The Ninth Lady is a rebellious person.

Chapter 225 Breaking her promise, the witch will suffer a terrible death.
Lang Jiuchuan stood under the veranda, watching the younger generation of the Lang family wander around the garden guessing riddles. Feeling a bit bored, he was about to leave when a fragrance of orchids wafted around him.

This incense is the kind that the Cui family usually uses.

Cui had been watching her for a while. Seeing her standing on the veranda, not participating in the games with her brothers and sisters, and not doing anything else, she seemed out of place. Cui couldn't quite describe the feeling in her heart.

Why not play with them?

Lang Jiuchuan said indifferently, "I still have some self-awareness, why should I spoil their fun?"
Cui felt a pang in her heart. After a moment of silence, she said, "You shouldn't have spoken about your fourth sister-in-law's health in front of your aunt and uncle during the family banquet earlier."

Lang Jiuchuan turned his head.

Looking at the younger generation in the family, Cui said, "You mean well, but your eldest aunt is the legal wife, and your fourth sister-in-law is a concubine's daughter-in-law. You said that her situation was not good in front of them and the whole family, which is an attempt to sow discord. Even if you didn't mean it, what will outsiders think? What will your eldest uncle think? Will he think that your eldest aunt is not acting properly as the main wife? Will he criticize her for not fulfilling her duties as the legal wife? Even if you didn't mean it, these words have still embarrassed your eldest aunt and made her resentful."

Lang Jiuchuan frowned.

Cui said calmly, "I have no intention of criticizing you, but it would be harmful to you to have a reputation for disrespecting elders and sowing discord."

"It's not entirely my fault that I haven't learned Madam's shrewdness. If I was raised without proper upbringing, then my reputation has its reasons." Lang Jiuchuan sneered, "I rely on my reputation to survive, so I will certainly be more impeccable than anyone else. However, I am not a noble lady raised in seclusion here, but merely a weed. Whether I have a good reputation or not is neither of my concern, and Madam need not worry about it either."

Cui's face turned pale.

"It's about to snow, Madam, please don't stay too long admiring the lanterns, lest you catch a cold. I'll take my leave now." Lang Jiuchuan bowed to her and turned to leave.

Cui staggered, opened her mouth, but couldn't utter a single word.

Lang Jiuchuan returned to her courtyard in silence and headed straight for her study. Jianlan followed behind her, barely daring to breathe. Suddenly, she bumped into Lang Jiuchuan, who had stopped abruptly.

"Was what I said at the banquet really intended to sow discord?" Lang Jiuchuan asked, staring at Jianlan.

Jianlan hesitated.

"to be honest."

Jianlan then said, "Well, although you mean well, the eldest madam is the legal mother, while the fourth young mistress is just a concubine's daughter-in-law. It's common for wealthy families to have scandals where the legal mother mistreats the concubine's son and daughter-in-law. The eldest madam wouldn't do that, but the fourth young mistress is six months pregnant. If something goes wrong, outsiders might think too much, especially since the eldest grandson of the main branch hasn't even been born yet."

Lang Jiuchuan's brows furrowed into a deep frown. "So many twists and turns in the inner quarters of this family?"
“If you take offense at what you said, some might think you were trying to sow discord between the young master and the first wife. If the first wife is narrow-minded, she might even hold a grudge against you, young lady.” Seeing her confusion, Jianlan quickly gave several examples of narrow-minded first wives mistreating their illegitimate sons, wives, and daughters, and said tactfully, “Young lady, in wealthy families, illegitimate children and wives are always considered inferior to legitimate children. It’s good luck to have a good mistress; if you encounter a wicked one, life will be truly difficult.”

Lang Jiuchuan said, "The First Madam is not that kind of person."

“Yes, but women are petty. Who knows if she’ll take it to heart?” Jianlan said this in a low voice. Talking about one’s master behind his back is a crime.

"I can't stay in this house any longer, there are too many rules." Lang Jiuchuan muttered to himself, then turned and went into his study: "I'm going into seclusion, don't disturb me."

Jianlan bowed and sighed.

