After all, dealing with a young lady is no small matter. Burning her to death would inevitably attract attention.

Hao Yuchun, who was locked up, was given a lot of drugs. The key point is that the drugs, which would kill an ordinary person after taking them once, had no effect on her at all.

As a result, the entire Hao household was filled with fear and unease. Even those who hadn't gone to the side courtyard that day believed the rumors circulating in the mansion that Hao Yuchun was a witch. Otherwise, why couldn't she be killed by medicine? Otherwise, why was she becoming more and more beautiful? Otherwise, why did those who came into contact with her die so inexplicably?

More and more suspicious glances were directed at Xiang Wan. As Hao Yuchun's personal maid, was she completely unaffected?

Among these glances, Xiang Wan had seen envious, gloating, pitying, and disdainful looks, but she ignored them all. Apart from bringing Hao Yuchun one meal a day, she spent most of her time in her room.

Cui Ruliu's inaction didn't mean others didn't want to. A constant stream of people sought her out for information, some even offering sarcastic remarks, but she coldly rebuffed them all.

The atmosphere in the mansion became strange and oppressive for a moment, until the gatekeeper came to announce that the master had returned.

Hao Xuan hurried towards the inner courtyard, covered in dust from his journey. He was accompanied by Hao Lin and another servant, who appeared to be the one who had run away from Xue Rumei's courtyard that day.

Cui Ruliu stood calmly in her courtyard, her hair neatly combed, wearing only a white jade hairpin and no other ornaments. Her face, lightly powdered, was expressionless.

"Ru Liu, how is Zheng'er?"

After all, he was Hao Xuan's only son. How could he not be anxious when he heard that something had happened? He hurriedly finished what he was doing and rushed back on horseback. Nothing was more important than his son's safety.

"Shh, Zheng'er is sleeping. He's been too tired these past few days, so I was worried about him and let him rest in the side room."

Hao Xuan was taken aback. Seeing Cui Ruliu's calm demeanor, he couldn't help but turn to look at the servant. Could this dog of a servant have lied about the news?

The person he was looking at instantly broke out in a cold sweat. He had only caught a fleeting glance before rushing out. Had he imagined it?

"Hao Lin, come with me to see Zheng'er."

Hao Xuan glared at the servant and walked towards the side room.

Cui Ruliu followed silently behind them, and once everyone had entered the room, she slowly bolted the door.

The room was much cooler than outside. Hao Xuan walked quickly to the bedside, and the sight that greeted him made his face turn extremely ugly.

"Cui Ruliu, what's going on?"

The roar startled the birds in the trees outside, who flapped their wings and fled, sending many of the yellowish leaves flying. The leaves drifted down to the ground silently.

Cui Ruliu seemed not to hear, pulled a handkerchief from her sleeve, walked to the bedside, and wiped Hao Zheng's face as usual.

“Zheng’er was too tired. He said he wanted to rest, so I let him sleep here. He’s a good boy, very filial. Not long ago, he said he would buy me some osmanthus cakes as a treat, and that he would wait for his father to come back. Now that you’re back, go see Zheng’er. He misses you very much.”

His tone was gentle, as always. Hao Xuan felt a surge of accusations, anger, and annoyance, all of which were stuck in his throat, and his eyes couldn't help but well up with tears.

She had watched her only son grow up, and after being away for just a few days, she returned to find him dead. As his birth mother, who could be more heartbroken than her?

Hao Xuan felt a rare pang of guilt and pity for Cui Ruliu, but it lasted only a moment. He opened his mouth, unsure what to say, then sighed and asked, "Does Chun'er know about this?"

Cui Ruliu paused, slowly stood up, and could no longer hide the mockery in her eyes: "Hao Xuan, in your heart, is Hao Yuchun the only one you cherish? Zheng'er is lying here, and the first thing you do when you come back is worry about whether your precious daughter will be affected. Hao Xuan, you are a beast."

"Cui Ruliu, don't think I won't dare to touch you!"

Hao Xuan had never been treated like this before. His eyes were no longer moved. He looked at Cui Ruliu as if she were a stranger.

"Hahaha, finally couldn't hold back anymore? Hao Xuan, have you been waiting for this day for a long time? Without me, you can be with Hao Yuchun openly, right?" Cui Ruliu had no more scruples; all the pent-up emotions of the past erupted at this moment. "For her, you married one concubine after another who resembled her, and then killed them one by one, just because they couldn't satisfy your desire to possess Hao Yuchun. To be as good-looking as her, you didn't even spare an old woman like Granny Shi. And my Zheng'er, what did he do wrong? Just because he's younger than you? Ahahahahaha..."

Cui Ruliu acted as if she were going crazy, and the words she uttered made Hao Xuan's expression change. Even Hao Lin, who had followed her in, could not maintain his initial composure.

"Shut up! You crazy woman, Zheng'er is my son too!"

"It's precisely because he's your son that you can't tolerate him having a similar appearance to someone younger than you! Hao Xuan, you probably don't know yet, but the person you cherish so much is a vixen!" Cui Ruliu glanced at Hao Lin with disdain, then stared at Hao Xuan, and said sharply, "She drained two servants dry, leaving only you and Hao Lin alive, and you're not even grateful!"

"shut up!"

Hao Xuan was furious and slapped Cui Ruliu across the face. Cui Ruliu's cheek immediately swelled up, and blood flowed down the corner of her mouth.

"What, you don't want to believe it? It's fine, it's a demon anyway, it survived so many pills. Today I want to see if it wants to drain you dry, or drain the person next to you, hahahahaha..."

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!