Jian Ruonan suddenly sprang away, giving Shi-shi an almighty fright.
Shi-shi's hand hung in midair, closing on nothing.
Shi-shi: "..."
Was there something wrong with this child?
Jian Ruonan smiled sheepishly. "Grandmother, your granddaughter is an ill-omened person. I'm afraid my bad luck might harm you, so I'd better not hold your hand."
[Preferably not for the rest of my life.]
[Good grief, the skin on the Old Madam's hands is peeling! It really is a fungal infection!]
Min: "..."
What was a fungal infection? Nan Nan actually knew medicine?
Shi-shi had always favored the Younger Branch and the Third Branch. She was forever saying that Xilu was the eldest sister and should yield to the younger ones, and she always gave the younger girls from those two branches all the delicious treats and entertaining toys right in front of Xilu.
Although Jian Xilu never dared voice a complaint, after being treated that way for so long, she could hardly help feeling hurt by her grandmother's favoritism.
As a child, she had even hidden away to cry in secret.
Now, all at once, she felt at peace.
Being fed pastries by a hand infected with athlete's foot that had been picking at feet really wasn't a good thing.
Thank goodness Grandmother played favorites.
Jian Xilu was a little fastidious about cleanliness. After learning the truth, she secretly counted her blessings.
Min was counting hers too. She had almost never received anything from Shi-shi's own hands either.
"What a filial child." Shi-shi withdrew her hand with an awkward smile. Just as well-she didn't want to touch Jian Ruonan either. Who knew whether her fate of bringing disaster to her relatives had changed? What if too much contact made Shi-shi ill again?
Shi-shi took out a jade pendant and offered it to Jian Ruonan. "Here's a little trinket. Take it to play with."
Jian Ruonan glanced at it but didn't dare step forward to take it.
She didn't particularly want anything the Old Madam had touched with her own hands either.
Seeing Jian Ruonan's timid manner, Shi-shi sneered inwardly. A country girl through and through-petty, provincial, and unfit for polite company. She wasn't half as clever as Jian Chuxue.
Although she didn't much like the Elder Branch, the Old Madam treated Jian Chuxue differently, mainly because the girl had a sweet tongue, pretty looks, and a particular knack for pleasing her.
In the past, Shi-shi had regretted that such a delightful granddaughter as Jian Chuxue had been born to Min. Now things were much better: this timid, cowardly little girl who couldn't be presented in polite society was Min's true legitimate daughter.
Shi-shi was rather pleased. She wasn't even angry that Jian Ruonan hadn't stepped forward to accept her elder's gift. Instead, she smiled and said, "What are you afraid of? It's a gift from your grandmother. Go ahead and take it."
Jian Ruonan's eyes darted about, and she played dumb, refusing to take it.
In the end, Min had a maid receive the jade pendant wrapped in a handkerchief.
Jian Ruonan: [How does an old madam of a marquis's household get athlete's foot? How strange. Let me see who passed it on to her.]
[An infection like this definitely didn't come from a maid.]
Min and Jian Xilu pricked up their ears.
It wasn't that they wanted to hear gossip. Their main concern was finding out how the Old Madam had been infected so they could take precautions themselves.
[Oh my God! The Old Madam actually has a hobby like this?!]
[There really is no end to the wonders of this vast world. What an eye-opener!]
Jian Ruonan stole a glance at the Old Madam.
The Old Madam had a kindly face and dressed neatly. She didn't look like a slovenly person, so how could she have such a fetish?
Min: !!
Jian Xilu: ??
Originally, Min had intended to take her two daughters to the Duke of Pingguo Residence after paying their respects. To hear the gossip, she risked a fungal infection and lingered in the Old Madam's room.
In Great Xia, filial piety came first among all virtues. Sons did not speak of their fathers' faults, and daughters did not expose their mothers' wickedness. Even if Shi-shi treated the Elder Branch badly, Min and Jian Zhang couldn't discuss her as they pleased.
Hearing gossip about Shi-shi for the first time felt rather novel to both Min and Jian Xilu.
Seeing that Min still hadn't left after paying her respects, Shi-shi told the three of them to sit together. Afraid of catching the fungus, Jian Ruonan sat very primly.
After sitting down, Min said nothing. She simply waited for the gossip.
Shi-shi wondered to herself what on earth these three had come for.
[Well, well, Shi-shi actually likes collecting performers' shoes!!]
[The Old Madam is especially fond of sniffing other people's stinky feet, too.]
[Tsk, tsk, tsk. Not only does she pick at feet, she likes interlocking all ten fingers with their toes!]
