Volume One, Chapter Five: The Illegitimate Son’s Conspiracy

Lady Jiang’s face was grim. She could turn a blind eye to her youngest son’s mischief, but when it came to Five-Stone Powder, she would absolutely not tolerate it!

"From this day on, you are to return home immediately after your lessons to practice your studies!"

Xia Ziheng was only eleven, still in the age of innocence, and he had been thoroughly frightened by the preceding scene.

"Yes, Mother... I will go study right now! Waaah!"

With that, he scrambled away as fast as his legs could carry him. Even ten meters away, Xia Qianqian could still hear him wailing. Tsk, tsk, tsk—the Third Brother had been scared out of his wits.

Following this incident, Lady Jiang felt even more unsettled, pacing back and forth in her room. *Huaian... please come back soon.*

Just as she was thinking this, a maid’s voice came from outside: "Master, you have returned."

A look of joy appeared on Lady Jiang’s face. The protector for her and her children had arrived. Clutching little Xiaoguai, she hurried to greet him. "Huaian, quick, look at our—"

Before she could finish, Xia Huaian interrupted with a face full of anger. "Jiang Wannin! How could you be so unreasonable? To defy Mother for the sake of a cursed child, to the point where Nanny Li has been blinded in one eye!"

Lady Jiang, who had been living in constant fear and looking for a sanctuary, was met only with accusations. She opened her eyes wide in disbelief. "Huaian, you don’t understand—Mother wanted to drown our own flesh and blood!"

Xia Huaian furrowed his brows, revealing his agitation. "Nonsense! Mother clearly only intended to send the cursed child away. No matter what, it is a child of the Xia family; how could she commit such a heinous act? Furthermore, Mother is a woman of faith; she would never take a life."

"It is my fault as well. I should never have let you conceive this child in the first place."

"Stop this drama. Give the child to me; I will have someone send her out of the estate."

As her husband, he was the only person she trusted besides her head maid. Yet, even he did not believe her. The grievances she had been holding back collapsed in an instant. "She is your own flesh and blood! How can you be so heartless?"

Xia Huaian’s expression turned ugly. "Women are always short-sighted. I am doing this for the sake of the entire Xia family!"

In that moment, Lady Jiang felt as if the entire Marquis Xia estate wanted to drag her and Xiaoguai into hell. She could rely on no one; she could only protect Xiaoguai herself.

She forced herself to swallow her bitterness. "Xiaoguai is my child. You have no right to send her away or drown her."

"Besides, my Xiaoguai also has a lotus birthmark. She is the true bringer of fortune."

Xia Huaian frowned. "How is that possible!"

He looked down and met a pair of large, bright, dark eyes. The baby was fair and plump, with eyes like clear pools, and a crimson lotus birthmark between her brows, looking like a blessed child sitting beneath the Goddess of Mercy. In contrast, the child born to Qi’er was dark, thin, and wrinkled; while it also had a lotus birthmark, it looked somewhat awkward and lacked beauty. At a glance, the child born to Lady Jiang looked much more like a blessed star. In terms of appearance, the child even favored him more.

He felt a bit conflicted. If she weren't a cursed child, he would certainly raise her like a little princess. But it was a pity—a curse was a curse.

Xia Huaian kept his face stern. "Enough."

"Mother and Qi’er both told me that when Qi’er’s child was born, a hundred birds arrived to offer congratulations, while your child provoked the wrath of the gods, bringing down punishment that caused Nanny Li to be blinded by a bird’s peck."

"If we don’t send her away soon, she will surely bring more disaster upon the Xia family!"

"What is one child less? Once she is gone, we will adopt Qi’er’s child under your name. She will be no different from your own."

"The 'Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix' is a divine omen that only occurred when the current Emperor ascended the throne. As long as you treat her well, her blessings will surely protect you."

"Are you serious?" Lady Jiang was trembling with rage.

Xia Huaian lost his patience. "Qi’er is generous enough to suggest adopting the blessed child to you. What more are you fussing about?"

Hearing the conversation between her mother and her "scum" father, Xia Qianqian spat out a bubble of saliva. *What kind of family is so generous that they want to give a blessed child to someone else to raise? It’s clearly just because they want the status of the legal wife’s heir!*

In her previous life, after the "blessed child" was drowned, Shen Qi’er used this very trick. A concubine’s daughter transformed overnight into the noble young lady of the Marquis Xia estate.

