Lin Yanxi slipped back into the manor past midnight.
Surprisingly, Tangchao and Lizi were not waiting in the courtyard. Usually, if Lin Yanxi hadn't returned by this hour, they would be pacing anxiously.
She tiptoed to her room and opened the door, relieved that her mother hadn't noticed anything amiss. She let out a sigh of relief and was about to sit down.
"Slap—"
Her buttocks hadn't even touched the stool when, in the quiet darkness, the sound of a palm hitting a table suddenly exploded in Lin Yanxi's ears.
Only then did she see Jiang Wan sitting in a chair. Yugu had lit a candle, casting a dim glow in the room.
"Mother..."
Lin Yanxi called out softly, clearly lacking confidence and with a worried expression. She lowered her head, not daring to look at Jiang Wan's stern face.
Jiang Wan's expression was grim. She remained silent, suppressing her anger again and again.
Yugu quickly pulled Lin Yanxi aside and asked, "Miss, where have you been all day? After the female instructor left, Madam wanted to check on your studies and found it was that little maid Lizi in the room."
"Madam was worried sick, you... you..."
Jiang Wan asked directly, "Did you go to the woods in the western suburbs?"
The Jiang clan's bloodline was passed down through generations. Only a very few could inherit the talent of a Talisman Master. Those who didn't inherit could still sense the aura of sorcery, but they couldn't condense or use it.
In fact, she had sensed the powerful aura of talismanic arts coming from the direction of the western suburbs outside the city, which was why she had come to Lin Yanxi's room. She hadn't expected Lin Yanxi to actually not be in her room.
The most worrying thing had indeed happened.
Lin Yanxi didn't want Jiang Wan to worry about her. There were still many confusing matters regarding sorcerers. Fortunately, the sorcerer was dead and no longer a threat, so there was no need to mention it.
"I, I just went for a walk and came back a bit late."
Jiang Wan's patience ran out. She reprimanded sternly, "Still lying! Lin Yanxi, my Jiang clan is upright and magnanimous. How can you be so stubborn? Kneel!"
Lin Yanxi pouted, her knees softened, and she knelt on the ground smoothly and naturally. She mumbled indignantly, "Anyway, in Mother's heart, I can never compare to others."
Jiang Wan heard this but chose not to respond. She was more concerned about whether Lin Yanxi had indeed gone to the woods. In truth, regardless of whether Lin Yanxi answered or not, the answer was already in her heart. She just held onto a sliver of hope and asked again.
"I'll ask you one more time, did you go?"
"I did."
Lin Yanxi's voice was clear and crisp, her answer direct and concise, no longer hiding anything.
"Who did you go with?"
Lin Yanxi hesitated and then said, "Shen Muzhou."
Jiang Wan's temples throbbed with pain from anger. She couldn't suppress her temper and slapped the table again, shouting, "Your father and I have repeatedly told you not to provoke Shen Muzhou again. He is not someone you can afford to offend! Why don't you ever listen!"
"Even if you don't like the Crown Prince, the Ninth Prince is definitely not a good match! He is ruthless. Have you forgotten how the Xiao Gao family was inexplicably exterminated a few days ago? Even a three-year-old child died by his blade."
"You like him?"
Lin Yanxi paused and frankly admitted, "I don't like him."
She probably didn't like him.
Hearing this answer, Jiang Wan's heart finally felt a little relieved. She glared at Lin Yanxi on the ground and said, "Let me ask you again, have you awakened your talisman master bloodline?"
She didn't know how to answer this question for a moment. It wasn't exactly awakening sorcery, because without the soul ring, she couldn't use anything.
Lin Yanxi secretly raised her eyes to look at her mother's gloomy face. She didn't dare to anger her further and replied with a stiff upper lip, "I haven't awakened my bloodline. It's the soul ring that Grandfather left me. The soul ring can infuse spiritual power into my body and allow me to use simple talismanic arts."
"Grandfather taught me..."
A sharp slap suddenly landed heavily on Lin Yanxi's face, making a crisp sound.
"Madam, Madam, you can't hit her!" Yugu quickly stopped Jiang Wan.
Lin Yanxi was stunned by the slap. Her naturally innocent and childlike apricot-shaped eyes welled up with tears, the corners of her eyes turning red.
She trembled, bit her lip tightly, and stopped herself from making a sound.
Jiang Wan also trembled with rage, pointing at Lin Yanxi's nose and saying, "Now you're even lying about your grandfather? Your grandfather died before you were even born! How dare you use such a clumsy lie to deceive me. Do you know, if you awaken..."
Mentioning Jiang Qi was an eternal pain in Jiang Wan's heart, and she couldn't control her emotions for a moment.
Lin Yanxi stood frozen on the ground, her ears buzzing from the slap, her mind filled with shock. Grandfather was dead?!
She thought of the black-cloaked person from earlier who had also said her grandfather was dead. How could this be possible?
In her previous life, her grandfather had saved her from Nan Min and protected her all the way. He was a quiet but very meticulous old man.
How could he be dead?
"Madam, Madam!" Yugu anxiously interrupted her.
Jiang Wan suddenly stopped speaking, realizing she had almost said the wrong thing. She calmed herself down, a tear falling imperceptibly. She resumed, "Zhaozhao, tell me the truth."
"This is the truth. In your heart, you never wanted to believe me, so no matter what I say, you don't believe it."
Jiang Wan was so angry she couldn't speak. She wanted to believe, but how could she?
Let alone the fact that Jiang Qi had been dead for many years and could not have given her the soul ring, even if this soul ring was indeed a magical artifact of a talisman master, only a talisman master could use it.