[I'd better keep my visits to the Joy and Longevity Court to a minimum from now on.]
Min: "..." This gossip certainly had a pungent flavor.
Jian Xilu: Her rosy view of Grandmother shattered all over the floor.
[What? The Old Madam is this old and still has a lover! What a disgrace to public morals. No wonder Second Uncle cheats-it runs in the family! That lover has a pair of incomparably beautiful feet that have the Old Madam so bewitched she can't help herself. That lover is...]
Jian Ruonan finished that thought without offering even a word of the next, leaving Min and Jian Xilu agonizing over it.
Nan Nan, why were you staring into space? Go on!
Who was that lover?
She always stopped halfway through, leaving them itching for more.
Min hadn't slept well the night before. With this juicy morsel dangling in front of her, she probably wouldn't sleep well for some time.
Jian Ruonan told the system to dig up gossip about Shi-shi, but the system prompted her: [Nan Nan, could you try doing your mission?]
Jian Ruonan: [?? What mission? Where did a mission come from?]
The system: [...]
The system roared: [Win over the Fourth Prince!!! Stop him from turning evil and raising a rebellion, plunging the living into devastation and leaving the people unable to survive!!]
Jian Ruonan rubbed her ears. [Oh. Let's talk about it some other time.]
The system: [...]
Jian Xilu and Min couldn't hear the system's voice or Jian Ruonan's conversation with it. They could only hear her inner thoughts. Unaware of her argument with the system, they were still desperately waiting for the gossip.
Jian Ruonan: [This system is so annoying. Interrupting someone's gossip binge-how rude.]
The system: ...
Meanwhile, at the Fourth Prince's home, Prince Rui's Residence.
The Prince's Residence was lavishly built, with carved beams and painted rafters. The golden glazed tiles covering its roofs gleamed in the last rays of the setting sun.
The inner courtyard was heavily guarded. Ancient, towering pines and cypresses spread lush branches that blocked the light from the bedroom. Walking from the front courtyard into the main chambers felt like stepping from day into night. Beneath the sky, the sunlight was sharply divided, casting deep shadows across the porch.
The Fourth Prince, Dantai Mo, was Consort Yan's eldest son. Consort Yan had been in the palace for twenty years, and the emperor's favor had never waned. Dantai Mo had been cherished by the emperor since childhood. As soon as he turned three, His Majesty personally began teaching him.
Dantai Mo was extraordinarily intelligent. He could read at three and write essays at five. He learned mounted archery at seven, and before he turned ten, he could hunt ferocious beasts alone.
At thirteen, Dantai Mo entered the army, repelled the Xiongnu, and earned illustrious military honors.
Before he turned sixteen, Dantai Mo had always been a leading candidate for Crown Prince. Then, that year, while practicing mounted archery outside the city, he suddenly encountered a herd of maddened wild horses. He accidentally fell from his horse, leaving him without sensation in his lower body.
From that day onward, Dantai Mo lost his eligibility to contend for the throne.
After all, the Crown Prince could not be without heirs.
The bedroom was thick with the smell of medicine. The Imperial Physician put away his silver needles and withdrew helplessly.
In the silent room, Dantai Mo suddenly opened his eyes.
After losing sensation in his legs, he had bound himself to a system. The system told him it could restore his legs to their former condition.
"It's been half a year, and there's still no improvement?" Dantai Mo's expression darkened.
The Black Tortoise System: [Insufficient energy.]
Dantai Mo: "What is energy?"
The Black Tortoise System: [It's something like lamp oil. A lamp only lights up if it has enough oil. Once my energy is full, I can have you on your feet immediately, running ten li without even getting winded.]
Dantai Mo: "..."
Besides promising pies in the sky, the useless system did nothing but yap all day. Sometimes, it even disconnected halfway through its yapping. It was useless through and through.
Now, every time he asked, it said it had no lamp oil. Who knew when that lamp oil would finally be topped up?
Suddenly, the Black Tortoise System's voice shot up an octave: [Your Highness!! I've found a way!!]
Dantai Mo: "Speak!"
The Black Tortoise System: [I just checked the backend. The Fifth Miss of the Jinyang Marquis's Residence has also bound herself to a system. That system has plenty of energy... lamp oil. As long as you make contact with the Fifth Miss, my lamp oil can be filled up.]
Dantai Mo leaned against the headboard, his gaze as sharp as a hawk's.
Clever as he was, he always understood the other party's intentions in an instant.
"You mean you want me, a prince of the realm, to go steal lamp oil?!"
Before you continue