Chapter 2

Chapter 2

“You little brat, I finally caught you. Go on, run some more.”

Aunt Liu held a wooden club as thick as an arm, panting for breath. She reached out, grabbed Jin Bao by her thin, sparse hair, and yanked her away from Pei Wanqing.

Jin Bao’s little face scrunched up in pain. Her two tiny feet scraped two trails through the dirt, and her worn-out shoes, full of holes, fell off as she was dragged.

Her pitch-black little feet were soon rubbed raw in two bloody patches, only for the wounds to be covered by dust again, filthy beyond recognition.

Jin Bao bit down hard on her lower lip, tears welling in her eyes. Her little hands kept slapping at Aunt Liu’s hand, trying to break free from her grip.

But Jin Bao was small and weak. It was no different from an ant trying to shake a tree.

“Stop!”

The furious shout, carrying the pressure and authority of someone used to being obeyed, startled Aunt Liu into freezing where she stood.

Pei Wanqing strode over and rescued Jin Bao from Aunt Liu’s claws.

Only then did Aunt Liu realize the other woman was dressed in fine, luxurious clothes.

Nanny Chen hurried over from behind and stepped between Pei Wanqing and Aunt Liu, lest this shrew crash into her lady.

“What are you doing? Why are you abusing a child?”

Nanny Chen forced down her anger and kept her voice as calm as possible.

“I’m hitting my own child. What’s it got to do with you?”

Aunt Liu was used to throwing her weight around. Now that she thought she had reason on her side, her voice naturally rose even louder.

Pei Wanqing did not want to waste time arguing with such a person. She looked straight at Aunt Liu.

“I can see you don’t care for this child. Why not sell her to me?”

If this woman truly loved her own child, how could the girl be so dirty? One glance was enough to tell she had not been properly cared for.

It was not as though Pei Wanqing had never seen how poor families lived.

Even when those families were badly off, their children were at least dressed cleanly, and their skin was kept washed.

But looking at Jin Bao, the exposed skin on her little hands was layered with black grime and scabs.

Aunt Liu had already been planning to sell this little brat anyway, in case she went home and talked nonsense.

Now that someone had come forward to buy her, and a wealthy household at that, Aunt Liu could take the chance to extort a good sum of silver.

“If the noble lady wants to buy her, fine. But I want thirty taels of silver.”

Nanny Chen was so angry at this foolish woman that she actually laughed.

“Aren’t you afraid your tongue will twist from asking so much? There are plenty of children like her at the slave traders’. With thirty taels of silver, I could buy ten.”

But Aunt Liu would not give an inch. She insisted on thirty taels.

“Nanny Chen, give her thirty taels and have her press her handprint.”

Nanny Chen still wanted to say more, but after hearing her lady speak, she finally sighed and went to the carriage to write up a deed of sale for Aunt Liu to press her handprint on.

Aunt Liu hugged the thirty taels of silver and watched the carriage drive away. At once, regret rose in her heart. She had asked for too little. She should have demanded fifty taels.

Inside the carriage, Jin Bao was held in Pei Wanqing’s arms, sobbing so hard she could barely catch her breath.

It was as if she wanted to cry out all the grievances she had suffered over the years.

This auntie made Jin Bao feel very close to her.

At the same time, Pei Wanqing also felt that this child had a deep affinity with her. Could this be the fate Master Huiyuan had spoken of?

By the time they returned to the Marquis’s Mansion, the sky had already darkened.

Pei Wanqing personally carried Jin Bao down from the carriage.

Curious, Jin Bao lifted her head and glanced at the main gate of the Marquis’s Mansion.

This gate looked so familiar, as if she had seen it somewhere before.

Then, an image appeared above the gate.

[“Master said these things must be buried in all eight directions of the Marquis’s Mansion.”

“This subordinate understands.”

Two men in black crept around furtively under cover of night, burying eight objects in the east, south, west, north, and four corners of the Marquis’s Mansion.

Once those eight objects were buried, a mass of black qi gradually covered the sky above the Marquis’s Mansion.

That black qi began to corrode the people inside the Marquis’s Mansion, bit by bit.]

Jin Bao opened her little mouth in shock. She remembered now.

