Chapter 3: Dismantling the Omen, Unraveling the Scheme

“Mother, was that… the voice of Ningyuan Shen just now?”
Yunhuan Ji’s teeth chattered with fear, and she dared not look back.
Madam Chen clenched her sleeve tightly, her expression tense.
“Y-Yes, you heard right, that was indeed Ningyuan Shen’s voice.”
Not only were the two of them terrified, but the others present also took several steps back, their eyes fixed unwaveringly on the ancestral hall’s center.
Amidst the tense gasps, Madam Chen and Yunhuan Ji hesitantly turned around.
There stood Ningyuan Shen, leaning against the coffin, gazing at them coldly.
Madam Chen and Yunhuan Ji’s pupils contracted sharply, retreating several paces.
“Are you… a human or a ghost?”
Madam Chen pointed at Ningyuan Shen, her voice trembling.
Ningyuan Shen stared intently at Madam Chen, a chilling glint in her eyes.
“Whether human or ghost, mother-in-law, why don’t you come and touch me to find out?”
She reached out her hand, beckoning Madam Chen to come closer.
But Madam Chen dared not approach.
Despite her years, she had never witnessed the dead rising.
“Mother… I… I’m scared…”
Yunhuan Ji was even more nervous than Madam Chen.
She clutched Madam Chen’s sleeve tightly, constantly trying to hide behind her.
Because the wine laced with poison—the deadly crane’s peak toxin—was personally handed to Ningyuan Shen by her.
If Ningyuan Shen truly had turned into a vengeful spirit,
Yunhuan Ji would be the first to be killed!
At this thought, Yunhuan Ji trembled even more.
“Yunhuan, are you sure Ningyuan Shen really drank that poisoned wine?” Madam Chen whispered.
Yunhuan Ji nodded shakily, “I saw her drink it with my own eyes before I left.”
Madam Chen looked at Ningyuan Shen suspiciously, muttering softly, “It shouldn’t be like this. Could it be that the poison wasn’t strong enough and didn’t kill her?”
At that moment, a voice whispered from the crowd, “Could it be that Madam Ji and Miss Ji are mistaken? Maybe Madam Ji isn’t dead at all.”
Immediately, others chimed in, “Yes, how could there be a ghost in broad daylight? It must be a mistake.”
Hearing this, Madam Chen stepped forward tremblingly and reached out to touch Ningyuan Shen.
Feeling the warmth in her palm, Madam Chen was taken aback.
Warmth.
Not a ghost?
Ningyuan Shen hadn’t died?

Returning to Yunhuan Ji’s side, Madam Chen exchanged a glance with her. “Her hand is warm; she’s not dead.”
Yunhuan Ji shook her head, crying, “No, mother, look at how pale Ningyuan Shen’s face is. How could a normal person’s face be this white?”
She had administered the poison herself and had seen Ningyuan Shen drink the wine.
How could she possibly not be dead?
Madam Chen’s eyes searched Ningyuan Shen.
Indeed, Ningyuan Shen’s complexion was pale to the point of being bluish, far from normal.
Ningyuan Shen heard their entire conversation clearly.
Her hatred deepened.
Crane’s peak toxin, a poison that tears through the intestines.
Yunhuan Ji’s poisoning had been brutal.
She had suffered tortures worse than death before finally passing away.
Of course her complexion would be deathly pale!
The onlookers whispered among themselves, pointing fingers at the three.
“The young madam of the Ji family is clearly not dead. How can Madam Ji and Miss Ji claim she is?”
“Yes, and they cried so bitterly, even calling us here…”
Hearing these murmurs, Madam Chen felt uneasy.
Yunhuan Ji was just as unsettled.
She glanced at the broken porcelain bottle on the floor, then timidly looked up at Ningyuan Shen.
“Sister-in-law, are you really not dead?”
Ningyuan Shen withdrew her hand and slowly approached Yunhuan Ji.
“Of course I’m not dead.”
She fixed Yunhuan Ji with a cold, piercing gaze.
“What? Judging by your tone, you seem disappointed that I’m not dead?”
Yunhuan Ji felt guilty, unable to meet Ningyuan Shen’s eyes.
“H-How could that be… Sister-in-law, I’m truly relieved you’re alive. How could I be disappointed?”
She stammered, unwilling to face Ningyuan Shen’s gaze.
Suddenly, Ningyuan Shen’s expression darkened. She raised her hand sharply and slapped Yunhuan Ji across the face.
“Yunhuan Ji, your elder brother just passed, his body barely cold, and you poison me? What kind of heart do you have?”
The unexpected slap sent Yunhuan Ji sprawling to the ground.
Ignoring the pain, she scrambled anxiously toward Ningyuan Shen.
“Sister-in-law, what are you talking about? I have always respected and loved you. How could I poison you?”
Ningyuan Shen crouched down, picked up the bottle from the ground, and held it before Yunhuan Ji.
Slowly and coldly, she said, “If not for the facts staring me in the face, I wouldn’t believe my dear sister-in-law would poison me.”
She intensified her tone, accusing sharply, “Yunhuan Ji! There are gods watching above. Do you swear before heaven that this bottle of poisoned wine was not given to me by you?”

Overcome with rage, Ningyuan Shen crushed the porcelain bottle in her hand into shards.
Some shards flew to the sides, grazing Yunhuan Ji’s eye and cutting her cheek!
“Ah!”
Yunhuan Ji screamed in agony, clutching her face as blood immediately seeped through her fingers.
If the shards had been slightly off, they could have pierced her eyeball!
The suddenness of it all left Madam Chen stunned; by the time she reacted, Yunhuan Ji was bleeding.
Madam Chen raised her hand furiously and struck toward Ningyuan Shen’s face.
“Ningyuan Shen, how dare you hit my daughter!”
Ningyuan Shen’s eyes hardened. As Madam Chen approached, she suddenly grabbed her wrist!
Madam Chen looked at Ningyuan Shen in disbelief. “You… you dare resist!”
Ningyuan Shen sneered, “Mother, you were crying earlier, saying you always treated me like your own daughter. But now, when I accuse Yunhuan Ji of poisoning me, you don’t even show concern and try to strike me with your cane!”
She forcefully shook off Madam Chen’s hand.
“So this is how you ‘treat me like your own daughter’!”
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