"Master, I'm so sorry, it's all my fault."
As Huangfu Yue returned to her room with Xiao Hei and Ying'er and sat down, she heard Xiao Hei's apology.
Huangfu Yue looked at Xiao Hei, who was full of remorse.
Xiao Hei felt incredibly guilty. It thought about how chaotic things had been downstairs, how the master's second sister-in-law had been threatening to die or live, causing such a scene, and it was all because of itself.
It was also because of itself that the master was driven upstairs by her grandmother to eat alone in her room.
However, thinking that even when pushed by her own family and driven upstairs to eat alone, the master never thought of driving it away, Xiao Hei was not only deeply touched but also quite happy.
"Xiao Hei, it's not your fault, you don't need to apologize. Don't worry about what happened before!" Huangfu Yue reached out and stroked Xiao Hei's back, smiling gently.
"Miss, please don't dwell on what happened before either, and don't be sad or upset because of the second young madam and the old madam," Ying'er immediately chimed in, comforting her mistress.
"This servant thinks the old madam has always doted on you, so letting you eat in your room upstairs was definitely not intentional, but rather..."
"You don't need to say more, Ying'er, I understand." Huangfu Yue interrupted her.
Hearing her words, Ying'er breathed a sigh of relief, her hanging heart finally at ease. She had been worried the mistress would be sad!
"Grandmother asked me to eat in my room upstairs, not to intentionally drive me away. She was afraid that if I ate downstairs, my second sister-in-law would continue to force me to drive Xiao Hei away, putting me in a difficult position.
When I didn't agree, my second sister-in-law, heedless of everything, caused a huge scene, making a mess so that no one could eat peacefully. My grandmother did this for my sake and for the sake of the overall situation," Huangfu Yue revealed a beautiful and captivating smile again.
How could she not understand her grandmother's good intentions and misunderstand her grandmother?
In the situation earlier, her grandmother must have been very conflicted...
Thinking of her grandmother's predicament, Huangfu Yue sighed with helplessness in her heart about Xu Yuqing.
Xu Yuqing was truly... Just thinking of her gave one high blood pressure.
She couldn't just ignore Xu Yuqing any longer. If she continued to let this woman act out, who knew when she would cause more trouble, and she would likely cause trouble continuously. It would sooner or later harm the people of the Prince's mansion!
Earlier, she had spoken about family matters, about her father and brother, in front of the inn owner and employees, seemingly not afraid of their identities being exposed.
If she continued to be reckless in the future and carelessly revealed in public that they were from the Prince Dai's mansion, letting people know they were exiled prisoners, it would bring them huge trouble!
This woman was a disaster! She had to deal with her!
Before, she had thought that since Xu Yuqing was the original body's second sister-in-law, and she had taken over the original body, Xu Yuqing was also her second sister-in-law, her family. Moreover, she pitied her for her husband's recent death, becoming a widow at such a young age, and felt great sympathy for her, which was why she had tolerated her repeatedly.
But her previous recklessness and the way she had caused such a scene had crossed her bottom line. She could no longer tolerate her and had to deal with her!
It was just that she hadn't figured out how to deal with her yet. If she killed her, her daughter, the little girl Huangfu Ying, would be motherless.
That little girl had only lost her father a few days ago and would immediately lose her mother too. It was too pitiful and made her reluctant.
What if she turned her into an idiot? Then she wouldn't be able to cause trouble anymore?
However, they hadn't reached Lingping yet, they were still on the road, and it would take a long time and much effort to get to Lingping. If she turned her into an idiot, she wouldn't be able to take care of herself, which would be very troublesome during the long journey.
Although she could have servants take care of her, there might be danger at any time. While she was confident she could protect everyone, she still had to guard against accidents.
If they encountered danger and she couldn't protect everyone, the servants taking care of Xu Yuqing might prioritize their own safety and abandon her, making her a burden to herself.
