"Ah Zhao! Ah Zhao!"
The sound of several voices woke Zhao Zhao. She opened her sleepy eyes and rubbed them vigorously. A well-dressed woman, wrapped in a headscarf, hurried into the room, pulling Zhao Zhao out of bed and fussing over her cold hands.
"You, child, why don't you listen? Instead of sleeping in the warm room with the charcoal heater, you sneak off to the side room and nearly freeze yourself!" Lady Li scolded, both worried and upset, quickly instructing the servants to light the floor dragon here as well.
"It's fine, Mother," Zhao Zhao yawned, her voice soft and childlike, typical of a girl of thirteen or fourteen.
Seeing her daughter like this, Lady Li couldn't bring herself to continue scolding her. Instead, she gently wrapped a robe around Zhao Zhao, her eyes misty with emotion. She and her husband were from branches of a family of cultivators but lacked spiritual veins. They had started from nothing, building a restaurant business, and were older when they finally had a child-whom they saw as a gift from the heavens fourteen years ago.
On that day, she and her husband knelt before the family shrine, tearfully pleading with the gods. Suddenly, they heard the wind and saw a tall woman in green appear before them, with another figure in red standing behind her. The woman's features were hidden in shadows, but her ethereal beauty was unmistakable. She spoke softly, asking if they would still want the child if she were missing parts of her soul. Desperate for a child, Lady Li agreed immediately, and the woman handed her a small paper packet. A stream of light flowed into Lady Li's body.
Afterward, the woman took the red-clad figure's hand and floated away, leaving only a parting remark: "Her name is Zhao Zhao."
Only then did Lady Li and her husband realize they had encountered a legendary goddess. They bowed in gratitude. Zhao Zhao was different from other children. Though missing parts of her soul, she was not foolish, just somewhat slow and behaved in unusual ways. Despite miraculously having a spiritual vein, she couldn't even reach the stage of Qi Refinement and learned no magical arts. Yet, she was adorable, with eyes like apricots, fair skin, a nose like jade, and lips like ripe berries. Her smile revealed dimples, making Lady Li dote on her even more, often spoiling her but rarely letting her leave the house.
"Are you still sleepy? Shall I have someone carry you back to bed?" Lady Li asked gently.
Zhao Zhao shook her head, her smile turning her eyes into slits. "I'm hungry, Mother."
"Breakfast is ready. Let's eat," Lady Li said, helping Zhao Zhao up and walking with her down the hallway arm in arm.
"Your father and I have arranged for a teacher to arrive today. They're a young disciple from the Wuhui Sect, very skilled in cultivation. You must learn well," Lady Li advised patiently.
Zhao Zhao, ever obedient to her parents, agreed with a smile. Lady Li nodded in satisfaction, cherishing Zhao Zhao's compliance. She knew Zhao Zhao's challenges in cultivation due to her unique circumstances, and as she and her husband grew older, she worried about Zhao Zhao facing the world alone. Lady Li hoped Zhao Zhao could join the Wuhui Sect, but her daughter's lack of cultivation skills made this seem an impossible dream.
They had sought cultivators to accept Zhao Zhao as a disciple, but years passed with no success. Now, finally, someone had agreed to guide her, offering Lady Li some peace of mind.
"Madam, Master requests your presence at the restaurant. There's a troublesome guest," a maid hurriedly reported from the hallway.
Lady Li sighed, cursing under her breath, and instructed the maid to escort Zhao Zhao back to her room before rushing off to handle the matter.
YOU ARE READING
Transmigrated into a Waste Who Married the Villain.
Fantasy(MTL)#2 Luo Jinxiāo had just been hailed as a genius in the cultivation world when she lost her life in a battle against the Demon Sect. When she woke up, she found herself two thousand years in the past, lying next to the Demon Empress who had caus...
