When Bai Chuxiao returned to Liuli Courtyard, Bai Chuyun was already waiting for her.
"Elder sister, I've come to say goodbye. I don't know when we'll meet again," Bai Chuyun said reluctantly.
Bai Chuxiao patted her head. "If you want to come back, then come back. Jiangnan is a good place. Learn more about life. If you encounter any difficulties, write to your cousin or me."
He chuckled again, "It's a good thing for you to be away from the troubles of the capital. I won't see you off later."
Bai Chuyun nodded, tears welling in her eyes. It was naturally difficult to leave the place she had lived in for so many years.
After Zhao and the others left, the Left Prime Minister's residence suddenly became quiet. However, Xie suddenly fell ill, and even consulting renowned doctors in the capital could not cure her.
Bai Chuwan sat by Xie's bedside, worriedly asking, "Mother, what's wrong with you? Why did you suddenly fall ill?"
Madam Xie was so weak she couldn't even get up. Lying on the bed, she murmured, "It must have been that wretched woman. After that day, Mother suddenly fell ill; it must have been her." Then she seemed to remember something else.
She cried out in terror, "Wan'er, you mustn't let her go! She's come back to take my life, she's back for revenge!"
Bai Chuwan was puzzled. "Mother, what are you talking about? Are you delirious from your illness? We've just ignored her all these years and haven't done anything to her. She wouldn't want to kill us, would she?"
She then slowly added, "Mother, both the Crown Prince and the Empress instructed me to cultivate a good relationship with my eldest sister in order to win over the Prince of Yan. We really don't have any deep-seated hatred between us. Please don't say things like that anymore; it wouldn't be good if the Crown Prince found out."
Madam Xie cried out, "Wan'er, you don't understand! She won't side with us. We must kill her, or she won't let us go!"
Bai Chuwan sensed something was wrong. Could it be that something had happened between her mother and Bai Chuxiao? "Mother, what's going on? Why won't she let us go?"
Madam Xie whispered again, "Knowing too much won't do you any good. All you need to know is that her mother didn't die in childbirth, but that it's related to us. If she finds out the truth, she won't let us off the hook. Forget about winning over Prince Yan; we'll probably just have another enemy in the future. The safest thing to do is to kill her."
Bai Chuwan was also quite surprised upon hearing this, "But the maids around her are all quite skilled, I'm afraid it will be very difficult."
Madam Xie calmed down and said slowly, "Mother will take her time to plan this. You just need to be careful around her."
As night fell, Madam Xie lay on the bed with her eyes half-open, waving her hands haphazardly, while the maids guarding inside and outside the room were all fast asleep on the floor.
Bai Chuxiao stood by Xie's bedside with Lanxin, but Xie seemed oblivious, only muttering incoherently, "It wasn't me, I didn't kill you. Don't come looking for me, go find him. He's the one who wanted you dead."
Bai Chuxiao winked at Lanxin, who then fed Xie a pill. Bai Chuxiao sat by the bed and said in a deep voice, "Xie, look at me."
Xie stared at him with empty eyes.
Bai Chuxiao said in a seductive voice, "Was it you who killed Murong Xue back then?"
Madam Xie said blankly, "It wasn't me. I did drug her, but she didn't die. I didn't kill her."
Bai Chuxiao then asked in a deep voice, "Why did you drug Murong Xue back then?"
Madam Xie remained dazed and said, "She deserved to die. She blocked my way, so naturally I couldn't let her live. But she's tough; she didn't die even after being poisoned."
Bai Chuxiao asked coldly, "Then how exactly did she die? Tell me."
Xie's voice carried a hint of panic, "It was him, he killed him, it has nothing to do with me."
"Who is he? Is he Bai Linan?" Bai Chuxiao shouted again.
Suddenly, Xie clutched her head, refusing to answer, only repeating over and over, "I don't know, I don't know, I don't know anything, don't come looking for me."
Bai Chuxiao looked at Lanxin and asked, "What happened? Why isn't it working?"
Lan Xin thought for a moment, "This must be a secret Xie Shi has buried deep in her heart. One dose of medicine isn't enough to break down her last line of defense. We need to give her more mental stimulation in the next few days."
Bai Chuxiao nodded. "That's easy. We'll have someone scare her again later. Let's go back now."
She didn't drug Bai Linan first. As the Left Prime Minister, Bai Linan was surrounded by skilled bodyguards, making it difficult to act immediately. Besides, Bai Linan's defenses would only be stronger; if he really did it, he wouldn't be easily tricked into revealing anything. It was better to start with the Xie family first. As for Bai Linan, there was no rush; she would just wait.
The next day, Xie woke up feeling even worse. She felt that Bai Chuxiao had been standing by her bedside watching her the night before, so she quickly called Caiyue over, "You were both on guard last night, did you hear anything? Did Bai Chuxiao come by?"
Caiyue asked in confusion, "We servants have been on guard all night, and no one has come."
Ms. Xie exclaimed, "How could that be? I clearly remember her standing right next to me, saying something!"
Caiyue asked worriedly, "Is Madam having a nightmare? The eldest young lady really didn't come."
Xie was filled with doubt and surprise. Could it really be a nightmare? Yet, everything also felt so real.
That evening, screams of horror echoed from Ruyi Courtyard: "A ghost! Don't come any closer! Don't come any closer!"
A white shadow flickered inside the room, muttering, "Xie, you caused my difficult childbirth, today you'll pay with your life!"
Madam Xie sat on the bed, holding her head. "In the end, it wasn't me who killed you. If you want revenge, go find him. He did it all."
Bai Ying still retorted angrily, "It was you! Who else but you has the right to harm me? Stop making excuses!"
Xie was in a daze. "It wasn't me. At most, I was an accomplice. He was afraid you would implicate him, so he couldn't tolerate you trying to kill him. It has nothing to do with me."
The white figure was naturally Qing Shuang impersonating someone Bai Chuxiao had arranged. Hearing this, Bai Chuxiao thought to herself, "This must be Bai Linan. But what could my mother, a mere woman, have done to implicate a prime minister like him?"
Bai Ying asked again, but Xie Shi remained silent.
For three consecutive days, Ruyi Courtyard was haunted, frightening Xie Shi into a daze and worsening her illness. Bai Linan, who had been busy lately, had initially thought she was just recovering and hadn't taken it seriously. However, as her condition worsened over the next few days, he rushed to Ruyi Courtyard.
Sitting beside Xie's bed, Bai Chuwan saw Bai Linan enter and asked worriedly, "Father, what's wrong with Mother?"
Bai Linan walked to Xie Shi's side, took her hand, and said, "Xianglan, how are you feeling? Why are you so ill? I'll ask the head of the Imperial Hospital to come and examine you again tomorrow."
Madam Xie gripped his hand tightly and cried out, "A ghost! A ghost! It's her! She's come to take our lives! Master, you must be careful too! Murong Xue is back..."
Upon hearing this, Bai Linan immediately shouted, "Shut up! What nonsense are you spouting? What kind of ghost is this? I think you're delirious from your illness. Xue'er had a difficult childbirth; why are you bringing her up for no reason?"
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