Time flies when you have company, and it was already early summer in April. Zhang Erniang accompanied her mother to the palace to pay her respects to Zhang Wanyi. Hearing that Shi Lan was staying at the palace for a while, she came to visit her.
It was nearly noon, and Shi Lan was changing into light and simple everyday clothes. Upon hearing that Zhang Erniang had come to visit, she quickly adjusted her belt and ordered Ruan Mama to invite her in.
Zhang Erniang swayed in, and after taking only two steps, Shi Lan noticed something was wrong. Upon closer inspection, she realized that Zhang Erniang's feet seemed different from before, floating as if she were walking on cotton.
When Zhang Erniang saw her looking, she lifted her skirt and showed her Jinlian, who was wearing tiny embroidered shoes.
Shi Lan stared at her tiny feet, opened her mouth for a long time, and finally said, "You had your feet bound?"
Zhang Erniang nodded, swayed to the chair and sat down, then let out a long sigh of relief and said, "Finally, I can rest for a bit."
Shi Lan sat down in front of her, looking at her as if she were a monster.
A person who was blessed with a second life actually gave up his advantages and was willing to be confined to the inner quarters, becoming a bound-footed wife who never left the house.
Shi Lan couldn't understand.
Seeing her like this, Zhang Erniang glanced at Shi Lan's casually growing feet and said, "Aren't you going to tie them up?"
Shi Lan shook her head like a rattle drum.
Just kidding, she doesn't want to suffer that kind of foreign torment.
Zhang Erniang said, "That's how things are these days. If you don't have tiny, bound feet, you can forget about marrying into a wealthy family."
Shi Lan frowned strangely at her disdainful expression and cold eyes. "If you're so disdainful, why are you putting yourself through this?"
Zhang Erniang snorted, "If I don't do it this way, how can I do what I want to do?"
Shi Lan paused for a moment, then suddenly asked, "You said Qin Shisanlang was bad the other day, how did you know about his concubines?"
Zhang Erniang glanced at her sideways and said, "How I know is none of your business. Just know that I have no intention of harming Auntie and that I actually hope she can live a good life."
Shi Lan lowered her head, looking at her shadow on the ground, and ordered the servants, including Ruan Mama, to leave. Only after the curtain fell did she say, "Then do you know what the future holds for the Pan family?"
Zhang Erniang stared at Shi Lan with wide eyes, as if to say, "You're asking me? How would I know?"
Shi Lan glanced at her, lowered her eyes respectfully, poured a cup of tea, stood in front of her, and said, "Do you want me to beg you before you'll tell me?"
Zhang Erniang slowly closed her lips, which had opened in surprise, stared at her for a while, and said, "Who can know what will happen in the future? Perhaps it will be prosperous and flourishing, or perhaps it will decline and fall into ruin. It is all up to one's fate."
Shi Lan looked up at her and said with certainty, "Others may not know, but you definitely do."
Zhang Erniang pursed her lips and refused to speak again.
Shi Lan looked at her and suddenly chuckled. She placed the teacup on the table in front of her, flicked her fingers slightly, and gently tugged it.
Zhang Erniang hissed in pain, clutching her head and asking, "What are you doing?"
Shi Lan gently shook the strand of hair in her hand and said, "I don't have your ability to predict the future, but I have the skill to determine life and death." She gently lowered the end of her hair and glanced at Zhang Erniang with her eyes. "Why don't we do an experiment and see whether the Pan family will fall into ruin faster, or you will die faster?"
Zhang Erniang gritted her teeth in hatred, and after a long while, she managed to squeeze out two words: "To suppress evil spirits?"
Shi Lan nodded and kindly explained to her, "Actually, it can't be called 'suppression,' it should be called witchcraft. I have quite a talent for this. If you're interested, I can demonstrate it for you right now. Do you want a headache, a toothache, or a stomachache?"
Zhang Erniang's icy gaze was like a sharp iron brush, seemingly intent on erasing the smile from Shi Lan's face. (Latest and fastest updates)
Shi Lan had long been accustomed to the cold, high-pressure nature of the great Lord Haoze, so Zhang Erniang's actions were nothing to her and she was completely unaffected.
Zhang Erniang is reborn to seek revenge; she has no intention of giving up her life here.
At this moment, Zhang Erniang began to feel guilty. Since her rebirth, everything had gone too smoothly, making her too complacent. She hadn't even sorted out her own affairs yet, and she still had the heart to meddle in other people's business.
Zhang Erniang secretly blamed herself for preventing Pan Jinxuan from marrying into the Qin family, a living hell, just because she got along well with her. Of course, what she shouldn't have done was to find Shi Lan, a messenger who knew strange tricks like curses, which aroused her suspicion and put her in a dilemma now.
Shi Lan could also see that she was feeling remorseful. Remembering that she had meant well, she said, "Don't worry, I only want to know about the Pan family and the Imperial Concubine. I don't care about anything else, and I won't ask about it. If necessary, I can even help you out as a way of thanking you for telling me the truth today."
Zhang Erniang raised her eyes and asked, "Really?"
Shi Lan nodded.
After pondering for a moment, Zhang Erniang said, "Two years later, the Pan family will be stripped of their titles, Pan's eldest son will be assassinated outside, and the Imperial Concubine will be banished to the Cold Palace and commit suicide."
Zhang Erniang spoke very softly, almost in a whisper by the end.
"Impossible," Shi Lan blurted out almost without thinking when she heard her say that.
Zhang Erniang sneered, "Believe it or not, it's fine."
Shi Lan rolled her eyes and asked, "And what about your aunt?"
Zhang Erniang said, "Just like the Imperial Concubine, I was banished to the Cold Palace. My father was dismissed from his official post, and our family returned to our ancestral home."
Shi Lan asked, "Where is your family's ancestral home?"
Zhang Erniang said, "My family's ancestral home is in Fujian."
Shi Lan nodded and asked her, "So who ultimately benefited in the harem?"
Zhang Erniang said, "Wu Cairen."
Shi Lan was somewhat incredulous. That little concubine who wasn't even noticed by the Imperial Concubine?
Zhang Erniang said, "I saw all of this in my dream. If you don't believe me, there's nothing I can do."
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