The courtyard was so quiet one could hear a pin drop. All eyes were fixed on Jiang Qian.
Old Madam Feng felt a sense of relief wash over her. So it was true – the brocaded pheasant in her dream had indeed referred to her second granddaughter!
A gentle breeze lifted the stray hairs on Jiang Qian’s forehead, revealing her pale face.
“How could this be…” Jiang Qian mumbled, looking blankly at Madam Xiao.
At that moment, her mind was blank, her senses numb. Only one thought echoed: Hadn’t Mother bribed the Immortal Lady Liu? Why had she become the one possessed by the evil spirit?
“Has the Immortal Lady made a mistake?” Madam Xiao stepped forward, her face ashen, emphasizing the words “made a mistake.”
Immortal Lady Liu replied calmly, “Madam jests. People can make mistakes, but the Soul-Fixing Bell cannot be wrong.”
“But this shouldn’t—” Madam Xiao’s gaze fell on the bell in Immortal Lady Liu’s hand, her brow furrowed as she spoke meaningfully, “Is this bell perhaps broken?”
Immortal Lady Liu smiled and casually took a few steps forward, raising the bell and shaking it in front of Sixth Miss Jiang Pei.
The clear chime rang out once more.
She stepped back and shook the bell at Jiang Qian again.
The bell, as if suddenly mute, made no sound at all.
The scene fell silent once more, filled with an indescribable awkwardness and reverence for the unknown.
“It can’t possibly be Qian’er, Immortal Lady—” Madam Xiao clenched her fists tightly, blue veins protruding on the back of her hands. She bit out the words “Immortal Lady” with particular emphasis.
Immortal Lady Liu bowed to Madam Xiao, “Madam, Heaven’s will cannot be defied. This is not something I can decide.”
She was speaking the truth. If she could decide, why would she have caused so much trouble?
“Now that the Immortal Lady has found the evil spirit, please proceed with the exorcism,” Old Madam Feng urged.
“Old Madam—”
“Enough!” Old Madam Feng cut off Madam Xiao’s words coldly, “You invited the Immortal Lady here. Are you saying you don’t accept this result?”
Madam Xiao’s lips trembled, unable to utter a word.
It was only then that she realized with terror that this time, she had truly lifted a stone only to drop it on her own feet.
She had invited Immortal Lady Liu, and now it was discovered that her daughter was harming the Old Madam. She could hardly say that she had privately paid Immortal Lady Liu, could she?
For the first time, Madam Xiao experienced the taste of a bitter pill she couldn’t spit out. With an expressionless face, she looked at Immortal Lady Liu, “Then please, Immortal Lady, proceed with the exorcism quickly, so that Old Madam can recover as soon as possible.”
Immortal Lady Liu did possess some mystical powers, but Madam Xiao didn’t believe that the Old Madam’s eyes could truly recover just from a ritual. When that time came, she would tell the Old Madam that Immortal Lady Liu had no real skills and they should invite someone else.
Of course, if Immortal Lady Liu had pointed to Jiang Zhan as agreed earlier, and the Old Madam’s eyes hadn’t improved after the ritual, it would have been a different story.
“Then I shall begin,” Immortal Lady Liu tucked the bell into her robes and began making hand gestures, circling Jiang Qian.
The others instinctively moved aside.
Jiang Qian stood there alone, listening to Immortal Lady Liu’s incantations. Her pretty face turned from white to red, then from red to white, like a changing palette.
“Begone!” After circling for who knows how long, Immortal Lady Liu suddenly raised her hand, flames erupting from it.
Gasps of surprise rose from all around.
The flame-engulfed hand landed on Jiang Qian’s shoulder.
“Ah—” Jiang Qian screamed involuntarily.
Surprisingly, the flames extinguished without setting Jiang Qian’s clothes on fire.
“What’s that?” Old Madam Feng’s eyes narrowed.
A patch of red gradually appeared on Jiang Qian’s shoulder, growing more and more vivid, reminiscent of fresh blood.
After a moment, the red patch gradually faded and finally disappeared without a trace, as if it had never been there.
