Chapter 74 Reminder

Chapter 74 Reminder

Xin You's serious expression made Zhou Ningyue increasingly worried. "Sister Kou, what’s wrong?"

"The words I want to say, Sister Zhou, might seem strange to you—"

"Sister Kou, go ahead and say it." Zhou Ningyue's worry turned into curiosity.

She had traveled from south to north, covering thousands of miles. What could be so strange?

"I can actually read faces."

Zhou Ningyue's expression froze for a moment.

Read faces? Read faces?

It was indeed strange that a girl around her age like Sister Kou could read faces.

Xin You noticed Zhou Ningyue's reaction and became even more serious. "Didn't Auntie encounter a fire mishap recently?"

Zhou Ningyue's eyes widened as she blurted out, "How did Sister Kou know?"

Her first thought was that Ji Cailan had told Xin You, but then she quickly remembered that her mother had not mentioned the burn on her hand to her cousin that night.

Xin You smiled slightly, her serious expression softening. "Didn’t I just tell Sister Zhou that I can read faces?"

Zhou Ningyue remained in shock, momentarily forgetting how to react.

Xin You changed her tone. "But the fire mishap Auntie encountered wasn’t severe, was it?"

"Yes," Zhou Ningyue nodded subconsciously.

"It must have been a minor burn."

Zhou Ningyue nodded vigorously. "Yes!"

"The reason I looked grave after seeing Auntie wasn’t because of the fire mishap, but—"

"But what?" By now, Zhou Ningyue fully believed Xin You’s words, her voice tinged with unperceived tension.

"I observed Auntie’s face, and there is a blood disaster imminent."

"What?" Zhou Ningyue stood up.

Ji Cailan happened to walk in and was surprised by the scene. "What happened?"

Did they have an argument?

Zhou Ningyue grabbed Xin You's wrist. "Cousin, please sit down; I need to talk to Sister Kou in the latrine."

Ji Cailan sat down, watching the two leave with a sigh.

Did my cousin and Sister Kou already become close enough to go to the latrine together?

The latrine behind the house was a small separate building. Zhou Ningyue led Xin You to stand far away from it and asked urgently, "Sister Kou, what do you mean when you say my mother will have a blood disaster?"

"It means exactly what it sounds like. If precautions aren’t taken, there will be bleeding."

"What should we do?"

Xin You fell silent.

"Sister Kou, please tell me." Zhou Ningyue’s eyes welled up with tears.

"I need to talk to Auntie, but I’m afraid she might think it’s nonsense and might not even want to be friends with us anymore."

"That won’t happen; my mother is very kind." Zhou Ningyue thought for a moment. "I’ll talk to her first."

Xin You returned to accompany Ji Cailan while Zhou Ningyue went to see her mother in the main room.

"Why aren’t you with your friend?" Seeing her daughter enter, Zhou Ningyue's mother asked with a smile.

Zhou Ningyue moved closer, holding her mother’s arm. "Mother, did you know that Sister Kou understands physiognomy?"

"Physiognomy?" Her mother laughed. "I remember a few years ago, after reading a storybook, you said you suddenly knew how to interpret dreams."

"Mother!" Zhou Ningyue gave her mother a playful glare. "That was just me being silly. Sister Kou has real skills. She saw that you were burned a few days ago just by looking at you."

"Really?" Her mother stopped laughing, her expression becoming subtle.

"How could that be false? You didn’t even tell Auntie about the burn on your hand. How could Sister Kou know if she didn’t understand physiognomy?"

"Then why did you come to me?" Unlike her daughter’s simplicity, her mother immediately understood that Zhou Ningyue had another reason for coming.

"Sister Kou said you will have a blood disaster soon."

Her mother frowned, pondering for a moment. "Moon, go bring Miss Kou here. You stay with your cousin in the west wing."

"Okay." Zhou Ningyue hadn’t expected her mother to ask to see Xin You without prompting and hurried back to the west wing.

"Cousin, why does Mother want to see Sister Kou?"

Zhou Ningyue feigned innocence. "I don’t know either."

In the east room of the main house, Xin You bowed respectfully to Zhou Ningyue's mother. "Auntie."

Her mother scrutinized the elegant young girl, her gaze filled with curiosity.

"Miss Kou, please take a seat."

Xin You sat down on the embroidered stool with poise.

"I heard from Yue'er that you are proficient in physiognomy."

"I have some knowledge of it."

Seeing Xin You readily admit it, Zhou's mother's eyes delved deeper: "Miss Kou, do you see a disaster involving bloodshed for me?"

Xin You nodded: "Yes, and it is a disaster involving bloodshed that could cost your life. I have a connection with Sister Zhou, and although I know this may be hard to believe, I couldn't bear to see Sister Zhou saddened."

"Could Miss Kou provide more specifics about the type of disaster and how to avoid it?" Zhou's mother spoke gently, her true stance concealed.

Xin You slightly shook her head: "I can only tell that Auntie's disaster will happen soon, but I am not clear on the specifics. However, it is related to someone close to you."

Hearing that it was related to someone close, Zhou's mother's eyes flickered, her expression momentarily peculiar.

Xin You acted as if she hadn't noticed, showing a hesitant look: "As for how to avoid it, you must be extra cautious. Try to avoid arguments with others, and you should be able to evade this calamity."

"Thank you for the reminder, Miss Kou." Zhou's mother smiled her gratitude.

Xin You couldn't discern the other's true thoughts and didn't push further.

She reminded Zhou's mother out of humanity and also didn't want her to die at the hands of Zhou's father, complicating future investigations.

Her real plan was to infiltrate the Zhou residence ahead of the Mid-Autumn Festival. If she could overhear the reason for Zhou's mother and father's argument, it would be even better.

She was certain that the argument leading to Zhou's mother's demise was related to her own mother.

"Miss Kou, go play with Yue'er and the others."

Once Xin You left, Zhou's mother's expression turned serious.

Was her daughter's new friend truly skilled in physiognomy, or did she have ulterior motives?

If what the girl said was true, what kind of disaster involving bloodshed could be related to someone close?

Zhou's mother's thoughts raced, alternating between suspicion of Xin You's intentions and pondering the nature of the disaster. Coupled with days of guilt-induced poor eating and sleep, she grew increasingly agitated, even feeling nauseous.

At noon, Zhou's mother barely ate anything. In the western wing, Zhou Ningyue also had no appetite and rushed to her mother after seeing off Xin You and Ji Cailan.

"Mother, what did Sister Kou tell you?"

"Just to be cautious and avoid arguments with others."

"Is that enough to avoid it?"

Zhou's mother smoothed her daughter's hair, smiling warmly: "Yes, that should be enough, so don't worry unnecessarily."

Zhou Ningyue heaved a huge sigh of relief: "That's good. I was worried you wouldn't listen to Sister Kou."

"Why wouldn't I? Miss Kou meant well." Zhou's mother paused, then subtly instructed her daughter, "Don't mention what Miss Kou said to your father."