Chapter 4

Cheng Ru'an looked around; clearly, the wind had not risen, the light had not moved, everything was as usual, but the ancestral hall was soft and bright, no longer the gloomy darkness of before.

A great shock rose in her heart as she looked toward Tuan Tuan.

She saw the tiny creature clambering onto the incense table, curiously staring at the tablets on it, stretching its little hand forcefully to reach, wanting to touch.

Cheng Ru'an hurried over, bent down and cradled her in her arms: "Don't touch, Tuan Tuan."

Tuan Tuan pointed with her little hand, "Mother, snake snake!"

"Hmm." Cheng Ru'an looked at the lower right corner of every tablet, where a very delicate coiled snake motif was drawn, and patiently told her: "This snake is our family's totem emblem; only family members may use it."

"When outsiders see it, they'll know it's Prince Ning's Mansion; is it pretty?"

Tuan Tuan nodded, "Pretty! It's the most beautiful snake I've ever seen!"

"Come, with Mother, let's pay respects to the ancestors."

Cheng Ru'an took her hand, knelt again before the incense table, and performed a solemn grand bow.

Tuan Tuan knelt beside her, imitating her in the bow, but her body wobbled and her bottom kept sticking out backward.

She blinked her eyes, looked at the densely packed names on the offering table, and couldn't help asking softly, "Mother, so many ancestors—do they all live here? Isn't it crowded?"

"Shh, ancestors are different from us…" Cheng Ru'an paused, then continued, "The names on these tablets are their names, not their bodies; they are here to watch over us."

Tuan Tuan looked puzzled, "So the ancestors aren't people! They don't need a bed."

Princess Consort hurriedly covered her little mouth, "Don't speak nonsense; the ancestors were once like us, but now they have passed on, which is why they're here."

Cheng Ru'an lit incense, prayed devoutly again, and led the yawning Tuan Tuan out of the ancestral hall.

She instructed Liu Grandma to take Tuan Tuan for a nap, then Cheng Ru'an took the box containing the thing unearthed from the hall and boarded the carriage.

After a while, the carriage stopped at the gate of a large residence, and a plaque hung high on the lintel reading "Guoshi Residence."

"Junior Master, please report to the National Preceptor that Princess Consort Ning requests an audience."

Chu Yuan, styled "Heaven‑Eye Daoist," was the National Preceptor personally appointed by the Son of Heaven, a widely recognized transcendental master of the age, revered by ten thousand people.

Princess Consort Ning presented the box, "Kindly have the National Preceptor examine it."

Chu Yuan opened the box, and at a glance his brows furrowed; he brushed the Whisk over it, and the orange‑red thing instantly turned scarlet, a fishy, acrid smell rushed out, producing a faint "hiss" sound.

"Where did the Princess Consort obtain this item?"

Cheng Ru'an's expression grew heavy, "From beneath the floor tiles of the Prince's Mansion ancestral hall. May I ask, Master, what this is?"

Chu Yuan said in a deep voice, "It is a Fate‑Severing Gu. Its chain is shaped of realgar, with a snake bone as the core. It is used to swallow transport, drain Qi, and disturb ancestral spirits."

"The Prince Ning's Mansion family emblem," Chu Yuan glanced at her, "is it the five‑coloured mysterious snake?"

Princess Consort Ning nodded, hatred barely concealed in her eyes, "Fate‑Severing Gu! So that's it!"

"Boundless Immortal!" Chu Yuan nodded, "This item is specifically effective against Prince Ning's Mansion; it should not be returned, so let it remain here with this humble Daoist."

Princess Consort Ning rose and bowed, "Thank you, National Preceptor."

When Cheng Ru'an returned to the Prince's Mansion, night had already deepened.

She went straight to the inner chamber, looked at the already sleeping Tuan Tuan, and asked, "When did you fall asleep? Was dinner satisfactory?"

Liu Grandma answered with a smile, "She's fine! She loves to eat anything, and she ate a lot! I feared she would have indigestion, so after dinner I kept her running in our courtyard for half an hour before she finally fell asleep."

