Chapter 5: A Joyful Feud

Qiao Chushan did not admit to being childish, but he had taken his daughter’s words to heart.

He gave a dry cough: "The Emperor has been suffering from headaches these past two days, so I have been accompanying him in the palace. No one from the manor ever sent word to me."

"It wasn't until I returned to the manor today and asked the steward that I learned about Niannian falling into the water."

Madam Huo pursed her lips: "The first day Niannian fell into the water, I had a maid send you word, but you never replied. I had the maid notify you two more times after that, but when you finally returned, you went straight to the neighboring courtyard to see Qiao Yueying."

Madam Huo’s final words were pointed, and Qiao Chushan began to feel a prick of guilt.

However, he changed the subject quickly.

"Someone must be meddling in this. I will go call everyone over for questioning right now."

【Oh no, my dad has grown a brain.】

Qiao Chushan:...

What nonsense was this daughter spouting? He had always been very smart, alright!

But now was not the time to bicker with his daughter.

Just as Qiao Chushan went to summon the people, something happened in the manor.

Qiao Yueying’s kite had landed on the roof of Madam Huo’s room.

When a servant from the manor climbed up to retrieve the kite, he stepped through the roof and fell down.

Along with the servant, a wooden box also fell, its exterior covered in red talisman paper that was incredibly jarring to the eye.

Just as the servant brought the box out, the Crown Prince and the Third Prince happened to be walking over with Qiao Chaosheng, and they saw the wooden box.

Someone immediately shouted

"A blood curse! Why is there a blood curse inside the Madam’s room?"

With such a major incident occurring at the Marquis of Mingyuan’s manor, the steward hurried over to invite Qiao Chushan.

Madam Huo’s heart sank; her daughter had been right about this, too.

She lifted her foot to follow, but Qiao Niannian hurriedly propped herself up, screaming desperately in her heart.

【Mother, Mother, take me too! I want to go watch the excitement!】

【Mother, don't leave me behind.】

Madam Huo had no choice but to have Shiliu help Qiao Niannian get dressed before supporting her as they returned to her courtyard.

On the way, Madam Huo instructed Qiao Niannian: "Niannian, be good. Mother has already replaced the contents of the box with Buddhist scriptures. Don't be afraid when Mother is taken away later, you hear?"

She comforted her daughter while simultaneously charging Shiliu: "Look after the young miss while I am away these next few days."

Having arranged for her daughter, Madam Huo stepped into the courtyard.

The courtyard was truly lively; the manor’s maids and servants were kneeling all over the ground, while Qiao Yueying and Qiao Chaosheng stood to the side.

Qiao Chushan, the steward, and the servant who was kneeling on the ground holding the box stood in the center. The servant was trembling with fear.

When Madam Huo arrived with Qiao Niannian, this was the scene that greeted them.

Qiao Chushan had already grasped the ins and outs of the situation.

He saw the box and stared at the blood curse on it, his entire face turning pale.

He believed Madam Huo would never do such a thing.

But the item had been discovered in her room.

Fearing that others would suspect Madam Huo, Qiao Chushan spoke up the moment she arrived: "Madam, have you ever seen this box? Why was it on the rafters of your room?"

Qiao Chushan’s questioning tone instantly infuriated Madam Huo. What was the meaning of this? Was Qiao Chushan doubting her?!!

Qiao Niannian, following behind, was speechless.

【Dad! It’s a real talent to be able to sound so cold and heartless when you’re actually worried about Mom.】

【Mom! Don't you dare be foolish, or Concubine Xu will be thrilled to death.】

Madam Huo had been angry, but upon hearing her daughter’s inner voice, she couldn't help but look at Concubine Xu’s children. Sure enough, she saw that both Qiao Yueying and Qiao Chaosheng wore expressions of watching a good show.

She straightened her back and spoke calmly amidst everyone’s gaze: "I placed this box on the rafters."

Qiao Yueying and Qiao Chaosheng were stunned for a moment, then they were overjoyed.

This Madam Huo was rushing to her own death.

Others would be trying to hide, yet she admitted to it so quickly.

Qiao Chushan himself was dumbfounded.

The next moment, his face darkened: "Don't talk nonsense. It is impossible for you to have put that up there."

Qiao Chushan desperately signaled to Madam Huo with his eyes, urging her to deny it, but Madam Huo snorted and turned her face away.

Qiao Chushan:...

No, was his wife trying to get herself killed?

In this situation, the only ones present with the authority to handle it were the Crown Prince and the Third Prince.

Before the Crown Prince could speak, the Third Prince stepped forward to handle the matter: "Marquis of Mingyuan, since your wife has already admitted that she placed this item there, there is nothing more to say. Witchcraft is a forbidden art, and the Emperor detests such things the most. I must take your wife away and report this matter to the Emperor."

The Third Prince was seventeen this year, dressed in blue silk robes, looking heroic and spirited. His birth mother was the current Imperial Noble Consort, who was favored above all others in the six palaces. The Third Prince gave off the sharp, piercing aura of a sword being drawn from its scabbard.

Qiao Yueying’s eyes landed on the Third Prince and brightened significantly. After a few seconds of dazed silence, she lowered her head shyly.

Qiao Niannian glanced at Qiao Yueying. This was the female lead of the book; she truly looked pitiful and lovely. Her pair of watery eyes shimmered, and she must look extremely beautiful when she cried.

Qiao Niannian couldn't help but think of those shameless scenes in the book, where every time something bad happened, there would be a close-up of the female lead’s autumn-water eyes.

Especially when the female lead was bullied hard by the male lead, those eyes would always shimmer with moisture, the corners of her eyes turning red, easily inciting the male lead’s desire to conquer.

Qiao Niannian had blushed while reading it at the time, but later, her doctor friend told her

Redness at the corners of the eyes could be caused by blepharitis, allergic eczema, ingrown eyelashes, or trauma.

Qiao Niannian thought that person was incredibly boring—a classic case of being allergic to romance. Fortunately, she could cure it.

She had prescribed a formula for her friend back then.

Prescription

Find a man who can make the corners of your eyes turn red.

Thinking that her friend had already met her true love and would live a smooth, peaceful life until the end, she could rest easy now that she had returned to her own world of the Great Xia Dynasty.

Shaking the messy thoughts from her mind, Qiao Niannian looked at Qiao Yueying’s face again. Judging by her physiognomy, she did not have the fate of great wealth and status.

A woman capable of being the mother of the nation must have an excellent fate; after all, the future Emperor was the Ziwei Star, and anyone who could complement the Ziwei Star must possess a fate worthy of it.

Qiao Yueying clearly did not have a fate of wealth, yet her physiognomy did indeed show that she would sit in the position of Empress.

This was very interesting.

It was like a baby’s soul in an adult’s body.

For most people, seven-tenths of their fate is destined, and three-tenths depends on their choices.

Qiao Yueying had a seven-tenths fate of poverty; no matter how she chose, she couldn't possibly become Empress.

Unless someone had altered her fate.

Thinking of the blood curse on Madam Huo’s rafters, combined with Qiao Yueying’s altered fate, there must be a practitioner of metaphysics behind this concubine.

Qiao Niannian’s eyes landed on Qiao Chaosheng; his fate had been altered as well.

Of the three in the concubine’s household, excluding Concubine Xu, both Qiao Yueying and Qiao Chaosheng had had their fates altered.

Altering a fate wasn't done out of thin air; it was done by swapping fates with someone else.

I wonder which two unlucky souls had their fates swapped!