Feeling the moisture on his face, Xia Huaian stepped back in disgust. *This child's intelligence is clearly inferior to the blessed one.* Qi’er’s child, though not as physically striking, was clever. The moment she saw him, she would reach out to be held, acting incredibly affectionate. This child, however, just spat at him.

Lady Jiang caught his reaction, a flash of disappointment crossing her eyes. "If you take Xiaoguai away today, I will divorce you!"

After saying this, her heart ached. She had been married to Xia Huaian for eighteen years and had never spoken a harsh word to him. Even when the Old Madam had taken concubines for him, she had never complained. But for Xiaoguai’s sake, she had to be ruthless.

"Absurd! Since ancient times, only men have cast aside their wives; where have you ever heard of a woman divorcing her husband!" Xia Huaian’s face fell.

"If you are heartless, then I shall be the first!" Lady Jiang declared.

*Ah... ah!* Xia Qianqian raised her hands and feet in agreement! A "scum" father who didn't even care about his own biological child wasn't worth keeping! Besides, when the Old Madam was tormenting her mother, he hadn't stepped in to help. It was best to divorce and escape this sea of suffering. However, in this ancient era, a woman asking for a divorce was extremely difficult.

Xia Huaian thought it was preposterous and wanted to say more biting words, but he met Lady Jiang’s eyes, which were filled with utter disappointment. She was serious. If he insisted on sending the child away, she would truly leave him. But if they divorced, outsiders would say he had discarded his wife after taking the spoils of the Jiang family, and they would point at his spine and call him a parasite.

"Wannin, you are the mistress of the Marquis Xia estate; how can you speak such childish words?"

Lady Jiang laughed at herself. "When Nanny Li attacked me, and when those maids pinned me to the ground to snatch my child away, I didn't see myself as the mistress of the house then."

Xia Huaian’s brows knitted instantly as he caught sight of the palm print still fading on her cheek. "Outrageous!"

Lady Jiang was his wife, the mistress of the Marquis Xia estate! How could he let those servants ride over her? This wasn't just a slap to her face—it was a slap to his face as the head of the household! Those servants wouldn't have the guts to touch the mistress; the only one who could have ordered them was the Old Madam.

*Mother has gone too far this time!* In the past, his mother had been a rough country woman. He had thought that becoming the Old Madam of the Xia estate would make her more refined, but he hadn't expected her to disregard such basic rules! If this news spread, he would become the laughingstock of the entire imperial court.

He pulled Lady Jiang into his arms and comforted her. "I will seek justice for you regarding this matter. If you are unwilling to send the child away, then we shall keep her, but you must not let her near the Bisheng Courtyard in the future."

Lady Jiang’s expression softened slightly. This was the best outcome for now—better than the child being drowned or sent away. "Understood."

Xia Qianqian was squeezed in the middle, kicking her arms and legs, each strike landing on her "scum" father’s chest. A baby’s strength was not insignificant, and she kicked his chest with a dull thud.

Xia Huaian pulled back in pain, his mouth twitching. "This child is quite strong."

Lady Jiang looked at Xiaoguai with tenderness. "Yes, she is."

"Huaian, why don't you give Xiaoguai a name?" She knew he had already chosen one; for the past month, he had returned home daily just to pore over books to find a good name for the child.

Xia Huaian didn't hesitate. "Let's call her Qianqian." The name *Qianqian* sounded ethereal and faint.

Sure enough, in the next second, she heard him add, "Her destiny is ill-omened; she cannot have a name that is too stable."

Lady Jiang bit her lower lip. "And what is that other child’s name?"

"Naturally, she is called Yangyang."

"Very well, I shall go find Mother and demand an explanation for you." Fearing that she would cause more trouble, Xia Huaian quickly found an excuse and left.

*Yangyang*—a vast, deep abyss. And *Qianqian*—shallow and ethereal. It turned out he had scoured those books only to find a name that would suppress Xiaoguai.

*Ah-ya...!* This name is perfect; it’s the same as my original destiny!

Lady Jiang forced a bitter smile. "Xiaoguai, do you like that name?"

"Ah-ya!"

Just then, the head maid came running in, looking flustered. "Madam! Shen Qi’er’s eldest son... he deserves to die!!"