When Princess Consort Ning looked at the small bundle at the bedside, Liu Grandma hurriedly said, "She must keep this with her at all times, never let go; no coaxing works, she says it's something she found."

"Fetch needle and thread, and select a good piece of fabric."

"What is this?"

"This bundle doesn't match her current attire; since she loves it so much, I'll make an Embroidered pouch that can hang at her waist, making it convenient when she runs about."

"Truly, Princess Consort Ning is thoughtful," Liu Grandma praised, and fetched the fabric and needle‑thread.

Under the dim yellow candlelight, Princess Consort Ning sat beside Tuan Tuan, stitching it together needle by thread.

Inside Defying Frost Pavilion.

Jin Xiu whispered, "Princess Consort Ning, the Princess Consort has already taken that girl to the ancestral hall this afternoon; the servants in her courtyard say they still need to choose an auspicious day, record it in the clan genealogy, and make her a legitimate daughter of the Prince's Mansion."

Fang Qingyan slammed her tea cup onto the table with a "clack," "She actually intends to adopt that wild girl as a legitimate daughter? She's quite bold."

"Tomorrow, you will go out of the mansion for a trip." Fang Qingyan's lips curled into a cold smile, "Visit the old residence to see Old Madam. Tell her that Princess Consort Ning has taken an unknown little beggar as a legitimate daughter."

"Old Madam is the Prince's birth mother; she will not stand by. She is the principal, I am the secondary; I cannot manage it, so I will invite someone capable to handle it."

Jin Xiu laughed, "Princess Consort Ning is so scheming!"

At noon the next day, at the old residence, Old Madam Xia, upon hearing the news, slapped the table, "How could this be!"

She shakily leaned on the hand of Grandma Shun‑gu beside her and stood, "Has Princess Consort Ning gone mad? To think a picked‑up child could be a legitimate daughter of the Prince's Mansion? Is the Xiao family's bloodline being treated as a child's play?"

She looked at Jin Xiu, "Go back and deliver the message: I will set out tomorrow and arrive in three days. Let her explain herself!"

"Yes! Please, Old Madam, do not be angry; Princess Consort Ning is surely just momentarily confused. I will return now to convey the message." Jin Xiu bowed, then turned and left.

Old Madam Xia sat back at the desk, picked up the prayer beads on the table, and began to chant the sutra softly.

She had suffered an eye ailment for years, only on bright days could she barely see; as she chanted, her vision blurred, recalling Jin Xiu's words, anger surged, and she slapped the table again, "Utterly disgraceful!"

As night fell, Jin Xiu rode hard back to the Prince's Mansion, trembling as she reported to Princess Consort Ning that Old Madam was about to arrive.

Cheng Ru'an stared at her coldly, "Go down."

Jin Xiu, as if granted a pardon, turned and hurried away from Jinglan Garden.

Liu Grandma leaned in, whispering, "This is a complaint from Fang Qingyan against you."

"No problem." Cheng Ru'an's expression remained unchanged, "I intend to record Tuan Tuan in the clan genealogy as a legitimate daughter; Old Madam's side was originally to be informed. She always upholds the rules; it's fine that she comes, but without her approval I cannot grant Tuan Tuan a proper status."

"Tomorrow, have Tingyu Pavilion prepared for Old Madam's residence."

Three days later.

Princess Consort Ning personally escorted Old Madam Xia into the Prince's Mansion; just as they entered Tingyu Pavilion, before sitting down, Liu Grandma rushed in, panic on her face, "Please go have a look, Tuan Tuan is stuck in the leaking wall and can't get out!"

"What?!" Cheng Ru'an bowed to Old Madam, "Mother, please be seated; the daughter‑in‑law will go and return shortly." Without waiting for Xia to speak, she turned and hurried out.

Old Madam watched her swift retreating back, her face growing ever gloomier, "Help me over there, and see what trouble this picked‑up wild girl has caused!"