Chapter 88: Caught You Red-Handed!

  "Lin Zhaoxuan, Lin Zhaoxuan!"

  "Miss, miss, wake up."

  "Oh no, Fifth Sister, don't pinch Fourth Sister's face! Don't pinch her face!"

  Who was gently slapping her face, trying to pull her out of the deep abyss again, and Lin Zhaoyan suddenly opened her eyes, staring blankly at the familiar decorations in front of her, panting constantly.

  "How is it? I said it's useful, right? She's been possessed by a nightmare, if we don't wake her up in time, she might be in danger of losing her life." Lin Ruoyan's voice came from beside my ear, with a tone of satisfaction mixed with worry.

  Then her bright and beautiful face appeared magnified in front of her, "Lin Zhaoyan, what kind of dream did you have that scared you like this?"

  Lin Zhaoyan was stunned.

  Man Shuang and Man Hua also anxiously gathered around, "Miss, what did you dream about? You just scared us to death, pinching your own neck and shouting for help nonstop."

  Lin Zhaoyan was still dazed.

  They didn't say anything else and patiently waited for Lin Zhaoyan to regain his composure from the nightmare.

  After a long time, Lin Zhaoyan finally regained a thread of consciousness.

  She opened her mouth and said in a hoarse voice: "What time is it now?"

  "Not for a moment."

  "No, I'm asking what year and month it is now?"

  Man Shuang and several others looked at each other in dismay, but still honestly replied: "The 16th day of the fifth month of the 18th year of the Qianlong reign."

  It's a dream, it was a dream from the very beginning.

  It's not even the end of May yet, but she had a long dream that spanned half a month.

  And this dream was so real, with names, genders and a plot.

  A young maid with dimples on her cheeks. A coarse and fierce mother-in-law, a husband she had never met before and a younger sister-in-law...

  What does this dream portend?

  Whose future is she acting out again?

  This was not the first time she had dreamed of being possessed by the protagonist and experiencing disasters on his behalf, but previously she had been able to see clearly what form she had taken.

  This is her first time. She doesn't know who she is.

  Or perhaps it wasn't someone else, but herself?

  "It seems that the Lingyun Temple's peace charm is useless, you not only didn't recover at all, but almost killed yourself." Lin Ruoyan said with some annoyance, she had always thought that Mingyi Shitai of Lingyun Temple was a charlatan who specialized in deceiving people!

  Man Shuang was more devout to the Buddha, and after apologizing to the Buddha on behalf of Lin Ruoyan, he said to Lin Zhaoyan: "Miss, I'm afraid it's because this isn't something you asked for yourself. The most important thing about praying to gods and Buddhas is sincerity. Only when the person themselves go to pray will the effect be the best."

  "I know." Lin Zhaoyan replied absent-mindedly, but this wasn't a matter of sincerity or not. Rather, she wanted to find out who the woman who had been strangled to death was.

  She asked Manhua, "Do you know which maids in the mansion have dimples on their mouths?"

  Man Hua thought for a moment and reported several names.

  "Hmm." Lin Zhao Yan nodded, "Find an excuse to summon them all to Qing Fang Pavilion."

  She remembered the maid's appearance. If she could find that maid, maybe she would know who that "madam" was.

  "Lin Zhao, what are you going to do?" Lin Ruoyan asked in surprise.

  "Nothing." Lin Zhaoyan shook his head and changed the subject to prevent her from asking further. "What did you come looking for me for?"

  That day, Lin Ruoyan was worried about her, but when she saw that it was Lu Yan who had sent her back, she felt a little uncomfortable in her heart and hadn't spoken to her.

  Lin Ruoyan suddenly remembered the main issue. Hurriedly saying: "You let me keep an eye on Lin Xingyan, and she's indeed starting to make a move!"

  Lin Zhaoyan also attracted attention. "Oh?"

  She also thought that Lin Xingyan would at least wait until this storm had completely subsided before speaking, and didn't expect her to be so impatient.

  "How did she do it?"

  Lin Ruoyan raised an eyebrow. Her eyes held a cold smile, "Make voodoo dolls."

  Lin Zhaoyan's heart skipped a beat, Shu Ge Wa Wa?

  She couldn't help but recall the vicious voice of the old woman in her dream, "The master has already found out that the reason why Eldest Madam fell seriously ill was because Madame used witchcraft to curse her!"

  This era is superstitious, especially for high-ranking families, who are particularly taboo about curses. This is also why she occasionally reminds others and will be disliked and despised.

  Lin Xing thought of using such a vicious method?

  It seems she really went all out for entering the palace!

  This kind of cunning and cleverness will definitely make her a second Wang Xiang's wife when she grows up, and maybe even more formidable!

  "Lin Xingyan wants to use the voodoo doll to frame me and then let Pomegranate make a big show of righteousness by killing his own family member, what do you think Grandma will do if she finds out?" Lin Ruoyan said with an increasingly wide smile on her lips, but the chill in her eyes grew thicker.

  "You want to harm people, so you're vicious, but Pomegranate is a loyal servant who isn't foolishly loyal. She can tell right from wrong and knows what's crooked and straight. You've committed such a heinous crime that she can only uphold justice by turning against you. So when Grandma finds out, not only won't she blame Pomegranate for betraying her master, but she'll also lavish praise on her. To protect her, it's even more impossible to let her stay by your side. When the time comes and Pomegranate asks to take care of Seventh Young Lady, Grandma will definitely go along with it. The two of them will get what they want, while you... won't die but will be skinned alive."

