"Zhaozhao, why didn't you explain to us back then?" Pei Yuanzheng's voice was hoarse.
Yu Nianzhao replied coldly, "I did explain, but who would listen?"
The air fell silent.
Indeed.
At that time, Yu Nianzhao said pitifully that it wasn't her and that she didn't know why the clothes appeared in the pond.
Pei Yunzhi was crying sadly and heartbrokenly.
They all surrounded and comforted her at that time.
They completely disregarded Yu Nianzhao's explanation.
They only thought that the one found from the countryside was ultimately vulgar and cunning, intentionally making Pei Yunzhi feel guilty and uneasy.
Unexpectedly, they were really wrong.
Pei Yunzhi bit her lip lightly, tears welling up in her eyes, "Zhaozhao, I never thought Yunqi would do something like this. I believed you from the start. I knew Zhaozhao wouldn't reject my goodwill. Zhaozhao, you've been wronged all these years."
"Didn't you just say I was possessed by an evil spirit and killed someone? And now you think I've been wronged?"
Yu Nianzhao, with an indifferent heart, looked at her with a faint smile.
Pei Yunzhi's expression stiffened for a moment. She wiped her tears, "Big brother frequents the Ministry of Justice, helping solve cases, and is knowledgeable. He checked and found that Daoist Wang Liang died by suicide without external injuries. What else can Yunzhi say? Naturally, he invited his own destruction through his misdeeds, didn't he?"
Even if it wasn't, she could only swallow her blood.
Because she had no evidence to say it was Yu Nianzhao's doing.
Moreover, having just been forced to see so many evil spirits, she felt uncomfortable all over.
Pei Yuanzheng awkwardly said, "Yes, Daoist Wang Liang set up two formations, and Zhaozhao came through safely, so she should be fine."
These words carried a hint of uncertainty.
Pei Yunqing sighed, "Daoist Wang Liang had many evil spirits on him; he must have taken many lives."
Pei Yuncheng seemed puzzled, "If they're evil spirits, weren't they captured by Daoist Wang Liang? Isn't that normal?"
Yu Nianzhao gave him a disdainful look, "Evil spirits weren't evil from the beginning. An unscrupulous Daoist harmed them, forced their souls to form into malevolent spirits, and then forced them to possess others to harm, turning them into evil spirits. Are you blind, not seeing how many children were on him? Could they have been born evil?"
Recalling the infant spirits just witnessed, Pei Yuncheng's face gradually turned pale.
Indeed, how could infants be born evil?
The evil one was clearly Daoist Wang Liang!
"Bah! What Daoist! It's clearly a cult!"
Even from afar, Ms Jiang caught a glimpse and found the children innocent and pitiful.
Pei Yuncheng was utterly speechless. Seeing Daoist Wang Liang's corpse didn't evoke pity, only disgust.
"Woo! Stop worrying about these things. Yu Nianzhao, turn your brother back to his original self. Do you want him to beat himself to death?"
The Pei Family's second aunt, Mrs. Zhou, tried to hold back Pei Yunqi but could do nothing to stop his self-abuse. She was fuming with anger, glaring at Yu Nianzhao as if wishing to skin her.
Yu Nianzhao, oblivious, walked past them, "I only slapped a Confession Talisman on him. Once he confesses all his wrongdoings, he'll naturally stop."
"Hey! Wait a moment! How long is this confession going to take?"
Yu Nianzhao didn't wait for them. Relying on memory, she walked straight to Ms Lien's room door.
"Cough, cough, cough..."
From inside came the sound of a muffled cough. When Yu Nianzhao pushed the door open, she saw Ms Zhang helping Ms Lien sit up.
Ms Lien was indeed ill, her face pale, eyes deeply shadowed, and her frame much thinner.
"Zhaozhao?"
Hearing the door open, Ms Lien immediately saw Yu Nianzhao, surprise evident in her eyes.
"Look, mother is sick from missing you! You refused to come back with us, insisting on going to Prince Su Mansion. Don't you know who your real mother is?"
Pei Yuncheng followed behind Yu Nianzhao, wanting to speak kindly but unable to stop his tongue from uttering barbs, "These days, it's been Yunzhi taking care of mother tirelessly. Now that you're back, you should fulfill your duties as a daughter and take care of her."
Pei Yunzhi forced a smile, "Yes, tending to mother's medication, cleaning her, massaging her to relieve fatigue, talking to her. Just these duties, early, midday, and evening."
Pei Yuncheng's expression softened, "Yunzhi is good at taking care of people. Zhaozhao, you need to learn from her."
Yu Nianzhao stared at the black aura on Ms Lien's forehead, "Treating a spirit as an illness, no wonder it can't be cured!"
"What spirit? Yu Nianzhao, what nonsense are you spouting again?"
Though witnessing the evil spirits firsthand, Pei Yuncheng still harbored disbelief, "It's just about taking care of mother, yet you came up with this explanation? Doctors have already diagnosed it as a chill-induced illness that requires recuperation."
Yu Nianzhao coldly spat, "Quack!"
She moved forward, her fingertip touching Ms Lien's forehead, pulling a wisp of black aura out.
Ms. Zhang drew a sharp breath, covering her mouth in shock.
The black aura, once pulled out, shrank back in.
"Cough, cough, cough..."
Ms Lien coughed violently.
Pei Yuncheng's face darkened, "Yu Nianzhao, what have you done to mother? Are you trying to kill her?"
Yu Nianzhao furrowed her brows, ignoring Pei Yuncheng's foolishness, "Do you have anything on you? Talisman or sachet?"
Ms Zhang answered for her, "Madam has a peace charm sent by the eldest lady."
Yu Nianzhao saw the peace charm tied to Ms Lien's waist, emitting black aura. She yanked it off and burned it to ashes.
Pei Yunzhi was extremely sad, "Zhaozhao, this was a peace charm I sought for mother. Why did you do that?"
Pei Yuncheng was furious, "I thought you were good, but in the end, you're just jealous of Yunzhi. This was from her to mother; what right do you have to destroy it?"
"Two fools talking too much."
Yu Nianzhao coldly chided, extending her fingers once more to Ms Lien's forehead; this time, the black aura was pulled out without resistance.
"W-what is this?"
Pei Yuanzheng and the others widened their eyes at the twisted black aura, startled.
Pei Yunzhi also looked distressed.
"It's an evil spirit. The so-called peace charm is a fake."
Yu Nianzhao burned the evil aura to ashes in her hand, "Shangjing is full of shady practices. Someone without eyes brought a spirit back, treating it as an illness. Another while and you'd be dead."
Pei Yunzhi's tears fell, and she shook her head in panic, "I got that peace charm from Qingyun Taoist Temple. Daoist Wang Liang blessed it for me. I only wanted to protect mother's health. I didn't know there was a problem with the charm. I really didn't do it on purpose!"