Chapter 3: Seizing the Dowry by Force

After finally keeping the fetus safe, Luna Juggins rose and headed back to the courtyard where she had been living, Roc Court. She had barely reached the gate when several household servants stepped in front of her. "The matriarch has given her order," one of them said coldly. "A concubine isn't fit to live in the main courtyard." Luna's expression flickered, but she swallowed it down for the child in her belly. "Then where am I supposed to live?" A middle-aged servant woman came forward. "Concubine Luna, the matriarch has already arranged a place for you. This servant will lead the way." Hearing herself demoted from "madam" to "concubine," Luna felt a bitter sting in her chest. Still, for the sake of the child, she did not regret anything. "Lead on," she said softly. About half an hour later, she was brought to the remote southwest corner of the Southern Marquisate, to a broken little wooden hut surrounded by waist-high weeds. "Concubine Luna, this will be your residence from today on." Without waiting for any response, the servant woman turned and hurried off. Luna stepped closer and pushed the wooden door open. A wave of moldy dust surged out, along with fluttering moths and crawling insects. It hit her throat so hard she covered her nose and coughed. When the dust settled, she looked around. The hut was damp. A few thin beams of sunlight slanted through holes in the roof, and within those shafts, countless motes drifted like ash. In one corner lay several bundles of half-rotted firewood. The floor was slick with moss, with tufts of weeds sprouting through the cracks. It was clearly an abandoned woodshed, left unused for years, and not even one meant for the masters. It was the kind servants used. Faced with such wretched living conditions, tears slid from Luna's eyes before she could stop them. The Juggins family might not have been a lofty house, but they had lived comfortably. She had been doted on by her father and brothers since childhood, raised on fine food and fine clothes, sleeping in bright, spacious rooms. This ruined shed, on the other hand, was beneath even the lowest servants of the Marquis Mansion. Yet she still forced herself inside. She had considered returning to her family to carry the pregnancy in peace, but when she had married into the Southern Marquisate, her natal family had scraped together an enormous dowry, nearly emptying the Juggins family coffers. She could not bear to burden them again. … Time passed. Luna struggled through four hard months in that little wooden hut. No one checked on her. No one even came near. She might as well have been discarded by the world. That day, Pace Zorn woke. He opened the panel and added 853 Bloodline Potential Points to the Ancient Divine Constitution Bloodline. At last, the Ancient Divine Constitution Bloodline ratio climbed past fifty percent. As always, an ancient, weathered scene unfolded in his mind. But this time, it was no towering man. It was a half-clothed orphan, six or seven years old. The orphan carried a grand ambition. He swore to slaughter every ferocious beast, every demon and fiend, every evil spirit, until the Human Race would no longer be oppressed, no longer butchered, no longer treated as food. He was born with Divine Talent strength. A sect took him in like a treasure. Yet after three years of bitter cultivation and the pouring of immense resources into him, he still could not open a single meridian. Without opened meridians, cultivation was impossible. With only physical strength, he could not defeat ferocious beasts, let alone demons and evil spirits. His fellow disciples mocked him. The sect cast him out. But his will was tougher than anything, tougher even than the stubborn meridians within him. Through endless trials and blows, with nothing but Codex of Cosmic Truth, Volume 1, he not only opened his meridians, he opened all of them. One hundred and eight in total, including the most special and Divine Talent ones of all: the Lunar Vein and the Solar Vein. The orphaned youth sat cross-legged on a mountain rock. Slowly, he turned his head and looked straight at Pace. Boom! The scene shattered. Pace Zorn snapped back to himself and opened the panel, a faint understanding rising in his heart. [Name: Pace Zorn] [Age: fetus, seven months] [Cultivation: none] [Bloodline: Ancient Divine Constitution 50.3%, Wind Spirit Constitution 27.6%, Divine River Constitution 8.4%, Mortal Constitution 3.7%, Sixfold Abyssal Vessel 1.2%, …] [Cultivation Technique: Codex of Cosmic Truth, Volume 1 (0/10000)] [Maternal Art: Second Tier of the Void Serene Zephyr Codex (10000/10000)](will disappear after birth) [Divine Skills: Divine Constitution: Heaven and Earth Phenomenon (0/10,000,000), Unassailable Steel Body (0/10,000,000), Blood Rebirth (0/5,000,000), Divine Punishment Eye (0/1,000,000), the giant's pursuit of the solar essence (0/1,000,000), Boundless Divine Power (0/1,000,000)] 〖Divine Constitution: Heaven and Earth Phenomenon: The first Primordial Ancient Divine Constitution created Heaven and Earth Phenomenon, granting the Human Race a physique stronger than all other races. All other Heaven and Earth Phenomenon are weakened, castrated versions. Strength and defense increase by a tenfold exponent according to the user's increase in size. If the body doubles, strength and defense increase tenfold. If the body increases tenfold, strength and defense increase a thousandfold, and so on.