Chapter 361: The Lost Crescent Jade
Chapter 361: Chapter 361: The Lost Crescent Jade
The Black Wolf King turned its head and glanced at Shen Ningning.
The little one stood under the eaves of the ancestral hall, her big eyes, which were watching him, glistening with tears.
It seemed she, too, desperately wanted him to truly become part of her family.
So, the Black Wolf King looked away and responded to Xie Suzhi and Second Master Xie with a couple of howls—
"AWOOO." It was his way of agreeing.
Xie Suzhi’s face lit up. He announced loudly, "Uncle Pang! Set off the firecrackers and offer the yellow money! Inform the heavens and our ancestors!"
The clansmen were dumbfounded.
’He’s gone mad! Xie Suzhi has truly gone mad!’
’For the sake of this daughter he just got back, he’s welcoming a wolf into the ancestral hall! From now on, it’ll receive the same ancestral offerings as the rest of the Xie family for generations to come!’
Some of the clan elders felt it was improper.
But on second thought, they decided to go along with Xie Suzhi’s wishes.
After all, he held the highest official rank in the entire Xie family right now, so he called the shots.
Amid the deafening roar of firecrackers, Shen Ningning ran over and threw her arms around the Black Wolf King’s head.
She whispered to him in her sweet, child-like voice—
"Langlang, let’s not worry about their titles for us. Even though Father recognized you as his third younger brother, in my heart, you’re half a father to me. From now on, I’ll call you Wolf Father, okay?"
"Today isn’t just about welcoming me home. I also want everyone to witness that I, Ningning, love my Wolf Father the most!"
The Black Wolf King couldn’t believe his ears.
Amid the crackling and popping of the firecrackers, he felt as if Shen Ningning’s respect had lifted him onto a pedestal.
The little one’s love and affection felt like a force propping him up, allowing him to stand tall. At this very moment, in the eyes of the Xie family, he was no longer a fierce beast or a mere animal.
He was her Wolf Father.
Wolves don’t cry, but the Black Wolf King felt his eyes sting fiercely.
He pressed his head against Shen Ningning’s round, chubby little face.
"Alright." The deep voice that answered suppressed the immense joy in his heart.
Xie Ming’an, who was standing not far away, suddenly turned his head.
He looked a little puzzled.
’Did I just hear the Black Wolf King speak?’
But then he saw Shen Ningning hugging the Black Wolf King, mimicking wolf howls in her sweet, childish voice. "AWOO, AWOO."
Xie Ming’an decided he must have misheard.
Bathed in brilliant light and witnessed by all, Shen Ningning knelt on a prayer cushion, her small hands holding three sticks of incense.
Behind her stood Xie Suzhi, Second Master Xie, the Black Wolf King, and Xie Ming’an.
The little one presented the incense, her voice sweet and high. "Your descendant, Ningning, pays her respects to the ancestors."
The official from the Ministry of Rites, sent by the Emperor to assist with the ceremony, cracked a whip at the entrance in accordance with tradition—
"First kowtow, to honor Heaven, Earth, and the ancestors!"
Shen Ningning bent forward, touching her small head to the prayer cushion.
"Second kowtow, to honor the direct family line for three generations!" A second whip cracked.
In her heart, Shen Ningning called out to her grandfather and grandmother.
With the third whip crack, the official from the Ministry of Rites cried out, "Third kowtow, to honor your deceased mother!"
This time, Shen Ningning kowtowed deeply.
She lifted her shimmering eyes. Through the curling incense smoke, her mother Shen Siyi’s memorial tablet was just inches away.
Xie Suzhi’s eyes were bloodshot, but an unstoppable smile spread across his face.
Their daughter could finally pay her respects to Shen Siyi’s spirit tablet, openly and with her rightful status.
A pity... that it was only a spirit tablet.
Shen Ningning placed the incense sticks into the censer.
The official from the Ministry of Rites then rolled up the whip and placed it on the altar, signifying that the ancestors of the Xie family were invited to review the proceedings.
Then, he cried out the ceremonial announcement—
"Congratulations to the Fifth Young Miss of the Xie Mansion, Xie Yuanning, on her entry into the Xie Clan Genealogy."
At once, the Xie family’s craftsmen stepped forward.
Inside the ancestral hall, the four senior clan elders presented the clan genealogy.
Then, the craftsmen carved the names of Xie Yuanning and the Black Wolf King onto the records.
Under the third branch, represented by the Black Wolf King, the names Wolf Three and Wolf Four were also added.
With the ceremony concluded, a volley of firecrackers erupted in unison.
Xie Suzhi arranged for young servants to distribute silver on the streets, as a way to pray for blessings for his newly returned daughter.
It was also a proclamation to the world: his own daughter, a true child of the Xie family, had returned!
At this moment, the most desolate courtyard in the Xie Mansion was surely that of Second Madam Xie.
She stared into the mirror, tears streaming down her face.
The maid combing her hair from behind saw Second Madam Xie’s haggard, ghost-like reflection in the mirror and was so frightened she moved with extreme caution.
"They’re out there celebrating with gongs and drums, the whole family gathered together. But who remembers that my daughter, my Yuan Jiu, is still out there suffering!"
She knew she had thoroughly offended Xie Suzhi.
Xie Suzhi refused to even mention bringing Xie Yuanjiu back to the mansion, and even Second Master Xie now acted as if he hadn’t heard a word she said.
She had been stripped of all her power.
Aside from her title of Second Madam, the entire Xie Mansion treated her as if she were invisible.
At this thought, Second Madam Xie’s weeping grew even more shrill and desperate.
The young maid was so frightened she could no longer hold the comb steady.
Second Madam Xie seemed to lose her senses for a moment, muttering, "If I’d known it would come to this, I never would have..."
