Chapter 119: The Fateful Encounter of the Young Boy

After hearing this, Wan Chunmei grew even more skeptical. “If that’s truly the case, how could the Madam pass away so early?”

Aunt Zhang grew bolder as she spoke, her voice becoming more unrestrained. “Well, the key point is how she treated the child. Our Madam only wanted a son. She didn’t believe in the monk’s words, and when she heard the baby might be a girl, she became very resentful toward the child. She even planned to switch the baby for a male infant once it was born.”

She sighed deeply. “And so, the curse was set. She lost her fortune, and the child, born under bad omen, died during a difficult birth.”

“Such things really happened?” Wan Chunmei gasped.

Her heart ached even more for Little Qiyue, and she became increasingly perplexed. “Maybe this is just gossip. All this talk about fortune and misfortune… if people just lived honestly, why would there be so much misfortune?”

Aunt Zhang smiled knowingly. “Well, you have a point. But now that I think about it, some of this does sound rather far-fetched.”

Wan Chunmei nodded in agreement. “Indeed, if there were really immortals in this world, would we common folk be suffering so much?”

Aunt Zhang lightly patted her clothes and stood up. “Whether it’s true or not doesn’t matter. The young lady has already passed away, and no one can know for sure.”

With that, she picked up the empty food box and walked out.

Wan Chunmei lowered her head to continue embroidering, deciding it was best to finish quickly so she could leave.

Meanwhile, Tan Xiaomei, who had been quietly working all along, found herself starting to believe Aunt Zhang’s words.

Were there not many strange occurrences in this world?

After all, people had talked of immortals for thousands of years. Could there be some truth to it? No one had ever been able to confirm or deny their existence—so perhaps it was real.

Tan Xiaomei thought about this as she worked even harder on her embroidery.

At that moment, Little Qiyue was wandering through the Cao estate with Liu Zhoucheng.

Liu Zhoucheng was a patient man, carrying the young child who couldn’t walk yet, his face perpetually wearing a gentle, pleasant smile that seemed to make everything feel calm and easy.

When they reached the front courtyard, they ran into Ning Qingyuan.

Ning Qingyuan opened his folding fan and strode forward, smiling. “Zhoucheng, is this your child?”

Liu Zhoucheng quickly shook his head. “No, no.”

Ning Qingyuan sized up Little Qiyue. “Then who is this little girl?”

Liu Zhoucheng carefully placed Little Qiyue on his shoulder and looked up at her with a smile. “She’s the child of my older brother and his wife.”

Ning Qingyuan immediately understood and exclaimed, “Ah, your niece!”

He then extended his hand toward Little Qiyue. “Come, let me hold her.”

Little Qiyue blinked her big, round eyes and just stared at him, unmoving.

Though she didn’t feel any strong dislike for the stranger, she wasn’t ready to be held by him yet.

Liu Zhoucheng noticed this and gently lowered Little Qiyue back into his arms. “She’s a bit shy with strangers,” he explained.

Ning Qingyuan, feeling a bit helpless, withdrew his hand. Just then, a small voice piped up beside him.

“I want to hold her.”

Liu Zhoucheng froze for a moment, then looked at the small boy and asked, “Who is this little gentleman?”

Ning Qingyuan casually twirled his fan and smiled, “This is our Third Prince.”

Liu Zhoucheng was stunned and nearly choked. “The, the Third Prince?!”

Ning Qingyuan nodded. “Yes, the Emperor noticed that he had nothing to do, so he sent him along with me for a visit to Pingyang County.”

Liu Zhoucheng quickly bowed, holding Little Qiyue. “Your Highness, it’s an honor.”

The young boy, despite his royal status, was unpretentious and still insisted on what he said earlier. “I want to hold her.”

Liu Zhoucheng hesitated, then looked down at Little Qiyue. “Does the Third Prince want to hold her?”

The young boy’s deep eyes fixed on Little Qiyue, and he slowly nodded.

Liu Zhoucheng, still unsure, reluctantly handed Little Qiyue to him.

Although the boy was young, he was much taller than most children his age due to his foreign mother, and he held Little Qiyue with ease, without appearing awkward.

Little Qiyue, her grape-like eyes wide open, gazed up at him but didn’t resist being held.

Ning Qingyuan leaned closer to Liu Zhoucheng and whispered, “Zhoucheng, the Third Prince came here secretly, so when there are other people around, just call him ‘Young Master.’”

Liu Zhoucheng nodded but couldn’t help complaining, “Why bring a Prince along? If anything happens, will we even survive?”

Ning Qingyuan laughed casually. “It’s fine, it’s fine. The Third Prince is kind-hearted and rarely makes enemies. No one would dare harm him.”

Liu Zhoucheng glanced back at the boy holding Little Qiyue and asked, “How long are you staying here?”

Ning Qingyuan replied slowly, “Until we find the person we’re looking for.”

Liu Zhoucheng grew serious. “And what if you can’t find them?”

Ning Qingyuan smiled confidently. “Don’t worry, with me leading the way, we will find them.”

Liu Zhoucheng sighed, thinking there was more to the story, but before he could ask any further questions, the young boy suddenly spoke up.

“Lord Ning.”

Ning Qingyuan immediately looked up. “What is it, Your Highness?”

The little boy raised his head and pointed at Little Qiyue in his arms. “She… she seems to have wet herself.”

Both Liu Zhoucheng and Ning Qingyuan were taken aback.

Indeed, the boy’s clothes were damp.

Little Qiyue had buried her flushed face in his arms, and her expression couldn’t be seen.

“Ah!” Liu Zhoucheng reacted immediately, walking toward them. “Let me hold her, let me hold her!”