Chapter 221: Casting a Curse
The weather was fair.
The autumn breeze was cool.
Leaves were falling in abundance.
Time painted colors upon the leaves.
From fresh green to orange-yellow, another season had crept past.
Ever since Madam Meng learned that her daughter-in-law was pregnant, she had been filled with joy every day. If it weren’t for her husband holding her back, she would have wanted to go to Jingzhou to look after her daughter-in-law.
Counting the days, the baby bump should be quite large by now. Every day, she was sewing little clothes and little shoes, mailing them to Jingzhou as soon as a batch was finished.
After the funeral of The Former Crown Prince in the capital, there was yet another funeral.
That leader of the Rebels, Great Marshal Zi, who had been granted amnesty in the capital, had actually fallen ill and died.
Not many people attended this funeral, but because the Meng Family were related to people who were also originally Rebels, they paid attention to this news and thus learned of it.
After the funeral, it seemed the capital gradually became more crowded.
The Emperor was getting on in years and his health was poor. With The Former Crown Prince gone, voices in the court began calling for the appointment of a new crown prince.
It was said that all the princes had been summoned back to the capital by the Emperor.
Therefore, there were many banquets, both large and small, in the capital. The capital had been very lively recently.
A female immortal had also appeared. She was said to be a good friend of Princess He’an, named Liu Qingqing, and she had become an honored guest in various families.
It was said that everything she uttered was accurate, and everyone wanted to speak with her.
She herself did not acknowledge this, only saying that she spoke casually.
However, she had already spoken about several matters, and they had all turned out exactly as she predicted.
At today’s banquet, it was said that this female immortal would also be in attendance.
Madam Meng really wanted to know if her daughter-in-law would give birth to a boy or a girl. Hearing everyone talk about how mysterious she was, she couldn’t help but want to go and inquire.
General Meng grumbled inwardly. Seeing that his wife had even prepared a gift, he still couldn’t help but say: “Forget it. She is already pregnant, which is a blessing from heaven. What does it matter whether it is a boy or a girl?”
“I just thought that if I knew, I could prepare different clothes and jewelry. If it’s a girl, I’ll prepare more dresses, and later I’ll have jewelry made—the more, the better. If it’s a son, dresses don’t look good on him, and he can’t wear the jewelry. It would be a waste.”
Madam Meng carefully prepared a gift and went to the banquet.
When she saw Miss Liu, she was indeed radiant and looked like a female immortal.
She was also excellent at conversation, smiling at everyone and chatting well; everyone seemed to feel as if they were bathed in a spring breeze.
Madam Meng carefully presented her gift, but unexpectedly, she was directly rejected by Miss Liu.
Miss Liu didn’t even ask who she was, just said with a stern face: “I observe that you have a very heavy baleful aura, which I fear will hinder your descendants. Your family may face an end to your lineage. I dare not accept this gift of yours.”
The gathered ladies were in an uproar.
This Immortal Liu was too bold. What she said might really be possible; who didn’t know that the Meng Family had only had a single heir for several generations?
Was it because the baleful aura was too heavy?
Madam Meng was furious. Her daughter-in-law was already pregnant; she just wanted to ask about the gender, and if she wouldn’t say, that was fine, but to curse her family with no descendants here—wasn’t that implying that her daughter-in-law would meet with some misfortune?
This reminded her of the news she had heard about the Earthquake in Jingzhou. Although Shaoxia had written a letter to report she was safe and said everything was fine, this charlatan of a woman’s nonsense made Madam Meng truly worried.
Madam Meng, who had been physically strong her whole life, fell ill upon returning home.
Moreover, the illness came on aggressively, and by the next day, she couldn’t even get out of bed.
This gave Meng Qingshe a fright. How could his wife be like this?
On her sickbed, Madam Meng kept calling out, “Shaoxia, Shaoxia, Yu’er, Yu’er.”
Her body was convulsing, her eyes were tightly shut, and tears were streaming down.
She didn’t respond when he called her. Meng Qingshe was also terrified.
Meng Qingshe had no choice but to write a letter overnight and send someone to Jingzhou, hoping his son and daughter-in-law could rush back.
Old Madam Meng heard the news and rushed over, scolding her son severely.
“Your wife is ill and is talking nonsense. You are sending a letter to Jingzhou in such a panic; what if you frighten Shaoxia and your granddaughter-in-law? They were doing just fine in Jingzhou, and after the baby is born, you would be a grandfather by the beginning of next year. Now, if you really send this letter and frighten them—the granddaughter-in-law is pregnant and cannot handle a fright, and if something happens to her, or if they rush back in a hurry, a pregnant woman cannot endure long-distance travel, which easily leads to accidents. This so-called ‘prophecy’ is just casting a curse. If you panic and lose your composure, you are fulfilling the curse. If something really happens in the end, it will just make her appear accurate.”
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