The next day was overcast, the sun hidden behind the clouds, and the wind was cool, making it perfect weather for an outing.
The Old Imperial Consort and Wang Qingyao were not ostentatious; they didn't have guards clearing the way or business owners clearing out their establishments. Their carriage even had the royal insignia removed, making them appear as merely a grandmother and granddaughter from an ordinary wealthy family.
As usual, Wang Qingyao only brought Pearl with her. The Old Imperial Consort, being more particular, brought four maids to serve her, in addition to Nanny Jing.
On the road, Wang Qingyao inquired about the Xiao family's curse and how Xiao Yun's father, grandfather, and great-grandfather had died.
The curse was known to everyone in the Xiao family, yet it was something everyone avoided discussing.
Wang Qingyao, a new bride, asked so casually that the Old Imperial Consort couldn't help but look at her with surprise several times.
"What made you think to ask about this?"
"Didn't the National Preceptor say I could break the Xiao family's curse? He didn't say how, so I need to understand it. Perhaps there really is a way."
She spoke of the curse with a casual tone, devoid of reverence, as if she didn't quite believe it.
The Old Imperial Consort felt a pang of sorrow. She, too, had initially been like Wang Qingyao, not believing in any such curse.
Until she lost her husband, and then her son.
She had no choice but to believe.
She tightly grasped Wang Qingyao's hand, suppressing the turmoil within her, and slowly recounted those desperate years.
"Ah Yun's great-grandfather, my late father-in-law, was originally a tomb raider. He was quite skilled and accumulated considerable wealth at a young age. The Xiao family gradually prospered and became the wealthiest in the Great Sheng Dynasty thanks to this wealth."
"Tomb raiding, of course, has its taboos and legends. My father-in-law had been dead for ten years when I married in. At that time, there was no talk of a curse, and I only knew he had died of illness. Later, Ah Yun's grandfather was enfeoffed as the Prince of Ding'an at a young age due to his contributions in supporting the emperor. However, this prince died after only a few years on the throne."
"I still remember that night. It was summer, and he attended a banquet in the palace. He had a bit to drink, and on his way back, he saw a lotus pond. Thinking to pick a lotus for me, he accidentally fell into the pond. The pond was shallow, and his attendants quickly pulled him out, but by then, he had already stopped breathing."
"It's strange, isn't it? Then rumors began to circulate, saying that Ah Yun's great-grandfather had been a tomb raider and had offended the spirits of the ancient tombs. The spirits had cast a curse on the Xiao family, decreeing that all male heirs of the Xiao family would not live past the age of twenty-five. I asked my mother-in-law, and only then did I learn that my father-in-law had indeed been a tomb raider, and he hadn't died of illness, but was crushed to death in a collapsed tomb during a raid."
"Ah Yun's father was even more bizarre. He died of a common cold. He was strong and healthy, yet he died from such a minor ailment. The curse on the Xiao family became even more widely spread. I, too, had to believe that the male heirs of the Xiao family truly did not live past twenty-five."
The Old Imperial Consort's face was filled with sorrow, and a tear trickled down from her cloudy eyes.
Wang Qingyao held her hand, unsure how to comfort her.
Things were a little different from what she had imagined.
Two accidents, one illness.
It didn't seem like a hereditary disease...
"How was the health of the Prince's father and grandfather?"
"Very good. They both had a foundation in martial arts and rarely fell ill."
"Before they passed away, did they suddenly suffer from any strange illnesses, or experience any discomfort?"
Wang Qingyao knew that some illnesses could erupt suddenly. If twenty-five was a critical point, then symptoms would be most likely to manifest in the year leading up to it.
"You suspect the curse is actually an illness?" The Old Imperial Consort immediately understood her meaning and shook her head bitterly.
"No. Even Ah Yun's father's cold was just a few sneezes and a runny nose for a few days; it wasn't serious at all. But who knew, who knew... if it's not a curse, then what could it be?"
The Old Imperial Consort was convinced that the deaths of the three generations of the Xiao family were due to the curse.
Wang Qingyao, however, did not believe it at all.
If it wasn't a hereditary disease, then it could only be an accident.
What kind of accident would so coincidentally cause three generations of the Xiao family to die at the age of twenty-five?
Unless it was deliberate.
Wang Qingyao's eyelids twitched, startled by her own thought.
In fact, the best way to investigate the cause of death was an autopsy.
But that was clearly unrealistic.
The three generations of the Xiao family were already buried. Let alone an autopsy, even digging up the bodies would invite divine retribution and the scorn of the world.
Since an autopsy was out of the question, it would be good if she could use her clairvoyance to see, perhaps she could discover some clues.
Thinking this, Wang Qingyao pondered how to get Xiao Yun to take her to the Xiao family's ancestral graves for a ritual soon.
"Old Madam, Young Madam, Ba Bao Silver House has arrived."
The carriage slowly stopped, and Nanny Jing's voice rang out. The Old Imperial Consort wiped her eyes and let Wang Qingyao help her alight.
Nanny Jing caught a glimpse of the Old Imperial Consort's slightly red eyes and frowned in confusion.
As the Old Imperial Consort and Wang Qingyao were being ushered into Ba Bao Silver House, someone suddenly rushed out from the side and knelt before Wang Qingyao with a thud.
"Princess Consort, you are magnanimous. Please do not hold it against me. It is all my fault, and it has nothing to do with my son. I beg you, please spare him!"