Wangshu learned from the chief steward that they were returning to the main family via a teleportation array. The main family's estate was located on the core island of Yingzhou, and Qishan County was three teleportation cities away from Yingzhou Island.
That sounds really far.
The chief steward personally carried Wangshu, as if he knew what she was about to say, and chuckled, "The Qishan branch you were in is the most remote of the three Chu family branches."
I see. Wangshu's little head nodded seriously. She looked at Chu Xiu beside her, who was very likely to be promoted back to "headquarters," following them step by step, even reaching out his hand to hold her.
"Sir, this child is rather heavy. Allow me to carry her instead."
The steward waved him off, saying it was fine. He bounced her in his arms and laughed, "She is indeed heavy."
Wangshu straightened her back, her little face stern. How rude can you people be?
Seizing the conversational thread, Chu Xiu steered the topic back to Wangshu. He never tired of talking about her, like a seasoned employee who relishes recounting the major projects they helped bring to life.
And as it happened, the steward was at the peak of his curiosity about Wangshu, so the superior and subordinate hit it off instantly.
"This child is very easy to manage. When she was a bit over a year old, she was somewhat fussy—always crying and needing two nursemaids to keep an eye on her. But now she's much better. She only cries briefly, and usually she does it on purpose just to get attention. If you satisfy her, she's fine."
"No need to talk down to her either. This child understands everything."
The steward grew intrigued. "Oh? Understands everything?"
He tilted his head to look at Wangshu, pretended to think for a moment, then asked her, "Is there anything you'd like to say, or ask?"
Wangshu actually did have something.
Wrapping her arms around the steward's neck, she asked in her childish voice, "Where I used to live, I was always special. In the place we're going now, what do I need to do to stay special?"
Wangshu kept her "genius act" firmly in mind.
Geniuses are always special, possessing many "extraordinary qualities."
And because of these extraordinary qualities, she had enjoyed many special privileges at the Qishan nursery, and the simulator had given her extra points because of them, too.
Wangshu liked being special, and she liked special treatment. If she could, she wanted to stay "special" forever.
The steward looked at Wangshu in astonishment. For real this time, he felt this child was a bit remarkable.
Chu Xiu beside him was absolutely delighted—Wangshu's performance was practically putting gold on his face, a proof positive of his sharp eye for talent!
The steward turned serious. He loosened his arms, pulled back a little to look at Wangshu, and said solemnly, "You come from the Chu branch lineage, the seal-holding family of Yingzhou, and you're now being brought to the main family for cultivation. If you want to be special at the main family, you need to awaken a spiritual seed."
"A high-level spiritual seed."
"A high-level spiritual seed with a powerful innate divine ability."
Three sentences, three layers of progression. Wangshu memorized every word seriously, nodding with an earnest little expression.
"I understand."
Wangshu had no idea how ridiculous she looked making such a serious face with her baby-round cheeks made plumper than other kids' because of the hearty meals and her big appetite.
The steward couldn't hold it in. He burst out laughing.
...
After passing through three teleportation arrays and crossing the bustling heart of Yingzhou's main city, they finally arrived at the Chu clan's ancestral grounds on Yingzhou Island.
The outskirts were planted with peach trees, and the magnificent cluster of buildings loomed faintly amidst the mist and blush of petals.
Wangshu entered this world like a celestial isle and was settled by the steward into an elegant little courtyard.
Meeting Wangshu's dark, shiny eyes, the steward said with a smile, "Now that you're at the main family, your treatment certainly can't be worse than at the branch. You had a private room in Qishan, so naturally you'll have one here too. I heard from Chu Xiu that it takes two nursemaids to handle you? Now that you're older and your spiritual energy is growing, I'll assign you three. Also, for spiritual meals—Chu Xiu had you on one portion a day as a special treat—I'll raise it to three meals a day, each with a portion."
Wangshu blinked. "Is this your 'investment' in me?"
"Is that what Chu Xiu told you?" The steward raised an eyebrow, looking thoroughly complacent. "This is certainly not an investment. Because I'm running it through the official accounts."
And just like that, Wangshu settled in. She had food, drink, caretakers, and her treatment was upgraded across the board. Why would she fret?
That night, after eating her spiritual meal, she was coaxed to sleep early by the nursemaids.
The nursemaid slipped out quietly and saw two figures standing outside the courtyard. She bowed gracefully. "Greetings, Elder Five, Chief Steward."
