Shi Ning was unsurprised by her mother's questions. She immediately gave a detailed recount of the situation.
Hearing what her daughter had done, Madam Shi shook her head in disapproval.
"At first glance, such schemes could be easily seen through! Shi Nian wouldn't need to say a word for the truth to be exposed!"
"And you coming out to speak, with this knowledge, also puts you at a disadvantage! If it ended a bit worse, it wouldn't be just Ye Qing who had to bear the brunt of the Lu and Cheng families," Madam Shi continued.
"Mom, I know this, but that bitch's face just irks me." Shi Ning wheedled, holding her mother's arm. "I couldn't help but assist Ye Qing. Who knew Ye Qing was such a fool? And Cheng Youlin just had to make an appearance!"
"That's no excuse!" Madam Shi exhorted. "What did I tell you all these years? It seems you need a little reminder."
Seeing Madam Shi walking toward the hidden safe on the wall, Shi Ning shivered in fright.
"M…Mom," she pleaded softly.
"You're still scared. It doesn't hurt; it will only give you a little hint. Mom loves you and can't bear to hurt you," Madam Shi said as she opened the box she had just brought out from the safe.
Madam Shi grabbed Shi Ning's hands, patted them warmly, and whispered softly, "Don't be afraid, dear child."
Shi Ning looked into her mother's unfocused eyes, then at the box in her hands, she knew its contents very well.
Ever since she was little, she had watched her mother feed the little monster in the box. She never knew how it was fed until she saw her mother place the little monster on her skin—it drank her blood.
The little monster was a greenish creature in the form of a caterpillar. It looked like a butterfly in metamorphosis. It had two antenna-like objects on its head, which it used to pierce into the skin to feed.
No matter how Shi Ning looked at it, she thought it was demonic. But her mother was deeply enthralled by it.
Only on a few occasions would her mother let her (Shi Ning) feed it, like today. She had never understood why, or the mystery behind it, only the piercing pain she felt as it drained away her blood.
"M…Mom, c…can I not let it feed?" Shi Ning begged.
"No!" Madam Shi strongly refused, ignoring her daughter's pleading eyes.
Shi Ning watched as the caterpillar-like creature pierced through her skin, fixing itself to her veins with its antennae. She felt every fiber of her being pulled away. The intensity of the pain gave her no room to cry out before she passed out.
The caterpillar-like creature didn't stop even after its host passed out. After draining her to its fill, it passed some bluish-black substance into Shi Ning's body through the connection to her veins.
Noticing the little monster had done its part, Madam Shi hurriedly retrieved it, placed it securely back in the box, and returned it to the hidden safe.
Madam Shi carefully positioned Shi Ning on the bed. She picked up a warm towel the maids had prepared for Shi Ning earlier and carefully wiped off her perspiration.
"Mom loves you, but if Mom doesn't do this, how would you hate them?" Madam Shi whispered as she caressed the sleeping Shi Ning.
"How is she?" a voice came in.
Madam Shi turned toward the sound of the voice. Lost in her thoughts, she hadn't heard the door being pushed open.
Noticing the sleeping Shi Ning, Shi Wang lowered his voice and embraced Madam Shi.
"Why is she sleeping at this time? Why are her eyes so puffy? Did she cry herself to sleep?"
Hearing her husband's relentless questions, Madam Shi quickly answered, "She cried. Our daughter is so pitiful, Wang. Worse is, we wouldn't be able to do anything since it was all caused by your little niece."
Madam Shi feigned some more tears. Watching Shi Ning deal with Shi Nian wasn't enough for her; if she could, she wanted the whole world to be against Cheng Yuemin's offspring.
Intense hate flashed through her eyes, she hated Cheng Yuemin deeply.
More than a decade ago, Madam Shi—Su Yan, before being married into the Shi family—was a young, beautiful lady and, at least, kind.
She was from a small family just like the Shi's, before Shi Beicheng had made them into what they were today.
She had fallen in love with the industrious Shi Beicheng at first sight. They attended the same university and had the same mentors during their internship.
During the internship period, she had some encounters with Shi Beicheng. From being strangers, they became acquaintances. But to Su Yan, they became more. She had been the only woman who had been beside him for months, and when rumors of their relationship spread, he never came out to refute them.
To Su Yan, this silence was a tacit agreement. She fell even deeper for this handsome youth who had a great future ahead.
Her dreams came crashing down when her father informed her that he had agreed to have her marry a business partner. She had fought with her dad and run to Shi Beicheng.
She told him of her father's plans to marry her off, and since they were already in a relationship, he should meet her family. Su Yan had a flawless plan—if her family saw the industrious Shi Beicheng, they would no longer force her into that arranged marriage.
But the young Shi Beicheng had only looked at her in confusion.
"Young Miss, you must mistake me for someone else."
Su Yan was out of sorts. She had been so lost in her plans that she confronted Shi Beicheng in their lecture hall, which was still filled with students.
Baffled by the denial and heartbroken, Su Yan left the university and returned home in a daze.
Unable to change her parents' decision, she followed them to meet her so-called arranged marriage partner—only to get to the room and find Shi Beicheng.
At that moment, she forgot her embarrassment at the university and thought Shi Beicheng was the one she was to meet that night. In her excitement, she had missed the other man who looked longingly at her.
Only to be stunned silly when Shi Wang was introduced as her partner. She had thought Shi Beicheng knew of the dinner and wanted to surprise her only for her to be shocked.
That night, Su Yan didn't know how she left, but she remembered the man she loved looking at her like a stranger.
She held a little hope, thinking she could warm his heart. Even after marrying Shi Wang, she never gave up—but he had fallen in love with someone else.
Not wanting Shi Wang to see the emotions in her eyes, she stayed within his embrace. After calming herself down, she smiled lovingly at him.
But to Shi Wang, that smile was even more heart-wrenching. He saw it as Su Yan trying to put up a brave front because she didn't want him to confront Shi Nian.
Madam Shi smiled inwardly, knowing her antics had worked.
Let's see your child survive, Cheng Yuemin!