Her Filial Piety Moves Her, I Want a Daughter (2)

"Miss, your... your poem..." The old man frowned awkwardly. Why is it so tacky? Not even a bit rhyming.

Ivy Shen raised an eyebrow and stepped forward. "What's wrong with it? Is there something off about my lines? I made this poem out of real life, you know! Look, spring's here, the mosquitoes are waking up, so at night, isn't everyone just slapping themselves, uh...?"

"Well, that's true, but the lines themselves are just..."

"Miss, how could you present a poem like that?" Zhang San, who just competed, tilted his head up with disdain, as if he thought he was hot stuff.

"Exactly, exactly!" Someone below immediately chimed in, and soon, all sorts of disgruntled voices joined the contest.

Ivy Shen smiled slightly as she watched the crowd compete, each person showing off their best skills and talking like they really knew their stuff.

Just then, Ivy Shen suddenly spotted a little girl in the crowd. She looked about seven or eight, dressed in ragged clothes, staring unblinkingly at the Snow Lotus. Her small, dirty hands were nervously clasped together, looking very worried.

Liam Willow, sharp-eyed, noticed the little girl and gently took her hand, leading her aside. He squatted down and asked, "Little one, what are you doing here?"

"Big brother..." The little girl looked at Liam Willow, a bit scared, quickly pulling back her small, dirty hands.

"What's up, Liam?" Eli Crane walked over too, squatting down to look at the little girl. "What's going on? Hey, little one, why are you here all alone? Why are you wearing so little—aren't you cold?" As he spoke, Eli Crane picked up her little hands and rubbed them in his own, hoping to warm her up.

"Little Seven!" Caleb Miles also wandered over, curious. "Whoa, why are you wearing so little?"

"I'm not cold." The little girl looked at them with big eyes, her nose red from the chill but her face full of determination.

Ivy Shen came over, lowered her head, and asked the resolute little girl, "You want that Snow Lotus, don't you?"

At these words, the little girl trembled all over, then looked at Ivy Shen in shock. After a moment, she nodded. "My mom is sick. I heard that thing can cure anything. I want my mom to get better!"

"But you have to win the contest to get it. Can you win?" Ivy Shen asked her calmly.

The little girl shook her head sadly. But the next second, she suddenly looked up at Ivy Shen. "I'm willing to sell myself. I know I'm probably not worth much, not as important as the Snow Lotus. But if I can save my mom, I'm willing to be a servant for life to repay whoever helps me." Her small eyes were full of spirit and determination.

The followers—Adrian Night, Lucian Vane, Ethan Chu, and Butterfly Rogue—were all stunned. This girl's expression and resolve were just like Xin'er.

"Why though? Don't you think if your mom's really that sick, just relying on this thing won't cure her? What if you give it to her and a few days later she's gone—wouldn't that be a huge loss? You'd end up a lifelong servant, or worse."

"I'm not afraid!" The little girl looked up at Ivy Shen. "As long as there's even a sliver of hope, I'm willing to try. I'm saving my mom, not a stranger. I'm her child—it's my job to take care of her." She was totally determined.

"Even if it means selling yourself?"

"Yeah, sell myself."

Seeing this, Ivy Shen smiled gently, squatted down, and took her hand. "Let me tell you, nothing is worth more than you. If you want that thing, you have to work hard, but you don't have to sell yourself—you're priceless. If you left, how sad would your mom be?"

Hearing that, Sprout looked up at Ivy Shen, stunned. She hadn't thought that far—she just wanted her mom to get better.

"From now on, big sis wants you to remember—if you really want something, you can get it. But you also have to remember, nothing is more important than yourself, got it?" Ivy Shen took her hand and led her to the stage, while the seven husbands smiled gently at the scene.

"What's your name?"

"Sprout."

"Sprout, how did you get up here? Get down now, this is a contest!" The village chief grandpa spotted her and hurriedly scolded.

"Village Chief Grandpa..." Sprout looked a bit evasive, but then suddenly said, "Village Chief Grandpa, I want that Snow Lotus. I want to give it to my mom."

At that, everyone burst out laughing, sarcasm everywhere. "Little girl, you're dreaming! How could something so precious just be given to you?"

"Exactly! Sprout, get down. Your mom's illness can't be cured—stop dreaming."

"No! My mom will get better as long as she eats the Snow Lotus!" Sprout suddenly shouted at the crowd, her eyes red.

"That kid's being silly again," everyone muttered.