Suddenly, she realized the maid was still there and whipped her head around, her gaze turning venomous and vicious.
"You were eavesdropping, weren’t you?"
Seeing her expression, the young maid was so terrified she fell to her knees, trembling uncontrollably. "I didn’t! I wouldn’t dare!"
Second Madam Xie flew into a sudden rage, grabbed the comb, and began smashing it against the young maid’s head again and again.
"That’ll teach you to eavesdrop! You dare to bully me now, too? Have you forgotten who your mistress is!"
"Second Madam, please stop! Spare my life, Second Madam! It hurts so much! AHH—!"
Agonized screams echoed ceaselessly from the room.
「That night.」
Shen Ningning lay in bed, tucked under warm blankets.
The Black Wolf King was lying on the floor, where Xie Suzhi had laid out a thin blanket for him.
"Ningning, although you’ve officially been recognized by our ancestors today, it’s entirely up to you whether you want to be called Shen Ningning or Xie Yuanning from now on," Xie Suzhi said, his gaze gentle.
Shen Ningning blinked her big eyes, her charming and bright little face breaking into an obedient nod.
"Thank you, Father."
"It’s getting late. You should get some rest. I’ll have Wanchun come in to watch over you," Xie Suzhi said, then bent down to kiss his daughter’s forehead.
He then tucked her in tightly and left.
A moment later, Wanchun came in. She was still a little cautious upon seeing the Black Wolf King.
After a moment’s thought, Wanchun quietly murmured, "Good evening, Third Master."
The Black Wolf King: ...
He still wasn’t quite used to it.
So he covered his eyes with a paw.
Seeing his reaction, Shen Ningning let out a soft giggle.
"Sister Wanchun, you don’t have to be afraid. Wolf Father is very steady!"
Only then did Wanchun dare to step forward to trim the lamp’s wick and set out a Luminous Pearl.
The light in the room softened to a hazy, gentle glow, perfect for drifting off to sleep.
Just then, Shen Ningning suddenly asked, "Sister Wanchun, why am I the fifth child, and not the third?"
Wanchun replied while tidying the bed curtains, "Because the Fourth Young Miss is the fourth child. Since you’re younger than her, you’re the fifth."
"Then who’s the third child?" The little one tilted her head, blinking her big eyes.
Wanchun shook her head. "I don’t know either. No one in the whole mansion knows."
She then explained the reason to Shen Ningning.
Apparently, starting from the Old Master’s generation, the Xie family had a tradition of giving each son and daughter a piece of jade.
Sons received a crescent jade pendant, while daughters received a Full Moon Jade.
The Ruyi pendant that Xie Mingxu had previously hung around Shen Ningning’s neck was, in fact, inlaid with her Full Moon Jade.
"When the household took inventory, they discovered that after the First and Second Young Masters’ jades, one crescent jade pendant was missing."
"It happened so long ago that it was impossible to investigate. The Master said to just let it be, assuming it was lost. But the birth order still had to follow the Old Master’s rules. A jade could be lost, but the order couldn’t be broken."
"So, the third position was left empty. When the Fourth Young Miss was born, she was designated as the fourth child."
Shen Ningning found this very strange.
’A crescent jade pendant must be very important, right? How could it have been lost?’
But then again, she thought...
’The Xie Mansion went through a period of great chaos back then. They even lost me, so what’s a piece of jade in comparison?’
’It was probably stolen, too.’
Shen Ningning was getting sleepy. She snuggled into the soft blankets and closed her long, lush eyelashes.
"I’m going to sleep now!"
「The next day.」
Mo Lingwei brought Shen Ningning to the palace.
He ordered the Imperial Physicians to gather and examine the recovery of her wrist injury.
Mo Lingwei made Shen Ningning sit on the crown prince chair, and she kicked her little feet restlessly.
She puffed out her rosy cheeks and said in a soft, sweet mumble, "Brother, I’ve told you so many times! I soaked my hand in the Spiritual Spring Water, so it’s almost completely healed!"
"I still need the Imperial Physicians to take a look before I can be at ease," Mo Lingwei said with a frown.
He gently held Shen Ningning’s slender, fair little wrist.
To prove to him that her hand was fine, Shen Ningning spread the fingers of her chubby little hand, like a kitten stretching its paws.
"See? It’s really fine. I can move it freely!"
Mo Lingwei was afraid she would move too much and aggravate the old injury.
His grip tightened, his tone becoming even more stern and domineering as he held her small hand. "Don’t move! Wait for the Imperial Physicians to take a look."
Just then, a eunuch announced from the doorway.
"Your Highness, the Crown Prince, Captain Pei requests an audience."
Mo Lingwei’s eyes narrowed.
’Pei Yin?’
"What is he doing here?"
The eunuch replied, "Captain Pei says he is here to deliver this month’s patrol map for the imperial guard under Your Highness’s command."
Mo Lingwei grew even more puzzled.
’Commander Lu is usually the one who delivers this. Why the change today?’
But with Shen Ningning present, he was in no mood to deal with official matters.
"Tell him to give it to you, then have him withdraw. If there are any issues, I’ll summon them."
"Yes, Your Highness." The eunuch departed.
Shen Ningning paid no mind to their conversation, wanting only to peel and eat an orange.
But she found it quite inconvenient, as Mo Lingwei was still holding her left hand.
The little one pouted, expressing her dissatisfaction with her lively, dark eyes.
Mo Lingwei chuckled. "I’ll peel it for you."
「Outside the hall.」
The eunuch relayed the Crown Prince’s words to Pei Yin exactly as they were spoken.
Pei Yin paused for a moment before giving a cold nod. "Very well. I understand."
He handed the patrol map to the eunuch and, before leaving, glanced back at the entrance to the hall.