Phoenix's Requiem

“Mother, I’m here to pay my respects to you,” Yun Ruoyu announced before stepping into the courtyard.

Madam An, Yun Ruoyao, and Yi Qianying all looked at each other, surprised by Yun Ruoyu’s sudden arrival.

Yi Qianying hadn’t been there to witness Yun Ruoyu’s injury. However, the servants recounted the tale to her so vividly that she felt as if she had been present.

“Mother, how could you invite my sisters to tea but forget all about me?” Yun Ruoyu smiled as she walked forward. She had on a red dress with gold frills, and she’d specially put on makeup on her face to cover up how pale her skin was.

She looked vibrant and energetic, as if she hadn’t been injured or subject to house arrest at all.

“Ruoyu, quick, come over here.” Madam An immediately stood up and beckoned her over, before instructing the servants to add another chair and teacup for her.

Yun Ruoyu sat down and contentedly sipped at her tea. “Mother, how could you not call me over for such good tea?” 

When Yun Ruoyu entered the yard, the three of them had specifically inspected her neck. The high collar of her dress hid most of the exposed skin, but one could still see a few traces of red, fleshy growth underneath.

Why isn’t Ruoyu more agitated? Yun Ruoyao glanced at her younger sister’s unusually… normal behavior and wondered.

Yi Qianying sneered mentally at her cousin. What sort of dimwitted fool would be laughing even with this sort of injury? But then she thought back to her own experiences at the flower-viewing party, and her superficial smile quickly became forced. The more she stared at Yun Ruoyu’s smiling face, the more she was reminded of her own ineptitude against Yun Ruoyan, and the more vexed she became.

“Ruoyu, are you feeling better?” Madam An asked. “The Yun matriarch placed you under house arrest herself, so it wasn’t convenient for me to go and visit you. I heard Physician Liu say that your life wasn’t in danger and relaxed, but I didn’t expect you to recover so quickly.”

Madam An was fully aware of how vicious the poison she’d given to Yun Ruoyu had been. Even if Yun Ruoyu’s injuries weren’t life-threatening, she would have expected her to be unwilling to see anyone for at least six months. However, the girl was already out running around in less than a month!

She was exceptionally surprised.

“Yes, I’m much better,” Yun Ruoyu smiled and said as she took another sip of tea. “Father granted me some medicine, and Madam Qin made me a medicinal salve. I’ll be as good as new within the week.”

“Father granted you some medicine?” Yun Ruoyao was a little shocked: the Yun matriarch had been the one to put Yun Ruoyu under house arrest, and neither the Yun matriarch nor Yun Lan knew about the extent of her injuries.

Madam An’s fingers turned white as she clutched her teacup. “I’m sure Madam Qin was the one who asked the master for help; he’s still very fond of you, you know. It’s been so long since I’ve seen Madam Qin. How about we invite her for tea as well?”

“There’s no need, Mother,” Yun Ruoyu sighed, making a dejected expression. “She went straight back to her cottage. I’m sure she plans on devoting her entire life to Buddha—if not for the fact that I almost died, she wouldn’t have left her cottage at all! Mother, am I really her birth daughter?!”

Madam An put down her teacup before smiling imperceptibly. “There, there,” she consoled, “That’s just how Madam Qin is. Don’t you still have me and your two sisters?”

“Yup!” Yun Ruoyu nodded. “I’m so lucky you’re here, Mother, or I’d be the most pitiful child alive.”

“That’s nonsense, Sister,” Yi Qianying also sighed, “If anyone’s to take that dubious honor, it’s me. Luckily, the Yun family was willing to take me in, and both my aunt and two cousins treat me so well.”

As she spoke, Yi Qianying’s voice suddenly quavered. Big, fat tears rolled down her face, and Madam An quickly got up to console her. “Qianying, don’t cry! You’re about to get married. Remember, the Yun family will always be here for you,” Madam An stated firmly as she patted Yi Qianying’s back.

Yun Ruoyu hadn’t been present for the flower-viewing party, but everyone had long since heard about what had happened. 

Even Yun Ruoyu, still under house arrest at the time, had found out. Never had she expected that her dearest crown prince would actually end up marrying Yi Qianying!

She looked at Yi Qianying’s dainty, petite face, so appealing and alluring to the eyes. In contrast, her own scarred body…… All sorts of complicated emotions flitted through her heart.

Yun Ruoyu suppressed her overwhelming jealousy and forced herself to smile. “I heard that you’ll be married to the crown prince himself, Sister? Congratulations!”

Yi Qianying knew that Yun Ruoyu had a crush on the crown prince. Her sudden dejection, pervertedly, made Yi Qianying feel somewhat better: at least she wasn’t the only one who was suffering!

“Thank you, Sister,” she replied.

Despite the sisters’ negative feelings toward each other, the tea party would have seemed harmonious to an outsider’s eye.

