The Black-hearted Cousin-aunt

Ning Sang-sang slept until the sun was high in the sky. After waking, tidying herself up, and eating breakfast, she was strolling around the residence when her little brother, Ning Hui, came looking for her.

"Sis, Mother wants you to go to the main hall. She said our cousin-aunt is here and wants you to meet her."

Cousin-aunt? Ning Sang-sang narrowed her eyes. This woman was a black-hearted white lotus, all feigned innocence. In the novel, the original owner of this body had been harmed by this very cousin-aunt...

"Sis, what's wrong?" Ning Hui noticed the change in her mood and asked with concern.

Ning Sang-sang came back to herself and said with a cheerful smile, "Nothing. Come on, let's head to the main hall and meet that black-hearted cousin-aunt."

With that, she strode toward the main hall.

Black-hearted cousin-aunt? What a strange thing to call her, Ning Hui muttered inwardly. Then he hurried after Ning Sang-sang and asked curiously, "Sis, why are you calling her our black-hearted cousin-aunt?"

Because her heart is black.

That was Ning Sang-sang's inward answer, but aloud she said, "Back in the countryside, 'black-hearted cousin-aunt' is an affectionate name for a cousin-aunt."

Ning Hui: "..."

You're pulling my leg. That's not what you said in your head.

Before Ning Sang-sang and Ning Hui even entered the main hall, they heard an agitated woman's voice from inside. "Cousin, are you sure she really is Sang-sang? Cousin, I know you've been hoping all these years for Sang-sang to return. I've been hoping for her return every moment, too!

"But Cousin, you must keep your eyes open. So many people have come to the Duke of Ning's Residence over the years, pretending to be Sang-sang and claiming kinship. What if this girl in your residence is another impostor who has come with ulterior motives? Wouldn't all your joy turn out to be for nothing?"

Hearing this, Ning Sang-sang stepped into the main hall and looked up at the woman seated beside her mother, sizing her up. The woman appeared to be only in her thirties and had the look of a delicate little white flower, so fragile and lovely that anyone would feel moved to pity her. Needless to say, this had to be that black-hearted cousin-aunt, Little Lin.

According to the novel, Little Lin was Madam Jiang's younger, distant cousin. She had lost her parents as a child, and Madam Jiang's mother, Madam Lin, had taken pity on her and brought her back to the Chancellor's Residence to raise her.

She had envied everything Madam Jiang had since childhood. Once they grew up, they both fell in love with Ning Xiaotian. Ning Xiaotian chose Madam Jiang, while Little Lin married a man she did not love and had a deeply unhappy marriage.

Then, seeing Ning Xiaotian cherish Madam Jiang like a treasure, and seeing that she had borne him two sons, Little Lin's jealousy turned into a desire for revenge.

So, when Madam Jiang went to a temple to pray for blessings, Little Lin had people lie in wait along the road she had to take and frighten her, causing her to go into premature labor. Little Lin also had someone take the newborn away to bury the child alive. She wanted Madam Jiang and Ning Xiaotian to spend the rest of their lives in the agony of losing a child.

As Ning Sang-sang looked at Little Lin and recalled the novel's plot, Ning Hui's loud voice rang out. "Cousin-aunt, she is my real sister! She's absolutely not some impostor!"

Little Lin's gaze fell on Ning Sang-sang. She looked her up and down, then said with absolute certainty, "Hui, she definitely isn't your real sister."

Ning Hui frowned. "Cousin-aunt, how can you be so sure she isn't my sister?"

"Because my intuition tells me so."

Because this black-hearted cousin-aunt thinks her people already buried me alive.

The two voices sounded at the same time.

Madam Jiang and Ning Hui were utterly shocked.

Little Lin could not hear Ning Sang-sang's thoughts. Seeing Ning Hui staring at her in shock, she assumed her words had stunned him and continued, "Hui, your cousin-aunt's intuition has always been accurate. I have a very strong feeling that the girl beside you is definitely not your sister."

She thought, I already had Madam Jiang's daughter buried alive. She's dead. This girl who's come to the Duke of Ning's Residence claiming kinship must be an impostor.

With her daughter gone all these years, Madam Jiang had poured all her love into Little Lin's daughter. Little Lin could not let this little brat, who had appeared out of nowhere, steal the love that belonged to her daughter.

This black-hearted cousin-aunt certainly has faith in her underlings. She doesn't know that the man she ordered to bury me alive took pity on me and couldn't bring himself to do it. He left me in the grass instead, which was how I was rescued and managed to cling to my little life.

As Madam Jiang listened to her daughter's words, storm-tossed waves surged through her heart.

The cousin she had loved from the bottom of her heart had actually harmed her and her daughter like this?

Learning that Little Lin was behind all of this, Ning Hui's expression turned ugly. He glared at her, his dark eyes blazing with fury.

Their whole family had treated her so well, yet she had harmed his mother and sister like this.

To order someone to bury his newborn sister alive-how vicious could her heart be?

Little Lin was baffled by Ning Hui's furious glare, his eyes seeming ready to spit fire. Just then, footsteps sounded outside. She looked up and saw Ning Xiaotian enter. The sight of him stirred a tangled mix of emotions within her. This man should have been hers.

"Cousin, she isn't your biological daughter..."

"She is my biological daughter."

Madam Jiang cut her off coldly.

Little Lin frowned, unable to understand why Madam Jiang had suddenly become so cold toward her. It was all this impostor's fault. She turned a dark, unreadable gaze on Ning Sang-sang.

Ning Sang-sang raised her eyebrows.

This cousin-aunt with her pitch-black heart is looking at me as though she wants to devour me.

This black-hearted cousin-aunt must be thinking viciously right now: I had Madam Jiang's daughter buried alive as soon as she was born. This one must be an impostor. I absolutely have to drive her out of the Duke of Ning's Residence so Madam Jiang can keep doting on my daughter.

Hearing this, Madam Jiang and Ning Xiaotian's expressions turned grim.

Without noticing anything amiss with their emotions, Ning Sang-sang lowered her head and inwardly savored the juicy gossip about Little Lin.

This black-hearted cousin-aunt really repaid kindness with cruelty. Grandfather and Grandmother treated her so well, raising her as their own, yet all along she wanted to poison them. Mother treated her like a real younger sister from childhood, but she was always jealous of Mother and couldn't bear to see her doing well. On the surface, she treated Mother like her own elder sister, while behind her back, she kept plotting against her.

When Mother gave birth to my eldest brother, this black-hearted cousin-aunt tried to meddle and cause a difficult labor. But Father stayed by Mother's side the whole time, so she never found a chance to act. That was how Mother managed to give birth to my eldest brother safely.

When Mother gave birth to my second brother, she tried to meddle and cause a difficult labor again. But her daughter suddenly had an accident while playing and split her head open, so she didn't get a chance to act that time, either.

When Mother had me, she'd learned her lesson. After finding out that Mother was going to a temple to pray for blessings, she had people lie in wait ahead of time along the road Mother had to take. She arranged for them to frighten Mother, causing her to go into premature labor and give birth to me. To make Father and Mother spend the rest of their lives in the agony of losing a child, she simply ordered someone to take me away and bury me alive. Thank goodness I was lucky enough to be adopted. Otherwise, how could I have survived until now?

At these thoughts, everyone in the main hall turned to look at Little Lin in unison, their expressions grim.

Little Lin was bewildered. "What's wrong with all of you?"