Persuading Her Mother

Grace Wan fell silent, lost in thought.

"Is there something wrong with the medicine Sophie Sun gave you?"

"It shouldn't be. I'll go ask her." Grace Wan replied.

"Can she really be trusted?" Kevin Zhuo was starting to doubt everything. "Last time at the Sikong residence... I heard Chloe Zhu was perfectly fine, but somehow the Liu family got involved."

"Kenneth." Grace Wan called out sternly.

"Mom, what's wrong?"

"Chloe Zhu is really suspicious." Grace Wan's eyes narrowed. "I hadn't thought about it before, but now that I look back—your sister entering the palace, Lena getting better, and now this mess with you—she's involved in every single thing."

Kevin Zhuo thought about it and nodded, "How did she suddenly get so weird? She turned fifteen and out of nowhere, she grew a Spirit Root? Does the Five Element Spirit Root really take fifteen years to mature?"

"Impossible! Spirit Roots always show up before a kid's first birthday!" Grace Wan shook her head.

"Then what's up with her? She didn't have a Spirit Root before, so how did she suddenly get one now?"

Grace Wan shook her head. "We need to find someone who actually knows what's going on and ask them..."

"Who?"

Grace Wan glanced at Kevin Zhuo and said, "Don't worry about that for now. The princess visited Zhuo Jingxuan at the Sikong residence, and now she's here for his birthday. Something's definitely up. Even if you can't marry the princess, you have to make sure he doesn't get mixed up with her! As for that army mess, you need to make it stick! Make sure Zhuo Jingxuan never gets back on his feet!"

"Don't worry, Mom!" Kevin Zhuo grinned. "He's toast this time!"

...

Chloe Zhu stepped out from the old lady's quarters and headed toward Jade Hall.

Her steps weren't exactly light.

Ever since she was reborn and came back to the family, she's been kind of stuck playing defense.

Sure, she pulled off a great comeback this time, but honestly, she's still not calling the shots.

If they hadn't thought she was a fool and made her pour wine, who knows what would've happened to her big brother or the princess.

Grace Wan controls all the people, money, and the keys to the whole estate—seriously, how do you even defend against that?

Any random servant could be her spy.

Even a vegetable could be hiding danger.

She still needed to convince her mom to take back control of the household.

Her mom's room was stuffy as ever. Chloe Zhu took off her cloak and outer robe, then sat down beside her.

"Did you just come from your grandmother's?" Lena asked with a smile.

"Mhm," Chloe Zhu said. "Aunt Wan wants Bella Wan to marry my second brother, and Grandmother is furious."

"Ah! That Wan family girl..." Lena shook her head. "Definitely not a good match."

She wasn't there that day, but she'd heard all about it from Zhuo Minghan.

Chloe Zhu's eyes darted around. "Here's what really happened..." she began.

She told Lena everything that happened.

Except for the part where she drugged Kevin Zhuo.

Lena listened, frowning. "You mean, you were the one who cured your big brother and the princess?"

Chloe Zhu nodded. "I think the original plan was for Bella Wan to mess with my big brother, and for my second brother to try something with the princess. But... it ended up like this instead."

"How did you get that antidote?"

"It was... a friend gave me a packet of Hundred Poison Powder. It's not just for that kind of poison—it can cure all sorts of toxins."

Forgive me, Mom—I really don't want to lie to you.

"She actually did that?" Lian'er frowned.

"So Mom, you really need to talk to Dad and get the household management rights back! Otherwise, if things keep going like this, my big brother and I are both going to get caught in her schemes sooner or later!" Chloe Zhu said.