Madam An had initially been worried that Yun Ruoyu would harbor a grudge against her for her scarring, but no longer. The girl had grown up by her side, and was closer to her than even her birth mother. Furthermore, even if she really held a grudge, Madam An was sure that she could handle whatever the girl tried to throw at her!

Suddenly, Yi Qianying placed her teacup on the table, crossed her arms, and looked furtively at the other three people. She frowned slightly and began, “Aunt, during the flower-viewing party, I discovered a huge secret. I’ve not yet had the chance to discuss it with you, and it may sound a little ridiculous, but I really do believe that my intuition’s right!”

As soon as the others heard Yi Qianying’s words, they stopped drinking their tea and looked to her as one.

“What secret? Qianying, tell us!” Yun Ruoyu exclaimed.

“That’s right, Qianying, tell us now while everyone’s still here,” Yun Ruoyao agreed.

With a severe expression, Yi Qianying subconsciously lowered her voice and claimed, “I suspect Yun Ruoyan’s not the same Yun Ruoyan as before!”

“Sister Qianying, what do you mean?”

“If Yun Ruoyan’s not Yun Ruoyan, who could she be?”

But Madam An drummed her fingers on the table thoughtfully. “Her personality has had a significant change…”

“Sister Ruoyao, Sister Qianying, don’t you remember how Yun Ruoyan actually killed that young master from the Yue kingdom’s Wang family?”

The sisters had kept this hidden from outsiders, but Madam An was no outsider to them.

Yun Ruoyao and Yi Qianying nodded, but they still didn’t understand what Yi Qianying was getting at.

“That day in the greenhouse, I suddenly felt that Yun Ruoyan was staring at me in a very strange way. She wasn’t laughing at my misery, but neither was she looking on in cold disregard. Instead, her gaze was arrogant and haughty, as if I were nothing but a bug in her eyes,” Yi Qianying described. “I suddenly remembered that, right before Young Master Wang died, he yelled out that Yun Ruoyan wasn’t a person, but was rather a demon.”

Yun Ruoyao and Yun Ruoyu thought back to the day’s events before considering Yun Ruoyan’s dramatic change in a new light. It was a warm summer’s day, but the three sisters’ backs turned cold.

“Qianying,” Madam An sat up straight and looked intently at Yi Qianying. “Are you claiming that Ruoyan’s actually a demon?!”

Yi Qianying nodded before shaking her head. “More precisely, I believe she’s been possessed by a demon.” She leaned forward, her eyes wide. “How else could you explain her sudden increase in strength? How could she have become so hard to deal with all of a sudden?!”

“You must be right!” Yun Ruoyu stood up. “No wonder she was unwilling to drink the tea I handed her! She must have smelled the poison in it! And when she poured the tea all over me, that must have been intentional too! She has to be a demon!”

She laid her hands on the table and continued urgently, hatefully, “Don’t you remember how she charmed the crown prince the day he came to visit? I bet it was a fox demon!”

“No wonder she was always able to win against those stronger than her in battle. “First, as a third-rank blademaster, she managed to beat Wang Kuang. Then, during the flower-viewing party, she beat the sixth-rank Rong Yuehong. No regular human could improve in cultivation so quickly. What’s more, she’s even hiding her cultivation from Father…”

Madam An slammed her palm on the table. “There’s really no other explanation for such unusual occurrences. Qianying’s suspicion might well be true!”

“In that case, let’s tell Father and Grandmother about this,” Yun Ruoyu continued hurriedly. “Let them take care of her!”

“Ruoyu, we can’t do that.” Yun Ruoyao shook her head. “We have no proof that she’s been possessed by a demon. If we actually did present such a claim, not only would Father and Grandmother not believe us, they might even rebuke us for trying to cause a conflict within the household.”

“Then what should we do? Are we going to let Ruoyan run rampant around the house?!”

Everyone frowned, and an uneasy silence descended. After a moment, Madam An’s eyes suddenly brightened. “I know something that can force demons to assume their true form!”

“What?” Yun Ruoyao, Yun Ruoyu, and Yi Qianying exclaimed together.

“Realgar wine. I saw a daoist laying a trap for a demon once when I was young. Demons with a low level of cultivation will immediately show themselves for who they are when they touch even a single drop of the wine.”

Yun Ruoyu’s eyes also brightened. “Mother, do you mean to spray her with such wine when she’s not paying attention? That’s easy!”

Madam An shook her head. “Based on your descriptions, she’s probably a high-ranking demon. It probably wouldn’t be enough to just spray her with the wine—she’d likely have to be forced to consume it.”

“But she’s always so cautious! Even with all of us there, we couldn’t force her to drink that cup of tea, so how are we going to get her to drink the wine?”

Madam An ground her teacup against the table as she formulated a plan. As the three girls looked anxiously at her, she took a sip of tea and finally said, “It looks like it’s time to put one of my pawns into action.”