Though Lang Jiuchuan had changed into a fresh set of clothes and was draped in a brand-new cloak, the fact that she returned to the household with a satin ribbon bound around her eyes and a face as pale as paper still left the household servants utterly stupefied.

How had the Ninth Young Miss gone out for just one trip and come back in such a dreadful state? That little face of hers was white — white as the color of paper. And what was the matter with her eyes? Surely she had not gone blind?

The news swept through the entire household in an instant.

Lang Zhengping was in the middle of a conversation with Cui Shi when he heard. He was so alarmed he could barely think straight, and immediately ordered the servants to summon the household physician — then decided that was not enough and sent people out to find outside physicians as well.

Cui Shi’s expression shifted as well. “Every time she leaves this household, she insists on coming back with some kind of incident. What has she gotten herself into this time?”

Lang Zhengping quickly said, “Sister-in-law, do not be alarmed — she went to the Ou household, so nothing serious should have happened. It is likely just some scrape or minor injury.”

He said as much, but his heart was uneasy. That child had always had a frail constitution to begin with. If she had actually gone and blinded herself on top of everything else, what would they do?

Cui Shi rose to her feet. “I will go and see her.” She paused, then pressed her lips together and added: “Elder Brother — what I said before still stands. If it truly turns out that she brought these troubles upon herself, I will take her and leave the Marquis’ Residence and move into the dowry property I brought to this marriage.”

What they had been discussing before was the suspicion that the string of calamities that had befallen the Lang Family might all have been brought about by Lang Jiuchuan herself — that she had made enemies, perhaps even of the Xuan Clan, and so the Lang Family had been dragged into the conflict as collateral.

If that were truly the case, she could only take Lang Jiuchuan away from the residence, lest others be implicated.

Lang Zhengping’s face flushed deep red at that. His voice dropped low and firm. “Sister-in-law, is that a way to speak to me? This is the great Marquis Kaiping’s household — are you saying I cannot protect the two of you? That is Second Brother’s own flesh and blood, and my own niece. I would lay down everything to shield her if I had to. We are one family. Never say such things again.”

Cui Shi pressed her lips tightly together, gave him a bow, and hurried away with Nanny Cheng in her wake.

Lang Zhengping let out a long sigh and rubbed his temples. Though he had always kept a careful distance from Cui Shi and rarely had much interaction with her, he was not entirely unaware of her character — she was a woman of fiercely resolute will. For her to say such a thing aloud meant she was fully capable of following through on it.

But how could he truly let a widowed mother and her orphaned daughter retreat in such a manner? If it came to that, the Lang Family might be so thoroughly shamed they would not dare show their faces outside. If things were truly pushed to a point with no way back, he would rather be an unworthy descendant, shame the ancestors, and haul out the family’s ancestral name plate to use as a shield against disaster.

Lang Zhengping got to his feet and headed to Lang Jiuchuan’s courtyard as well.

Cui Shi was preoccupied with a heavy heart. She had never anticipated — not for a moment — that what had happened at the old patriarch’s coffin enclosure could somehow have been provoked by Lang Jiuchuan. Nor that the entire targeted assault on the Lang Family might have been because of her.

And there was the possibility that the Xuan Clan were the ones moving against her.

But why?

Why would this child have managed to antagonize a clan like that? And what secrets were hidden in all of this?

A sense of unease crept into her chest. She felt as though the secrets around Lang Jiuchuan were multiplying by the day — so many now that she could no longer see through any of them.

“Madam — if what the Young Master said is true, what are we to do?” Nanny Cheng, supporting her arm, asked with a furrowed brow.

Cui Shi said: “The Marquis’ Residence, for all its faults, is of noble military lineage. If he wants to preserve his face and his reputation, he will not truly allow us to move out. We could only leave after a formal division of the family, in any case.”

“Then why did Madam say what she said?”

Cui Shi gave a wry smile. “Nanny, I was not without the intent to test him. It is, after all, him who will be the head of this household from now on. Better to understand his stance than to be driven out without warning. Think of it as an advance to gain by retreat.”

She looked in the direction of Lang Jiuchuan’s quarters. “I do not know what drew the Xuan Clan’s attention to her. But if it has truly come to that, I will go to the Gong Family and beg Pei Yuchang’s help, however much face I have to spend.”

“Miss always says she wants to leave the Marquis’ Residence,” Nanny Cheng said, puzzled. “Could it be that she already knew she was the one who brought this enmity down and does not wish to implicate the household?”

