"Something is fundamentally wrong with that girl," Han Yunru muttered, her voice dropping to a low, predatory hum.
She had felt the shift in the atmosphere herself, the air around Bai Xifeng was no longer thick with desperation, but with a cold, sharp clarity.
"Mother, do you think... could she have been possessed by some malevolent spirit?" Bai Chunhua asked, her brow furrowing as she leaned in closer.
The flickering candlelight cast long, distorted shadows across her face.
"What?" Han Yunru gasped, genuinely startled by the suggestion. "Possession?"
"Think about it, Mother," Chunhua pressed, her voice urgent. "How else could a useless, crippled trash like her suddenly overpower Huiling? Huiling is at the eighth level of the Qi Gathering stage! It is physically impossible for a non-cultivator to beat her unless she is using some dark, forbidden force."
Han Yunru fell into a heavy, contemplative silence. The theory made a twisted kind of sense. A girl who had been a doormat for sixteen years doesn't just wake up one day with the heart of a lion, unless something else is wearing her skin. Her eyes narrowed as she envisioned a way to turn this "superstition" into a lethal weapon.
"Chunhua," Han Yunru said, a slow, ugly sneer curling her lips. "I want you to discreetly ensure that a rumor begins to circulate through the capital. I want every servant, merchant, and noble to hear that the Third Miss of the Bai family has been possessed by a demonic entity."
"Huh? Mother, what is the plan?" Bai Chunhua asked, her eyes lighting up with curiosity.
"To break her, we need a justification," Han Yunru explained with a cold, calculated smile. "If we simply move against her now, the public, and perhaps even the Great General might see it as mere bullying. But if she is 'possessed,' we are not hurting her; we are cleansing her. Once the rumors have reached a fever pitch, I will convince the Old Madam to summon a high priest. I'll ensure the man is well-compensated to give that bitch a 'cleansing ritual' she won't survive."
"That is brilliant, Mother!" Bai Chunhua let out a sharp, jagged laugh. "Don't you worry. I'll make sure she becomes the most famous 'demon' in the empire by morning."
"And how is Huiling?" Bai Chunhua added, her tone shifting to a superficial concern for her younger sister. "Is she recovering?"
"She will live. The physician says they are merely flesh wounds, but it breaks my heart to see her confined to her bed," Han Yunru sighed, her hand clutching at her chest as if she were the one in pain.
"Rest easy, Mother. We will make that wretch pay for every drop of Huiling's blood," Chunhua comforted her, though her mind was already busy drafting the rumors.
"Enough of that for now. Tell me, how is your progress with His Highness the Crown Prince?" Han Yunru asked, her eyes sparkling with ambition.
Bai Chunhua's cheeks flushed a deep, rosy pink. "Mother... please..."
"Nonsense! I know His Highness the Crown Prince is smitten. My daughter is a rare jewel, beautiful, talented, and poised. Any man who doesn't fall at your feet is a blind idiot," Han Yunru declared, her pride in her daughter being the only genuine emotion she seemed capable of.
"Mother, stop! People might hear you," Bai Chunhua demurely chided, though she preened under the praise, her heart fluttering at the thought of the Empress's crown.
While the villains plotted behind silk curtains, a small, frantic figure was moving through the shadows of the Bai Mansion.
Xiao Li ducked behind a stone pillar, her heart hammering against her ribs like a trapped bird. She waited for the gate guards to turn their attention toward a passing carriage before darting out into the bustling street. She had managed to slip away unnoticed, but the weight of her mission felt like a mountain on her shoulders.
The task her Young Miss had entrusted to her was of the utmost importance. Bai Xifeng had given her a list of items—herbs and materials that sounded strange and dangerous. 'I have to find them,' Xiao Li told herself, her hands trembling as she clutched a small pouch of coins. 'If I fail, the Young Miss might truly lose her life this time.' With a determined breath, the small maid disappeared into the crowded marketplace, unaware that the wheels of a demonic conspiracy were already turning behind her.
***This novel is a contracted work with w e b n o v e l. c o m. If you do not read this novel on w e b n o v e l. c o m, that means it has been stolen. It breaks my heart when someone steals my hard work. Can you consider reading it on the original website for those who read my novel on another website besides w e b n o v e l .c o m, as your support to me? Thank you, from, your shameless author, ZerahNeko***
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