Seeing that everyone's attention was drawn to him, even his newlywed wife, Madam Xu, turned slightly to wait for him to tell the story, Wei Ying shook his head and continued:

"Take Lu Xiaomei for example. I met her once when Xuanbo and I were on good terms with Lu Wenshan. She was an exceptionally intelligent child. She could read at the age of three, write poetry at the age of seven, and by the age of eleven, she could write some good poems. She was very much loved by Old Madam Lu. But now the child has become neither human nor ghost. Even when she sees her closest relatives, she can't speak. She just makes 'woo woo' sounds. It's really a cruel twist of fate."

Originally, Wei Ying and Cheng Chumo were close friends of Lu Wenshan, but after the Lu family was involved in the affair of deceiving a fox spirit into marriage, the three drifted further and further apart. Wei Ying even stated that he despised Lu Wenshan's hypocritical behavior and severed ties with him.

Xu Milu had paid attention to the Lu family for a while because of Hu Shiyi Niang, but she only knew that Lu Wenshan, as a Jinwuwei (Imperial Guard), had broken the law and violated the curfew, which angered the current Tang King. Not only was he dismissed from his position as Jinwuwei, but he was also reprimanded for being "brave but reckless and unfit for important tasks."

It is unknown whether Li Shimin was aware of the Lu family's situation, which is why he rebuked them in this way. However, once these words were spoken, Lu Wenshan's future career prospects were ruined, which is quite regrettable.

Xu Milu took a sip of her drink, and after a moment's thought, she understood what was going on:

"Shiyi Niang's original form was a fox, and her wild nature has not yet faded. Although Lu Xiaomei has received Shiyi Niang's demon core to prolong her life, humans and demons are different, and over time she will inevitably be tainted with some animalistic nature. As long as Lu's mother teaches her carefully, she can always correct her nature. It's just a matter of how long it will take."

After Xu Milu finished speaking, Xu Fangnian, perhaps feeling a little regretful, couldn't help but look at her and whisper:

"I've heard that Madam Xu is incredibly powerful. Given Lu Xiaomei's current state, why doesn't Madam Xu, a truly divine being, use a little trick to make Lu Xiaomei suffer less..."

Eleventh Sister, nestled under the osmanthus tree, was drinking. She was half-drunk, half-awake, her body practically melting with languor. Hearing Wei Ying's words, she couldn't help but glance at him and giggle.

"Young Master Wei, could it be that you've taken pity on a beautiful woman and want to use your wife to ask me to go and see that Miss Lu?"

Wei Ying's face immediately turned green. He quickly glanced at Xu Milu, and seeing that she showed no displeasure, he explained:

"It's just that my wife feels that all the girls in the world have a harder time, which is why she asked this question. I heard that Lu Xiaomei is sometimes lucid and sometimes confused. When she is lucid, she thinks of a way to end her own life. Eleventh Sister, please don't misunderstand. When I was young and unmarried, I was also on good terms with Lu Xiaomei, which is why I asked this question."

He knew his friend's strong sense of justice and hatred for evil. If he had been out of his mind and had said even half a good word for Lu Wenshan back then, the two of them would never be friends now.

Xu Fangnian looked at everyone's gazes, feeling somewhat confused, unsure of what she had said wrong. However, seeing how much Wei Ying cared about Xu Milu, she couldn't help but feel a little jealous and muttered petulantly:

"Madam Xu is being unreasonable. Little Sister Lu is also a pitiful person. She didn't know her mother and brother's plans and obtained that half of the demon core in a daze. In a way, she helped Eleven Niang ascend to immortality. If you think about it, Little Sister Lu is Eleven Niang's benefactor!"

Upon hearing this, Hu Silang, who had been drinking, put down his wine cup and glanced at Xu Fangnian with a smile:

"Madam Wei, you may not know this, but although Madam Xu is compassionate, she doesn't save just anyone."

Although Cheng Chumo didn't speak, his eyes were full of disapproval.

Good heavens, I never expected Wei Ying to marry a "living Buddha"!

Xu Milu couldn't quite figure out Xu Fangnian's thought process. She didn't know if she really thought that way or if she just wanted to argue.

She thought for a moment and then spoke:

"On the day Eleventh Sister sacrificed her demon core to save someone, the Black and White Impermanence passed by my little shop and had a sip of hot tea. They told me they were going to the Lu family to collect Lu Xiaomei's soul for the underworld. If the Lu family hadn't plotted against Eleventh Sister's demon core, Lu Xiaomei's soul would have gone to the underworld, and by today it would be time for her to be reincarnated. Eleventh Sister wouldn't have left the Lu family, but would have stayed with Lu Wenshan until they grew old together. As for Eleventh Sister's ascension to immortality—"

She took a sip of the wine in her glass, smiled, and then remained silent.

"So Madam Xu has connections with Eighth Master and Seventh Master?"

Huang Sanlang, standing to the side, couldn't help but gleam with excitement, and scratched his face in frustration:

"Hehehe, I don't know, I wonder if Madam Xu could introduce us? Last month, a baby died in the neighbor's house of my third uncle's second son's daughter. I don't know if it was reincarnated or if someone took its soul..."

Hu Silang kicked him again.

Xu Fangnian seemed to realize she had said something wrong, and covered her face in embarrassment, remaining silent while glancing at Wei Ying. Wei Ying also sensed the awkward atmosphere and quickly raised his wine glass to defuse the situation:

"Let's not talk about this anymore! Today, the osmanthus flowers are in full bloom, the weather is beautiful, and we are accompanied by our fellow drinkers. Wouldn't it be delightful for us to share this drink?"

Xu Milu smiled, then suddenly brought up another matter:

"I went to the outskirts of the state a while ago and saw many strange beasts and birds, but I was unable to attend Xuancheng's wedding banquet. Today, I drink this cup of wine to celebrate your wedding. I haven't forgotten the wedding gift you asked me for."

As she spoke, she waved her hand, and an exquisite large cage immediately appeared in the open space in front of her, inside which stood a pair of strange birds with blue and red feathers, resembling wild ducks.

—These two birds each have only one eye, one leg, and one wing. When they stand still, they look as if someone has cut off half of their bodies with a knife.