"Clang!"
After hearing Zhong Shengwan's words, the water bowl in Deng's hand slipped from her frightened grasp and shattered on the ground!
Wu Xingsheng even staggered a step, and the last trace of color faded from his face. Fear filled the eyes of the couple!
"There are only three livestock left in the family. What... what shall we do? Celestial Master, please save us!"
The couple wept as they pleaded. But Shen Cuiyu didn't rush to comfort them. Instead, she calmly asked the two:
"Before Grandma Zhou passed away, did she leave any last wishes? Did you not promise to fulfill them, or did you promise but fail to complete them?"
As soon as these words were spoken, the expressions of Wu Xingsheng and Deng froze suddenly. They glanced at each other. After a moment, Wu Xingsheng shook his head firmly:
"... No."
Shen Cuiyu stared at their expressions for a moment but said nothing.
After examining the livestock corpses, the atmosphere had become extremely solemn.
Wu Xingsheng and his wife knew they had encountered a great trouble, so they pinned all their hopes on these young celestial masters.
As evening approached, Deng suppressed her fear and silently went to the kitchen to prepare a simple dinner. She insisted on inviting everyone to stay and eat.
The dinner table was placed in the main hall. An oil lamp illuminated several worried faces.
Although the meal was simple, Deng specially boiled a few eggs, which was a rare treat.
Shen Cuiyu noticed Deng's action of distributing the eggs. She found that there was an egg in the bowls of the eldest daughter and the youngest boy, but the bowl of the second daughter, Wu Zhaodi, who sat in the middle and looked the thinnest, was empty.
Wu Zhaodi just silently lowered her head and ate the coarse grains in her bowl in small mouthfuls. She didn't dare to look up at others, let alone speak.
This subtle difference might have gone unnoticed by the other celestial masters, but Shen Cuiyu saw it. Without showing any emotion, she gently placed the untouched boiled egg in front of her into Wu Zhaodi's bowl.
The little girl looked up in surprise, timidly looking at Shen Cuiyu and then at her parents. She didn't dare to reach out.
Shen Cuiyu's gaze was gentle, and her voice remained calm: "Eat it."
Seeing this, a look of embarrassment flashed across Wu Xingsheng's face. His lips moved, but in the end, he just said awkwardly: "This child... is so ignorant. How could she have the nerve to take the celestial master's thing..."
Deng quickly chimed in beside him:
"There aren't enough eggs at home, and Zhaodi doesn't like eating eggs, so I didn't give her any..."
But Shen Cuiyu didn't take the egg back. She just looked at Wu Zhaodi and repeated: "It's for you. Just eat it."
The calm but unyielding tone made the Wu family's parents not dare to say more. Only then did Wu Zhaodi carefully pick up the still-warm egg, and a faint trace of childish joy first appeared on her little face.
This little episode made the atmosphere at the dinner table even more delicate. Dongfang Xiao frowned, while Zhong Shengwan lowered her eyelids, lost in thought.
After dinner, it was still early. The celestial masters went to the yard to set up the formation, preparing to find out what was going on tonight.
After Shen Cuiyu finished her part, she returned to her room. But as soon as she closed the door and turned around, she saw a small figure.
It was Wu Zhaodi.
Wu Zhaodi still looked at Shen Cuiyu with her big black-and-white eyes, timidly. But this time, when Shen Cuiyu approached her, she didn't dodge.
Shen Cuiyu was a little surprised and softly asked:
"Were you waiting for me?"
Wu Zhaodi nodded. Then she took out a blackish thing from behind her, which emitted a faint fragrance.
Shen Cuiyu took a closer look and found it was a roasted sweet potato.
"For me?" Shen Cuiyu pulled Wu Zhaodi to sit beside her and gently asked, "Why did you give this to me?"
Shen Cuiyu originally thought Wu Zhaodi would remain silent as before, but unexpectedly, she spoke.
"You gave me the hairpin and the egg. You're very kind." Wu Zhaodi spoke, her voice young and clear, like pearls falling on a plate.
Shen Cuiyu's heart softened. She smiled and looked at Wu Zhaodi's plain hair, asking, "Why didn't you wear the hairpin I gave you?"
Wu Zhaodi pursed her lips. There were faint dimples on her cheeks. Then she lowered her head and didn't say a word.
Shen Cuiyu didn't press further. She took the roasted sweet potato Wu Zhaodi gave her, divided it into two, and sat side by side with Wu Zhaodi to share it.
Wu Zhaodi ate it in small mouthfuls. Suddenly, she tentatively leaned her head against Shen Cuiyu's arm.
Shen Cuiyu noticed this subtle movement and didn't dodge. Instead, she moved a little towards Wu Zhaodi to make it easier for her to lean on.
The little head leaned against Shen Cuiyu affectionately. The room was very quiet for a while. Just when Shen Cuiyu almost thought Wu Zhaodi had fallen asleep, she suddenly whispered:
"Grandma isn't a bad person."
"... What?"
"My grandma isn't a bad person." Wu Zhaodi repeated word by word, with an obstinacy beyond her age in her tone.
Shen Cuiyu lowered her head and seriously looked at the little girl's side profile, which was extremely clear in the dim light. She softened her voice: "Why do you say so?"
Wu Zhaodi was silent for a while before speaking in a soft voice:
"I heard them say that after my parents gave birth to my elder sister, they wanted a boy, one boy and one girl to make a 'good' character. But unexpectedly, it was me again... a girl."
"Elder sister is mother's first child, and mother likes her. My younger brother is a boy, the root of the family, and my parents like him too. Only I... always seem to be superfluous." Her voice became lower and lower, with a barely noticeable tinge of grievance.
"But grandma is different." When talking about her grandma, the little girl's tone became obviously lighter. "Like you, she would always secretly leave her eggs and pastries for me. She also told me, 'Our Zhaodi is also a precious darling.' In winter, my quilt was the thinnest, and my hands and feet were cold. Grandma would hug me into her quilt. Her embrace was especially warm. She would cover my little feet with her hands and tell me the strange stories she heard when she was a child..."
She paused for a moment, recalling more details: "My parents would buy new cloth to make clothes for my elder sister and younger brother, but mine were always made from old clothes. Only grandma would find pieces of cloth from her old bundle and sew clothes for me, or embroider a small flower on my old collar."
"They said grandma is dead. I don't know what 'dead' means," the little girl's voice was filled with confusion and sadness. "But elder sister told me that when someone is dead, you'll never see them again, and they'll never come back."
"My parents both said that even after grandma died, she couldn't rest in peace. She turned into a ghost to harm people and killed the chickens and pigs in the family..." Wu Zhaodi looked up. There were tears in her bright black eyes, but they also shone with a firm light. "But I don't think it was grandma who did it! She loved daddy so much, and she loved me the most. How could she harm us and this family? She wouldn't!"
Shen Cuiyu listened quietly, and her heart stirred slightly.