  Lin Ruoyan gave Lin Zhaoyan a nod of approval, and curled her lips into a cold smile. "You say, whose birth date would be written on that voodoo doll?"

  "Madam Hou's."

  Although writing that Lin old lady is more harmful, the credibility is not high. Lin Ruoyan and Lin old lady have always been close as grandparents, only a fool would believe that Lin Ruoyan would harm Lin old lady, this is obviously framing.

  But Madame Hou, first she doesn't get along with the three wives, second she doesn't get along with Lin Ruoyan, and third, Lin Jinming doesn't get along with Lin Ruoyan.

  These three points are enough to be Lin Ruoyan's motive for wanting to harm Lu Shi!

  When this matter is exposed, I'm afraid Madame Hou will hate them even more.

  Lin Zhaoyan thought of this and found it amusing.

  Lu Shi wanted to sow discord between Lin Xingyan and San Fang, but unexpectedly failed, only to be quickly turned around by Lin Xingyan's counterattack, which made her and San Fang even more incompatible.

  Lin Xingyan made a brilliant move this time, not only can she suppress Lin Ruoyan, but also win over the Lu family. Later, when the three houses are depressed because of this matter, she can eliminate the prejudice that the Lu family had against her before and gain more attention from them.

  After all, they didn't separate households, and this manor is still managed by the Lu family!

  "I also guessed it." Lin Ruoyan sneered viciously, "If I didn't have to wait for the right moment to catch her in the act, I really wanted to rush over and tear her face apart!"

  Lin Zhaoyan lost his smile.

  "What will you do now?" she asked again.

  A hint of sinister intent flashed in Lin Ruoyan's eyes as she said word by word, "How to do it? Wait for the rabbit beside the tree stump, Lin Xingyan wouldn't be foolish enough to put the voodoo doll here and frame me. She must have found a good place. When the time comes, humph, I'll lead people to catch her!"

  Lin Zhaoyan nodded in agreement, she was afraid that Lin Ruoyan would make a reckless move out of anger, and thus waiting patiently was the wisest decision.

  She believed that Lin Xingyan would make a move tonight.

  "Lin Xing didn't expect that I, who had always been simple and ignorant in her eyes, would also learn to scheme and calculate like her. Nor did she expect that she would be betrayed by the people around her!"

  Lin Ruoyan was able to clearly know these things because she had bought off Bai Xue, the second-class maid in Lin Yexian's courtyard. In fact, it wasn't really buying her off, but rather threatening her, using her parents' lives as leverage.

  Lin Ruoyan would never have done something like this in the past, but special circumstances call for special treatment.

  They never showed their suspicions, so Lin Xingyan always thought he was hiding in the dark and wouldn't be discovered, so it's unlikely that he would be overly cautious and suspicious, making it possible for Bai Feng to take advantage of the situation and gather information.

  "But Lin Xingyan is a cautious person, you still need to be careful." Lin Zhaoyan reminded again.

  Lin Ruoyan nodded, "Don't worry about me, think about yourself instead. I heard from Man Shuang that you haven't been in good spirits lately, do you want to find a doctor to take a look?"

  "It's no use." Lin Zhaoyan waved her hand, this was a heart disease, and even the best doctor couldn't cure it.

  The only way is to investigate clearly Zhou Tingchen's grudges with her.

  Now there's another thing, find out who the woman was in the dream that was strangled to death.

  "Why don't you go to Lingyun Temple to pray for blessings yourself! Although I don't believe in this, just give it a try!"

  Lin Zhaoyan nodded, seeking comfort from gods and Buddhas was just for peace of mind, but she was uneasy at heart, so this was just the right prescription.

  As for whether it can really prevent disasters from happening, she'd rather believe in herself.

  The evening breeze is gentle, the fragrance of flowers is wafting, a bright moon hangs in the sky, and the entire Kyoto is shrouded in night colors.

  It was already ugly, and the Jian'an Marquis's mansion was quiet, with only occasional sounds of cicadas on the trees in summer.

  A rustling sound came from the house on the west side of the Xiangxiang Pavilion.

  In an instant, two figures hastily walked out of the courtyard.

  Under the moonlight, it can be seen that these two are actually the personal maids of the Seventh Young Lady of the Marquis's Manor.

  One of the maids had something bulging in her bosom, and was covering it with her hand, as if she were hiding something important.

  They came all the way east and arrived at an empty space in the backyard of Rongsheng Hall.

  "Is Winter buried here?" one of the maidservants asked in a hushed tone.

  "Not right, a bit further north, directly facing Madame Hou's bedroom." Another maid also replied in a low voice and asked: "Has the baby been sprinkled with incense?"

  "It's spilled, and even if it were a wolf dog, let alone Four Maiden's snow dog, they'd all be able to smell it."

  "Good, let's hurry up and bury it. Once we're done, let's rush back to report and get off duty. The young lady is still waiting."

  "What are you burying?" someone asked from behind.

  "Voodoo doll."

  "What is the buried doll doing?"

  "Of course..." The maid who answered only realized something was off when she suddenly turned her head around, directly facing Lin Ruoyan's smiling yet not quite smiling face.

  "What's going on?" Lin Ruoyan still smiled, but that smile looked somewhat shocking to the two maids.