【Eh? Mother actually knows already?】
【Ahhh, this is bad! Mother, of all people, you shouldn’t have asked her! What if this alerts the enemy?!】
Chen Wanran could only reply helplessly in her heart: Relax. Your mother knows what she’s doing.
The smile on Kongwu’s lips stiffened for the briefest instant.
Normally, Chen Wanran would never have noticed such a tiny irregularity.
But now, every movement Kongwu made was magnified infinitely in her eyes.
“Please do not worry, Benefactor. Allow this humble nun to divine the matter for you.”
At this moment, Leng Zhu’s back was already drenched in cold sweat.
Closing her eyes, she performed her usual act of divination.
Her affair with Shen Honglang had been hidden with extreme care. Other than Yue’er, no one in the marquis household knew of it. Even Yue’er’s meetings with her had always been conducted cautiously.
There was no way Chen Wanran could have discovered the truth.
Besides, if Chen Wanran truly had found out, she would never have come here asking questions directly.
Which meant…
“Benefactor worries too much.”
“Lord Zhongyong is devoted and deeply affectionate. For many years, he has had only you. I have divined the matter for you already—there is absolutely no such issue. Please do not overthink things.”
“Whoever spread such rumors to your ears must surely be some malicious villain attempting to sow discord between you and the Marquis.”
“You must remain vigilant and beware of those around you.”
Kongwu subtly shifted her gaze and lightly swept her eyes toward Shen Zhiyi.
“Amitabha.”
Hearing this, Chen Wanran relaxed her brows at just the right moment, perfectly displaying the expression of someone whose doubts had finally been dispelled. She let out a gentle sigh of relief.
“After hearing your words, Master, my heart is finally at ease.”
Her smile was warm and sincere, not revealing even the slightest trace of abnormality.
“It was merely a dream I had.”
“My husband and I have lived harmoniously and respectfully together for decades. I know his character well. Such a thing could never happen between us.”
“But after the dream, I could not help feeling uneasy, so I came seeking your interpretation.”
A gust of wind swept through the hall.
The chill against Leng Zhu’s sweat-soaked back made her shiver.
She carefully observed Chen Wanran’s expression before finally relaxing inwardly.
She had gambled correctly.
The beautiful noblewoman before her appeared like a devout believer, fully trusting every word she said, even nodding solemnly.
“I shall remember the Master’s advice and remain vigilant so that no villain may succeed.”
Leng Zhu nodded faintly, her expression full of false compassion.
【Mother, you’re only this little bit away from the truth!】
Shen Zhiyi blinked at the side, utterly speechless inside, practically pounding her chest in frustration.
Still, she understood.
People always said hearing rumors was unreliable while seeing things with one’s own eyes was truth.
Even if she bluntly told her mother everything, without evidence it would be hard to convince anyone.
Not to mention Shen Honglang had maintained his facade for over a decade.
One was the husband she had loved and trusted for many years.
The other was the daughter she had only just recovered after years of separation.
Who was closer and who was more distant—it was obvious at a glance.
If Shen Zhiyi were Chen Wanran, she probably wouldn’t believe it either.
And now that this fraud Leng Zhu was deliberately misleading and redirecting suspicion…
If Shen Zhiyi wanted to wake her mother up, she would need actual proof.
A headache instantly formed.
Ancient times really were inconvenient.
Without modern technology, everything depended on manually staking people out. Investigations became vastly harder, and collecting evidence was especially troublesome.
Even catching someone in the act required extreme caution. Otherwise, by the time everyone rushed over dramatically, the guilty parties would already be long gone.
She needed to properly strategize with the system.
【Sigh. I really have to work hard. I can’t let Mother keep being deceived by that scumbag father anymore!】
Warmth filled Chen Wanran’s heart.
【This Leng Zhu really is a charlatan. She’s way too good at pretending and deceiving people.】
【And what was that glance she just gave me about? Was she trying to vent on behalf of her biological daughter Shen Ruoyue and subtly target me?】
Sure enough, the moment Shen Zhiyi finished thinking this, before Chen Wanran could even speak, Kongwu naturally steered the conversation in that direction.
“This young benefactor looks rather unfamiliar. I don’t believe I’ve seen her in the marquis household before.”
Chen Wanran gently stroked Shen Zhiyi’s long hair, her face full of affection.
“This is my biological daughter, Shen Zhiyi.”
“Due to unfortunate circumstances, she spent many years outside the household and has only recently been found.”
“To be honest, besides the troubling nightmare, another reason I came today was to ask you to offer blessings for this poor child of mine.”
【Dear lord above, this old witch has probably stabbed eight hundred voodoo dolls with my name on them already.】
【Watch her suddenly pull some nonsense during the blessing ritual—maybe faint dramatically and then pin bad luck on me for offending the ‘holy master.’】
【Isn’t that exactly how she ruined so many people before?】
For the first time, Chen Wanran realized that “offering blessings” was actually Leng Zhu’s most effective method for harming others.
She immediately understood the severity of the situation.
Under no circumstances could this woman perform blessings for Zhiyi!
Seeing Leng Zhu’s lips part as though she were about to speak, Chen Wanran hurriedly interrupted:
“Offering blessings is mentally exhausting work. Master has only just returned from her travels and must surely be weary after such hardship. It was my oversight not to consider this properly. I hope Master will forgive me.”
While traveling outside the capital, Leng Zhu had already received secret messages from Shen Ruoyue and Shen Honglang informing her that news of the swapped child had surfaced.
She never imagined Chen Wanran would act so quickly.
Before they had even discussed countermeasures or found ways to obstruct the process, Shen Zhiyi had already been brought back to the marquis household.
Most of the estate had already been quietly consumed by their influence. Chen Wanran’s children also trusted them deeply by now.
As long as they seized the last remnants of power still in Chen Wanran’s hands, the marquis household would completely belong to them.
Only Shen Zhiyi remained the sole variable.
Her return instantly caused Yue’er’s status to plummet.
Worst of all, Chen Wanran protected Shen Zhiyi so fiercely that it nearly disrupted all their plans.
And even worse—
That girl had caused Yue’er to kneel in the ancestral hall for three whole days and nights!
Leng Zhu wished she could eliminate this thorn in her side immediately.
“Amitabha.”
She smiled faintly, her expression compassionate and merciful.
“To pray for the people of this world is the duty of this humble nun. It is no hardship at all.”
【This damned old witch—she really is planning to harm me!】