Not a gold spoon, not a silver spoon, but a poison spoon.
The Sichuan Tang clan was a highly reclusive family, but their blood ties were strong.
They repaid favors twofold and grudges tenfold.
Because of this, martial artists generally avoided crossing the Sichuan Tang clan if they could help it.
However…
Is this kid really from the main branch?
Soye scanned the room.
Worn-down ceiling.
Outdated furniture.
Not a single maid posted by the sickbed of a child who had just collapsed from poison.
Finally, Soye looked at her nanny.
In the central plains, judging someone solely by their appearance was a foolish mistake.
But this was a woman who had nearly tripped over her own feet making eye contact while carrying a tray.
Based on that alone, she was faint-hearted and not particularly agile.
Even if she learned martial arts, she'd be a third-rate at best.
And the name Hui Sagong confirmed she wasn't even a Tang.
So. This kid is treated poorly. Unless the Sichuan Tang clan had collapsed overnight, there was no way they'd assign a nanny like this to a direct descendant.
"I see…"
Turning her head back to the bronze mirror, Soye mumbled to herself.
Hui, who had been watching her closely, brushed a tear from her eye, only to suddenly burst into sobs.
"My poor lady… Whatever will we do?"
"N-Nanny?"
"As if it wasn't enough that the poison from the main house left you unconscious, you've lost your memory too!"
Soye’s eyes widened as she watched her nanny wail about how she never should have left her side.
"Pwoison?"
I thought I was dying because of a fever, but it was poison? Don't tell me… did she get caught up in the clan power struggle?
As Soye's imagination ran wild, the nanny revealed the truth.
"Y-Yes, while you were training."
"Oh."
As expected of the Sichuan Tang clan. To master poison arts, one indeed had to train by consuming poison.
Still. It seems the dosage was more than a child's body could handle.
Hui sniffled.
Having absolutely no talent for comforting crying people, Soye quickly changed the subject.
"Then what about Ma-mmy? Where is Dadda?"
Oops.
Before she realized it, her pronunciation had slurred again.
I need to practice my pronunciation first.
But just then, the sobbing nanny managed to force a pained smile.
"Your mother went far away right after you were born, Lady Soye. She will come to see you later, once you’re as big as me."
Soye immediately understood.
She passed away.
She had no reason to feel shaken.
The original Soye didn't have parents either.
So there was no reason to suddenly feel hurt about not having a mother.
At least I actually know who my parents are in this life. That's something.
The nanny had tried her best to sugarcoat it.
However, the person inside this little body was armed with the intellect of an adult.
"And as for your father…"
After a brief pause, Hui gently uncurled all of Soye's tiny fingers, one by one, and said.
"If you sleep ten nights, ten times just like this, he will come to see you."
The warmth of her hands was lukewarm at best.
What a lie.
Soye knew it instinctively.
To a child who could barely count to ten, a hundred nights was an eternity—long enough to lose count and never even notice.
Still. The story about her father was at least more specific than the one about her mother. He was probably alive.
"Aa…"
Soye's lips twitched, unable to smile or cry.
A child whose mother passed away and whose father abandoned her.
It was a poison spoon alright, but it looked like she was dangling from a rotten, poisonous rope.
She smiled brightly.
"I hope a hundred nights pass quickly!"
* * *
Having finally calmed down, the nanny stood up, saying she would prepare dinner.
"You should be able to stomach some rice gruel, right?"
She was visibly excited that her young lady had recovered.
Left alone, Soye sat cross-legged and closed her eyes.
First things first. I need to check the condition of my body.
The nanny had said Soye fell ill after ingesting poison.
Ingesting poison at such a young age was bound to leave severe lingering effects.
I'm… in good condition?
There was no residual poison left in her body, nor did her meridians seem damaged.
As expected of the Sichuan Tang clan. They had certainly done a thorough job of detoxifying.
As Soye casually checked her dantian, she realized something and her eyes shot wide open.
No way.
The dark, sticky energy that used to lurk in her lower abdomen had vanished like a lie.
Instead, a pure, unadulterated energy had gathered in its place.
This isn't a body that practiced demonic arts!
Soye sprang up from her seat.
She hadn't just grown younger.
She had truly been reborn.
