Chapter 11 — The Poor Bridegroom Is the Supreme One

Two months have passed since the failed attack at the market, in the luxurious main hall, Khinh Tuyết sat across from Triệu Nhã Trân in the private tea room, both their faces showing an unconcealed impatience.

"Mother, it's been two months and she still shows no signs of deterioration like I expected," Khinh Tuyết said, her voice somewhat frustrated. "On the contrary, I also heard that she and that poor husband were getting closer and closer, and were even discussed by the servants in the palace as a rare harmonious couple."

Triệu Nhã Trân took a sip of tea, her eyes thoughtful. "I also felt that something was wrong. The attack at the market failed in a strange way - three highly trained assassins were defeated by just one poor, unknown person. I asked people to investigate further about that Tạ Dịch Thần guy, but the more I investigated, the more I found that all the clues about his background were strangely vague, as if someone had deliberately erased all traces."

"So what should we do next?" Khinh Tuyết asked, her eyes flashing impatiently.

"The plan with fake documents about Khinh Vy providing support for an outside lover, has housekeeper Kỳ Bá Thành prepared yet?" Triệu Nhã Trân asked again.

"It's done, but I think if I just use a fake profile, I'm afraid it won't be strong enough to completely defeat her. She is now much wiser than before, maybe she has already been on guard against attacks like this." Khinh Tuyết pondered for a moment, then her eyes suddenly flashed a cold light. "Mother, I thought of another way, much more radical."

"Tell me," Triệu Nhã Trân urged.

"The anniversary of her biological mother's death is coming soon," Khinh Tuyết said, her voice slow and calculating, "according to the annual custom, she will visit the grave at the family mausoleum, located near the western border of the capital. I heard, that area is close to Black Mist Coc, where it is said that there is an invisible vortex leading straight into Vực Hoàng Tuyền. Once you fall into it, there will be no way to return alive."

Triệu Nhã Trân frowned slightly, her eyes examining her daughter. "Are you planning on using the Black Mist Cup to eliminate your sister forever? This is a much more dangerous plan than anything we've ever done."

"It's because it's dangerous that it's effective," Khinh Tuyết replied, her voice cold and chilling. "If she died because she fell into the Black Mist Valley while visiting her mother's grave, everyone would just think it was an unfortunate accident, no one would suspect we were involved. I've had people carefully survey the terrain of that area. Just arrange for her entourage to be separated, push her close to the edge of the cliff at the time when the fog is thickest, the invisible vortex will automatically do the rest."

"So what about her husband? What if he comes with security?" Triệu Nhã Trân asked, still a little worried.

"I've thought about that," Khinh Tuyết replied, the corners of her lips curling up in a calculating smile. "According to tradition, only women in the family are allowed to enter the private mausoleum of the deceased wife to visit the grave. Men, including her husband, must wait outside the mausoleum gate. This is the perfect opportunity, when she is completely separated from his protection." Triệu Nhã Trân nodded, gradually convinced by her daughter's meticulous calculations. "Okay, I will have someone prepare. But you must be careful and absolutely not reveal any traces that could be related to us."

"Don't worry, mother," Khinh Tuyết replied, her eyes shining with cruel confidence, "this time, I won't let her have a chance to escape her fate again," Triệu Nhã Trân pondered for a moment, then asked more. "Have you contacted the group of people who can help us activate the vortex at the right time? This is the most important part. If we only rely on natural fog, we cannot be sure of the time and intensity."

"I asked the Au family to take care of that part," Khinh Tuyết replied, "my father-in-law knows a group of people from a mysterious sect in the northern mountains, specializing in researching unusual aura areas in the world. He paid a huge sum of money for them to help activate and guide the vortex just as the tomb-visiting group passed through the area near Black Vụ Cốc. As long as everything goes as planned, no one will be able to find a trace related to us." Hearing that, Triệu Nhã Trân nodded slightly in satisfaction, but in her heart there was still some vague guilt at the cruelty of this plan - although she also understood clearly that, once she has embarked on the path of competing for power and property, there is no other way out but to move forward to the end.