As for Madam Fan, she was indeed quite angry, but her eldest son persuaded her to calm down. Seeing him speak up for Lang Jiuchuan in every way, she scolded him, "You don't even protect your own sister like this, yet you're so protective of a cousin who just returned home. Do you really think I would do anything to her?" "Mother is extremely tolerant and would never hold a grudge against a junior. You know Ninth Sister, she has no bad intentions. It's just that she was raised on the estate since she was little and hasn't learned the intricacies of the inner quarters of wealthy families. She's straightforward and speaks her mind; she wasn't really trying to harm you," Lang Caimeng said with a smile.

Madam Fan said irritably, "How could I not know? Alright, stop getting in my way and go back to your room to keep your wife and daughter company."

Lang Caimeng smiled and agreed.

As soon as he stepped out, the maid announced that Granny Cheng, who served Cui, had arrived. Fan hurriedly invited her in, and Granny Cheng brought a box, saying it was a gift from Cui.

Madam Fan quickly refused, saying, "Second sister-in-law, you're making me feel bad. How could I, as the eldest aunt, really hold a grudge against my niece? She's only doing this for my sister-in-law's sake. I know that. Please take it back."

Granny Cheng smiled and said, "Of course our mistress knows. We just thought that the First Madam's birthday is coming soon, so we prepared a gift for you."

She said a few kind words, put down the box, and left.

Unable to refuse, Madam Fan waited until the woman left before opening the box. Inside was a jadeite bracelet of exceptionally high quality and color, which immediately made her feel as if it were burning her hand.

No, does she really look that stingy?
In the study, Jiang Che muttered to Lang Jiuchuan, "Even bamboo branches aren't as straightforward as you. In the battles of the inner quarters, people often kill without shedding blood. You should learn from that."

Lang Jiuchuan summoned the Little Nine Towers and said, "I don't need to make a living in anyone's backyard, so what's the use of learning it? I can tell clearly whether someone is a person or a ghost, so there's no need to mention it. My mental energy has been severely depleted lately, so come with me into the tower for seclusion."

She sat cross-legged and formed a hand seal, her primordial spirit entering the Small Nine Towers.

She first pulled out Cong Jinnian's soul, which had been tormented to pieces by the Demon-Slaying Array. Looking at his nearly incomplete soul, her expression turned cold as she asked, "How did Cong Bian come to draw demonic runes? Where did he obtain the demonic manual, and where is it?"

Upon seeing her, Jin Nian felt a flicker of fear, but said nothing, only revealing a hint of mockery: "So-called righteous path, nothing more than that. What you consider righteous, who knows if it's just a facade? You've ruined my family's century-long plan, I curse you..."

"Shut up!" Lang Jiuchuan grabbed his soul and used his mind to tear it to shreds.

From Jin Nian: "!"

She was the truly wicked and demonic woman. If she had the ability, she should have beaten him to a pulp. Why torture him like this?
“If you don’t tell me, I’ll send you to the sea of ​​hellfire to experience the agony of being scorched by karmic flames. That place is far worse than this exorcising array; it will burn your soul until you have repaid all your karmic debts before you can be reincarnated in the six realms. Tell me, where did he get it from?”

Cong Jinnian shuddered and immediately said, "I don't know, and I've never seen any codex. I only know that his master was Kong Jin. All the numerology techniques that the ancestor knew were drawn into a treasure book, which is hidden in the secret compartment of the incense burner in the Cong family ancestral hall."

Lang Jiuchuan's face darkened. It really was Demon Dao Kong Jin?
“Tell me from beginning to end how you recruited and carried out this corpse-making process. If you tell me the truth, I'll send you to the Yellow Springs to be reborn in the Six Paths of Reincarnation.”

Cong Jinnian was somewhat skeptical, but under her tyrannical power, she dared not disbelieve. In any case, she would die whether she told her or not, so she recounted the Cong family's grand plan for the next century.

Lang Jiuchuan's gaze grew colder and colder until he finished speaking. After saying a few more tricks, he threw him back into the Demon-Slaying Array: "Going to the Yellow Springs isn't any better. You weren't a good person in life, so be a good ghost and provide food for my Demon-Slaying Array."

The wooden fish, having received the order, unleashed its full power and was about to utterly annihilate Jin Nian, for it had been waiting impatiently for a long time!
Cong Jinnian: "..."

A woman who breaks her word will surely die a horrible death!