CHAPTER 282: CHAPTER 279: CINDERELLA’S COMEBACK AGAINST THE ODDS 24

Song Yingying led Anning upstairs.

Her bedroom was on the second floor, so she first took Anning there.

While walking around the second-floor corridor, Song Yingying said to Anning, "I often hear the sound of someone walking. At the same time every day, I see shadows moving in the corridor. Once when I was about to take my medicine, the water in the cup turned red..."

Anning frowned deeply.

Song Yingying had no trace of yin energy on her, clearly indicating there were no ghosts or spirits in this house.

But according to what Song Yingying said, there was indeed something strange going on here.

She and Song Yingying entered the bedroom, and after entering, Anning saw a photo on the table, showing two people. One was Song Yingying, and the other was a man who appeared very close to her, both wearing joyful smiles.

"This is my husband."

Song Yingying spoke as Anning picked up the photo.

Anning smiled and put the photo back down.

Turning to the bed in the bedroom, she noticed that only Song Yingying slept there.

"Your husband doesn’t sleep with you?"

Song Yingying nodded, "I haven’t been sleeping well recently, always hearing strange noises and sometimes waking up in the middle of the night. My husband is quite busy with work, and I’m afraid he’ll also have trouble sleeping, so we decided to sleep in separate rooms."

Anning looked at Song Yingying, "You mentioned you were taking medicine, what kind of medicine is it?"

Song Yingying smiled slightly, "It’s medicine to strengthen the body; I’ve been feeling particularly weak lately."

"Where is the medicine?"

Anning asked.

Song Yingying opened a drawer only to find it was empty.

"I still have some in my husband’s room; I’ll go and get it."

Anning followed Song Yingying into her husband’s bedroom.

Upon entering, Anning’s frown deepened.

She watched Song Yingying take out some medicine from a drawer in the bedroom.

Anning took it, examined it, and tasted a tiny bit.

She handed the medicine back to Song Yingying: "You can take it."

Song Yingying paused momentarily.

Anning then asked, "Do you need water? I’ll pour you a glass."

Holding the medicine, Song Yingying waited for Anning to pour the water and was about to take it.

Suddenly, Anning grabbed her arm holding the medicine: "Don’t take it yet."

Song Yingying now looked slightly displeased, "So should I take it or not?"

Anning pulled Song Yingying toward the stairs, "I know what’s going on here."

Sitting in the living room, Jiang Zhengwei and Liu Mei’er, upon hearing Anning’s words, waited anxiously for Anning to come down and asked, "What exactly is going on?"

A flash of eagerness passed through Song Yingying’s eyes.

Anning then asked Song Yingying, "How is your relationship with your husband? How did you meet? How long have you been married? Do you have any children?"

Song Yingying was stunned for a long while, then said, "My husband and I have a pretty good relationship. We were college classmates, have been married for five years, and don’t have children yet. I’ve been in poor health for some time, and my husband is so sympathetic that he suggested we don’t have kids yet."

Anning nodded continuously.

Liu Mei, full of curiosity, asked, "Why are you asking this? I know Ge Jiandong too; he is a decent person. Do you mean that Ge Jiandong has brought something unclean home?"

She often heard people say that coming home late could attract unclean spirits from the road.

Before she could finish, Anning immediately covered her mouth with her hand.

Liu Mei’er widened her eyes with growing curiosity.

Anning moved her hand away: "There’s nothing unclean here."

Liu Mei’er frowned: "How is that possible? Yingying isn’t foolish, nor is she superstitious. If there really was nothing, why would she be so suspicious?"

Anning sat down, looking at Song Yingying: "You said that the medicine was given to you by your husband, where did he get it from? Did you ever check what kind of medicine it was? Also, could you explain a bit about your husband’s family background?"

Song Yingying also sat down. Although she didn’t understand why Anning kept asking about her husband, she still told her: "My husband is from a rural area; we met in college, dated for three years, and got married not long after graduation... Well, his family is quite good. I’ve visited their home, the house is well-built, they own land, and the village has beautiful scenery. Many people have set up farm stays; my husband’s brother also runs one, and my parents-in-law always help out at his brother’s place. They also bring some produce from the fields; they have been very good to me."

Anning nodded continuously: "That sounds quite alright."

Liu Mei’er quickly vouched for Yingying: "The Ge Family is really decent. Ge Jiandong’s parents are honest people, they treat Yingying exceptionally well, and Ge Jiandong’s brother has twins. They are so busy helping with the children that they never pressured Yingying to have kids early."

"What exactly is going on?"

Song Yingying asked urgently, "Could it really be something unclean brought back by my husband? Or is it something at my in-law’s place?"