"But you must remember," she further advised, "after everything is over, you must show appropriate sadness in front of father and everyone in the palace. Do not reveal any loopholes in your attitude, otherwise it will make others suspicious."

"Don't worry, mother, I know what to do," Khinh Tuyết replied, the corners of her lips curling up in a cold, confident smile.

Meanwhile, at the small western institute, Khinh Vy was completely unaware of the new plot being woven to target herself. She was sitting with Vân Nhi preparing offerings for her mother's upcoming death anniversary. Her face looked a little sad as she remembered her mother who passed away when she was young.

"Miss, are you still planning to visit my lady's grave as usual this year?" Vân Nhi asked, her hands still neatly folding incense sticks and fruits.

"Of course," Khinh Vy replied, her voice gentle, "even though my mother passed away early, she was the only person in this Ngan palace who truly loved me unconditionally. Every year, I have to come and burn incense for her, no matter how busy I am."

She did not know that in her previous life, this visit to the grave took place completely peacefully, without any incidents - because, in her previous life, Khinh Tuyết never needed such a drastic plan, because any simpler slanderous plot was enough to push her to death on the night of their wedding. But in this life, when previous attacks continuously failed, Khinh Tuyết was forced to escalate, devising a much more dangerous plan, a plan that Khinh Vy's own memories had no precedent to warn against.

This was the most dangerous blind spot in all her preparations — even though she tried to anticipate every possibility based on what had happened in her previous life, when the other person completely changed their approach, creating a completely new situation that had never happened before, her preparations based on old memories suddenly became useless.

"Vân Nhi, are you ready? Tomorrow we will depart early to arrive on time for the Dragon," Khinh Vy said, completely unaware of the deadly danger that awaited her.

"Yes, miss, everything is ready," Vân Nhi replied.

That evening, when Khinh Vy told Dịch Thần about the upcoming visit to the grave, he had a vague feeling of insecurity, although he could not clearly explain its origin. As the Supreme Being of the Nine Heavens Realm, he has a special sensitivity to fluctuations in the aura of heaven and earth, and in the past few days, he has felt an unusually gloomy aura gathering in the western area of the capital, close to the location of Black Mist Valley.

"Madam," he said, his voice somewhat serious, "I would like to follow you to the mausoleum tomorrow."

"No way," Khinh Vy replied, shaking her head slightly, "according to the family's rules, only women are allowed to enter my mother's private tomb, men must wait outside the gate. But rest assured, this is just an annual visit to the tomb, there is nothing dangerous."

Dịch Thần was silent for a moment, his eyes looked out the window, where the night was falling with an unusual stillness. "Okay, I will follow you to the tomb gate and wait for you there. If anything unusual happens, you must call me immediately." Khinh Vy nodded, not realizing the deep worry hidden behind Dịch Thần's seemingly normal advice. She did not know that it was the sharp intuition of a Supreme Being that helped him sense that something was wrong, even though he could not determine exactly where and when the danger would come from.

After Khinh Vy fell asleep, Dịch Thần still sat alone by the window, his eyes looking far to the west, where he felt the gloomy air becoming more and more obvious. He called Bạt Sương to discuss privately.

"Brothers, have you sensed anything unusual in the area west of the capital these past few days?" Dịch Thần asked, his voice serious.

"Yes," Bạt Sương replied, his face also becoming serious, "I thought it was just the natural remnants of Black Mist Coc's aura, but if you guys also sense the abnormality, I'm afraid someone is deliberately stirring it up."

"I'm worried that your visit to the tomb tomorrow will pass by that exact area," Dịch Thần said. "But you have confirmed that the mausoleum is quite far from Black Mist Coc, so there is no reason to worry. I don't want you to be more confused without concrete evidence, but I still can't be completely assured."

"Then let me secretly have people keep a close eye on the mausoleum tomorrow, in case anything changes," Bạt Sương suggested.

"Okay," Dịch Thần nodded, "it's better to be careful. I have a hunch, this is not a night we can sleep peacefully."