With Jian Ruonan's little tantrum, the matter of the noble title was swept aside.
The old madam stopped crying and making a fuss, staring blankly at Jian Ruonan.
"The Fifth Miss is possessed!!"
"Th-the Fifth Miss seems to be p-possessed?" Granny Wang, who stood beside the old madam, was so frightened she could barely speak.
In ancient times, backward science and technology and a limited understanding of nature meant almost everyone believed in ghosts and gods. The emperor held grand sacrificial ceremonies every year and offered sacrifices to Heaven whenever floods struck. Newly appointed officials had to make offerings to the gods. With emperors and officials leading the charge in superstition, ordinary people believed in spirits all the more firmly.
Previously, an unnamed wandering monk had declared that the original owner of her body, still a babe in swaddling clothes, would bring misfortune upon her family. The old madam had ordered the infant sent to the country estate that very night.
Now, a single remark from Granny Wang made every woman in the room's hair stand on end. Even Jian Zhang's expression darkened.
"Quick, hurry and fetch Daoist Li from Clear Void Abbey!!!" Pointing at Jian Ruonan, the old madam shouted, "Someone! Beat this evil creature out of here!!"
Min's brows knitted, and her heart instantly clenched.
Abandoning all concern for decorum, she immediately stepped in front of Jian Ruonan to shield her. "No! Nan Nan isn't an evil creature!!"
Jian Xilu also stood up and blocked her younger sister from view. "Grandmother, you've misunderstood. Nan Nan isn't possessed. She's just being a little mischievous."
Jian Xilu turned and gave Jian Ruonan a pleading look. "Nan Nan, hurry and apologize to Grandmother! Tell her you were only fooling around!"
"She is an evil creature! What normal person behaves like that? Hurry, drive her out! The sight of her gives me a headache!" After the old madam finished roaring, several burly serving women beside her stepped forward.
The women exchanged glances, rolled up their sleeves, and approached.
Jian Zhang stopped kneeling too. He rose and shielded his wife and daughters. "How dare you! Let's see which of you dares lay a hand on the Fifth Miss!"
Jian Ruonan's heart lurched. Throwing a fit had gotten her mistaken for an evil creature?
The system earnestly offered some educational advice:
[Nan Nan, evil creatures get burned to death! You've taken this way too far!]
Jian Ruonan: *[...]*
Being burned would hurt terribly. That wouldn't do.
Jian Zhang's heart tightened. He scooped Jian Ruonan into his arms, terrified she might do something else inappropriate.
Be good, Nannan. Daddy knows how devoted you are.
[Boohoo, Mother, Big Sister, and Daddy are protecting me. I'm so touched!]
[All the more reason I can't let Father suffer!]
In Jian Zhang's arms, Jian Ruonan straightened her skirt and hair, then cleared her throat. "I'm not possessed by an evil spirit. The Queen Mother of the West has descended into my body."
"You mortals, kneel at once!"
Jian Zhang: "..."
Everyone in the room: "..."
The system:
[...]
Jian Ruonan: [System, if you're going to ovulate, go do it outside. Your big sister is about to unleash her ultimate.]
The system:
[...]
Jian Ruonan formed a lotus mudra with her right hand, raised it, and pointed her index finger at the old madam, roaring, "Thank you very much!"
The old madam jolted in fright, her tiny eyes widening into an owl's.
What profound secret language was this?!
How terrifying!
Jian Ruonan turned toward Young Shi-shi, her expression solemn. Forming a mudra with both hands, she thrust them toward Young Shi-shi and shouted sternly, "How are you!"
Young Shi-shi: "..."
Completely bewildered by the bluff, Young Shi-shi hastily checked herself from head to toe. Only after finding herself unscathed did she dare breathe again.
Finally, Jian Ruonan turned toward Jian Chuyun, sneered, and declared loudly, "Konnichiwa!"
Jian Chuyun burst into tears with a wail and threw herself into Young Shi-shi's arms. "Mother, I'm so scared!"
Everyone else stared wide-eyed and tongue-tied, frozen like wooden chickens, utterly dazed.
The system:
[...]
Folks, does anyone understand? After getting bound to a host like this, who could it turn to for justice?
At first, everyone in the room had thought the claim that the Queen Mother of the West had possessed her was utterly ridiculous. Almost no one believed it. But after Jian Ruonan fluently rattled off English and Japanese that left them as baffled as a ten-foot-tall monk scratching his head, they all began to waver.
Min looked at Jian Zhang.
Jian Zhang was no longer entirely certain either.
Nan Nan really was mysterious. Not only could they hear her thoughts, but she also possessed a divine artifact called the "system." Could she truly communicate with immortals?
Jian Zhang, Min, and Jian Xilu grew solemn with reverence.
Nan Nan was certainly no ordinary person.
[Wahahaha, these people are so easy to fool! Hahahaha!!]