Chief Steward Chu Yan waved a hand, and the nursemaid withdrew. The robed woman beside him was holding a square inkstone-shaped black tray. Her features were striking, and she stood about the same height as Chu Yan, but Chu Yan was pale and plump, which made him look shorter, while the woman had good proportions, making her appear slim and tall.
Chu Yan said in a low voice, "This child is unusually precocious, has innate strength, and is especially sensitive to spiritual energy. She's only two years old, yet she can consume three portions of spiritual food a day without any discomfort."
"So I took the liberty of lodging her in this courtyard, which comes with an intrinsic spirit-gathering array."
Elder Five, Chu Mingyan, gave a perfunctory nod. She looked down at the formation plate in her hands, swept her fingers across it, and the plate filled with pale green glowing points of varying sizes. Within the tray, it looked like a miniature world of fireflies. At that moment, all these "fireflies" were slowly converging toward the brightest point in the center.
"The fluorescence represents spiritual energy, and the point represents the child. She is indeed absorbing spiritual energy on her own." Chu Mingyan said coolly, "Given the way this spiritual energy fluctuates, it's all but certain she possesses a spiritual seed within her. Its level looks high—probably on par with Chu Qinghe... no, possibly even higher."
Chu Qinghe was the granddaughter of the Chu clan's Grand Elder and, until now, the most talented child of her generation in the Chu family.
Chu Yan listened and felt a little dazed. Could a child he'd picked up from a branch on a whim really have higher talent than the Grand Elder's granddaughter? When had his luck turned? Or maybe that Chu Xiu kid actually had some real skill?
Afraid that the corners of his mouth might split from grinning too wide, Chu Yan cleared his throat and composed himself, then deliberately brought up the matter: "I promised this child a private courtyard with a spirit-gathering array, three nursemaids, and spiritual meals three times a day. Those expenses..."
Chu Mingyan shot him a knowing sidelong glance, a hint of a smile at her lips. "Don't you always run things through the official accounts? Why ask me?"
She turned and took a step away, tossing one last remark over her shoulder.
"Don't worry. No matter what, this child won't end up costing you a cent out of pocket. At tomorrow's quarterly report, with her in hand, you'll have the confidence to face the clan leader."
Watching Chu Mingyan walk off into the distance, Chu Yan patted his slightly paunchy belly and thought to himself, that's right.
He'd traveled far across three cities to bring that child back, and there were many reasons for it, but only one truly hit close to home.
At the nursery's quarterly report, not a single one of the children under his charge showed anything special—let alone awakening a spiritual seed, they were all mediocre even in ordinary cultivation.
How was he supposed to account for that to the clan leader? If he said the Chu family's new generation simply lacked talent, then his job was as good as gone.
Now he had in hand... oh right, the child still didn't have a name. What did Chu Xiu call her? Oh, "Little Ancestor."
Quite fitting, really.
Now with the hand of the Little Ancestor on his side, he could finally stand tall before the clan leader.
-
"Three months, and this is the report your nursery has to show?"
A slightly deep woman's voice came from the head of the hall. Though it was not a scolding, only a casual question, it still carried an imposing weight.
Fragrant smoke curled from an ornate bronze censer carved with a fierce, fanged beast. Chu Yan peered through the wisps of smoke at the clan leader's expression, his palms sweating despite the countless speeches he had rehearsed in his head.
"It is this subordinate's negligence in management that has failed the clan leader's trust. I am willing to accept punishment." He made no excuses, admitting fault immediately.
Chu Daixi lifted her lashes slightly, glancing at the man below. Admitting fault so readily—there was clearly more to come.
She shifted her posture, closing her eyes as she waited.
"However, this subordinate recently received an urgent letter from the Qishan branch academy. The letter reported that a young child of the Chu clan's collateral line possessed exceptional talent. This subordinate dared not delay, so I personally went to Qishan to investigate, confirmed the child's extraordinary nature, and have now brought them back to the clan."
Oh?
This time, Chu Daixi looked at Chu Yan once more, confirming that this plump, fair-skinned old man was quite composed, unafraid of her punishment. So confident?
To dare accept someone back without reporting to the clan first, and to still be this full of confidence... She tapped her fingers lightly on the desk. After a moment, Chu Daixi lifted her gaze: "Who did you have appraise the child?"
It was not a question—it was a statement.
A bead of sweat suddenly ran down Chu Yan's temple. He lowered his head further, but dared not lie.
