The Princess of Ning was greatly shocked. Her hands trembling, she took the jade statue. The moment her fingertips touched the base of the lotus, she suddenly froze as if struck by lightning.
"Yes... This is exactly the Avalokitesvara of Children Bestowing!"
Her voice quivered. Slowly raising her head, she looked at Concubine Kang in disbelief. "Didn't I tell you to lock it in the storeroom and never take it out again? How could it...?"
Before she could finish her words, out of the corner of her eye, she caught sight of the freshly turned earth on the ground and the redwood box with its paint peeling off. A terrifying thought suddenly flashed through her mind.
"...The rumored black magic in the capital... It was you!"
In the past few days, she had also heard the rumors in the capital about the white jade Avalokitesvara, but she never thought that the so - called seductive jade statue in the legend would be this one of her own!
Li Wanming slowly stepped forward, her voice cold and clear.
"Lord Pei from the Censorate told me that the sorcerer confessed that a noble lady in the capital came to him ten years ago, asking him to find a way to lay a curse and ensure that a person would be childless."
"The sorcerer calculated that person's birth date and said that this person was surrounded by purple qi, indicating a prosperous and noble destiny. Ordinary black magic would not work on him. Therefore, the souls of his blood relatives must be used as a guide to suppress this great nobility."
She took the Avalokitesvara statue and pointed her fingertips at the strange patterns on the base of the lotus.
"Mother, look. Aren't there red patterns like thin snakes engraved beside the birth dates of the three elder brothers? That's the curse..."
"That sorcerer performed the spell, using the souls of the three elder brothers to lock away all of Jingnan's wealth, honor, and lifespan, trying to ensure that he would be wife - less and childless in this life and die an early and violent death!"
The light of the torches flickered. The red patterns on the Avalokitesvara statue seemed to be slowly wriggling, like colorful poisonous snakes.
The Princess of Ning suddenly covered her mouth and let out a shrill sob.
Concubine Kang suddenly raised her head. Her turbid tear - filled eyes shot out venomous glints as she stared fixedly at Li Wanming.
It was only now that she realized that everything tonight was a trap.
"It was you... You already knew!"
"Yes, I already knew." Li Wanming's voice remained calm. "Before I went to the Southern Border, I had already found out about the white jade Avalokitesvara. I planned to investigate it carefully after I came back, but I didn't expect the matter of the Pure Yang Temple to be exposed suddenly."
"To prevent the Ning Prince's Mansion from being implicated, I had to strengthen the guards in the courtyard and wait for the right moment. Who would have thought that Second Aunt would be so impatient and try to take away the Avalokitesvara statue so soon... If you hadn't come to get it at night, I might not have found it so easily!"
"Now that the criminal and the evidence are both here..." She slightly hooked the corners of her lips. "Come to think of it, I should really thank Second Aunt."
"You... You bitch!"
Concubine Kang suddenly flew into a rage and rushed straight at Li Wanming, but Gao Yong took a quick step forward and grabbed her by the arm.
In the flickering light of the torches, the Prince of Ning's face was as cold as frost.
"Sister - in - law..."
His voice was slightly hoarse. "I thought I had treated you well... But Jingnan is my only remaining blood relative. Why did you try to harm him like this?"
...
"Well?"
Concubine Kang suddenly burst into crazy laughter. Her tears mixed with makeup, leaving gullies on her face. "I've slaved for your Xiao family for twenty years. What did I get in return!"
She cried out heart - rendingly, "My child... My fully - formed child!"
Hearing her mention the baby from that year, both the Prince and Princess of Ning fell silent, their faces showing expressions of guilt and pain.
The shrill cries still echoed in the night. "He was so young, so young, and could only be buried alone in the suburbs of the capital with a small coffin!"
Concubine Kang trembled all over. "...Not buried in the ancestral tomb, not included in the family genealogy, and not even having a name!"
She suddenly pointed at the Princess of Ning. Her bright red nail polish looked like old bloodstains in the firelight. "And you! You pretended to be kind and let me manage the mansion, but you indulged those noble ladies to humiliate me, abuse me, and look down on me!"
Before her voice fell, her finger turned to the Prince of Ning. "And you! You kept saying that you had deep brotherly feelings, but you let his name remain outside the genealogy of the Prince's Mansion. He could only be an illegitimate second master all his life!"
Her eyes were completely blood - red, looking crazy. "My poor child... What did he get in return for his life!"
"For so many years, I've only been able to watch you hypocrites perform your acts of conjugal love and parental kindness in front of me... In fact, you are all kind - hearted on the surface but evil - minded, full of dirty secrets!"
"Spit! Every day I see you makes me sick!"
The Wu hook hung high, and the cold moonlight caressed the ground. Everyone was shocked into silence by this sudden accusation.
The Princess of Ning's face was as pale as gold paper, trembling all over. The handkerchief in her hand had already fallen to the ground. The straight figure of the Prince of Ning also swayed slightly, as if he had suddenly aged ten years.
After a long time, he said hoarsely, "Sister - in - law, have you thought of me like this for so many years?"
"About the genealogy, I once discussed it with Second Brother... It was Second Brother who told me personally that he didn't want to be included in the genealogy."
"What?" Concubine Kang was stunned.
The Prince of Ning's voice was like the wailing of the night wind. "According to the ancestral rules, once a name is included in the family genealogy, one has to enter the palace to thank the emperor's grace on the first and fifteenth days of each lunar month. Second Brother said that he was most impatient with these tedious rituals. He thought it was good to be a commoner and be free every day."
"I saw that it was really his wish, so I agreed."
"As for Shuyi," he took the Princess of Ning's hand. "Over the years, she has handed over the entire mansion to you, allowing you to rummage through the things in the storeroom, exchange the paddy fields in the suburbs for good farmland, and then exchange the good farmland for poor land... She has never asked a single question. She still treats you like a real sister, trusting and protecting you everywhere... Has she ever done anything wrong to you?"
"Trust me?" Concubine Kang's cheeks twitched. She suddenly pointed at Li Wanming. "You hid in the Pingkang Fang for two years for this bitch, but you told me that you were going to the other courtyard to recuperate... Hiding so many things from me, and you still dare to say you trust me?"
The Prince of Ning stared at her fixedly, his eyes full of painful disbelief.
"Not telling you was Jingnan's idea... At that time, I even blamed him for hiding such a big thing from you. But he said that since you were in charge of the mansion and greeted so many people every day, and the matter about Wanming hadn't been settled yet, it was not suitable for too many people to know... Thinking about it now, he should have suspected you a long time ago."
"Father is right," Li Wanming stepped forward gently. "He did suspect Second Aunt a long time ago. Because he already knew about the Avalokitesvara statue."
"What?" The Princess of Ning was shocked again. "Jingnan knew...?"
"Mother, Jingnan not only knew that Second Aunt used the Avalokitesvara statue to curse him..." Li Wanming raised her eyes, her voice as cold as the moon. "He also knew that the rumors about the sudden and mysterious deaths of his previous fiancées were spread by Second Aunt."