〗 〖Unassailable Steel Body: Immune to all evils, immune to all curses, ignores suppression from any aura, phenomenon, or domain. Damage taken from spells and demonic arts is reduced a hundredfold.〗 〖Blood Rebirth: Even if the body is destroyed, as long as a single drop of blood remains, one can be reborn and recover a portion of strength.〗 〖Divine Punishment Eye: Sees heaven and earth as lines on a palm. Nothing can hide. Shatters all illusions. Where the gaze falls, heavenly lightning descends in punishment.〗 〖the giant's pursuit of the solar essence: Shrinks distance into inches, ignoring mountains and rivers, formations and labyrinths, evil spirit domains… and all other obstacles.〗 〖Boundless Divine Power: Divine power flows unending like great rivers. The longer the battle lasts, the stronger the combat power becomes. The heavier the injuries, the more combat power multiplies, up to a maximum tenfold increase.〗 [spells: none] [Martial Techniques: none] [Bloodline Potential Points: 0](automatically gains 10 per day; can also be obtained by drawing from the mother, ends after birth.) [proficiency: 1.19 million](automatically gains 10,000 per day.) Pace's thoughts churned. "Once the bloodline passes fifty percent, I start receiving the inheritance of the first Ancient Divine Constitution's Cultivation Technique." "According to those inherited memories, the Ancient Divine Constitution's body is so strong that meridians become extremely hard to open, and the Primal Sea is extremely hard to carve out. Does that mean I'm going to suffer later?" He paused. "Wait. I'm not even born. Maybe I can open all my meridians while I'm still in the womb. It might be easier." With that decision, he acted at once. Cautious, worried the fetus's body could not endure too much, too complex an insight all at once, he first tried adding 1,000 proficiency points to Codex of Cosmic Truth, Volume 1. In an instant, countless realizations surged through him. He gained a basic grasp of Codex of Cosmic Truth, Volume 1. He understood how to absorb Primordial Energy, understood the locations and functions of the body's 108 meridians, and could begin cultivation. The enlightenment lasted only a few breaths before it ended. Pace felt no fatigue in his Spirit Soul. He could keep going. So he continued adding proficiency points to Codex of Cosmic Truth, Volume 1 until it was fully maxed and completely comprehended. Even then, Pace Juggins did not rush to cultivate. "I'm still too small. My meridians are fragile. They might not withstand the impact of True Energy. I'll start cultivating once I'm eight months along." He pressed down the urge to begin immediately and prepared to actively draw nourishment instead. At that moment, a voice called from outside the hut. "Concubine Luna, the matriarch summons you." Luna climbed off the bed, supported her heavy belly, and opened the door. An old nanny from the matriarch of the Southern Marquisate's side stood outside. "Come with me at once. No delays." The nanny's tone was flat as stone. She turned and walked off quickly. Luna had no choice but to follow, belly thrust forward as she hurried after her. Fortunately, she was a Primal Sea Realm cultivator. An ordinary woman seven months pregnant would never have been able to keep up. After half an hour, Luna stood before the matriarch of the Southern Marquisate. The matriarch sat on a soft couch-chair woven from luan-and-phoenix feathers, her fingers rolling a string of Prayer Beads that glimmered with a faint holy radiance. She glanced at Luna's seven-month belly, disgust flashing in her eyes. Then she looked away, sped up the beads between her fingers, and spoke in a lofty, unquestionable tone. "Mrs. Juggins. Hand over all of your dowry." Luna stiffened. "Mother… why?" A dowry belonged to the woman who brought it into marriage. It was private property. If she refused, even a husband could not force it from her, let alone a mother-in-law. "You still have the nerve to ask why?" The matriarch snorted, her voice sharp with blame. "Because you entered the household first, you've made it so Parker must pay ten times the betrothal gifts to marry a proper wife. The sin you caused is yours to bear!" The Southern Marquisate was wealthy, but its expenses were immense, and there were collateral branches to support. Parker Zorn had already married once before, and that wedding had cost plenty. This time, he planned to marry Gemma Scurr, but her side despised that he was not a first-time groom. They demanded ten times the betrothal money and insisted on a lavish, face-saving spectacle. The