Even with the highest cultivation, others could not wield it.
Jiang Wan truly didn't understand how Lin Yanxi had become like this after regaining her senses.
"Then where is your soul ring? Your maternal grandfather's soul ring?"
"It's not with me." Lin Yanxi, fearing she wouldn't be believed, added, "But I will show it to you. You just need to wait a little longer."
Jiang Wan had already known that she couldn't produce the soul ring. After Jiang Qi's death, the soul ring had inexplicably disappeared, and the Jiang clan had searched for it for years without success.
She hated herself for being a negligent mother and said helplessly, "Do you want to drive me to death? You speak lies, you scheme against others everywhere, you are narrow-minded and vengeful. With such a personality..."
"This is my personality."
Lin Yanxi met Jiang Wan's gaze, tears involuntarily welling up and flowing down to her jaw. Her hands were clenched so tightly that her fingernails dug into her flesh.
She trembled, her long wet eyelashes fluttering, and repeated, "This is my personality."
Jiang Wan, in her fury, raised her hand to slap again. Yugu rushed to Lin Yanxi's front, shielding her.
Yugu said, "Miss, just say something soft. Madam is doing this for your own good. There's no need for such a rift between mother and daughter."
Lin Yanxi's eyes were cold, and her face was expressionless. She stared at the flickering candle flame, then looked back at Jiang Wan and said, "If I weren't like this, I would have been killed long ago."
"Mother, if... if you dislike me."
Her voice trembled slightly. She swallowed, trying to suppress her sobs, and said coldly, "If you truly detest me this much, then ask Sister to come back and keep you company. I'll go live on the estate and won't anger you."
Jiang Wan looked at her in astonishment, her body swaying. She was her daughter, how could she detest her? She wanted to protect her.
However, Lin Yanxi was so undisciplined, lied, schemed, and harbored resentment towards so many people. Once her talisman master bloodline awakened, she would inevitably face calamity. At that time, even if Moon Youzhou flowed with blood, Lin Yanxi would inevitably perish, body and soul.
"Second Miss, what are you saying? Madam cares about you the most," Yugu said.
"Yugu, there's no need to say more," Jiang Wan said to her. "I sentence you to house arrest within the manor to reflect and learn."
Yugu helped Jiang Wan back into the room, carefully dismissed the servants, and secured the doors and windows.
After confirming no one was eavesdropping, she asked, "Madam, did you detect any signs of the Second Miss awakening as a talisman master?"
Jiang Wan rubbed her forehead and shook her head with her eyes closed. She didn't know why Lin Yanxi had used talismanic arts in the western suburbs but showed no aura of a talisman master on her body.
She beckoned Yugu closer and said, "The aura of talismanic arts from the western suburbs was extraordinarily powerful. I felt it even in the manor. Those people hiding in the shadows must have also sensed it."
"You will go and invite a doctor here tonight. Spread the word that I was injured returning from the western suburbs and need a doctor to examine me at the manor."
Yugu frowned and said, "Madam, this is too dangerous. If those people know it was Madam who used talismanic arts in the western suburbs, they will surely target you."
"Alas, the enemy is in the dark, and we are in the light. They will eventually find out that it was Zhaozhao who went to the western suburbs, and it will be even more disadvantageous for Zhaozhao. Fortunately, she had Lizi impersonate her in the manor today, so it shouldn't arouse suspicion."
"By the way, the Soul Binding Talisman..."
Yugu's expression changed drastically and she quickly said, "Madam, the Soul Binding Talisman must not be used again. Although the Soul Binding Talisman causes people to lose their minds, an ordinary person can only use it once. Using it a second time will turn them into a living dead like a withered tree."
Jiang Wan's words stopped abruptly. She pondered in silence for a while and said, "Fine. You go spread the word and invite the doctor first."
Many years ago, when Lin Yanxi was just born, according to the tradition of the Jiang clan, a diviner would calculate her destiny.
The diviner calculated that Lin Yanxi would become the last talisman master in the entire Moon Youzhou. At the same time, when she awakened her talisman master bloodline, she would bring disaster to Moon Youzhou. Wars would erupt between the five nations because of her, the common people would have no peace, and Lin Yanxi would ultimately meet her demise, her body and soul extinguished.
The Jiang clan would also have no more talisman masters, and the lineage of talisman masters would thus perish.
She prayed every day that Lin Yanxi would not fall victim to her destiny, but fate was contrary to her wishes. Lin Yanxi had shown extremely high talent as a talisman master since childhood, intuitively able to move objects and switch positions.
Thinking of these, Jiang Wan stared blankly at the Soul Binding Talisman in the wooden box. As long as it was dissolved into talismanic water and drunk, she would become an idiot...
---
At a quarter past the hour of Chen on the second day, Lin Yanxi was pulled out of bed. The female instructor was already waiting in the courtyard.
Seeing Lin Yanxi walking slowly, yawning, and looking half-asleep, she sternly said, "Second Miss, the day's work begins at dawn. Every lesson starts at the hour of Chen and ends at the hour of Shen. You should keep this time in mind and engrave it in your actions. You are fined three recitations of the 'Women's Admonitions'."
Lin Yanxi furrowed her brow and said, "I'll be earlier tomorrow."
"Hmm, if you are late again, you will be fined ten recitations," the female instructor nodded. She looked closely at Lin Yanxi's face and asked, "The rash on Second Miss's face, has it healed?"
"It has."
A flicker of unnaturalness crossed the female instructor's eyes. She tested, "Then let me quiz you on what you remember from yesterday's lesson?"