Chapter 162: Inheriting the Dowry

Zhu Xiuxiu’s words were like a clap of thunder, startling everyone.

All eyes instantly fell on Xiaosuisui.

"Sweetheart! Can you really hear people talking from very far away?"

Ji Youcheng stared intently at Xiaosuisui, his eyes shining.

Xiaosuisui blinked at her handsome Third Uncle. "Third Uncle, how far away do you mean?"

It seemed that if she calmed herself and concentrated, just as Eldest Uncle had said, by focusing all her attention on her ears, she could hear sounds from very, very far away.

"For example, try to hear the people in the next courtyard! See if you can hear them!"

Ji Youcheng looked at her expectantly.

"I can!"

Xiaosuisui affirmed without a second thought.

"Impossible. Even I can’t hear what’s happening in the neighboring courtyard. How could you possibly hear it?"

Ji Youcheng was skeptical.

"It’s true!"

The little girl held her chin high. "I already heard what my Godfather Emperor and Seventh Uncle were saying."

Ji Youcheng asked reflexively, "What did they say?"

Xiaosuisui said, mimicking their voices:

"’Has Youzhi investigated the Xie and Lu Families thoroughly?’"

"’Your Majesty, I’ve mostly finished the investigation. Minister Lu has very likely been involved in forming cliques for personal gain these past few years. I am still searching for conclusive evidence. By the way, Your Majesty, why did you suddenly decide to investigate Minister Lu? Did someone submit a report accusing him?’"

Ji Youcheng was dumbfounded.

Grandma Ji’s eyelids twitched violently.

Zhu Xiuxiu quickly stepped out of the room to check if any maids or servants were in the corridor.

Grandma Ji, her expression stern, covered Xiaosuisui’s mouth.

"Sweetheart, don’t listen anymore. We all believe now that you can really hear things from very far away."

Xiaosuisui raised an eyebrow at Ji Youcheng. "Third Uncle, do you believe me now?"

Ji Youcheng swallowed hard and said, "Third Uncle believes you."

"Sweetheart! This ability of yours to hear distant sounds, how do you do it? Or can you just hear things like that anytime?"

Xiaosuisui pouted. Her ability to express herself was still developing, but she said,

"Eldest Uncle taught me. He said to put all my effort into my ears, and that makes them work their best."

Grandma Ji and the others let out a collective sigh of relief.

"Then, Sweetheart, you must remember not to listen to other people’s conversations like this in the future, alright?"

Xiaosuisui looked puzzled. "Why?"

"Because it’s not right. Doing that is like eavesdropping, and that’s not something a good child does. Do you understand?"

Does that mean I wouldn’t be a good child?

The little girl was a bit muddled, but she wanted to be a good child.

"Okay!"

"Good! Our Suisui is such a good girl!"

Grandma Ji gently rubbed the little girl’s head and asked what they had all done around noon.

"Third Uncle took Suisui, Third Aunt, and Second Uncle to see the dowry shops."

Grandma Ji’s eyebrows shot up. "Dowry shops?"

Ji Youcheng chimed in, "It’s the dowry I prepared for Xi’Er back then. She was so stubborn, saying she was worried about burdening her commoner husband. In the end, not only did she bring ruin upon herself, but she also implicated the child, causing them such terrible suffering. Now that she’s gone, I’m giving it all to this little girl. Consider it her inheriting her mother’s dowry!"

Grandma Ji felt heartbroken hearing this. She had Zhu Xiuxiu take the little girl outside to play before she continued speaking.

"I bear some responsibility for Suisui’s situation. Before your sister passed, she begged me to leave the child with the Li Family. She said she hoped that when her husband returned, the child could accompany him in her stead. My heart softened, and I agreed.

"I thought, the Li Family are her closest relatives. In the first few years, her grandma and aunts treated her well. I never expected the Li Family to suddenly harbor such wicked intentions.

"A few days before that incident, I went to see Suisui. The child was timid and didn’t say much to me. I gave her the keepsake that her mother and father had exchanged as a token of their love back then.

"I told her a High Monk had given it to her and that it could keep her safe! But I never imagined that just a few days later, such a terrible thing would happen to the child. If our family weren’t extraordinary, I’m afraid she really would have lost her life."

Grandma Ji had only ever spoken these words to Ji Youyuan before.

The reason she was telling Ji Youcheng now was because, in the family, aside from the eldest, only the third son, Youcheng, possessed such foresight. He could always consider matters from different angles.

Ji Youzhi had learned about Xiaosuisui’s circumstances from Ji Youyuan. As a Divine Hunter, Ji Youzhi was the most capable and experienced when it came to investigations.