"The Fifth Elder."
So it was Mingyan. Mingyan had seen the child but hadn't come to inform her—as if waiting to watch a good show.
That entertaining, was it? Chu Daixi sensed the fishing hook, yet she could not resist the direct bait.
She wouldn't develop the rebellious thought of "if you lure me, I won't go." Instead, she simply thought, they're this confident—it must be a big surprise.
I can hardly wait.
Chu Daixi rose, walked around the desk, and took a few broad strides. As she passed Chu Yan, she stirred a breeze.
She stopped, glanced at him, and said with a smile, "Your negligence will be dealt with later."
"Now, take me to see the child."
-
This was Wangshu's second day at the main clan residence. She was in no hurry at all—she had even prepared herself to sit on the sidelines for days, or even months.
In fact, she didn't consider it a cold shoulder. Good food, good drink, and personal attendants—how was that a cold shoulder?
It was a period of observation.
She had already adjusted her genius simulation plan from "showing off in kindergarten" to "lying low and developing in the big city."
She'd lie low for a year, observe the development levels of the main clan's core children, then find an opportunity to seek "special" status.
Wangshu's plans were well-formed in her head, but her hands and mouth were busy—she was gulping down her spiritual milk. The main clan's food really was of a higher standard; even the spiritual meals seemed a step above.
Setting down the bamboo cup of milk, Wangshu thought to herself, if even a child brought in from outside gets this good treatment, either she mattered more than she thought, or the Chu clan was just that wealthy.
She figured she probably didn't matter that much. So it must be the wealth.
A flicker of shadow at the doorway. Sensing the movement, Wangshu looked outside.
A guest had arrived at her private little courtyard.
No—two guests. The steward she'd encountered before was following behind this woman, two paces behind, in a waiting posture.
Clearly, this woman's "rank" was higher than the steward's. And significantly so.
The nursemaids, seeing the newcomer, couldn't hide their surprise on their faces. They scrambled to bow, but the woman raised a hand to stop their titles, gesturing for them to leave.
Wangshu looked up and saw a woman in deep red brocade approaching her. The woman did not wear her hair loose—it was neatly tied up and pinned with a gold crown. A jade belt hung at her waist, and both collar and cuffs bore refined yet understated patterns. On the hem of her robe was an embroidered phoenix spreading its wings.
She looked young. The corners of her eyes and mouth seemed naturally curved in a smile, yet when she looked at you, there was a hidden glint that made people think twice about underestimating her.
She strode over, stopped before Wangshu, and—against the light—bent down slightly.
It was a very close distance. Close enough that Wangshu could see her own reflection in those eyes drawn near.
This person... she...
The woman slowly curved up the corners of her mouth, about to speak. But Wangshu spoke first, cutting in.
Wangshu was a little child, so of course she used a child's voice.
She opened her mouth and called out: "Mother—!"
The sound was crisp and clear, ringing through the air like a thrown stone.
Chu Daixi's smiling lips froze. Her waist swayed almost imperceptibly. Behind her, Chu Yan's mouth fell open, his jaw practically dropping to the floor.
Wangshu, however, was entirely serious. Her round, ink-pupiled eyes, bright as polished silver, reflected Chu Daixi's image.
In the strange silence, Chu Daixi was the first to recover. Raising an eyebrow with interest, she kept her bent-over posture and asked, "What did you call me?"
"Mother," Wangshu said, her logic clear and her voice just as clear. "You look just like my mother."
Did children these days just... call people whatever came to mind?
Chu Daixi straightened up in a good mood. Wangshu's eyes followed her like a kitten's, chin tilting up, turning the angle into an upward gaze.
"What's your name?"
"I don't have a name yet."
Wangshu had no intention of revealing the name "Wangshu." She thought, if this life came with a brand new name, she would accept it.
She accepted everything new before her.
Chu Daixi nodded, her voice inexplicably softening.
"When you awaken your spiritual seed, I will give you a name at the clan assembly and officially announce your existence."
-
When Chu Daixi returned to her pavilion, Mingyan was already there waiting for her.
The two had an unspoken understanding, and they both went straight to the stone table under the bamboo by the pavilion. Chu Mingyan picked up the jug of wine she'd brought and calmly poured a cup for Chu Daixi.
"You've seen her. Are you satisfied?"