Anning looked at Song Yingying, then into the void. A moment passed, and just as Song Yingying was about to panic, Anning spoke up: "Did you have a grandmother who passed away?"

Song Yingying nodded: "Yes, my grandma passed away last year. She raised me since I was a child. I’ve been very sad since she passed and couldn’t get over it for nearly a year, but my husband has been by my side consoling me, and Liu Mei’er has been making me laugh. Gradually, I managed to let go."

Anning sighed: "Was your grandmother’s death sudden? Did she say anything to you when you last visited?"

"My grandma?"

Song Yingying thought carefully: "Her death was indeed sudden. She lived alone. Just then my mother-in-law sent some game meat, so I asked my husband to deliver it to my grandma. Later, my husband called me saying grandma was close to passing away, so I rushed over. When I got there, grandma was at her last moment, she kept pointing at my husband, holding my hand anxiously with tears in her eyes."

Song Yingying recalled her grandmother’s teary eyes: "I was very sad at that time, kept crying, and it was my husband who helped my father dress my grandma in burial clothes. He also took care of all the funeral arrangements; I am truly grateful for that."

Anning’s face became intriguing, she scoffed: "Grateful, indeed. The murderer turns out to be thanked by the victim’s family."

"What do you mean?"

Shocked, Song Yingying looked up at Anning, her face a mix of helplessness and disbelief.

Anning said coldly: "Your grandma was killed by him."

"No, that can’t be."

Song Yingying couldn’t accept this, she kept shaking her head.

Even Liu Mei’er and Jiang Zhengwei couldn’t believe it.

Ignoring their thoughts, Anning simply revealed the truth: "Ge Jiandong has been having an affair with his childhood friend all along. It just so happened that your grandma saw them on that day. Your grandma scolded Ge Jiandong, and he begged for mercy, claiming that the woman seduced him and that he had no such intentions, promising to be devoted to you. Your grandma agreed not to reveal it at first and planned to investigate him upon returning home. Panicked, Ge Jiandong decided to silence your grandma that day by bringing poison in the food; his girlfriend, a pharmacist, had access to certain drugs. He added these drugs to the water he gave your grandma..."

Anning laid it all out for Song Yingying: "Your grandmother’s heart had been weak during that period. The drug Ge Jiandong used targeted this condition. After your grandma drank the water with the poison, Ge Jiandong said many cruel things to provoke your grandma. He even mentioned plotting against you, leading to your grandma’s heart attack from the stress. When you arrived, your grandma was pointing at Ge Jiandong essentially trying to tell you he was the killer."

After Anning finished speaking, Song Yingying still couldn’t believe it.

So, Anning brought out the medicine she had been prescribed: "This medicine can lead to a nervous breakdown. If taken in excess, even a good person can turn crazed, essentially what we call mental disruption."

"This is..."

Liu Mei’er’s hands trembled with fear, barely able to hold the medicine.

While Song Yingying’s face turned pale, disbelievingly staring at the medication.

Anning chuckled lightly: "Medicine and divination are inseparable. We who study mysticism understand medicine, astrology, and fortune-telling. It is not as people imagine, that we are ignorant and only deceive. A true Xuanxue Master has many things to learn. Besides traditional Chinese medicine, I also know some Western medicine and have studied pharmacology."

Indeed, Anning had even developed a cure for the Zombie Virus in her previous world; what medicine could possibly confound her?

"When I obtained this medicine, I found something amiss and tasted some of it."

Anning explained to Song Yingying: "This is not a medicine to improve your health, but affects the nerves. You mentioned that this medicine was brought by your husband; I suspect your husband is harming you. You’ve always felt strange noises at home, and once when you went to drink the potion, it turned red. These were all your husband’s doing. He just wanted to accelerate your condition, to drive you insane sooner. All this while, you were under the impression that there were ghosts in your house."

"Is this true?"

Song Yingying, unable to accept this truth, collapsed onto the sofa, hugging Liu Mei’er and sobbing bitterly: "How could he do this to me? I have never wronged him. Even if, even if he fell out of love with me, he could have just told me straight up. It’s not like I’d cling to him relentlessly. Why does he have to harm me?"

Liu Mei’er’s expression was complex.

Jiang Zhengwei looked from one to another, unsure of what to say.

Anning pinched her fingers and calculated: "He is likely driven by money. If you were to divorce, you would be entitled to half of the property. If you wanted shares in the company, it would be even more problematic for him."

Thinking a bit further, Anning added: "Also, his mistress outside is pregnant. He can’t let the child be born illegitimate, and he is unwilling to give up the money or the child. Naturally, his only thought was to sacrifice you. I suspect he wanted to drive you insane, then use that as an excuse to confine you for treatment and seize control of your assets..."