…I can learn proper martial arts now.
Soye despised demonic arts and sorcery.
It was because she had been forced to learn demonic arts and suffered from its side effects for her entire past life.
Besides, I don't know of any sorcery that suddenly makes you younger. And even if I used such a spell, I wouldn't magically get parents from the Sichuan Tang clan.
Is this what they call a blessing in disguise?
It was the first time life had ever worked out in her favor, so she felt a bit bewildered.
Staring blankly into the bronze mirror, Soye examined her chubby cheeks from different angles.
Then, filled with firm resolve, she clenched her tiny fists.
Alright. My first goal is to eat well and grow up strong.
Whether it was training or anything else, she needed to grow a few years older to do it properly.
However, Soye’s goal immediately hit an unexpected roadblock.
"I'm swo hungry…"
A translucent liquid dripped from her spoon back into the bowl.
She was served thin rice gruel again today.
Even though she knew it couldn't be helped for digestion's sake, eating only gruel meant her stomach got hungry way too fast.
The doctor who had visited recently diagnosed that they should observe Soye's prognosis a bit longer.
But Soye felt completely fine.
No matter how I think about it, he probably prescribed absolute rest because the nanny pressured him.
Although they hadn't known each other long, nanny Hui was extremely overprotective.
Well, the child she was taking care of drank poison and collapsed, so who could blame her? But this can’t go on.
Soye downed the lukewarm gruel in one go like water and slammed the bowl down.
"Awight. I've decided."
I’m escaping.
She was going to find the kitchen—or anywhere else—with something to eat.
You gotta eat well to grow well.
"What did you decide?"
The nanny, who had been wiping down the furniture with a dry rag, stood up and approached her.
"N-Nuthing."
Soye vigorously shook her head.
"You licked the bowl clean!"
Hui beamed as she collected the dishes.
"I was always worried because you had such a small appetite… By the way, you aren't asking to go outside today?"
Although she was rejected every time, Soye had been begging to go outside every single day recently.
Because of that, Hui’s gaze held a hint of wonder, if not outright suspicion.
Making a show of it, Soye rubbed her eyes.
"Uunng. Sweepy."
If an adult had done it, it would have looked highly artificial, but thankfully, the current Soye was a small, adorable child.
"Sleep well. You need to eat a lot and sleep a lot to get better quickly."
Looking at Soye with a mix of pity and affection, Hui reached out and tucked her in with a blanket.
At the sudden rush of warmth, Soye wiggled her fingers hidden beneath the blanket.
…It tickles.
Having someone care for her was something she just couldn't get used to.
"Lalala. My sweet young lady."
The nanny hummed a lullaby.
Soye had eavesdropped on lullabies before, crouched on the other side of walls she was about to rob.
She had never once imagined she would be the one on the receiving end.
When Soye squeezed her eyes shut and pretended to sleep, Hui stood up.
As her footsteps faded away, the sound of the door closing echoed.
One, two, three… forty-four, forty-five.
Counting the numbers one by one, Soye suddenly shot up from her bed.
Just in case, she had timed exactly how long it took for the nanny to leave the pavilion.
It was a kind of occupational hazard.
My old habit of checking guard patrol times before doing a job is paying off.
Fortunately or unfortunately, there were no other maids coming in and out of this pavilion besides Hui.
Not only that, but the pavilion was incredibly shabby.
Am I really a direct descendant of the Tang clan?
She deduced her father was alive, yet she lived in the Tang clan village. Soye started thinking she was truly abandoned.
I've never robbed my own family before. But I'll make sure to personally collect every last coin of child support later.
Grumbling a bit internally, Soye slipped her wooden pillow under the blanket.
After messing with the shape a bit, a lumpy mass that looked just like someone sleeping under the covers was complete.
My skills haven't died yet.
She slipped out of the room.
It was the opposite direction of the main gate, but she couldn't take the path the nanny went down.
Not that it posed a problem.
A true master thief carves their own path.
Slipping between the pavilion and the wall, Soye moved forward without hesitation.
This was a route she had mapped out earlier while strolling through the front courtyard supported by her nanny.
This, too, was an occupational hazard.
Every step up to the escape went flawlessly.
However, there was one problem Soye hadn't accounted for.
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