All the way until the day of the Hundred Days Banquet, Su Liumeng still hadn’t fulfilled her wish.
(In this alternate world, both the “grasping ceremony” and the “hundred days” are observed.)
The part she’d looked forward to most definitely wasn’t just a baby bottle.
At that time, when she heard Sichenyan’s answer, Su Liumeng’s mood was like a flock of crows flying overhead.
She wasn’t a child anymore, so she certainly wouldn’t snatch a pudding bottle from a little kid to drink.
[She’s not the type to fight kids for food.]
“Xiaoyan, long time no see!”
The Hundred Days Banquet was underway. In the largest manor in Jing City, countless luxury cars gathered, dignitaries and officials streaming in one after another. I wasn’t supposed to be greeting guests, but I rarely appeared at the entrance, immediately drawing many curious eyes, all secretly sizing up the now-celebrated Su family’s young madam.
I waved at Shangguan Xiyue, who was talking to me from afar, then lightly lifted my skirt and ran over, affectionately taking her arm.
I glanced at her with playful reproach and replied, “It hasn’t been that long, has it? Didn’t we just see each other last week?”
Inside the banquet hall, Su Liumeng wore a bright red long dress, greeting several heads of influential families.
I glanced toward Su Liumeng’s position, making sure no one noticed me, then carefully pulled Shangguan Xiyue to a corner of the banquet and started sneaking bites of the little cakes on the table.
Shangguan Xiyue’s eyes curved in amusement. “You’re a mom now, and you’re still acting like a little kid, sneaking food at a party.”
“Where’s Zhizhi, where did she go?”
I pointed to the very front. “Over there, Su Liumeng’s watching her, don’t worry.”
“Kitty, do you know how long it’s been since I could eat without restraint?”
I held up a few fingers, my tone exaggerated, just like a starving ghost reborn. While talking, I stuffed more food into my mouth. “It’s been half a year! I’ve eaten that wretched boiled fish every day, I’m about to throw up. There’s no taste left in my mouth at all.”
“Finally out of prison, shouldn’t I eat my fill while I can?”
Shangguan Xiyue’s smile deepened. “Alright, I’ll sneak some with you.”
I took another bite of cake. “Who’s sneaking? There’s nothing shameful about it—at most, just don’t let anyone else see.”
“Don’t forget, I’m the hostess here. What can’t I eat in this hall?”
Just then, a childish voice piped up, “Mommy, why are there two big sisters sneaking food at this table?”
A mountain of food hid mine and Shangguan Xiyue’s faces. The child’s mother looked over, and upon recognizing me, her face changed drastically. “You little rascal, what nonsense are you saying?”
“Young Madam, my child didn’t see it was you. If he said anything rude, I apologize for him as his mother.”
“No worries.” I waved my hand, focused on a plate before me, grappling with a big crab. As I ate, I said to Shangguan Xiyue, “I’ve been craving this crab for ages. Finally got some money, but so many things I’m not allowed to eat.”
“It’s really been tough for you these days.” Shangguan Xiyue broke open a crab claw, revealing the meat, and handed it to me.
“Thanks, Kitty.” I was about to take it when a shadow fell over me.
Su Liumeng looked at me, face a bit helpless. “Everyone’s waiting for you to carry your daughter around and let people see her. And here you are, dragging Shangguan Xiyue to the corner to sneak food.”
“I… was hungry.” Those three words came out righteously. “The postpartum meals never gave me anything good, always bland food—I’m going stir-crazy.”
A moment later, unable to withstand Su Liumeng’s insistence, I had to return to the main venue with her. Shangguan Xiyue followed closely at my side.
I carried my daughter around the crowd, making sure everyone of some standing could get a good look at her.
Once the formalities were done, I breathed a sigh of relief, but then heard the doorman call out at the entrance.
“The Su Family’s Grand Elder has arrived, bearing a pair of peerless treasures from Nanhai.”
Before the Grand Elder appeared, I heard a hearty laugh. “Girl, you’ve worked hard. Let this old man take a look… at the little phoenix of our Su family.”
He looked even older than half a year ago.
His hair was entirely white, and the once-straight back seemed more hunched.
Obediently, I handed over my daughter.
“Look at these little cheeks, these delicate little hands—good, very good.” The Grand Elder extended his rough hand, but worried it might scratch the baby’s delicate skin, he only looked from the side, already filled with joy. “Truly your daughter, so beautiful.”
“Have you named her? What’s her name?”
I was thinking how to answer when Su Liumeng leaned over and whispered something in the Grand Elder’s ear.