It would be great if there was a way to turn her into a puppet, make her obedient, keep her from causing trouble, and also allow her to take care of herself and Ying'er!
Perhaps she could ask Xiao Hei. Xiao Hei was a monster; maybe it would know.
In novels and dramas she had watched before, it was often said that monsters could enchant people, control humans, and turn them into puppets.
With that thought, Huangfu Yue looked at Ying'er, "Ying'er, I ate potato chips and spicy strips earlier, and my mouth is still burning. Go down and get me a cup of clear water to rinse my mouth... Although there is tea on the table, I don't like rinsing my mouth with tea."
She wanted to send Ying'er away to ask Xiao Hei about the puppet matter.
"Yes." Ying'er, without suspicion, immediately agreed and walked towards the door.
"Xiao Hei, I have something to ask you." After Ying'er went out and closed the door, Huangfu Yue looked at Xiao Hei.
"What is it? Please ask, Master," Xiao Hei replied respectfully.
"Do you know of any method to turn someone into a puppet?" Huangfu Yue asked directly, without beating around the bush.
"Why does Master ask? Do you wish to turn someone into a puppet?" Xiao Hei, being very clever, immediately guessed.
Huangfu Yue nodded, "I want to make my second sister-in-law behave herself."
With that said, Xiao Hei understood everything.
Xiao Hei didn't think Huangfu Yue was too cruel or terrifying for wanting to turn her second sister-in-law into a puppet.
After Xu Yuqing's behavior earlier, Xiao Hei had already harbored murderous intent towards her. Huangfu Yue only wanted to turn her into a puppet, which, in its opinion, was already very polite and merciful, as it at least spared her life.
Moreover, anyone with a brain and foresight could see that Xu Yuqing was a big problem and needed to be dealt with soon, otherwise, she would sooner or later bring disaster, possibly a catastrophe, upon the people of the Prince Dai's mansion.
The best way for Huangfu Yue not to kill her was to turn her into a puppet.
"I once saw Chang Qing use a Gu worm obtained from the Miao witches of Southern Xinjiang to turn a very wealthy man into a puppet and make him hand over all his assets...
At that time, the Miao witch of Southern Xinjiang said that the puppet Gu was very rare, and there were only three. He gave Chang Qing two, and Chang Qing used one then, leaving one. I can take you to steal the remaining puppet Gu."
Xiao Hei revealed the method it knew for turning someone into a puppet.
It was very willing to help its master turn Xu Yuqing into a puppet.
Huangfu Yue was overjoyed to hear Xiao Hei's words. Xiao Hei actually knew a way to turn people into puppets, which was great.
However, this Chang Qing was truly capable of "unearned gains," truly good at making money. He actually thought of using the puppet Gu to turn a wealthy man into a puppet and make him hand over all his wealth.
She wondered how much wealth the wealthy man had handed over to Chang Qing.
"Xiao Hei, do you know how much money Chang Qing obtained from the wealthy man after turning him into a puppet?" Huangfu Yue couldn't suppress her curiosity and asked.
"I do. It was over five hundred thousand taels of silver, as well as property deeds for four large mansions and over twenty commercial shops, and land deeds for thousands of acres of fertile land," Xiao Hei replied, nodding.
Huangfu Yue's eyes lit up upon hearing this. So much!
Although she had been someone who had plundered the national treasury and seen vast sums of money, she herself hadn't saved much money in her past life and was a pauper. Therefore, hearing about so much money, property deeds, and land deeds still made her very excited.
Perhaps... she should confiscate Chang Qing's property!
After all, Chang Qing's money was all obtained through despicable means from others, ill-gotten gains!
Ill-gotten gains, taking them was acting on behalf of heaven!
She had decided. Tonight, after everyone had fallen asleep, she would return to the capital to steal the puppet Gu from the Chang Residence and, at the same time, confiscate all of Chang Qing's assets, emptying the Ministry of Revenue's official residence, and acting on behalf of heaven.
Heh heh... Just thinking about it felt exhilarating!