"What a good child..."
The voice of the clay doll became even weirder after getting a response, with a cold satisfaction. "Go on, go and play."
Shanshan, who had received the "recognition", seemed to have completed a great task. A pure yet heart - wrenching smile appeared on her face, and she staggered away.
Behind her, the smile of the clay doll in the smoke was completely distorted, full of evil and calculation.
Shen Cuiyu's expression suddenly darkened, and a glint of understanding and chill flashed in her eyes.
She had always had doubts before. After all, what inhabited the clay doll was just a lonely ghost nourished by some incense. Although it was a bit stronger than ordinary evil spirits, the ability to "bestow offspring", which was almost like defying fate, was by no means something such a sinister thing could possess.
It was not until this moment, when Shen Cuiyu witnessed the strange and cruel scene in the illusion with her own eyes, that she finally understood the real root of this karmic debt!
The clay doll simply didn't have the ability to "bestow" healthy children.
What it did was something even more insidious and in line with the nature of evil spirits. It took advantage of Shanshan's mental disability but pure and filial nature, using half - true and half - false words to bewitch and entice her.
In her ignorant state, Shanshan personally made a promise that she was willing to pay any price, which was undoubtedly a self - sacrifice.
This kind of will, from a blood - related family member with a childlike heart, was far more powerful and strange than the evil power of the evil spirit itself.
Xu and Cui Weiqi witnessed this heart - wrenching scene with their own eyes. They felt their blood freeze, as if they had fallen into an ice cave thousands of feet deep!
The picture in the illusion changed. Xu really did get pregnant as she wished. She kowtowed to the clay doll again and again, grateful to tears!
The whole mansion was filled with joy, and a grand family banquet was held.
At the banquet, in the past, Cui Weiqi would patiently teach Shanshan how to use a spoon again and again. Even if she made a mess of the table, he would just smile helplessly and lovingly. But now, all the topics at the table revolved around Xu's morning sickness, the sour apricots she suddenly wanted to eat, and the infinite expectations for the future child.
Shanshan stretched out her small hand, trying to grab her father's sleeve to attract his attention, but the nurse beside her gently but firmly pulled her away and coaxed her in a low voice, "Be a good girl, Miss. Master and Madam are talking about important things. Don't disturb them."
Shanshan looked blankly at her father's profile. Those eyes that used to be full of kindness did not fall on her at this moment.
Then, even stranger things happened. Since Xu got pregnant, Shanshan started to get sick. At first, it was a cold that couldn't be cured for a long time, and then she had a fever continuously and began to be sleepy.
On a sunny afternoon, Xu was sitting on the couch in the yard. The maids were around her, smiling and discussing what patterns to embroider on the newly - cut baby clothes.
Shanshan woke up from her illness. Hugging her old cloth doll that had faded and whose cotton was showing, she staggered and tried to squeeze next to her mother, wanting to snuggle into her arms like before. But Cui Weiqi, who walked over, stopped her gently but distantly. "Shanshan, go and play over there by yourself, okay? Be careful not to bump into your mother's belly."
Shanshan couldn't understand so many complicated reasons, but she could clearly feel that an invisible wall had been erected between her and her parents.
She no longer tried to get closer. Instead, she silently hugged her doll and sat in the shadow of the corridor, watching the ants busily carrying rice grains on the ground for a whole day. The setting sun stretched her shadow long, making her look so lonely.
When no one was with her, Shanshan would climb next to the clay doll and babble to it, as if pouring out the grievances that no one was willing to listen to.
Xu happened to see this. A twinge of guilt flashed through her heart. She picked Shanshan up and tentatively asked, "Be a good girl, Shanshan. Mommy will give you a little sister to play with, okay?"
In the past, Shanshan would only nod blankly. But this time, she just stared at Xu quietly and directly with her pure black eyes. Her eyes showed an unprecedented clarity and a kind of strangeness that made Xu feel flustered.
"Shanshan... don't you like it?" Xu forced a smile. Shanshan shook her head firmly and replied very clearly, "Shanshan... doesn't want... a little sister."
Xu was shocked. "Who taught you this?!" she asked sharply, her eyes sweeping over the servants around. But Shanshan raised her small hand and pointed at the clay doll on the incense table.
Xu suddenly turned her head and was horrified to see that behind the curling green smoke, the clay doll seemed to have a strange arc at the corner of its mouth, as if smiling! Xu was so scared that her soul flew away. She fled for her life, completely ignoring the despair of being completely abandoned and the deep attachment in Shanshan's eyes as she stared blankly at her back.
As Xu's pregnant belly grew more obvious, Shanshan's illness became more and more serious. She had a high fever and was curled up on the sickbed in a daze. Her little face was flushed, and she murmured unconsciously, "Mom... Mom..."
Xu finally came to see Shanshan. She wiped Shanshan's forehead with a handkerchief, but her eyebrows were tightly frowned. There was a hint of impatience and anxiety in her worry, which she herself might not have even noticed. "Why are you sick again so seriously... It's really worrying..."
She didn't stay long before the maid persuaded her to leave on the grounds that "a pregnant woman should not stay in a place with sick aura for too long." In her daze, Shanshan only vaguely saw the corner of her mother's skirt as she left in a hurry. Even a complete hug had become a luxury.
Seeing this, Zhong Shengwan beside her subconsciously touched the faded old sachet on her waist, and a hint of loneliness flashed in her eyes.
Liu Ruyan frowned slightly and softly sighed in a timely manner, "What a pity for such an innocent child... It's really pitiful." Her tone was full of sympathy, but her eyes quickly swept over Shen Cuiyu and Pei Yu, observing their reactions.
Maybe because of her guilt, Xu visited Shanshan less and less frequently. Shanshan slept longer and longer. When she was awake, she mostly stared blankly in the direction of her parents' yard outside the window.
After ten months of pregnancy, Xu gave birth to a healthy baby girl named Jiaojiao smoothly. The baby's cry was loud. Almost at the same time, in the side courtyard, Shanshan quietly took her last breath.
One came, and one went. This cruel coincidence became a terrifying thing that the servants in the Cui Mansion dared not speak of.
After Shanshan's death, Xu was really sad, but she still had to take care of the new life in her arms.
That bit of sadness was quickly diluted by the trivialities of raising a child.
She named the newborn "Jiaojiao" and doubled the compensation for her guilt towards Shanshan on this healthy and smart child. Jiaojiao really lived up to expectations. She was smart and cute, and Xu was deeply relieved.
Shanshan's old residence was converted into a Buddhist hall, and Xu rarely stepped in. She always thought the clay doll was evil and was even more afraid of seeing Shanshan's black, tear - filled eyes in the middle of the night when she had a nightmare.
However, the illusion clearly revealed that Shanshan's soul had never left! She was like a transparent shadow, curled up in the corner, watching Xu gently comb Jiaojiao's hair and sing a complete song she had never heard before; watching Cui Weiqi throw Jiaojiao high up, and the courtyard was filled with laughter and joy - that was the hug she had rarely received even when she clumsily opened her arms when she was alive. Her thin soul was entangled with an indelible envy and bone - eroding sadness.
Just as everyone was immersed in this silent tragedy, a sudden change occurred! The transparent ghost of Shanshan, who had been silently watching, suddenly turned her head in a different direction. Her neck made an ear - grating "click" sound. Her pale, pupil - less little face was directly facing Xu, who was pale - faced and watching the illusion from the outside!