Volume 6, Chapter 355 – My Arrogance Has Its Reasons

“What are you all ‘huh’-ing about? Get out of the way! As his daughter, it’s only right that she returns to mourn her father. How dare you block her? This is outright treason! If you don’t move aside now, don’t blame me for exercising my authority as clan head and expelling you from the Liu family!”

Liu Biao’s tone grew increasingly aggressive, his demeanor shifting so drastically it was as if he were defending his own daughter—no, more like fawning over his own mother. The change was night and day.

“What on earth did you say to him?”

Liu Yingyue stared at Qi Huang in shock. Never in her wildest dreams had she imagined that her profit-obsessed second uncle would one day threaten to expel her half-siblings from the Liu family for her sake.

“Nothing much. Just some reasoning and appeals to emotion. Maybe his conscience finally woke up.”

Qi Huang brushed it off casually.

Liu Yingyue’s delicate face remained clouded with suspicion. She wasn’t a fool, if this uncle of hers had a conscience, things would never have escalated to this point.

The reason for Liu Biao’s sudden change of heart was simple: Qi Huang’s reminder had jolted him out of a major cognitive blind spot. He had assumed that marrying off his niece would inevitably benefit the Liu family, completely overlooking the principle that “harmony in the family leads to prosperity in all endeavors”. How much the Liu family stood to gain depended entirely on Liu Yingyue’s willingness to mediate on their behalf.

“Why hadn’t I realized this before? As the saying goes, ‘A married daughter is like spilled water’. Once Yingyue is married, she becomes another family’s daughter-in-law. As clan head, I’ll have no right to order her around anymore. Whether she chooses to support her birth family will depend entirely on her goodwill. If we ruin our relationship now, this marriage alliance will end up being just that, an alliance with no benefits.”

Having grasped this logic, Liu Biao could no longer stand by indifferently. From this moment on, he resolved to pull out all the stops to win his niece’s favor.

Of course, this was all contingent on Liu Yingyue not opposing the arranged marriage!

Though Liu Yingyue’s half-siblings were domineering, they didn’t dare defy the Liu family’s clan head. Reluctantly, they stepped aside.

Liu Yingyue gave Qi Huang a long, searching look before hurrying through the gates.

Fearing she might face further harassment, Liu Biao stuck close to her side like a shadow.

As servants, Qi Huang and Xia Wei naturally followed behind.

As she passed Liu Yingliang, Qi Huang couldn’t resist taunting, “Well? Now do you see how I brought her into the Liu family? My arrogance has its reasons.”

“You—!”

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Liu Yingliang had never imagined that a lowly maidservant would dare mock him. His face flushed crimson with rage.

“Not happy about it? Go ahead and try stopping us. Let’s see who holds more sway in the Liu family—the clan head or you, the so-called ‘family master’.”

Qi Huang tossed her hair dismissively and strode off, leaving behind the faint fragrance of golden blossoms.

“……”

Liu Yingliang’s fury burned hotter at her provocation, his eyes blazing and teeth grinding audibly. Yet he dared not say another word.

“So fragrant!”

“Yeah! What kind of powder does she use? Why does it smell so good?”

Two of his younger brothers murmured, entranced.

“Useless trash!”

Liu Yingliang kicked both of them in a fit of rage before storming after the group, his face dark as thunder.

Liu Yingyue entered the main courtyard and followed her mother straight to the central hall, which had been converted into an ancestral mourning hall for visitors to pay their respects.

Qi Huang knew what was coming next, the ritual wailing before the coffin. She had no desire to witness such a scene, but as a personal maidservant, she had no choice but to stick close to her “young miss”.

Just as she’d anticipated, the moment Liu Yingyue and Xia Wei laid eyes on the elder Liu’s coffin, they broke down in heart-wrenching sobs.

Qi Huang stood stiffly to the side, utterly helpless. She wasn’t afraid of bloodshed, but these displays of grief and parting were unbearable. Unfortunately, as a maidservant, she couldn’t slip away. She even had to step forward occasionally to offer comfort.

‘If only I’d insisted on being a guard instead. At least then I could’ve…’

Regret gnawed at her.