“It’s done. The evil spirit has been exorcised. Old Madam’s eye affliction will improve within three days,” Immortal Lady Liu said to Old Madam Feng, slightly out of breath but smiling.
“Really?” Old Madam Feng asked eagerly.
Immortal Lady Liu nodded with a profound smile, her eyes briefly glancing at Jiang Si among the crowd.
How could she know if it would get better? It was that young miss who had said so.
That day at the Tianxiang Teahouse, the young miss had told her that if she followed her instructions, Dong Ping Earl’s Old Madam’s eye affliction would improve within three days, promising her both fame and fortune.
Faced with both threat and temptation, she had no choice but to agree.
“Thank you for your efforts, Immortal Lady,” Old Madam Feng showed a genuine smile and gave a signal to A Fu.
A Fu immediately presented a bulging purse.
“I’m tired now. Madam Xiao, please take good care of the Immortal Lady for the next two days. Don’t be discourteous,” Old Madam Feng instructed.
Since Immortal Lady Liu dared to publicly state that her eye affliction would improve within three days, she already half believed it. But since it concerned her personally, it would be most appropriate to have Immortal Lady Liu stay at the manor for three days.
Stay for longer?
Immortal Lady Liu was dumbfounded upon hearing this. If it weren’t for years of cultivating a thick skin, she would have revealed her true colors on the spot.
She glanced almost imperceptibly at Jiang Si.
The young lady standing between her sisters, as stunning as a blooming crabapple flower, expressionlessly made a hand gesture for “six.”
Curse her ancestors and spread gossip!
Immortal Lady Liu: “…”
“Then I’ll impose on your hospitality,” Immortal Lady Liu bowed to Madam Xiao.
“You’re too kind, Immortal Lady. Please forgive any inadequacies in our hospitality,” Madam Xiao said, almost grinding her teeth, her eyes cold as she looked at Immortal Lady Liu.
Old Madam Feng said displeased, “Then take good care of her.”
Madam Xiao was immediately embarrassed.
Beside her, Third Madam Guo nearly burst out laughing.
It had been a long time since she had seen her second sister-in-law so flustered. The last time was because of Fourth Miss. Could this become a regular occurrence?
Hmm, just thinking about it made her feel satisfied.
“Daughter-in-law understands.”
Old Madam Feng nodded, then turned to look at Jiang Qian.
Jiang Qian, still not recovered from the shock, stammered, “Grandmother—”
Old Madam Feng’s disgust was unconcealed as she said coldly, “Second girl, I’ve told you before, you’re already a married woman. Don’t come back to your maiden home without reason, lest the Marquis’s household say you’re neglecting your duties as a daughter-in-law.”
Jiang Qian’s body swayed slightly as she bit her lip and said, “Granddaughter understands.”
What had gone wrong between Mother and Immortal Lady Liu? This humiliation would be unforgettable for a lifetime.
“Feng Ma, help me inside. Have someone clean up here properly,” Old Madam Feng said.
After Old Madam Feng went inside, the crowd standing in the courtyard quietly dispersed, not without casting a few more glances at Jiang Qian.
From now on, Jiang Qian had fallen out of favor with the Old Madam.
Jiang Zhan accompanied Jiang Si as they walked out, faintly hearing a voice from behind: “Second Sister, are you alright?”
It was the eldest son, Jiang Cang, Jiang Qian’s twin brother.
Jiang Qian said something softly, but the rest was inaudible.
“Hindsight is always perfect,” Jiang Zhan said, noticing Jiang Si looking at him.
He pursed his lips, “If that charlatan had dared to say it was you, I would have beaten her on the spot until even her mother wouldn’t recognize her. Let’s see if she could still pretend to be mystical and fool people then!”
Jiang Si smiled gently, “I know Second Brother is the most capable.”
Jiang Zhan never expected Jiang Si to praise him so directly. His ears reddened instantly, and he hastily changed the subject, “Fourth Sister doesn’t believe that charlatan’s nonsense either, right?”
The young girl replied with an innocent face, “I do believe it.”
“What?” Jiang Zhan’s foot slipped, and he nearly fell.