This gate belonged to the big house she had seen on the auntie. Something bad was going to happen to the auntie’s family.

“Auntie, Baby saw bad people hide things.”

Jin Bao had only said one sentence before Pei Wanqing pulled her into her arms in delight.

“Baby, you’re finally willing to speak? From now on, I am your mother, not your auntie. You have to call me Mother.”

That unfamiliar yet somehow familiar address made Jin Bao’s heart beat faster.

In both her lives, she had never had a mother. Was she going to have one now?

Jin Bao called out timidly, “Mother.”

Pei Wanqing’s eyes reddened with joy, and she quickly answered, “Yes, good girl. Mother will take you home. From now on, this will be your new home, the Mansion of the Marquis of Loyalty and Bravery.”

Pei Wanqing pointed at the gilded characters on the large plaque and spoke to Jin Bao in a gentle voice.

When Jin Bao heard those familiar words, weren’t they exactly what she had heard in the image?

Mother’s family was in danger. No, Baby had to save Mother. Baby had finally gotten a mother after so much difficulty.

“Mother, Baby will take you to dig things up.”

Pei Wanqing had not ignored what Jin Bao had said earlier. For some reason, deep down, she believed Jin Bao.

“There’s no hurry, Baby. Mother will take you to bathe first and fill your tummy, then we’ll go look.”

“No, there’s no time. They’re going to confiscate everything and send us into exile. Bad people, so many bad people, bullying Mother.”

Pei Wanqing felt as if she had been struck by five bolts of thunder.

Jin Bao was still young and lacked the ability to organize her words clearly.

But piecing together the fragments of information was enough to know that the situation was urgent.

“Baby, how do you know this? Who told you?”

She did not immediately refute Jin Bao. Everyone in the Marquis’s Mansion knew perfectly well what position the Marquis’s Mansion was in now.

Ever since the Emperor ascended the throne, he had been targeting the Marquis’s Mansion.

The words “a minister’s achievements surpass the ruler’s” were a wound the Marquis’s Mansion did not wish to mention.

Now that Jin Bao had blurted them out so suddenly, Pei Wanqing felt as though she had fallen into an ice cellar.

“Baby saw it. Baby saw it on Mother.”
Pei Wanqing’s heart pounded. Could this be the noble benefactor Master Huiyuan had spoken of, the one who would warn the Marquis’s Mansion of danger?

Pei Wanqing hesitated no longer and took Jin Bao to dig up the hidden items.

“Baby, you said bad people hid things here. Do you know where they hid them?”

Pei Wanqing did not know what connection these hidden items had to the Marquis’s Mansion. Could they be evidence planted to frame them?

“There, there, and there…”

Pei Wanqing followed Jin Bao’s little finger and saw that she was pointing toward the east, south, west, and north of the Marquis’s Mansion, as well as its four corners. A terrible premonition rose in Pei Wanqing’s heart.

“Nanny Chen, have the steward invite the Lord Marquis and the Heir Apparent here at once. Then bring reliable men to dig.”

Nanny Chen did not dare delay. Master Huiyuan’s divinations had never been wrong. The young miss was the noble benefactor of the Marquis’s Mansion.

“Yes, Madam.”

A quarter of an hour later, the steward pushed Xiao Che over in his wheelchair. The Heir Apparent, Xiao Jingxing, followed close behind, along with the second young master, Xiao Jingmo, and the third young master, Xiao Jinghao.

Behind them were more than a dozen mansion guards.

“Madam, what has happened to make you so frantic?”

Xiao Che had never seen such urgency on his wife’s face, and he could not help worrying.

“My lord, there is no time to explain. I will tell you everything later. This is urgent.”

As soon as Xiao Jingxing arrived, he noticed the little girl in his mother’s arms. She was said to be a young girl, but she looked more like a beggar from the streets, dressed in rags, hair matted, face and body filthy, barefoot with bare ankles.

“Mother, who is this…?”

Xiao Che also turned to look at Jin Bao.

“Xing’er, my lord, this is the legitimate young lady of our Marquis’s Mansion, Xiao Jinru.”

Pei Wanqing hoped her daughter would have a splendid future and a life where all went as she wished.

