Chapter 199: The Successor Wife – 21

And then, Book Spirit Number One witnessed Ren Xin’s outrageous maneuvers!

First, she tracked down several talismans designed to amplify fear and applied them to the members of the Zhang Family. Then, she used several Illusion Talismans to make them believe Feng Qingyue had returned as a ghost to claim their lives, scaring them to their very core.

As for the child, it was best to send him back to his maternal aunt’s house; at least there, he could grow up properly. In truth, the aunt had been deeply suspicious of Feng Qingyue’s death, but with no evidence, she had been forced to let the matter drop.

Everything proceeded exactly as Ren Xin had envisioned, though she had underestimated the sheer power of the talismans. The Zhang Family members were nearly driven insane by the terror.

Every night, Zhang Bojian saw Feng Qingyue standing by his bedside, staring at him with a fixed, hollow gaze. He didn’t even dare to blow out his candles, but it was no use. Even when he fell asleep, she haunted his dreams, weeping tears of blood and demanding to know why he had treated her so cruelly.

Father Zhang and Mother Zhang suffered the same fate. Convinced that Feng Qingyue’s ghost was haunting them, they found it impossible to sleep. And once the sleep deprivation set in, things took an even darker turn.

They began to hallucinate even during the day; Feng Qingyue was everywhere!

In their dreams, she relentlessly urged them to confess their crimes, swearing she would never rest until they did.

At first, the Zhang Family refused to believe in the supernatural. They sought out Taoist priests to perform exorcisms. One priest actually had some genuine skill; he noticed the talismans on them and realized, based on the craftsmanship, that the person behind this was incredibly powerful. Unwilling to invite trouble upon himself, he simply said, “Every injustice has its perpetrator, and every debt its debtor¹!”

These words terrified the Zhang Family. From then on, no matter how many priests they tried to hire, no one was willing to cross their threshold.

They became convinced that Feng Qingyue had become a powerful vengeful spirit who had returned for retribution.

Zhang Bojian’s face was dark with resentment as he snapped, “Mother, this is all your fault! If you hadn’t harbored those wicked thoughts, would we be in this mess?”

Mother Zhang erupted in a furious tirade. “Now you’re blaming me? When I first brought it up, you couldn’t have been happier! How did I raise such an ungrateful wolf? I’m suffering like this, and the Feng family even took the child away. They’re absolutely overbearing!”

Father Zhang added impatiently, “What’s the point of bringing the child back? Looking at him just makes me sick. He’s bad luck!”

The Zhang Family proved surprisingly resilient. Even after all this time, they were only slightly crazed and still had no intention of turning themselves in.

Seeing this, Ren Xin started rummaging through her stash again.

“Oh! This one is good. I’ll use this!”

“What is it? Let me see,” Book Spirit Number One chimed in.

“It’s the Dance of a Hundred Demons!”

Book Spirit Number One: “???”

Ren Xin said adorably, “I thought one ghost might be a bit lonely, so I’ll find a group of like-minded little partners to work overtime and torment the Zhang Family together!”

Book Spirit Number One: “…” Shen Shen is actually… quite a “kind” person.

After that, the Zhang household became incredibly lively. Every night, the ghosts held a party in their home.

It was a horror movie that only the Zhang Family could see, and it was spectacular.

It was so entertaining that Ren Xin even wanted to go watch. “Even though these aren’t real ghosts, it feels better than a 3D movie!”

Finally, the Zhang Family couldn’t take it anymore. They went to the authorities en masse to confess, admitting they had murdered Feng Qingyue. Their only plea was to be locked up—anything as long as they didn’t have to go back to that house!

No one could understand what the Zhang Family was doing.

But they were suffering in silence. They had tried moving houses before, but it was useless. Those ghosts seemed to have locked onto them; wherever they went, the ghosts followed.

They were convinced that Feng Qingyue had made many ghostly friends and had formed a gang to exact her revenge.

The final verdict was handed down: all of the Zhang Family’s official titles were revoked, and their property was confiscated and given to the Feng family as compensation. The members of the Zhang Family were subjected to torture and finally exiled to the bitter, frozen wastes of the borderlands².

With that matter settled, Ren Xin went back to her idle life, researching gourmet food with her dining partner and forcing the chefs to improve their skills.

Ever since becoming the Duchess, Ren Xin had declined all outside social invitations. She had no interest in exchanging hypocritical pleasantries with those people.

Qiao Ce didn’t mind at all. He simply told her to follow her heart—if she didn’t like it, she didn’t have to go.

Translator’s Notes