Jian Zhang: "..."
Well, mystery solved. Nan Nan was faking all of it.
His youngest daughter had nerves of steel.
Things had reached this point, and she was still putting on an act.
After a while, the old madam sensed something was amiss. That little girl Jian Ruonan wore a smile that never reached her eyes. The more she looked, the more it seemed the girl was pretending to be mad.
She secretly kicked Granny Wang, forcing her to step forward. "Y-you say you're the Queen Mother of the West. How can you prove it?!"
This old woman had some nerve, daring to demand that the Queen Mother of the West prove herself.
Jian Ruonan hurriedly had the system dig up some juicy gossip.
[Oh my, this Granny Wang looks honest and simple, but she has plenty of twists and turns hidden in her belly!]
Jian Zhang, Min, and Jian Xilu immediately pricked up their ears.
This time, however, Jian Ruonan didn't spill the gossip in her thoughts. She pressed her right thumb against the middle crease of her middle finger, made a show of divining, and adopted an unfathomable expression before revealing it aloud. "Wang Juhua, you entered this household at seventeen as Shi-shi's dowry maid."
Everyone knew that much, so no one present looked particularly surprised.
"One year after entering the household, on the Double Ninth Festival, at the beginning of the shen hour, you used delivering soup to the master as an excuse to fool around with him in his study. You even became pregnant."
Wang Juhua: "..."
Everyone present: !!
The old madam in particular looked at Granny Wang in an entirely different light.
Under her iron-fisted rule, the Marquis's Estate had not produced a single son or daughter of a concubine. To think a fish had slipped through her net.
"Y-you're spouting nonsense!!" Granny Wang's face turned purplish. She lunged forward with her hands clawing, trying to stop Jian Ruonan from continuing, but before she could touch her, Jian Zhang kicked her to the floor.
Jian Zhang glared and rebuked her. "Do not disrespect the immortal!"
Granny Wang came to her senses, realization dawning.
She had rushed forward in a fit of agitation and nearly forgotten that the girl was the Queen Mother of the West.
For a moment, Granny Wang froze, unsure whether to bow or cry, a jumble of emotions on her face.
Jian Ruonan continued, "At the time, a young maid climbed into the master's bed and became pregnant. After Shi-shi discovered it, that maid drowned within days. This frightened you so badly that you couldn't sleep properly for several nights. A few days later, you begged Shi-shi to marry you off to Steward Zhang."
Someone immediately asked, "Steward Zhang isn't a fool. Didn't he make a fuss about wearing a cuckold's green hat?"
Looking solemn, Jian Ruonan pointed at Granny Li, who had asked the question. "Steward Zhang prefers men. He was forced to marry a wife. His lover is your husband, Steward Wu, Granny Li."
Granny Li: "..."
She wished she could give herself two resounding slaps. That'll teach you to run your mouth!
Judging by Granny Li's ashen face, this was presumably true as well.
"As your son grew up, he looked more and more like the household's eldest master. Wang Juhua, you were secretly terrified that Shi-shi would find out, so you sent your son away."
"Your son is thirty-two this year. His wife's surname is Li, and her family are carpenters. They have two children, one ten and one five, both boys."
Granny Wang had concealed this matter well. Her pregnancy hadn't shown back then, and she had even fooled Steward Zhang. Yet Jian Ruonan knew every detail, right down to her grandsons.
Other than an immortal, Granny Wang truly couldn't imagine anyone possessing such vast powers.
She immediately dropped to her knees and kowtowed to Jian Ruonan. "Spare me, Immortal! Spare me, Immortal!!!"
Jian Ruonan formed an orchid mudra with her right hand and pointed at Granny Wang. "Since this is your first offense, I shall spare your life."
Granny Wang immediately knocked her head against the floor over and over. "Thank you, Immortal! Thank you, Immortal!!"
The expressions of everyone else in the room grew increasingly grave.
[The birth of an Oscar-winning actress!]
[Where's the applause?! Where are the flowers?!!!]
The system:
[...]
Next, Jian Ruonan looked at the old madam.
The old madam trembled, both hands gripping the arm of the young maid beside her.
Jian Ruonan then looked at Young Shi-shi.
Young Shi-shi's chest tightened, her heart nearly leaping into her throat.
"Does anyone still disbelieve?" Jian Ruonan looked at the old madam. "Shi Yiqiao, do you believe?"
Shi Yiqiao was the old madam's maiden name.
Hearing herself named, the old madam's face began to twitch, and her lips trembled uncontrollably. It was as though someone had strangled her throat; she couldn't make a sound.
"Shi Yiqiao, thirty years ago, you and the groom in the stables..."
"Ah-!" The old madam suddenly screamed, her eyes rolled back, and she fainted.
[I'll scare you bastards to death! That'll teach you to bully my dad!!]
That night, the old madam was frightened into falling ill again.
Before you continue