“But this is not the time to talk about that. Hurry.”

Xiao Che and Xiao Jingxing exchanged a glance and could not help frowning, but they still followed Pei Wanqing toward the southeastern corner nearest the main gate of the Marquis’s Mansion.

“Mother, dig here. There are bad things underneath.”

Jin Bao’s eyes were clear as she lifted her little face, her expression utterly serious.

“Men, dig.”

At Pei Wanqing’s order, the guards behind them stepped forward, raised their shovels, and began digging quickly.

Clang-

The harsh sound of metal striking metal rang out.

Everyone present went pale at the sound.

Seated in his wheelchair, Xiao Che gripped the armrests tightly. His gaze turned storm-dark with fury.

“My lord, there’s something here.”

Every guard held his breath.

“Keep digging!”

Xiao Che’s voice was icy as he forced out the words through gritted teeth.

Pei Wanqing’s heart hammered. There really was something buried down there!

Soon, the item beneath the earth was dug out. It was a rusted iron box, and inside it was a wooden box sealed with wax.

Once the wooden box was opened, everything inside was laid bare.

It was actually a Rotten Rat Holding Coins Mummy!

“Ah-”

Pei Wanqing was so frightened that she immediately carried Jin Bao several steps back.

Xiao Jingxing flashed forward and shielded the two of them behind him.

Xiao Che stared at the mummy in the box, a storm of fury surging around him.

He said nothing. Instead, he looked up at Jin Bao. The kindness in his gaze had turned scorching, with a trace of scrutiny.

Jin Bao was a little frightened by his eyes and could not help hiding in Pei Wanqing’s arms.

“My lord, you are scaring our daughter.”

Only then did Xiao Che realize he had lost his composure, and he quickly forced out a smile.

“Good girl, don’t be afraid. I am your father.”

“Father-”

Jin Bao obediently called him, then shrank back into Pei Wanqing’s arms.

Xiao Che, however, was delighted. Their family had gone several generations without a daughter. This soft, delicate little girl was simply different from those bratty boys.

“Men, dig up the rest according to the young lady’s instructions and bring everything to the study.”

Half an hour later, Xiao Che looked at the eight identical iron boxes arranged on the floor of the study. The anger in his eyes had condensed into sharp blades, as if he wanted to shatter every one of those things.

At a glance, anyone could tell these were sinister objects. No wonder the Marquis’s Mansion had known no peace these past two years.

It seemed someone had been using underhanded, occult methods against the Marquis’s Mansion, intending to wipe out the entire household with these evil objects.

In a place unseen by all, the black deathly energy hovering over the Marquis’s Mansion gradually dispersed. The vast righteous aura within the ancestral hall of the Marquis’s Mansion devoured that deathly energy, then flowed into every master of the household.

Xiao Che ordered the eight items to be arranged according to the directions where they had been dug up.

He also had someone draw pictures of them.

“Men, send this to Fahua Temple at once and deliver it to Master Huiyuan.”

No sooner had Xiao Che finished speaking than a servant came to report.

“My lord, disaster! The Imperial Guard has surrounded the Marquis’s Mansion.”

Pei Wanqing collapsed onto a chair.

“They are here!”

“Mother, what exactly is going on?”

Xiao Jingxing looked at his mother and asked anxiously.

Pei Wanqing composed herself and quickly recounted Jin Bao’s prophecy, as well as what Master Huiyuan had said.

When the Xiao Family heard this, their expressions all changed in different ways.

Xiao Che closed his eyes, then slowly opened them again.

“What is meant to come will come sooner or later. Fortunately, Heaven has not treated us poorly and sent us a noble benefactor. But now that our Marquis’s Mansion is about to have its property confiscated and the family exiled, we must not drag our benefactor down with us. She has not been entered into our genealogy. Hurry and send her away. Do not make her suffer the hardships of exile with us.”

The bitterly cold lands of the far north were no place for ordinary people, let alone a three-year-old child.

“Father, I will go make some arrangements first.”

The Xiao Family had long had a sense that this might happen. They simply had not expected the day to come so quickly.

Xiao Che nodded, and the steward pushed him toward the front courtyard, hoping he could buy Xiao Jingxing some time.