but smiled while holding her stinging hand. She was sure she had just experienced an incredibly frightening dream in which the young lady had disappeared. She even dreamed that she had gone to call for someone in the middle of the night but couldn’t leave the courtyard, as all the houses had turned into the same shape.

Suddenly, she remembered something and touched her waist, feeling confused.

The gold-foiled token the young lady had given her was genuinely missing from her person; she had no idea where it had fallen.

*

Xu Qianyu slept until noon.

She was awakened by the sound of firecrackers. The thunderous blasts rang joyously and lasted a long time. Annoyed, she covered her ears and then buried her head under the blanket, but she was still forced to wake up.

She told Xiao Dong to go outside and catch the people setting off firecrackers to give them a beating.

Xiao Dong bent over at her bedside and awkwardly informed her that it was impossible because the firecrackers were being set off outside the city.

In the early morning, an Immortal Monarch with the surname Xu announced that the great demon in the city had been cleared.

Nanling City was now liberated.

Therefore, the entire city was celebrating with firecrackers and parades, rejoicing in the newfound peace.

“The Immortal Lord with the surname Xu.” Later, when Xu Qianyu woke up, she sat in front of the vanity, combing her hair while mumbling to herself.

“Xu, Xu Jiansu, second senior brother, the black and red Lingbo sword…”

Is it really such a coincidence?

Then she recalled the monsters in the temple, the white clay, and what Lady Wang had said about “Huazi.” Xu Qianyu started to talk to the wild ghost, “Hey, are you really a wild ghost?”

The system had been silent for over ten days, but at this moment, its aggrieved voice suddenly broke out like a flood: “What do you think!! Haven’t I told you? Haven’t I said it several times? Xu Qianyu, why don’t you believe me? Huh?”

“You don’t believe me, but you believe that fox? I really don’t understand! Do you know that you almost became that monster’s little dessert? Huh?”

“I’m Keyun, I’m going crazy.jpg, ah ah ah ah!”

Xu Qianyu frowned and listened, showing a look of disdain. After a while, her lips coldly moved: “So your name is Keyun.”

The system: “I…”

It might as well be dead.

As for the fox spirit in the backyard of the Shuifu (Shui Mansion), upon seeing the young lady return unscathed, it was shocked. Furthermore, it heard that cultivators had just passed through Nanling, wiping out the monsters, making it both happy and worried. Happy that the monsters could no longer threaten its fox clan; worried that if the young lady learned the truth, it would be in big trouble.

Therefore, since Xu Qianyu returned, the fox had been bowing and scraping to her, being extremely flattering, saying that Third Mistress was very grateful but had suddenly gotten injured. As soon as she recovered, she would come to exorcise ghosts for the young lady. Xu Qianyu was as usual, giving out small amounts of gold and silver rewards. But the fox clan was indeed perceptive; it still felt a bit uneasy, sensing that the young lady’s gaze toward it seemed to carry a hint of coldness.

It thought it was better to pack up and leave the Shui Family sooner rather than later, but it was reluctant to set off immediately because the young lady’s birthday was in two days. Every year on Xu Qianyu’s birthday, there were substantial rewards, and it was infatuated with that gold and silver, wanting to make one last profit from the young lady.

With Xu Qianyu’s birthday approaching, the Shui Family was bustling with decorations.

Every year they had a grand celebration in the city, but this year they would celebrate at home, and everyone attached great importance to it. The family was also testing fireworks, making loud noises that annoyed Xu Qianyu, to the point where Xiao Dong worriedly came to tell her that the golden foil token was lost. She waved her hand and said it was nothing; it was just a token. She would later ask Guan Niang to keep an eye out and have whoever found it report it immediately.

In the flower hall, Guan Niang quietly asked Shui Rushan what birthday gift had been prepared for Xu Qianyu.

No matter how she asked, Shui Rushan just smiled and shook his head, indicating it was a secret.

Guan Niang said, “Oh, sir, just tell me. What interesting thing is it? Let me have a look.”

After pleading for a long time, Shui Rushan finally couldn’t help it: “I noticed that Qianyu seems to have a bit of interest in business. Why not give her those two shops in the south? Let her play with them; if she loses, it’s on me; if she makes a profit, it’s hers.”

Guan Niang thought for a moment, and her expression changed: “One of those shops sells jewelry, and the other sells fabric and does tailoring.”

“Yes.” Shui Rushan said, “Doesn’t she like these?”

“No, you should choose another one, sir!” Guan Niang suddenly wailed, “I prepared a jeweled flower and a new dress; look, isn’t this just a clash?”

She had carefully selected a dress over several months, only to have Shui Rushan directly give away a fabric shop.

Upon hearing the reason, Shui Rushan almost choked with laughter, despite Guan Niang’s pulling. He waved his hand decisively, saying, “No exchange. If you want to change, you do it yourself.”

Just then, Xu Qianyu woke up and entered, and both of them immediately restrained their smiles, turning serious. Shui Rushan, however, calmly wiped the tea that had splashed to his lips.

During lunch, it was quite quiet and leisurely.

Guan Niang started talking: “Now that the ban is lifted, there are just as many weddings and quarrels among couples on the streets. Even the Wang family is in chaos. It shows that during the lockdown, couples staying together all day long can grow tired of each other, no matter how good their relationship is.”

Shui Rushan asked in surprise, “You even know about the officials’ matters?”

“There’s only this one important official nearby; who else should I pay attention to?” Guan Niang said, “And I didn’t pry; it’s not like I overheard it from the kitchen, where Liang, the cook, keeps spreading the word. You can’t help but hear it.”

Xu Qianyu suddenly interjected, “Why is there chaos?”

Both of them looked at her in surprise.

Guan Niang laughed, “It’s just some trivial matters; there’s no need for you to know, Miss.”

“If you want me not to ask, then don’t bring it up,” Xu Qianyu lifted her chin. “Quick, tell me.”

Guan Niang smiled and affectionately replied, “Okay, okay. It’s just that Lady Wang snuck out at night with people from the mansion to Bailu Temple to offer incense while Wang Changsi was asleep. When he woke up and found out, he was furious and was going to punish his wife.”

Shui Rushan said, “It’s indeed risky to go out during a dangerous period, and one should inform the head of the family. But why should Wang Changsi be angry? Isn’t she just trying to do him a good deed?”

Guan Niang coldly said, “Lady Wang came from a humble background; she was only brought out of the countryside a few years ago. She can’t really present herself, and she’s afraid Wang Changsi doesn’t like her. He’s probably wanted to replace her for a long time. Who knows whether this reason is true or just an excuse?”

Xu Qianyu was suddenly startled and noticed that the chopsticks in her hand had broken into four pieces. She quickly hid them in her handkerchief, stood up, and took another pair.

Ever since she soaked in the pond on that mountain, the power within her had become more abundant. Whenever she was in a slightly bad mood, she broke whatever she touched, and she didn’t want to scare her grandfather and Guan Niang.

Xu Qianyu felt displeased upon hearing that Lady Wang had risked going up the mountain to pray for her husband. She remembered the very quiet Lady in white clothes; they had encountered danger along the way, faced monsters, and in the temple, she had nearly been harassed by someone. Meanwhile, Wang Changsi knew nothing but was still thinking of replacing her.

Feeling disturbed, she suddenly thought Lady Wang was pitiful and that someone ought to go beat that bastard up.

---

From now on, Qianyu calls the system: “Keyun.”

System: ??? You better clarify who Keyun is!!

After multiple times

Xu Qianyu: “Keyun.”

System: “Hey, I’m here.” (calm) (giving up the struggle)