dorned with a kind smile as she advised, but when her gaze swept across Lianyi's porcelain-like complexion, a fleeting flash of malice betrayed her true feelings.“Yesterday, I was taken to Liuyun Gard...Wang Zhenzhen rushed over, but her younger sister's body was already cold. Her clothes were stained red with blood, and her eyes were wide open but lifeless, only a hint of relief remained on her lips.
"Yingying! Yingying! You foolish girl! For a man, what have you come to this"
Tears fell like broken beads, one after another, hitting Wang Zhenzhen's face that had no blood color whatsoever. But they couldn't wake her up no matter what.
The baby in diapers had stopped crying, as if he had found a savior. He was sucking his thumb, obviously hungry.
After an incense stick's time, Wang Zhenzhen had vented her emotions. In the mountains, she dug a deep pit and placed Yingying’s body inside. She carefully filled the soil, then bound the swaddling clothes to her back as a mark, and quickly left the grove.
Wang Zhenzhen knew this matter was not over, she couldn't expose her whereabouts, so she chose to walk along the mountain paths, avoiding any appearances at nearby villas. When she was hungry, she would just bite into a few biscuits, all for the sake of returning to the mountain gate as soon as possible, but the baby wouldn't cooperate.
Wang Zhenzhen looked over. Although Yingying blocked the heaviest blow aimed at the baby, the child's pulse was still injured. She dared not treat it, so she could only keep the baby in a sleeping state.
But the journey back to the Su Nü Palace wasn't a day or two. She couldn't let the child go hungry, otherwise, instead of dying from damage to their heart meridian, the infant would starve to death first.
Wang Zhenzhen found a newly delivered mother leopard in the forest. The male leopard was out hunting, so she placed the infant under the mother leopard's belly, letting her nurse the cub.
The mother leopard was very unwilling, but since she was no match for them in terms of strength, she could only reluctantly act as a temporary nanny.
When the male leopard returned with his prey, he found two-legged creatures around his mate, and they were even being forced to feed the little two-legged creatures. He immediately became unhappy, roared angrily, and was about to charge over and fight them.
The cub was reprimanded by its mother with a roar and stopped moving. Then, it paced restlessly in the distance, ready to rush forward at any moment.
Wang Zhenzhen's mouth twitched involuntarily. After the infant finished eating and drinking, and started spitting up milk, she put the swaddle back on his back and continued her journey. She avoided places where people might be encountered along the way. Ten days later, she reached the gates of Sūnv nü Palace and placed the baby girl, now dressed in plain coarse cloth, where the gatekeeper could see her. Then she slipped back to her own room in Sūnv nü Palace.
It wasn't until the next day that she left her room to meet with her fellow disciples.
"Zhenzhen Shijie, you're out of seclusion."
"Well, I've already broken through to the third level of the Xu Nü Xuan Gong."
"Congratulations, Senior Sister." Let me know if you have other text snippets you'd like translated!
The junior sister, with a pair of dimples, smiled and bowed to Wang Zhenzhen in greeting.
"Susu, I'll share my breakthrough insights with you later."
Wang Zhenzhen smiled and said.
"Great! Thanks, senior sister! You're the best!"
Susan happily said.
"We are fellow disciples, you shouldn't be so formal. How have things been at the palace while I was in seclusion How is Master"
"Well then, master's body is also healthy. But the day before you left seclusion, the gatekeeper junior brother found a abandoned baby girl."
Suyun brought her back to Master, who seemed to have a damaged heart meridian and was very weak. Looking at the child's clothing, she was just an ordinary peasant's daughter. She definitely didn't have money to treat the child. Plus, being a girl, they sent her here, hoping we would take her in.
Su Lan didn't hold back, she spilled everything.
"Is that so What did the master say"
While Zhenzhen was asking questions, her hands were nervously clenched into fists.
"The master said this child is destined to our Su Nü Palace. By cultivating the Su Nü Xuan Gong to its highest level, she can automatically repair any bodily damage. Moreover, the baby's injuries are acquired, not congenital, so they should be curable."
Susulan finished speaking and then slyly looked around. Then, she lowered her voice and said:
I snuck a look at the little baby. It was so tiny, about the size of a kitten, but there was a sword wound on its chest.
Wang Zhenzhen's eyes flickered, and she then lowered her voice and asked:
"Wouldn't it be possible that the child's parents sent him to our Sutu Nu Gong to escape their enemies"
It's hard to say, that child had no identifying marks besides the sword wound on their chest.
Just as Su Lan finished speaking, someone entered their courtyard. It was a girl about the same age as Su Lan.
"Senior Sister Zhen, Master told me to come and see you. He said that if you were out of seclusion, he would have you go meet her."
"Thank you, Su Lin. I'll be there right away."
Wang Zhenzhen smoothed her clothes, bid farewell to her two junior sisters, and then hurried straight to the courtyard on the mountaintop.
The courtyard at the top of the mountain is the residence of the Palace Master of Sùnǚgōng, which is also the courtyard of Shifǔ Sùmín yí, as mentioned by Wang Zhēnjīng. The Palace Master enjoys tranquility and usually takes care of her dwelling herself. The disciples only see their master every few days when they send some food to sustain her.
"Master, you called your disciple here, is there anything the matter"
Wang Zhenzhen respectfully bowed, then raised her head and asked.
Su Minyi, the eldest lady in the household, wore a white dress and looked well-preserved. Due to her practice of Xunu Xuan Gong, though she was over ancient age, her appearance made her look like a beautiful and graceful woman in her thirties.
"Ai! You child, you always carry so much worry on your heart. This time, you went out and brought back a baby, why not just take it up the mountain directly Why go through all this trouble, leaving the child at the foot of the mountain What if a wild beast takes it away"
After hearing this, Wang Zhenzhen's face contorted into a wry smile. She knew she couldn't hide anything from her master, so she knelt down and kowtowed. However, her master lifted her up with his internal energy.
"Zhen Zhen, if you have something to say, speak up. What do you mean by kneeling before me It's not time for you to show me respect yet."
"Master, please accept my bow. This time, I brought the infant back, but it brought me trouble as well. To avoid implicating the Su Nu Palace, this disciple had no choice but to resort to such a plan."
Subsequently, Wang Zhenzhen explained the cause and effect of the matter.
The Wang family of Longxi was known throughout the land for their immense wealth, rivaling that of a nation. Sadly, the head matriarch only bore twins: two daughters who resembled their father and mother respectively. Despite this unique circumstance, the family of four lived in harmony.
Only the Wang family's branch relatives were unhappy, believing that the two sisters would marry into other families when they grew up. The Wang family wouldn't even have an heir, so they pressured their father to either give birth to a son to inherit the family business or adopt a boy from the branch to take their name. This way, the Wang family wouldn't end up in the hands of someone with a different surname after a hundred years.
Unfortunately, the mother of the two sisters, Mrs. Wu, was over forty and it was impossible for her to give birth anymore. However, she was unwilling to adopt a male child from a distant relative into her name.
If she were an orphan, it would be something to consider, after all, she could raise her own. Unfortunately, the adopted child's parents are still alive, and she is not young. Anyone willing to adopt her is doing so for the Wang family's estate.
Mrs. Wu was also a decisive person, directly giving her husband a beautiful concubine. After the concubine became pregnant, she invited her husband and the concubine to enjoy the moon together.ty to want to join the ranks of exam setters. That way, he could spread rumors that the exams were too difficult and that the educated youths weren't truly trying to help the children in the village.T...