The attendant nodded. “You are right, Lady. If only madam could see you like this now, I am sure she would be proud of your plan.”

The attendant had followed CuiYing’s mother and helped take care of CuiYing since she was a child, so CuiYing didn’t feel worried about sharing all this information with her.

But the mention of her mother made her heart throb with pain. Her eyes glistened for a moment before she said, “I told you don’t mention her again, that irresponsible woman.”

“But Lady, Madam is…” The attendant words cut short, feeling the glare from Cui Ying’s eyes.

Cui Ying’s mother died a few years after having her due to complications.

This made Cui Ying have complex feelings towards her mother; she resented being born into the Situ Clan.

If she could choose, she would prefer to become a commoner, free from all the politics within the clan.

And she had no choice but to get involved with it; if she didn’t strive hard to fight for cultivation resources and grow stronger, everyone would just trample over her without mercy.

Only the strong deserve respect; that is just how it is in the world of cultivators.

This makes some part of her despise her mother; why did she give birth to her only to let her fend for herself?

Although her father treated her without bias, the rest of the family and siblings looked down on her.

Seeing her attendant’s expression, Cui Ying knew she still hadn’t accepted it.

“I know what you want to say, but you know what happened in my life all this time.

Tell me, how can I not feel any grievance? Even though it wasn’t her choice to leave me alone, she knew the risks of marrying my father, and I am the one facing them now.”

“Lady…” The attendant’s eyes turned complicated; she knew how much Cui Ying suffered. Being the daughter of a commoner doesn’t just mean others look down on her; it also limits her talent.

She needs to work harder than others to achieve the same results, and even when doing her best, she is barely average in the clan; there are many people with more talent than her.

Knock, knock.

The door pushed open. A man came in and whispered something in Cui Ying’s ear, making her lips curl into a smile.

“I am sure of it now. Lin Hua, the prodigy of the Hua family, is quickly advancing in cultivation; she has already reached the early Nascent Soul stage.

This is too fast; I am sure she has some method.

Spread the rumor now, and start some investigation on the Hua family’s movements.”

After this, the Hua family started becoming famous in the eastern region. Even some in the central, northern, and western regions heard their name.

The rumor Cui Ying spread wasn’t that they had a good treasure, but she exaggerated the story of the conflict between the Hua and Xue Qi families.

From the Hua family patriarch wearing a green hat because Zhang slept with his wife to the Hua family giving medicine to Xue Qi’s old prodigy Qing Ying, which turned out to be a poison that killed her instantly.

Situ CuiYing made sure the rumor was as exaggerated as possible to justify the act of desecrating an ancestral grave.

She also put out the word that a Golden Core cultivator was responsible for it.

This made many families and sects in the eastern region become wary of the Hua family, with some even giving them treasures to improve their relationship, just in case the Hua family retaliated against them.

The Hua family patriarch, Feng Hua, felt both surprised and elated by the rumor; they didn’t really know who destroyed the Xue Qi family, but with many benefits coming from it, they didn’t deny it, making people think it was true.

Feng Hua was happy with the many gifts that came; they also had much leeway in negotiations now since every family and sect tried not to make trouble with them.

Every single dealing would be done with the thought, ‘As long as we don’t make the Golden Core cultivator behind them angry, it’s alright to lose a bit.’

But it wasn’t all good; after the rumor spread, Feng Hua started becoming suspicious of his wife, Lin Hua’s mother.

Even though he knew his wife’s personality, with so many people believing it, he couldn’t help but think of this possibility, too, making him more paranoid than normal.

Lin Hua’s mother was patient with all the questions at first, but as more time passed, she also became annoyed with it.

This became a strain on their relationship.

“You never asked me where I went before! But now you ask everything, not only that, but you even ask my attendant to make sure I am not lying! Feng, do you really believe that rumor?”

“It’s not like that, Qiuyan, I am sorry, okay.”

“HMPH! You can just go sleep under the moon for today; I don’t want to see you now,” Qiuyan said as she closed the door on FengHua’s face.

Feng Hua couldn’t retort since he knew it was his fault.

He sighed, then looked outside at the courtyard. Walking near a tree, he sat with his back leaning against it.

He looked up toward the tree branches, “Hey tree, it seems today I will sleep with you again. Why do I even suspect her of cheating? Those rumors really got to my head.”

He paused for a moment, then mumbled, “But who is the Golden Core cultivator that destroyed the Xue Qi family? And who spread the rumor? I don’t get what they really want.”

Meanwhile, at the Blue Lotus Sect, a beautiful woman was meditating in a lotus position under the moonlight; qi started to move around her, making all the leaves around her float and sway gently in the air. But it only lasted for a moment before it all dropped.

Lin Hua opened her eyes and then stood up and bowed toward someone who had just appeared.

“Master, you’ve come.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep