Not a golden spoon, not a silver spoon, but a poison spoon.
The Sichuan Tang Clan was notoriously reclusive, but their blood ties ran incredibly deep.
They repaid favors twofold and grudges tenfold.
Because of this, martial artists generally avoided crossing the Sichuan Tang Clan at all costs.
However…
Is this kid really from the main branch?
Soye scanned the room.
Worn-down ceiling.
Elegant, yet outdated furniture.
To top it off, not a single maid stood watch over the sickbed of a child who had just collapsed from a fever.
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 tripped over her own feet just 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 third-rate at best.
And her name, Sa Gong-hui, 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.
Gong-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, now 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.
"Poison?"
I thought I was dying of a fever, but it was poison? Don't tell me… did this child get caught up in a 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.
Gong-hui sniffled.
Having absolutely no talent for comforting anyone, let alone a crying adult, Soye quickly changed the subject.
"Then what about Mommy? Where is Dada?"
Oops.
Before she realized it, her pronunciation 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.
Yet, Soye had no reason to feel shaken.
In her past life, she hadn't had parents either.
So there was no reason to suddenly feel hurt about her absence.
At least I actually know who my parents are in this life. That's a step up.
The nanny had tried her best to sugarcoat it.
Unfortunately for the nanny, the soul inside this tiny body was armed with the intellect of an adult.
"And as for your father…"
After a brief pause, Gong-hui gently uncurled Soye's tiny fingers, one by one.
"If you sleep ten nights, ten times just like this, he will come to see you."
Her reassuring touch felt 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 forget entirely.
Still, the story about her father was at least more specific than the one about her mother. He was likely alive.
"Aa…"
Soye's lips twitched, unable to smile or cry.
A child whose mother had passed away and whose father had abandoned her.
It was a poison spoon, all right, but this felt more like dangling from a rotten, venomous rope.
She smiled brightly.
"I hope a hundred nights pass quickly!"
* * *
Having finally calmed down, the nanny stood up to prepare dinner.
"You should be able to stomach some rice gruel, right?"
She was visibly thrilled that her young lady had recovered.
Left alone, Soye sat cross-legged and closed her eyes.
First things first. I need to check my body's condition.
The nanny said Soye had collapsed after ingesting poison.
Ingesting poison at such a young age was bound to leave lasting damage.
Wait, I'm… in perfect 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 me.
As Soye casually checked her dantian, her eyes shot wide open.
No way.
The dark, sticky energy that used to lurk in her lower abdomen had vanished without a trace.
Instead, pure, unadulterated energy had gathered in its place.
This body hasn't touched demonic arts!
Soye sprang up from her bed.
She hadn't just gotten younger.
She had truly been reborn.
…I can learn proper martial arts now.
Soye despised demonic arts and sorcery.
She had been forced to learn them in her past life, suffering from their gruesome side effects until the very end.
Besides, I don't know of any sorcery that suddenly makes you younger. And even if I did, it wouldn't magically get me 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, leaving her more than a little 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, her grand plan immediately hit an unexpected roadblock.
Meals.
"So hungwy…"
A translucent liquid dripped from her spoon back into the bowl.
It was thin rice gruel. Again.
She knew it was easier on the stomach, but it never kept her full for long.
The doctor who visited recently said they should monitor her condition for a bit longer.
But Soye felt completely fine.
No matter how I look at it, he probably prescribed absolute rest because the nanny pressured him.
Although they hadn't known each other long, Gong-hui was extremely overprotective.
Well, the child she was taking care of had literally drunk poison and collapsed, so who can blame her? But this can't go on.
Soye downed the lukewarm gruel in one go and slammed the bowl down.
"Awight. I've decided."
I'm escaping.
She was going to find the kitchen—or literally anywhere else—with some real food.
You have to eat well to grow strong.
"What did you decide?"
The nanny, who had been wiping down the furniture with a dry rag, stood up and approached her.
"N-nuthin."
Soye shook her head vigorously.
"You licked the bowl clean!"
Gong-hui beamed as she collected the dish and utensils.
"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.
Because of that, Gong-hui's gaze held a touch of curiosity.
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, Soye was currently 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, Gong-hui tucked her in.
At the sudden rush of warmth, Soye wiggled her fingers 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 imagined she would be the one on the receiving end.
When Soye squeezed her eyes shut and pretended to sleep, Gong-hui stood up.
As her footsteps faded away, the door slid shut with a soft rattle.
One, two, three…
.
.
.
…forty-four, forty-five.
Done counting, Soye bolted upright in 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, no other maids came in and out of this pavilion besides Gong-hui.
Not only that, but the pavilion itself was incredibly shabby.
Am I really a direct descendant of the Tang Clan?
Though her father was supposedly alive, living in this neglected corner of the Tang Clan village convinced her she was truly abandoned.
I've never robbed my own family before. But I'll make sure to personally collect every single coin of child support later.
Grumbling internally, Soye slipped her pillow under the blanket.
After a bit of shaping, a lumpy mass that looked just like someone sleeping under the covers was complete.
My skills haven't rusted 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 took.
Not that it posed a problem.
A true master thief always 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 courtyard supported by her nanny.
This, too, was an occupational hazard.
Every step of her escape went flawlessly.
However, there was one crucial problem Soye hadn't accounted for.
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