The old man’s eyes brightened, and he announced loudly, “Indeed! The Ghost Realm has coveted our world for a long time, and with their treacherous tricks, before she officially comes of age, her true name mustn’t be revealed.”
His voice rang throughout the hall, and all chatter instantly died down.
Su Liumeng’s eyes flickered.
That wasn’t what she just told him.
The Grand Elder saw her complicated expression and patted her on the shoulder. “The name isn’t important. What matters is that Siyan is your Dao companion. Isn’t that enough?”
They say young people are open-minded.
Yet at this moment, Su Liumeng felt it was this old man who truly saw through everything.
I looked apologetically at the Grand Elder and met his gaze. “Siyan, these are all small things. You don’t need to worry.”
Then, taking Su Liumeng’s place, the Grand Elder mingled with all the influential figures on behalf of the Su family, freeing Su Liumeng to keep me company.
At that moment—
Zhizhi, who’d been quietly gazing at the scenery, suddenly grabbed my collar and started babbling.
I knew she was hungry, so I said to Su Liumeng, “I’m going to feed the baby. I’ll leave the venue to you.”
“Mm, don’t worry.”
After I left, someone asked Su Liumeng, “Why not hire some wet nurses? The Young Madam is so noble, how can she do everything herself?”
Su Liumeng smiled softly. “She’s always been like this—doesn’t trust anyone else to care for her.”
“It’s not easy, really. Even in her position, she’s still so gentle and capable. Eldest Miss married well.”
Inside the lounge, the lighting was a little dim. I couldn’t help but tease the little one. “Are you hungry?”
“Be good, say ‘mama’.”
“Gigglegiggle—”
The little one didn’t seem to understand a word, just kept laughing, her little hands waving in front of me until she grabbed my collar.
I sighed.
Wanting a hundred-day-old baby to talk—what wishful thinking.
Opening my clothes, my underclothes were already a bit damp.
I thought of the fridge stuffed full of bottles, a trace of worry in my eyes.
Can’t finish them.
Absolutely can’t.
Baby actually eats a lot, more than most infants, but still nowhere near enough to finish an entire fridge’s worth.
If you don’t express it, it gets painfully engorged.
So it just keeps piling up.
The little one knew exactly what she wanted and started eating eagerly. While she ate, I gently squeezed her little hand still clutching my collar—soft and a little cool. I couldn’t help but hold on, watching her cute cheeks, feeling my motherly love overflow.
“So cute,” I murmured without thinking.
About ten minutes later, the little one was finally satisfied.
I took out a soft handkerchief and gently wiped the corners of her mouth, laughing quietly. “I wonder who you learned this from—no restraint at all when you eat.”
“Yiya!”
She curiously stared at everything, and when she noticed the handkerchief waving in front of her, her eyes were instantly drawn. She reached out, but before she could grab it, I brought it down—smack—onto my own left cheek.
I froze. The little one froze too.
Her tiny body curled up, as if scared I’d get angry.
I chuckled, tucking her little hand back into her swaddle, half-joking, half-muttering to myself, “Daring to smack your mom at a hundred days—by three or four years old, will you flip the whole world?”
Even though I said that, there wasn’t a trace of anger in my tone.
At the “grasping ceremony,” the little one sat at the end of the table all by herself, a heap of things laid out before her—cultivation techniques, a long sword, a pill furnace, and some mundane objects.
You can’t see a baby’s cultivation potential at a hundred days.
But even so, no one in the audience doubted that this little one would cultivate in the future.
With parents both peerless geniuses, even if the child isn’t as gifted, she’d have at least a lower-level talent.
The odds of not being able to cultivate at all are just too low.
I stood at the front of the table, watching the little one, not even able to crawl yet, flailing her arms over the table. Babies her age love grabbing things, curious about everything in the world, and she was already fixated on the objects before her.
The venue grew unusually quiet, everyone wondering what the Su family’s little phoenix would choose at the grasping ceremony.
“Yaya—”
She called out, seeing her mother, her cries sounding as if she wanted me to hold her.
But she didn’t reach for anything on the table—she just grabbed my clothes and refused to let go.
This sight left everyone dumbfounded.
Ignoring the peerless sword, ignoring powerful techniques—
A one-hundred-day-old little girl only wants her mother. What kind of choice is that?
I glanced around, forcing an awkward smile as I tried to tug her arm, “Zhizhi, let go, grab something else you like.”
I pried her little fingers off, but her face turned pouty, refusing to even look at the “junk” on the table, only stubbornly clutching my clothes and babbling.
“Be good, Zhizhi. Mama can’t hold you now—just pick anything.”
Premium Chapter
Login to buy access to this Chapter.