"Miss, something terrible has happened!"

As soon as she entered the courtyard of the Brocade Pavilion, Xiang Wan shouted loudly, her anxiety and fear evident to anyone.

Her commotion attracted the attention of the maids on duty in the courtyard, who all looked at Xiang Wan with curiosity. This most favored maid always put her mistress's affairs above all else. Now that her mistress was perfectly fine in the courtyard, her shouting and yelling was truly strange.

Hao Yuchun had already eaten and was lazily leaning against the chaise longue, slowly sipping a cup of tea. Hao Xuan had taken Hao Lin out; she had been quite bored these past few days, feeling utterly listless and the days dragging on endlessly—a truly unpleasant experience.

Her eyes swept discerningly among the maids, wishing they were all men, so she wouldn't have to go to such lengths to find them and have to be wary of the alluring lady suddenly attacking.

As soon as Xiang Wan's voice rang out, Hao Yuchun's first reaction was to frown. She had forgotten that there was still one person who deserved to die who hadn't been dealt with.

Xiang Wan came in, didn't even glance at the people around her, snatched the cup from Hao Yuchun's hand and put it on the coffee table, then pulled her out, saying, "Miss, hurry, something terrible has happened, it will be too late if we wait any longer."

Everyone thought it was perfectly normal for him to do something out of line, since he and Hao Yuchun usually had a good relationship. Only Hao Yuchun felt like she had swallowed a fly, her heart aching with unease. She had just been thinking about how to get rid of him, and now he had been intimately pulled away so quickly. She wondered if it was too late to break off all ties.

Xiang Wan didn't care about any of that. She dragged Hao Yuchun towards Aunt Xue's courtyard, pulling and pulling her along. If they waited any longer, those people would probably clean up the scene, and then how could they make a big fuss?

Hao Yuchun barely kept up with Xiang Wan's pace, managing not to be dragged along. Only now did she realize that a slender waist and delicate figure were not as important as a strong physique. If she were to actually face Xiang Wan, she probably wouldn't even have a chance to fight back.

Xiang Wan was also very puzzled. Hao Yuchun's system, apart from giving her the ability to seduce men, couldn't even improve her most basic physical fitness. What was the point of keeping it? At this moment, she was actually very glad that what was parasitizing her was 007 instead of some kind of seduction system.

Without stopping for a moment along the way, Hao Yuchun felt the place was becoming more and more familiar. It seemed like she was heading to Aunt Xue's courtyard. Could it be haunted? Thinking of this, Hao Yuchun couldn't help but shiver. But then she remembered what the Enchantress had said and calmed down.

Outside the courtyard gate, two strong servants were already standing guard. When they saw Xiang Wan and the others coming, they exchanged a glance and reached out to block the entrance.

"Miss, your aunt is inside on business. Please go back."

These two servants were strong and sturdy. Even when they saw Hao Yuchun coming, they didn't show any emotion. It seems that they must be the trusted confidants trained by Aunt Cui.

"Where is Miss going? How dare you bark like that? Move aside, we need to go in."

How dare a mere concubine obstruct the legitimate daughter? I wonder who gave them the audacity.

As Xiang Wan led Hao Yuchun along, many servants saw them. Now that they were stopped outside the courtyard gate, more or less all of them turned their gazes toward them.

Hao Yuchun remained silent, and Xiang Wan's confident words were unlikely to be of any use. So, she whispered in Hao Yuchun's ear, "We have to go in quickly, otherwise if Aunt Cui discovers anything, we'll be in big trouble."

Of course! They'd sneak off to meet her in secret, and even made her keep watch, trying to annoy her. Didn't they realize that even if Mount Tai collapsed before her, Xiang Wan would remain calm? How could something like this possibly make her uncomfortable?

Xiang Wan didn't quite understand Hao Yuchun's thoughts, but she could only guess that they were hostile or perverse.

Hearing Xiang Wan's words, Hao Yuchun's face turned frosty. She was willing to let Xiang Wan see it purely out of revenge, but if others found out, it wouldn't be the same. Hao Xiang Wan dared to openly threaten her; could it be that there really was something left behind after their secret rendezvous inside?

Whether it's true or not, we absolutely cannot let anyone find out now. As for being threatened, they will retaliate sooner or later.

"Get out of the way!"

When Hao Yuchun spoke, the two servants hesitated for a moment before slowly moving aside, but they only let her in, leaving Xiang Wan outside the door.

Before she could speak, Hao Yuchun pulled her inside. Hao Xiangwan had been cleaning up the mess; if she didn't go in, how would she find the things she'd left behind?

Stepping into the courtyard, overgrown with weeds, Stone sat listlessly on the steps, muttering to himself, as if he had suffered a severe shock and was lost in his own thoughts, unwilling to wake up.

"No, Grandmother isn't that kind of person, no, it can't be..."

As she approached, hearing Stone repeat his words, Xiang Wan felt a little relieved. It seemed that Granny Stone had not disappointed her.

Hao Yuchun strode inside and saw Aunt Cui slumped to the ground, facing the bed, groaning in pain. Mama Shi stood beside her, at a loss for what to do. When she saw Xiang Wan enter, her eyes seemed to be filled with venom, as if she wanted to pierce a hole through her with her gaze.

Aunt Xue's quarters were extremely simple, except for her bed, which was the most luxurious thing in the room. On the carved canopy bed, a simple and heavy piece of furniture, Hao Zheng and Granny Shi were entangled together, inseparable. Hao Zheng's entire body was a mixture of pale and bluish-white; his not-so-robust frame was now like a dried-up stone, stiff and devoid of color. Granny Shi was pinned beneath him; the flush on her face hadn't completely faded, but it had also become paler, her breathing barely perceptible, as if she were about to die.

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