Chu Mingyan already knew the answer. The clan leader had been "thirsting for talent" for a long time. Finding a child from a branch line whose talent was no less than Qinghe's—what a wonderful event. She would surely be pleased.
Yet the clan leader's expression was not one of surprise so much as a dazed bewilderment, with a hint of excitement mingled in.
She didn't take the wine. She leaned forward, her voice low and soft: "Mingyan, that child called me 'mother' the moment she saw me."
Chu Mingyan's hand trembled slightly around the cup. Her expression turned odd: "So... that's the kind of personality she has?"
Chu Daixi's eyes were bright, still basking in the novel experience of becoming a mother.
"Heh, you don't understand—that girl is completely unflappable. That air of hers truly resembles me when I was young."
Chu Mingyan put down her cup, hands resting on her knees: "When Chu Yan asked me to test that child's spirit, I didn't go inside. I only used the spirit plate from outside the door. She's just over two years old, with no cultivation guidance at all, and her body can already absorb spiritual energy on its own. I'd say her activity level is even greater than Qinghe's at that age."
"No need to tell me," Chu Daixi said, amusing herself for a while before finally picking up the wine and taking a slow sip. "I could see it with one look."
"...Sharp eyes, clan leader."
Chu Daixi rubbed her chin, thinking seriously: "Actually, I feel like truly being her mother wouldn't be a bad idea."
Chu Mingyan frowned: "Clan leader was thrilled at finding such talent? But affinity for spiritual energy alone doesn't fully equate to natural ability. Her spiritual seed hasn't awakened yet—we don't know her grade..."
"Ah, you just don't get it," Chu Daixi cut her off. "That's not what we're looking for when we're looking for a daughter!"
Then what are you looking for? Chu Mingyan, equally childless, was mildly baffled. She revealed a confused expression.
We're looking at fate! Chu Daixi declared with profound wisdom.
"Alright, fine." Chu Mingyan began to seriously consider the feasibility of this matter. "But didn't you say that having children is too troublesome, that it would hold back your plans to revitalize the family?"
So even with several lovers, she had never fathered a single child.
"But she came to me on her own," Chu Daixi said with an innocent blink.
That... made sense, actually.
Chu Mingyan was convinced. She was an efficient person, so she quickly skipped past the stage of whether to do it and moved straight to the practical details.
She said, "In that case, we'll pick an auspicious day later to announce it to the clan elders. By the way, you'll also need to give her a name. If her aptitude turns out to be on par with Chu Qinghe's, we'll have to report her to the Dao Academy. And of course, no matter what, it's best if all of this happens after her awakening, so that we can silence any gossip."
"No rush, no rush," Chu Daixi said with a slow wave of her hand.
"Why not? Weren't you just saying that you have a connection with that child?"
"But I still need to ask for her opinion."
What?
"Wasn't she the one who called you 'Mother' first?" Chu Mingyan was baffled. Wasn't the key to making this work simply whether the clan leader gave her blessing or not?
Chu Daixi's eyes grew deeper, and the corners of her mouth curved upward.
She said, "Not necessarily."
Chu Mingyan refused to believe it, so the next day she personally accompanied the clan leader to see the child.
That day, the weather was fine. Wangshu wasn't inside her room either—her nursemaid was accompanying her on a stroll through the garden. When Chu Mingyan found Wangshu, she was standing beneath a cherry blossom tree.
Pink petals drifted down intermittently, some landing on Wangshu's little head. She seemed not to notice, her young face full of deep thought.
Chu Daixi walked over gently and brushed the petals from her hair.
Wangshu looked up and saw the "guest" from the other day. But this time, she already knew this person's identity—her nursemaid had told her. After all, she had a mouth, and when she had questions, she asked.
Wangshu lowered her eyes slightly and greeted her: "Greetings, Clan Leader."
Chu Mingyan, who had caught up, paused in astonishment. The child really had changed her address. How remarkable.
Chu Daixi seemed unsurprised. She even smiled, crouching down to look Wangshu in the eye. "Yesterday you were calling me 'Mother,' no?"
Wangshu didn't back away, nor did she avoid the gaze. She said calmly, "Yesterday I didn't know you were the Clan Leader."
Chu Daixi nodded, eyes full of mirth: "So you won't call me that because I'm the Clan Leader? Then tell me, what kind of mother do you want?"
The wind blew, and before the petals could fall, Wangshu said:
"I want... I want the one who wants me as her daughter to be my mother."
