Though Xia Zhuyu felt scornful inside, she maintained a neutral expression on her face. Holding Xia Yuhuan’s arm, she spoke in a coquettishly reproachful tone.
“I’ve told you before, sister—this marriage was arranged by your late mother before she passed away. It was always meant to be yours. How could any marriage arranged by your own mother be bad? Would she ever harm you?”
“But you refused to believe me, insisting that I was forcing you into a substitute marriage because I didn’t want to marry him myself. You’ve wronged me terribly!”
Xia Yuhuan felt completely numb as Xia Zhuyu clung to her arm with false affection.
How could such a hypocritical, scheming creature like Xia Zhuyu become the female lead in the original novel? The original story was utterly ridiculous!
Unaware of Xia Yuhuan’s thoughts, Xia Zhuyu continued her sweetly poisonous chatter, lacing her words with probes to discover what Xia Yuhuan had done at the Chi family’s home today.
Of course, Xia Yuhuan wouldn’t tell her. Instead of responding, she asked again about the man they’d encountered earlier—which family compound he belonged to and what his name was.
Naturally, Xia Zhuyu wouldn’t reveal that information either. So the two engaged in a dance of evasion, each skillfully dodging the other’s questions.
“Zhuzhu, you’re back! You…” Li Rouyue’s delighted voice trailed off the moment she spotted Xia Yuhuan.
She was clearly surprised to see them return together. Forcing a smile, she said, “Yuhuan’s back too.”
“Mm.” Xia Yuhuan responded indifferently, then went straight to her room in plain view of the mother and daughter.
Seeing this, Li Rouyue pulled Xia Zhuyu into her own room.
Neither noticed that after entering her room briefly, Xia Yuhuan slipped back out and quietly crept up to Xia Zhuyu’s door.
That’s right—Xia Yuhuan intended to eavesdrop.
Initially, she didn’t hold high expectations, merely hoping to catch a few words by chance.
But when she pressed her ear against the door and focused intently, the voices inside came through clearly.
“Weren’t you meeting Gangzi? Why did you return with her?” Li Rouyue asked.
Xia Zhuyu complained angrily, “Don’t even mention it! That useless Gangzi—I specifically asked him to help me retrieve that item. Not only did he fail, he nearly exposed me! Absolutely incompetent!”
After hearing the full story of how Xia Zhuyu encountered Xia Yuhuan, Li Rouyue frowned. “That jade pendant may be decent quality, but it’s nothing extraordinary. Why were you so desperate to get it back?”
“Now you’ve alerted the enemy—Xia Yuhuan will definitely suspect us.”
“I can’t explain it either,” Xia Zhuyu whispered. “But Mom, I just have this feeling… that jade pendant should belong to me. It’s mine, and I can’t let Xia Yuhuan take it.”
Li Rouyue said, “Xia Yuhuan is taking your place to marry Chi Yanzhou now. Your father won’t touch her until the marriage is successfully completed. Don’t act recklessly—once everything’s settled, you can deal with her however you want.”
“I know, Mom. After today’s failure, I won’t make any moves before she marries into the Chi family.”
“But Mom, I’m worried—if Xia Yuhuan really marries into the Chi family and gains their protection, will I still be able to touch her?” Xia Zhuyu voiced her concern.
“Hah! She’s just a cheap substitute married off to bring luck to a sick man. Do you really think she’ll become the young madam of the Chi family? Don’t be naive!” Li Rouyue’s face was full of contempt.
“The Chi family is now so desperate they’re trying any remedy, even believing in things like a wedding to ward off bad luck. That’s why they’re in such a hurry to get Chi Yanzhou married.”
“If Xia Yuhuan marries into the family and Chi Yanzhou doesn’t wake up, she’ll be completely useless to the Chi family. Who knows how they’ll look down on her then? Just rest assured, the Chi family won’t treat her well—she won’t have good days ahead.”
Xia Zhuyu nodded gently upon hearing this. “You’re right, Mom. I’ll just tolerate her for a couple more days. After she’s married off, I’ll find a way to deal with her.”
“Mm, don’t mind her for now. Let me talk to you about finding you a match,” said Li Rouyue.
“Mom, what match? I’m not in a hurry, I…” Xia Zhuyu immediately objected.
Li Rouyue wasn’t surprised by her reaction and simply said, “His name is Chi Zhenghao, Chi Yanzhou’s cousin. Besides Chi Yanzhou, he’s the most outstanding young talent in the Chi family.”
“With Chi Yanzhou unconscious after the incident, Chi Zhenghao is the most likely to become the Chi family’s heir.”
Xia Zhuyu’s heart instantly raced with excitement.
“Then… then I’ll listen to you, Mom. I’ll just meet him for a look.”
Though no one else was around, Xia Zhuyu’s voice carried a hint of shyness.
If she could marry Chi Zhenghao, she and Xia Yuhuan would become sisters-in-law.
By then, her husband would inherit the Chi family, with boundless prospects and endless glory, while Xia Yuhuan would be stuck guarding a vegetative man, living as a grass widow. Just the thought made Xia Zhuyu secretly gleeful.
She was determined to trample Xia Yuhuan underfoot, ensuring she could never rise again.
Xia Zhuyu didn’t know why she held such strong hostility toward Xia Yuhuan, but she had an unwavering feeling that she must never let Xia Yuhuan thrive.
Xia Yuhuan, hearing that the conversation in the room had turned to idle chatter with no useful information, decided to stop eavesdropping and returned to her room.
Back in her room, Xia Yuhuan raised her hand to touch her ear.
“Has my hearing become sharper, or is the soundproofing in this house just terrible? It felt like I was listening live, with no sense of obstruction,” Xia Yuhuan muttered softly.
Unable to figure it out, she set the thought aside for the time being.
“Let me check out my dimension.” Xia Yuhuan’s eyes lit up as she quickly immersed her consciousness into the dimension.
The scene before her shifted, and Xia Yuhuan found herself inside the dimension.
The dimension didn’t look very large, roughly the size of three standard basketball courts.
In one corner was a pool of water, next to which stood a dilapidated wooden house.
The house was too shabby for Xia Yuhuan’s liking, and she had no idea what use it served.
“Could this be the standard Spiritual Spring Water that comes with a dimension?” Xia Yuhuan’s eyes sparkled as she murmured to herself.
She crouched down, scooped up a handful of water, and drank it.
The spring water tasted sweet and refreshing.
She drank two more handfuls and could clearly feel her spirits lifting.
It seemed the spring water had an invigorating effect.
As for whether it had other benefits, she’d have to test it out later to determine.
Xia Yuhuan stood up, gazing at the vast stretch of barren land, and couldn’t help but mutter.
“Such a large empty space shouldn’t go to waste. I need to clear it and plant things—grains, vegetables, melons, and fruits. I’ll be self-sufficient for sure.”
“I can also grow some Medicine. With more varieties, I won’t have to worry about being without Medicine even when I’m away from home.”
“I also need to figure out how to build a laboratory for studying medicinal herbs inside the dimension. Medical experiments and pharmaceutical research must be resumed and not neglected.”
Xia Yuhuan muttered to herself, listing out all the tasks she needed to accomplish in the future.
Afterward, Xia Yuhuan went inside the dilapidated house and looked around.
Unfortunately, the rundown house was completely empty with nothing inside. Xia Yuhuan couldn’t discern anything from it and had to give up.
Just as Xia Yuhuan finished inspecting the dimension and returned to her room, she heard knocking at the door.