Southern Marquisate could not pour too much into Parker's second marriage without stirring resentment within the estate, so the matriarch set her sights on Luna's dowry. It was a staggering sum. Hearing that Parker was taking another wife, Luna's heart sank into a quiet ache. Ever since she had been demoted to concubine and driven into that ruined woodshed in the southwest corner, she had not seen Parker once. And the first news she heard of him afterward was that he was preparing to welcome a so-called proper wife. Inside the womb, Pace heard the matriarch's shameless demand, forcing a daughter-in-law's dowry to fund her son's remarriage. Rage boiled up so hard it nearly scorched his mind. "This is beyond bullying! When I'm born, I'll make you pay, you vicious old hag!" Unfortunately, he could only curse in silence. Luna forced herself steady. On her pale, delicate face, resolve hardened. "I won't hand it over." She could starve herself if she had to, but once the child was born, the child's food, clothing, daily needs, and Cultivation Resources would all depend on that dowry. The matriarch had already made it clear. The Southern Marquisate would not spend a single coin on Luna's child. "How dare you!" The matriarch erupted, stabbing a finger toward Luna as she shouted. "You dare defy me again? The consequences you caused, you will bear. If you won't bear them, then pay the price!" "Guards!" she screamed. "Abort the bastard in her belly!" Several sturdy servant women rushed forward, swarmed Luna, and pinned her in place until she could not move. The matriarch stood and walked up to her, her eyes cold and vicious. "I'll ask you one last time. Will you take responsibility?" "I… I'll hand over the dowry." Tears spilled down Luna's cheeks as she spoke. The matriarch returned to the phoenix-feather couch-chair and gave her order. "Take off her Storage Bracelet." A servant woman yanked the Storage Bracelet from Luna's wrist and presented it. The matriarch took it, extended her Spiritual Sense into the storage space, and began counting. After a long moment, her gaze snapped back to Luna. "Where is the rest of it?" The valuables inside did not match. Roughly two-thirds were missing. "I already gave it to Parker for cultivation," Luna answered. The matriarch did not believe her. "You'd better tell the truth. I'll check the numbers with Parker." "Go ahead and ask him," Luna said, grief and fury trembling in her voice. Back then, only days after marrying Parker, she had willingly handed over two-thirds of her dowry to support his cultivation. With that support, his cultivation had advanced even faster, and he had leapt into fame as the southern frontier's number one prodigy, squeezing into the ranks of the Celestial Empire's top talents. The matriarch stared at Luna for a long while. Only after she was certain Luna had not lied did she say, "Release her." Even if she had only taken one-third, it was more than enough to fund Parker's wedding to Gemma Scurr. The dowry truly was rich. The servant women let Luna go. Luna wiped her tears with her sleeve and turned to leave. Pace sensed everything, burning with the urge to be born immediately and demand justice for his mother. Luna did not return to the little wooden hut. She left the Southern Marquisate outright. With the Storage Bracelet stolen by the matriarch, she not only lost her dowry, she did not even have a single coin to her name. Left with no choice, she returned to her natal home to carry the pregnancy. Fortunately, Juggins Mansion and the Southern Marquisate were both in White Emperor City. Otherwise, even getting home would have been difficult. Luna sold a piece of jewelry, used the money to hire a carriage, and rode back to Juggins Mansion. With a seven-month belly, she could not travel far on foot. When she arrived, her father and brothers finally learned what had happened to her. The Juggins family had tried to send people to the Southern Marquisate to visit her before, but they had been blocked at the gates every time. They could not even pass along a message. Her father and brothers were furious and immediately wanted to storm the Southern Marquisate to demand an explanation, but Luna begged them to stop. All she wanted was to carry the child safely and give birth. At seven months, the fetus could not endure turmoil. Helpless, the household swallowed their rage. Luna's two older brothers faced the direction of the Southern Marquisate and cursed through clenched teeth. "That Zhao bastard is a wolf with a human face. He repaid kindness with betrayal. My sister gave him most of her dowry to support his cultivation!" "When he married her, he knew her cultivation wasn't high. Yet he demanded she reach the Third Realm before he'd even allow her to have a child!" "By the time she cultivates to the Third Realm, she'll be decades older. How would she still be able to bear children?" "And that matriarch of the Southern Marquisate, robbing her own daughter-in-law's dowry to fund her son's remarriage. Shameless beyond words!"