Chapter 9: The Baby’s Wrath
This novel is translated and hosted on bcatranslation.
Madam Xu’s throat felt choked with the metallic tang of blood.
“Xu Meimei, we’re all dignified people, and our husbands are officials in the same court. Failing to establish a marriage alliance doesn’t mean we need to become enemies.” Madam Jiang’s tone carried a faint sneer.
What did Madam Xu have to be proud of? Her family had fallen from grace.
Her eldest son was disabled, her second son a useless hedonist, and her third son an illiterate laughingstock of the capital. Even her only daughter seemed unable to win the favor of the Marquis. The failures of her descendants provided endless amusement for the prominent families.
Madam Xu could hear the threat beneath Madam Jiang’s words. She glanced at her baby girl, Lu Chao Chao, who was gnashing her gums—or she would have, had she possessed teeth. Her tiny face turned red with fury as her toothless gums pressed together, ready to chew through the injustice.
[If I had teeth, I’d bite her! Shameless woman! My brother was a child prodigy at eight, already a Xiucai, and brought the Jiang family to their knees!]
Madam Xu remained expressionless but gestured for Jue Xia, her maid, who stepped forward with reddened eyes, holding a tray in trembling hands.
“We are breaking the engagement,” Madam Xu announced coldly. “But it is not the Jiang family withdrawing from Lu Yan Shu. No, it is my Yan Shu rejecting Jiang Yun Jin!”
She spoke each word with resolute conviction. “My son, Yan Shu, has lived honorably and uprightly. He sacrificed his own future to save Jiang Yun Jin’s life. My son’s conscience is clear! The Jiang family’s betrayal makes them unworthy to marry into the Lu family.”
Taking the exchanged jade pendant, Madam Xu shattered it before the assembled crowd. The pieces scattered on the ground, one shard grazing Madam Jiang’s brow, leaving a faint cut.
[Good! So satisfying! Mother, you’re amazing! The Jiang family will reap their just deserts!]
Lu Chao Chao thrashed her little legs in delight, nearly toppling out of Ying Xue’s arms. Alarmed, Ying Xue steadied the swaddled infant, her forehead damp with cold sweat.
Madam Jiang’s heart raced as unease took root. “You!” she stammered, stunned by the normally meek Madam Xu’s audacity. But knowing her family was at fault, she had no choice but to concede. The engagement had to end—her daughter needed better prospects.
“Bring the engagement contract,” she snapped. With faces like thunder, the two women tore the contract in front of all present. Madam Jiang took back the Jiang family’s keepsake with a haughty air.
“Xu Shi Yun, keep clinging to your crippled son. My Yun Jin is too good for Lu Yan Shu!” With a scornful laugh, Madam Jiang stormed out of the Lu residence.
Madam Xu, shaking with fury, felt her tears fall uncontrollably. She had already informed Lu Yuan Ze, her husband, of the situation. Soon, a servant arrived, stammering awkwardly.
“Madam, the Marquis said…” the servant hesitated. “He said… since Yan Shu saved Miss Jiang, it’s only right to let bygones be bygones. This is Yan Shu’s fate. No one else is to blame.”
Upon hearing this, Madam Xu spat blood in rage, terrifying the servants around her. She dismissed their attempts to fetch a doctor and instead laughed bitterly.
[This scum of a father used my brother’s future to polish his own reputation! Why hasn’t he been struck by lightning yet?]
Tiny Lu Chao Chao’s baby face twisted in anger, her smooth cheeks scrunching up as her gums turned faintly red. [Strike him! Strike him down!]
Suddenly, the bright sky outside grew dark as heavy clouds gathered. In an instant, fierce winds howled, whipping leaves into spiraling currents. Then, a deafening clap of thunder broke the midday calm, accompanied by a streak of blinding lightning that seemed to target a specific courtyard in the capital.
The heavens roared as the ground quaked.
Madam Xu gasped, clutching her chest. The timing of the thunder unnerved her—it came just after her daughter’s muttered wish. Was it mere coincidence?
“Madam, it struck! There’s a fire in the northern part of the city. Everyone’s saying someone got hit!” A maid rushed in, breathless.
Blinking in disbelief, Madam Xu forgot even her tears. As she wiped the blood from her lips, she felt an oppressive weight lift from her chest, as if the lightning had carried away her anguish.
She turned her gaze to her baby, who was still clenching her tiny fists with a fierce look. “Go find out who got struck,” Madam Xu ordered Jue Xia. “It might have… actually hit the person she wished it would.”
Jue Xia promptly relayed Madam Xu’s instructions to the servants. Meanwhile, Ying Xue, still holding Lu Chao Chao, cursed under her breath. “The Jiang family is truly ungrateful! The eldest young master saved Jiang Yun Jin, and they repay us like this? Shameless dogs!”
Madam Xu sighed, the bitterness in her heart slightly eased. “People only care for profit. That man’s claim that this was Yan Shu’s fate…” Her voice trailed off, but her expression betrayed her hatred.
Lu Chao Chao, however, had overexerted herself. Her eyelids drooped heavily until she fell into a deep sleep.
That night, Deng Zhi returned to the manor, exhausted. “Madam, everything has been arranged. The Old Madam received some medicine and is doing better. The Marquis advises you not to worry; spending a few days in prison might actually benefit the Xu family’s reputation.”
Madam Xu’s heart ached with guilt. She had severed ties with her family for over a decade due to Lu Yuan Ze. Regardless of his opinion, she resolved to visit her family once this ordeal was over.
For the first time in a long while, Madam Xu slept soundly, while Lu Chao Chao remained in an unbroken slumber that stretched until the following midday. Despite multiple visits, the doctor could only shake his head. “The baby is perfectly fine—just deeply asleep.”
Madam Xu frowned in confusion. “She usually wakes every two hours. How could she sleep for a full day and night?”
“Perhaps she overexerted herself?” the doctor suggested, though the notion seemed absurd for a forty-day-old infant. He quickly retracted his words.
Madam Xu thought of the lightning and suppressed a shiver.
[I’m so hungry… so very hungry…]
Hearing the faint, muddled thoughts, Madam Xu called for milk. As soon as the bottle touched her lips, Lu Chao Chao drank eagerly. Ying Xue teased, “Our little lady finally woke! She must have been dreaming of food this whole time!”
But Lu Chao Chao’s internal tears flowed freely. [I’m starving because channeling spiritual energy burns milk reserves!]
Madam Xu held her gently, her heart softening as she kissed her baby’s delicate cheeks. “Jue Xia, what did you find out?” she asked.
Jue Xia rushed in, her expression brimming with gossip. “Madam, the lightning truly struck someone!”
Man this is fucking funny