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Time crawled by. Curiosity about the elder Liu’s cause of death tempted her to probe the coffin with her divine sense, but she restrained herself. Given her current rapport with Liu Yingyue, doing so without permission would be inexcusably rude.

“Mother… I… I heard you say Father was killed by an evil spirit?”

After nearly two hours of weeping, Liu Yingyue finally steadied herself enough to ask.

“Yes. That night, your father had matters to attend to and stayed in his study. I was exhausted and went to bed first. When I woke up, he still hadn’t returned. I took an oil lamp to check on him, only to find him already…”

Fang Yun’s voice broke.

“But how do you know it was an evil spirit?”

Liu Yingyue pressed.

“Your father’s face was twisted in terror when he died. The coroner confirmed it matched death by fright. There were no external injuries, and no traces of lethal poison in his system.”

Fang Yun explained carefully.

“A few days ago, I even had a cultivator examine him. They confirmed it was the work of a malignant spirit.”

Liu Biao chimed in with feigned concern.

“Mother, I want to see Father.”

After a long silence, Liu Yingyue suddenly requested.

“As his daughter, you have every right to see him. But his expression… it’s not something you should see. I’m afraid it’ll frighten you.”

Fang Yun cautioned gently.

“What daughter would be afraid of her own father? I must see him.”

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Liu Yingyue insisted stubbornly. She needed to confirm the truth for herself. Even if she lacked the expertise, she needed closure.

“Very well. But brace yourself.”

Fang Yun sighed and instructed the servants to open the coffin.

Liu Yingyue took a deep breath and stepped forward, supported by Xia Wei.

Seizing the opportunity, Qi Huang moved closer under the pretext of assisting.

Liu Biao, however, seemed to shrink back, whether out of fear or guilt, he kept his distance.

Liu Yingyue’s half-siblings did the same. If even his own children were afraid, the elder Liu’s death must have been gruesome indeed.

Thanks to the winter chill and the Liu family’s preservation methods, the corpse showed no signs of decay despite the passage of over ten days. But lack of odor didn’t mean the body was presentable.

Even Qi Huang, no stranger to death, couldn’t help but grimace at the sight.

Just as Fang Yun had described, the elder Liu’s face was a grotesque mask of terror. His features twisted into an inhuman visage, skin mottled with blackened patches like the bark of an ancient tree. His limbs were contorted at unnatural angles, as if rigor mortis had set in mid-spasm.

Liu Yingyue, despite her mental preparation, collapsed at the horrific sight, forcing those nearby to catch her.

Qi Huang, however, seized the moment to scrutinize the corpse with her divine sense. Anyone could tell this death was anything but natural.

When Liu Yingyue finally recovered, she insisted on examining the body again. But with no medical or cultivation knowledge, she could only stare helplessly.

Her gaze eventually settled on Qi Huang. After a hesitant pause, she ventured, “Little Yu… can you tell anything?”

All eyes turned to Qi Huang.

Meeting Liu Yingyue’s pale, desperate face, Qi Huang sighed inwardly. “Sister, your father was indeed killed by an evil spirit.”

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“How can you be sure?”

Liu Yingyue’s voice trembled with unwillingness. If it were truly a spirit, who could she seek vengeance from?

“His distorted features clearly indicate death by fright. The direct cause was cardiac rupture leading to internal hemorrhage, consistent with the effects of extreme terror causing a surge in blood pressure.”

Qi Huang spoke carefully. Though no physician, she’d seen enough ghost-induced deaths to recognize the signs.

Murmurs rippled through the room:

“She didn’t even touch him, yet she sounds just like the doctors!”

“What’s so strange about that? The whole capital knows the elder Liu died of fright. Anyone could’ve learned the symptoms.”

“You think she’s putting on an act?”

“Of course. A maid like her has to impress her mistress somehow.”

“That only proves he died of fright, not necessarily by a ghost!”

Liu Yingyue challenged, though she didn’t doubt Qi Huang’s sincerity.

“Exactly. People can scare others to death too,” Xia Wei added.

“True. But there’s residual yin energy clinging to your father’s body, a telltale sign of spirit possession.”

Qi Huang’s words plunged the hall into silence once more.

Everyone stared at her, wondering, was this mere hearsay, or could she truly see the lingering traces of the supernatural?