Since Mrs. Xu insisted that this must be a punishment from the Goddess of Children, everyone decided to consult the gods first.
Dongfang Xiao was born into a family of witches and wizards in the Southern Chu region. He was most adept at communicating with the gods and divining by asking the gods. Naturally, this task fell to him.
Under everyone's expectant gazes, Dongfang Xiao put away his usual playfulness and became solemn.
He asked the servants of the Cui family to prepare clean water, incense candles, and a few simple fresh fruits as offerings. Although it was not as grand as a large - scale religious ceremony, the steps were rigorous, exuding the unique ancient charm of the Southern Chu witchcraft lineage.
Dongfang Xiao washed his hands and lit the incense. He found a secluded corner in the courtyard and set up a simple incense altar. Holding a stick of incense, he closed his eyes and concentrated, muttering something. It was an ancient and obscure witchcraft prayer.
The incense smoke rose straight up and lingered around him, carrying a somewhat mysterious aura.
After a while, he opened his eyes and took out a smooth tortoise shell and several ancient copper coins. This was the "oracle divination" commonly used by the Southern Chu witches.
He placed the copper coins on the tortoise shell, clasped his hands together, and gently shook them. The copper coins collided, making a crisp sound, and then he solemnly scattered them on the altar covered with a red cloth.
Dongfang Xiao lowered his head and carefully examined the divination formed by the copper coins. After pondering for a while, he turned to face everyone and said in a definite tone:
"The goddess's decree is clear. This matter has nothing to do with her. The goddess is not angry, nor has she imposed any punishment."
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone's hearts sank. If even the Goddess of Children denied this, then what kind of evil being was hiding behind the custom of "tethering the clay doll" and stealing Jiaojiao's soul?
"Mrs. Cui insisted in the mission statement that she was punished by the gods. I'd like to know, why are you so sure?" Shen Cuiyu pondered for a moment and suddenly asked. Her gaze was gentle but carried an inescapable inquisition.
Hearing this, Mrs. Xu's body trembled imperceptibly. She tightly wrung her handkerchief, and the color drained from her face. It was obvious that she was struggling fiercely inside.
She was silent for a long time. Then, as if making up her mind, her voice hoarse, she slowly began, "Back then, my husband and I had been married for several years, and I desperately wanted a child. But we visited countless famous doctors and tried all kinds of folk remedies, yet I still couldn't conceive. Later, we heard that there was a very efficacious temple dedicated to the Goddess of Children outside the city. It was said that if one sincerely paid homage and tethered back a clay doll from the temple, one would surely conceive. So... I went."
At this point, Mrs. Xu's gaze became distant as she sank into that memory filled with both anticipation and uneasiness.
"That day, it happened to be the temple fair of the Goddess of Children. The temple was crowded with people, and the incense was billowing. On the high platform, the statue of the goddess held a flower and smiled, looking solemn and awe - inspiring. Below the temple platform, there were many clay dolls on display, some boys and some girls. Each was cute and had a different expression. Just looking at them made my heart fill with love and longing."
Mrs. Xu described the process at that time - women seeking children usually asked the temple keeper first. After donating incense money according to their will, they could go to the shrine and carefully select a clay doll that they liked the most. Then they would tie it with a red string, symbolizing taking the child's "spirit" home.
"Several ladies who went with me all successfully tethered the clay dolls they liked and happily went home. But when it was my turn..." Mrs. Xu's voice dropped, full of embarrassment. "The temple keeper looked at me for a while, then shook his head and sighed, saying that... that my fate with children was shallow. Even if I forcibly tethered the doll back, this fate might not last long."
"When I heard this, I was both anxious and heart - broken, extremely unwilling. Why could others tether the dolls, but I couldn't? I even promised to donate a large amount of incense money, but the temple keeper remained unmoved, only saying that this couldn't be forced." A flash of shame and regret passed through Mrs. Xu's eyes. "When it was time for the ceremony, everyone started throwing red strings to tether the dolls. Almost everyone successfully tethered the doll they had chosen, and there was laughter and joy everywhere... Only I stood there alone, like an abandoned person..."
Her voice choked up a bit. "I... I was so bewitched at that time. Taking advantage of the crowded and chaotic situation and when the temple keeper wasn't paying attention, I directly snatched a clay doll that no one had tethered from the offering table..."
Hearing this, everyone was stunned and looked shocked. Mrs. Xu's action could be considered either a big or a small matter.
According to the custom, the clay dolls under the seat of the Goddess of Children were efficacious because believers believed that the goddess would infuse a trace of "taiguang", the prototype of the soul, into them. If a fateful child took a fancy to the praying mother, it would be willing to go home with her.
This was the fundamental reason why this ritual was considered efficacious.
But Mrs. Xu, without the temple keeper's supervision and without performing the formal ceremony, boldly "took" a doll!
That doll might not have been infused with "taiguang" at all. In essence, it was no different from an ordinary clay figurine sold in the market, just a lifeless object.
However, the strangeness was precisely here - after the event, Mrs. Xu burned incense and prayed to this stolen, seemingly inanimate clay doll day and night, carefully offering sacrifices to it. And unexpectedly, she actually... got pregnant and gave birth to Jiaojiao!
This fact made everyone present who knew the common sense of the mysterious world shiver with fear.
Was it really the grace of the compassionate Goddess of Children that finally fulfilled Mrs. Xu's wish and gave her a child?
If it wasn't the goddess... then what was the thing that secretly responded to her prayer and "bestowed" the child?
A chill quietly climbed up everyone's backs. The strangeness of the case was clearly far beyond their imagination.
The doubts in Shen Cuiyu's heart deepened instead of being dispelled. An ordinary temple keeper would never easily assert that a believer had no fate with children, nor would he flatly reject a sincere offering of incense unless he saw something seriously wrong...
She calmly concentrated and quietly observed Mrs. Xu's fate chart and fortune.
The fate chart showed that although the position related to children in Mrs. Xu's chart was a bit thin, it clearly indicated the existence of a child - related fate, which was consistent with the fact that she later gave birth to Jiaojiao!
If so, why did the temple keeper firmly stop her back then and even say that "the fate might not last long"?
Shen Cuiyu's gaze fell on Mrs. Xu's face again, with a scrutinizing look.
The moment Mrs. Xu met her gaze, her eyes involuntarily flickered. She subconsciously avoided eye contact, and her fingers unconsciously tightened on the corner of her clothes. Her expression clearly revealed guilt and panic.
Shen Cuiyu silently withdrew her gaze. Her face remained calm, but she already understood in her heart.
This Mrs. Xu must be hiding some crucial details and hadn't told everyone everything.
Shen Cuiyu didn't expose it immediately. She just pressed down this doubt...