"My mom only collapsed because she kept working for me. I know she's not really sick, just too tired. Dr. Marcus Meng said it's just poor nutrition, and the Snow Lotus is a super tonic. If she eats it, she'll definitely get better! I want my mom to get well—I want her to live!" Sprout said with fierce determination.

The crowd started muttering again, all looking pretty disdainful.

"Alright, Sprout, get down now," the village chief said, a bit annoyed. He couldn't let her mess around up here!

"She's with me. I brought her to compete—what's the problem?" Ivy Shen looked at the old man, expressionless.

"Ha, you? Please. With those so-called poems of yours..." Zhang San smirked, thinking she'd be too ashamed to stay on stage. Who knew she'd have the guts to come up again—talk about asking for humiliation!

"Emerald leaves dress the tall tree, a thousand strands hang down like green silk. Who snipped those fine leaves? The spring wind in February, sharp as scissors." Ivy Shen cut him off and started reciting poetry.

"Orioles sing for miles, greenery reflects the river; village flags flutter in the breeze. Four hundred eighty temples in the Southern Dynasties—how many towers and pavilions are shrouded in mist and rain?"

"Swallow grass is like green silk, Qin mulberry bows low with green branches. When you long to return, it's when I'm heartsick. The spring wind doesn't know me—why does it slip into my bed?"

This chapter isn't over yet~ Keep going to the next page for more awesome stuff!

Everyone's breathing got faster and faster. The noisy crowd grew quieter with every line of Ivy Shen's poetry. The village chief's face was ridiculously dramatic, and the two scholars looked like their jaws might hit the floor. Poetry like that—how could she just whip it out off the top of her head?

At that moment, Ivy Shen paused, curled her lips into a little smile, and repeated the first poem: 'Spring sleep knows no dawn, everywhere I hear birds cry; Last night came wind and rain, how many petals fell?'

Right now, nobody knew what to say. Turns out, what used to sound so plain and boring suddenly became pure magic when she tweaked it.

*Clap clap clap!* The village chief was so hyped he started clapping like crazy. The two scholars actually jumped to their feet, their faces lit up like they'd just struck gold.

'Sis...' Little Sprout didn't get what her sister's poem meant, but seeing everyone looking so amazed, she knew her big sis was awesome.

'Qingyan, what do you think of my wife's poetry?' Butterfly Rogue didn't get it either, but seeing Liam Willow's eyes go wide and his jaw drop, he couldn't help but ask.

'Whoa, this... My wife is seriously incredible!' Liam Willow was buzzing inside. He could write poetry too, but he'd never guessed his wife's lines would be this good.

Feeling Liam Willow's starstruck gaze, Ivy Shen turned her head and stuck out her tongue, a little embarrassed. 'Bunny, quit looking at me like that! I already told you, I stole someone else's poem, okay? Don't worship me so much—you're making me nervous!'

'Miss, miss!' The village chief got so worked up he reached out with both hands.

'Let go!' Butterfly Rogue sprang up, smacked the old man's hands away, and instantly shielded Ivy Shen behind him.

'Young master, you...'

'If you have something to say, just spit it out.' Butterfly Rogue was clearly not amused.

Ivy Shen just smiled and stayed quiet. That's Little Flower for you—he's super jealous.

'Miss, you, you...' The village chief was so excited he couldn't even finish his sentence.

'I win.' Ivy Shen raised an eyebrow.

The old man nodded like crazy, hurried over to the box, carefully fished out the Snow Lotus, and handed it to her. 'Snow Lotus.'

Ivy Shen flashed a smile. 'Thanks!' Then she grabbed Little Sprout's hand and hopped off the stage.

'Miss, miss...' The old man wanted to say more, but Ivy Shen was already heading out the door.

An hour later, everyone was back on horseback. Earlier, Ivy Shen had asked Lucian Vane to treat Little Sprout's mom. Honestly, she wasn't sick—just hadn't eaten well—so Ivy left them a bunch of silver. She's not usually the meddling type, but that little girl really tugged at her heart.

'Xin'er, what's on your mind?' Everyone watched Ivy Shen, who hadn't said a word and just kept quiet.

Hearing that, Ivy Shen looked up at them, all serious. 'Let's go—let's hurry to Mount Hua. No time to waste.'

'Huh?' The seven husbands froze. Did she just have a sudden epiphany?

'I wanna solve Sister Xiyan's problem quick, 'cause we've got something way more important to do—I'm gonna have a daughter!' Yeah, sons are cool and all, but daughters are the real MVPs. I want a little cotton-padded jacket, just like Little Sprout.

The seven husbands all grinned and shouted together, 'We've been waiting for you to say that!'