Chapter 21: A Matter to Discuss

Nurse Zhang came over, took one look, and nodded repeatedly. "That is exactly the bird."

Seventh Master’s artistic skill was truly unparalleled; it was incredibly lifelike.

Meng Wenxuan’s expression darkened. This was a thrush. To train a thrush to accurately understand and carry out its master's commands, one had to begin raising it from a fledgling. No one in the Meng household kept such birds. Yet, for it to find their courtyard’s small kitchen so precisely, it was impossible for anyone who wasn't a member of the household to know the layout so well.

A thought struck Meng Wenxuan, and he stood up to leave. Upon reaching the outer courtyard, he summoned Laifeng. "Did Qingguo run into anyone on her way to fetch Uncle Chen?"

Laifeng replied, "The Madam’s dowry shops in her hometown have been having issues, so she sent Nanny Liu to handle them. Qingguo happened to run into Nanny Liu while on her way to get the estate doctor. Nanny Liu asked what was wrong, and Qingguo told her the truth. At first, it seemed as though Nanny Liu didn't want to go, but after speaking with Qingguo, she left quite readily."

"Has there been any word from those assigned to monitor Nanny Liu?" Meng Wenxuan narrowed his eyes.

"Not yet," Laifeng said.

"Inform me the moment you hear anything. You must go yourself and tell my father that someone used a thrush to poison the goat milk intended for Yueya." With that, Meng Wenxuan returned inside, while Laifeng hurried toward the Master’s courtyard.

When Meng Wenxuan returned, Qingguo had just finished heating the goat milk, this time serving it in a silver bowl.

"Seventh Master, it can be fed to the Young Miss once it cools."

This was also the perfect time to see if there were any issues with the milk.

"Thank you for your hard work, Uncle Chen," Meng Wenxuan said politely.

Chen Ming quickly replied, "It is no trouble, but what will be done about the Young Miss's meals in the future?" As the estate doctor, not a wet nurse, he had many duties and could not possibly inspect every ingredient or watch over the heating of the milk for every meal.

"Do not worry, I will arrange for someone dedicated to this task," Meng Wenxuan assured him.

Today was an emergency; he hadn't had time to arrange his own people and had to rely on the doctor. But his daughter's nutrition was a major matter that required daily consistency, and it had to be managed by someone he trusted exclusively.

Relieved, Chen Ming waited until the time was right to ensure the silver bowl of milk was untainted, then took his leave.

***

After Chen Ming left, Meng Wenxuan sent Nurse Zhang and Qingguo away. He sat by the bed with the bowl, looking at his daughter, who was whimpering in her mother’s arms, and said with a pained heart, "Yueya, it’s time for your goat milk."

Seeing the bowl in his hands, Jiaoyue’s large eyes brightened immediately. She pointed her tiny finger at the bowl and made soft, babbling sounds. Both Meng Wenxuan and Lin Yuntang knew then that the milk was safe.

Lin Yuntang held their daughter while Meng Wenxuan fed her one spoonful at a time. Jiaoyue was so hungry that she ate gulp after gulp. Lin Yuntang stopped him, saying, "Don't feed her too fast. If she's too hungry and eats too much at once, it will upset her stomach."

Meng Wenxuan then coaxed his daughter to drink slowly. Fortunately, after a few large mouthfuls, Jiaoyue was no longer starving and stopped rushing.

"Yueya, does the estate doctor mean you harm?" Meng Wenxuan asked as he fed her.

When the doctor had arrived, Jiaoyue had checked his aura; the white numbers far outweighed the black. Such people usually possessed a conscience and a moral bottom line, so she gave a soft, affirmative sound. Even though her father knew the doctor was safe because she hadn't pointed at him in distress, he still wanted to be certain.

"Yueya, may I discuss something with you?" Meng Wenxuan continued.

Jiaoyue looked at her father with her large eyes and babbled. If he had something to say, he should just say it. As a newborn, she couldn't do much other than see auras and hear inner thoughts. At that moment, she heard her father’s inner voice: *Sigh, I wonder if this will tire out my precious daughter?*

*What could he be worried would tire me out?* Jiaoyue wondered.

"Yueya, when you are three days old, there will be a 'washing' ceremony. Your grandparents said that aside from the midwife who delivered you, no outsiders will be invited. All our relatives will be there. If you have the energy, could you help your father see if there are any bad people among them?"

Meng Wenxuan was worried about exhausting her, but this was the fastest way to uncover deep-seated spies like Nanny Liu. He and his father had decided to keep the ceremony limited to family for the sake of Yueya’s safety, intending to invite friends only when she reached her one-month milestone. Since only their branch and their parents would be present, along with their trusted attendants and servants, it was the perfect opportunity to weed out any infiltrators.

Jiaoyue immediately let out a soft sound in agreement. It was no problem at all; her current spiritual energy was enough to sustain her for quite a while. Not only could she identify bad people through their auras, but she could also judge them by their inner thoughts. Helping her father find the bad guys was also a way to save herself.

Seeing his daughter agree, Meng Wenxuan sighed, "Yueya, do only what you are capable of. Do not overexert yourself."

***

Jiaoyue babbled again. She was different from ordinary babies; her spiritual power was strong, and she wouldn't be easily worn out.

Jiaoyue was genuinely hungry and stopped after half a bowl. She maintained perfect control—even when hungry, she only ate until eighty percent full, refusing to damage her digestion. In her past life as an orphan, hunger had been a constant companion; she had been on the verge of starvation when her grandfather, Master Meng, saved her. Because of that, once she had the means, she had cherished her health and exchanged many medicinal pills with alchemists to nourish her body. In this life, with the family's wealth, she was even more determined to keep herself in peak condition.

Nurse Zhang looked at the remaining milk, surprised. "The Young Miss truly knows how much she needs. Still, she ate more this morning than last night. It seems she does need a little something at night; look how hungry she was."

Lin Yuntang said with guilt, "It’s all my fault for sleeping so soundly."

Meng Wenxuan quickly reassured her, "You need to eat and rest well to recover your health. This is my responsibility; I will handle feeding Yueya tonight."

Jiaoyue only realized then that newborns typically needed to eat every two hours. *Well, starting tonight, I suppose I’ll have a midnight snack.* She would adapt for a few months, and then she could start eating other things.

Feeling full and comfortable, Jiaoyue remembered she hadn't yet improved the fortune of her parents and grandparents. With a shift of her mind, the white book appeared before her. Before she even opened it, she froze. What was going on?

It wasn't that the book was malfunctioning; it was her spiritual power. She had been cultivating it since her birth yesterday without stopping, and she hadn't intended to stop until she was five. She had been too tired to notice last night, but now, as she prepared to use her power, she realized how much she had accumulated. It was nearly on par with the spiritual power she had possessed in her previous life. Could she have cultivated so much in just one night?

What would her level reach in five years?

The biggest surprise, however, was that her current spiritual power was enough to sustain her for an entire day, provided she didn't engage in anything that required extreme consumption.