Cui Shi’s steps slowed. Her expression fell momentarily still. Could it truly be so?

Arriving at Lang Jiuchuan’s courtyard, they found her in the study preparing to enter a meditative state. Upon hearing that Cui Shi and the others had come, she pulled open the study door with a slight look of resigned exasperation.

Cui Shi took one look at that pale face, the satin ribbon truly bound around her eyes, and her own face went white. “What — what happened to you?”

Lang Jiuchuan said: “It is only that I cannot be exposed to light for a few days. I am not blind.”

“The household physician is on his way—”

“There is no need. I have my own medicines. I only need to rest undisturbed for a few days — please do not come and bother me.”

“You—!” Cui Shi trembled with fury at such unruly defiance.

Lang Jiuchuan, however, simply picked up a calligraphy brush. “Madam, please do not blink.”

With a casual flick of her wrist, she sent the brush flying — it pierced cleanly through a leaf drifting down from a phoenix tree outside the study, and landed with a crisp snap at Cui Shi’s feet.

Everyone: !

Lang Zhengping arrived just in time to witness this scene, and the knot of worry in his chest immediately loosened. She was fine. She could still show off tricks — she had not gone blind.

Though — the satin ribbon was still bound around her eyes, and if she had not gone blind, how had she managed to thread a brush through a falling leaf with such perfect aim? Was the ribbon transparent? Was that also just for practice?

Cui Shi stared at the calligraphy brush lying at her feet with a leaf skewered clean through it, understood the meaning, and turned and left.

If the girl could perform a blindfolded feat of precision like that, what did it matter whether she was blind or not? She had been worrying over nothing.

Nanny Cheng exchanged a meaningful glance with Nanny Gu, and hurried after Cui Shi.

Lang Zhengping cleared his throat. “If you need anything done, just tell the servants. Do not push yourself.”

He came in a rush, and left in an equal rush.

Lang Jiuchuan shut the door with a firm bang, lit several soul-calming incense sticks inside the room, and set the Vajra Pagoda in a place of reverence beside her. She formed hand seals with both hands and entered a deep meditative state to circulate her Major Heavenly Circuit.

The celestial punishment had fractured her bones — but it had also left her body infused with the force of lightning and thunder. She had taken on Ou Yu’an’s constitution, which was inherently cold and heavy with Yin. The thunder and lightning energy was precisely what she needed to counterbalance it and replenish the fullness of her meridians.

Inside the Spirit Platform, Jiangche watched — and let out a small contemptuous sound. Irritated as it was, it could not help but feel a reluctant admiration.

This person — she could be standing in the depths of hell itself and still find a way out. A phoenix forever rising from the ashes.

Everything turned against her, everything unfavorable — she could turn it all around and put it to use for her own benefit. Even a lightning tribulation sent by the heavens as punishment, she had exploited to the very last drop.

If someone like her could not succeed, what justice would there be left in this world?

Jiangche quieted its mind and followed along in cultivating the Dao alongside her.

Lang Jiuchuan’s eyes were half-lidded. The faint ghost of a smile curved her lips. Proximity to vermilion turns one red. If Jiangche could not seize the opportunity and cultivate diligently while it had the chance, its dreams of becoming a divine beast would remain nothing more than dreams.

She put aside all other thoughts and turned her complete focus inward, drawing the Five Elements energies into her body alongside the thunder and lightning force, pouring them together through her meridians.

Meanwhile, at the eastern side gate of the Lang Residence, two men with their heads wrapped in Nine Yang Scarves, dressed in identical dark robes, knocked upon the gate and handed in a calling card.

The servant boy who received it had been lounging about lazily — but the moment he saw the clan emblem on the calling card, he froze. He looked more carefully. It was indeed that particular, intricate emblem.

His expression shifted sharply. He looked up at the two men standing before him, his gaze passing briefly over the bronze coin swords hanging at their waists, and he asked hurriedly: “If I may ask — are you Daoist masters of the Gong Family?”

The younger of the two, a baby-faced young man, lifted his chin. “Indeed we are.”

The servant’s scalp prickled with nervous tension. He quickly said: “Please, Daoist masters, step into the entry hall and wait just a moment. I will go and inform the household master at once.”

He ushered them inside and then sprinted off to spread the word. This was serious — the people of the Xuan Clan had come to their Marquis’ Residence!