Bai Luochu nodded absently as she thought of a plan to return the plate of desserts to her cousin.
When Cai Ling saw that Bai Luochu was deep in thought, she interrupted her, "Mistress, you better eat something. Now that our situation is much better than before, you don't have to be so troubled. It will not be good for your stomach if the food gets cold."
"Cai Ling, are you familiar with the people in the kitchen?" Bai Luochu ignored Cai Ling's suggestion and inquired.
"I am familiar with one of them. Is there a problem with the food?" Cai Ling understood that her mistress was probably scheming against someone again. She knew that she shouldn't be curious but she couldn't help but ask.
"Then do you know when my cousin usually eats her desserts?" Bai Luochu continued to ask.
"The young lady generally has some tea and desserts after her dinner. This servant just learned of this today." Cai Ling spoke with confidence and it was obvious that this information was very reliable.
Bai Luochu nodded and continued to instruct Cai Ling. "When you return to the kitchen, replace her dessert with these cakes. Be careful. Make sure no one sees you."
Cai Ling nodded and acknowledged the order.
Since her cousin was in such a hurry to scheme against Bai Luochu, she couldn't blame anyone for falling into the trap she dug.
On the next morning, when Cai Ling delivered breakfast, she brought along the news related to Bai Luochu's cousin.
"Mistress, the Young Lady has been running to the toilet for the entire night! Lord uncle and madam invited plenty of physicians and all of them said that she ate an excess of croton seeds. There isn't any cure for it and she can only endure the pain during this period of time. Mistress, is this part of your scheme?" Cai Ling became softer and softer as she was afraid someone might overhear their conversation.
"Nope. She made the dessert and brought them over to me. Since she gave them to me, I had to get rid of them some way or another. I returned them all to her last night... I had nothing to do with the croton seeds." Bai Luochu ate her breakfast as she calmly explained herself. It was as though she was completely unrelated to the matter.
Cai Ling suddenly realized that her mistress was revealing a part of her fox tail.
The cousin clearly knew about the cause behind her suffering. However, she didn't seem repentant at all. Instead, she noted down everything in her heart and prepared to take revenge on Bai Luochu.
Just like this, due to her uncle and aunt's concern for her younger cousin, the conflict in the residence seemed to disappear. The two sides lived in harmony as they didn't interfere with each other's life. At least until her younger cousin's recovery. Bai Luochu used these few days to refine all the poison herbs she had bought from the Hundred Herbs Hall and turned them into poison, just in case she had to use it.
Due to the fact that no one came to provoke her, her cultivation progressed by leaps and bounds, allowing her to advance further.
In the end, none of them seemed to have learned their lesson as someone came to deliver themselves up for humiliation.
"Young Lady Luo Chu, my Young Lady says that the weather is great today. After recuperating for the past few days, she feels rather bored. She invites you to take a trip to the lake to admire the koi fishes. What do you think about joining her?"
Since someone was trying to entertain her, there was no reason for her not to go. Bai Luochu immediately replied to that servant girl, "Tell your Young Lady that I will go over after I make some preparations."
When the servant girl obtained Bai Luochu's consent, she quickly returned to the courtyard to inform her young lady. It was time for Bai Luochu's younger cousin to make the necessary arrangements so that her plot wouldn't fail.
After the servant girl left, Bai Luochu started to temper the silver needles again. She suddenly realized that it was more interesting to leave this fool alive as she would be able to liven up the atmosphere by being a clown. In the end, Bai Luochu picked out a poison that wouldn't kill her younger cousin. It would inflict her with just enough pain to leave her at death's door without giving her the chance to enter the netherworld.
After preparing everything, Bai Luochu headed out of the room and towards the lake.
It might be called a lake, but it was simply a man-made pond in the backyard of the general's residence.
When Bai Luochu arrived, her cousin had already been waiting and it was unknown if she had set up some kind of trap earlier.
"Is cousin feeling better now? Your elder sister has been worried for you...." When Bai Luochu's cousin heard this, she nearly fainted from anger. It was obvious that Bai Luochu was the one who swapped the plate of desserts. How dare she shed crocodile tears after setting me up!
The cousin might be fuming in her heart, but she still had to act the part. She was after all, much more clever than her brainless parents. She replied with a calm expression, "I have troubled elder sister. Didn't this younger sister invite elder sister here to admire the koi fishes in order to sponge some good luck off you?"
Bai Luochu nodded in agreement while her cousin handed over a piece of copper coin. "I heard that it is rather efficacious to make a wish in a koi pond. Shall we try it too?"
Bai Luochu knew that the cousin was digging a pit for her and waiting for her to jump in. Hence, Bai Luochu decided to beat her at her own game. "Sure! Can younger sister please teach me how to make a wish?"
"How can there be so many methods to make a wish? We simply need to cup our hands together, close our eyes, and pray sincerely." As her cousin spoke, she cupped her hands together seemingly to make a wish.
Bai Luochu closed her eyes and pretended to make a wish.
When Bai Luochu closed her eyes, the personal servant beside her cousin poked her. Bai Luochu's cousin suddenly opened her eyes and reached out to push Bai Luochu into the pond.
Bai Luochu's spiritual energy was already stronger than most people, furthermore, she was on guard against her cousin. Just as her cousin was about to make contact with Bai Luochu, the latter suddenly dodged. As her palm missed her target, Bai Luochu's cousin fell into the pond.
"Splash!" When the cousin fell into the water, she created quite a big commotion.
"The Young Lady fell into the water! Hurry up and rescue her!" Bai Luochu had already expected this outcome and as soon as her cousin fell into the water, Bai Luochu immediately yelled out. She sounded very anxious and those who didn't know what was going on would really think that she was concerned for her younger cousin.
After she was rescued, Bai Luochu went over and asked with a tinge of concern in her voice, "Did younger sister choke on the water? Let elder sister help you settle down a little."
Bai Luochu then gently patted her cousin's body and took this opportunity to inject her meticulously prepared poison.
Her younger cousin shoved Bai Luochu's hand away and snapped, "No need for your hypocrisy! Luo Chu, just you wait! After everything you have done to me, I will make you pay!"
Her cousin turned and left. When Bai Luochu saw that her objective had been achieved, she couldn't be bothered to continue acting like sisters any longer. She simply flicked off the water on her body and returned to her room.