After that, Sheng Mingzhu picked out two more bolts of fabric, but Huang Yaning “snatched” them away again.
One bolt went to Concubine Bai, and the other to Concubine Hong.
Concubine Bai had a grudge against Sheng Mingzhu, and Concubine Hong was bold by nature. Neither of them was afraid of offending Sheng Mingzhu, so they accepted the gifts with smiles on their faces.
This was clearly a public humiliation, and it made Sheng Mingzhu so furious she was practically steaming. The atmosphere in the room instantly grew tense.
“Since Seventh Sister is so fond of meddling, why don’t you pick two bolts for me as well?” Sheng Mingzhu said through gritted teeth, word by word.
Huang Yaning smiled and shook her head. “No—the colors you like always seem way too plain to me, honestly a bit dreary! We clearly have different tastes, so I’m sure you wouldn’t like whatever I picked out anyway. Besides, if I did help and you ended up causing a scene at the Crown Prince’s wedding banquet, wouldn’t that drag me into it too?”
“You—you’re cursing me?” Sheng Mingzhu was probably pushed past her limit, and since there were no men around to play the damsel in distress for, she jabbed a finger at Huang Yaning, her eyes filled with venom.
“Sixth Sister—” Huang Yaning slapped Sheng Mingzhu’s hand away, her expression turning cold. “I’m just stating the facts. Every time you go out to buy clothes or jewelry, you have to put on a crying show, drawing crowds of commoners to watch and making everyone think your family is mistreating you! At the Dong family’s wedding reception, you suddenly fell into the water for no good reason! In short, whenever you show up, there’s never a moment of peace—”
Everyone else listening thought Huang Yaning’s words rang true. But the incident at the Dong residence had actually been Huang Yaning pushing Sheng Mingzhu into the water—so these words were like driving a knife straight into Sheng Mingzhu’s heart, twisting her facial muscles with rage.
Sheng Mingzhu’s vision was going dark, and she felt unsteady on her feet.
Huang Yaning kept twisting the knife. “Sixth Sister, whatever you do, don’t faint on us. Otherwise, by tomorrow, everyone outside will be saying that Sheng’s Sixth Miss had a little spat with her sister and deliberately passed out to gain sympathy. Your reputation’s already not great—if any more rumors spread, people will just laugh at you for being unable to handle yourself in public…”
The servants all kept their heads down, not daring to breathe too loudly. Some of them silently praised Seventh Miss for her razor-sharp tongue.
Sheng Mingzhu was indeed dizzy with fury and had genuinely considered fainting on purpose so she could be carried back to Lotus Courtyard and escape this torment. But after hearing that little wretch’s words, she didn’t dare faint anymore.
“Alright, you girls stop bickering. Go pick your fabrics and get your measurements taken,” Sheng Minmin said, brushing off Huang Yaning’s humiliation of Sheng Mingzhu as nothing more than “a little sisterly squabble.”
Sheng Mingzhu closed her eyes and pointed at two random bolts. Seething with anger, she went behind the screen to have her measurements taken—she just wanted to get this farce over with as quickly as possible so she could return to Lotus Courtyard.
But while she was being measured, Qingdai accidentally nicked her finger.
Smack—
“You worthless dog—”
Sheng Mingzhu was already on the edge of losing it. The sting pushed her over, and she slapped Qingdai across the face without a second thought.
“Sixth Miss, please calm down…” Qingdai knelt on the ground, her face pale.
Everyone assumed Qingdai was terrified of being punished by Sheng Mingzhu. But what they didn’t know was that Qingdai was actually shocked—and a little frightened—by what she’d discovered about Sheng Mingzhu’s physical condition.
During the meal, Qingdai had deliberately positioned herself close to Concubine Ruan and discovered she’d been poisoned with Withered Grass toxin. At the time, she’d been mildly surprised, but not overly so.
But Sheng Mingzhu was different. Sheng Mingzhu was strange.
Lately, Qingdai had kept Sheng Mingzhu in the back of her mind. The last time she’d gotten close to her, she’d noticed a faint scent on Sheng Mingzhu—similar to the smell left on Qingxin after she’d been given the “Short-Lived Ghost” poison.
At that moment, the forbidden technique “Soul Reaping” had flashed through her mind…
If someone used that forbidden art, they’d carry a scent similar to Qingxin’s. But the next instant, Qingdai told herself she was probably overthinking it, jumping to conclusions—because that technique had been lost for years. She’d only heard her father mention it once when she was little.
And those who had “Soul Reaping” placed on them had blood that looked different from ordinary people’s.
While measuring Sheng Mingzhu just now, that strange feeling had grown stronger and stronger. So Qingdai had deliberately “accidentally” scratched Sheng Mingzhu’s finger with her ring.
Qingdai watched with her own eyes as a tiny pink bead of blood welled up from the wound…
Seeing that extremely pale pink droplet, Qingdai’s heartbeat stuttered. A thin layer of cold sweat broke out on her back…
It was exactly as she’d suspected!
Sheng Mingzhu had been afflicted with “Soul Reaping”!
“Soul Reaping” was a hundred times more sinister than “Short-Lived Ghost”!
Qingxin, who had the “Short-Lived Ghost,” drained men’s essence through sexual encounters, causing the men who slept with her to age prematurely and die early… But aside from becoming more beautiful, Qingxin herself gained no real benefit and wouldn’t live long either.
But Sheng Mingzhu, who had “Soul Reaping,” was different. Sheng Mingzhu could absorb men’s essence into her own bloodstream. This special blood could nourish her—if she had enough men, she could probably live for several hundred years!
Of course, consuming Sheng Mingzhu’s blood could also prolong one’s lifespan.
Sheng Mingzhu clearly didn’t seem to know about the forbidden art of “Soul Reaping.” More likely than not, someone had turned her into this—turning her into a tool and a vessel for absorbing energy!
But Qingdai couldn’t figure out—hadn’t this evil art been lost for ages? Her father had told her that “Soul Reaping” was extremely difficult to succeed with. First, you needed someone with a special constitution—though even her father didn’t know exactly what kind of constitution that was. And even if you found such a person, you’d still need to apply a secret medicinal ointment to their body year after year…
Qingdai knew about that ointment—it contained over a hundred precious ingredients. The herbs needed for “Short-Lived Ghost” heavily overlapped with them. That was why Sheng Mingzhu’s scent resembled Qingxin’s. Even gathering a single dose of that ointment was a challenge, let alone applying it continuously over many years. Finally, you’d also need a catalyst—and that was also unknown…
All Qingdai knew was that if “Soul Reaping” was successfully cultivated, the person’s blood would gradually lighten in color until it became a very pale pink…
Sheng Minmin noticed Qingdai’s unusual behavior and felt a jolt of alarm in her heart.
“Sixth girl, are you alright?”
Sheng Mingzhu looked at her wound, which had already healed, and felt a pang of regret for having diligently applied Jade Face Cream to her body every single day.
“Mother, your daughter is fine…” Sheng Minmin nodded, then turned to Qingdai.
“You’ve been with me this long and you’re still so careless. I’m docking your pay for three months. All of you may go now. I’ll have the seamstresses come to your courtyards to take your measurements—”
Everyone filed out quickly. Sheng Minmin dismissed the other servants too, until only she and Qingdai remained in the room.
She pulled Qingdai to her feet and asked gently, “Does your face still hurt?”
Qingdai shook her head, then spilled everything she’d just discovered.
