Disguised as a man, she became the biggest villain in the book.

Chapter 255 "An Interlude"

"Replying to you, sir, Miss Zhao received a letter that day. The letter must have mentioned something important that threatened her."

"Because Miss Zhao looked very unwell after reading the letter, I had someone follow her the whole time!"

"Later, I saw Miss Zhao's personal maid inquiring about Miss Zhu's information, and I guessed at the time that it might have been a letter written by Miss Zhu!"

"However, after making the inquiries, Miss Zhao did not take any further action. It was only after receiving the second letter that she began to cause trouble for Miss Zhu, which led to the incident where Miss Zhao went to the pavilion to find Miss Zhu!"

"However, when Miss Zhao was looking for Miss Zhu, she directly hit her and made some verbal probing remarks, so at the time, I felt that Miss Zhao might also be suspecting that the letter she received might not have been written by Miss Zhu!"

"After all, Miss Zhu and Miss Zhao had no prior contact! Miss Zhu had no reason to write a letter to Miss Zhao!"

"After that, my subordinates kept sending people to follow Miss Zhao and Miss Zhu, and found that Miss Zhu had no idea why Miss Zhao was looking for her. So the letter that was written to Miss Zhao that day was definitely not written by Miss Zhu!"

"Shortly after the banquet ended that day, Miss Zhao was sent back to the Zhao residence and then confined to her quarters by Lord Zhao!"

"Soon my subordinates received a letter from the Zhao family's spies, saying that the letter Miss Zhao received that day was from someone impersonating Miss Zhu, inviting her to a gathering at the pavilion to discuss the underground casino of the Zhao family's young master, Zhao Pin!"

"An underground casino? Is it the private casino owned by the young master of the Zhao family?" Zheng Luoqi asked rhetorically.

“Yes!” Boyu replied.

The young master of the Zhao family is Zhao Pin, the grandson of Zhao Chong, the Minister of Rites. Zhao Caiting is his older sister. The casino that Zhao Pin runs is different from other casinos. What you gamble on here is not money, but life.

Most of the people inside are homeless, and many of them were sold into the prison. There is a deathmatch arena inside.

Zhao Pin enjoyed watching people fight to the death to satisfy his strange fetish.

Once the arena begins, it will not end until one of the opponents dies.

Before the match begins, Zhao Pin and a few friends will place bets on who will win. To make the match more exciting, Zhao Pin will also give those who participate drugs to make them lose their minds and fight to the death during the match.

Some went in voluntarily. As long as they won in the arena, they could survive and receive a considerable sum of money. Sometimes, if they pleased Zhao Pin, he would reward them even more.

Zhao Pin's underground casino has been operating for some time, and the news has been well covered up. Zheng Luoqi only recently learned about the casino that involved murder.

The casino was hidden so well that the Zhao family was probably aiding and abetting the evildoers, allowing Zhao Pin to do these shady things.

Zhao Caiting was one of those who protected Zhu Qianlin. So when Zhao Caiting received the letter at the banquet on Chen Xianlin's birthday, she first doubted its authenticity and did not immediately go to cause trouble for Zhu Qianlin.

Instead, they first sent people to investigate who Zhu Qianlin was and which family she belonged to.

The investigation eventually revealed that Zhu Qianlin was merely a distant relative of the Yu family.

Zhao Caiting didn't want to pay any attention to it, thinking that it was very likely that someone had set a trap.

"Miss Zhao was wondering where this Miss Zhu came from, so she sent someone to investigate Miss Zhu's identity. After learning about Miss Zhu's identity, she suspected that the Miss Zhu in the letter might be a fake!" Boyu then respectfully reported.

"So Miss Zhao didn't keep the appointment when she received the first letter!"

"Until the second letter arrived, which threatened Miss Zhao that if she did not keep the appointment, they would report Zhao Pin's affair to the Emperor."

"Miss Zhao went to cause trouble for Miss Zhu. When Miss Zhao received the second letter, she probably thought that even if Miss Zhu didn't do it, the person who wrote the letter must know Miss Zhu!"

"So, perhaps Miss Zhao went to see Miss Zhu to confirm whether Miss Zhu knew about Zhao Pin!" Boyu continued.

Just as Zhao Caiting finished reading the second letter she received, a servant rushed over to report that Zhu Qianlin was playing by the lake with several other young ladies from prominent families.

At this moment, Zhao Caiting's rationality was completely overwhelmed by anger.

Without saying a word, she walked straight to the lakeside and quickly found Zhu Qianlin.

She stormed up to Zhu Qianlin and slapped her hard across the face with a resounding thud.

Zhao Caiting first spoke a few tentative words, while observing Zhu Qianlin's expression and trying to determine if Zhu Qianlin was the messenger.

Zhu Qianlin was clearly stunned by the blow. She covered half of her face, cried out in pain, and looked completely incredulous.

Based on Zhu Qianlin's reaction to being hit, Zhao Caiting felt that Zhu Qianlin might not be the one who delivered the message.

After testing the waters, Zhao Caiting wanted to leave, but Zhu Qianlin had no intention of letting her go.

Zhu Qianlin hadn't done anything, yet she was slapped for no reason. She wasn't one to be bullied, and she couldn't bear this injustice.

Zhu Qianlin raised her hand, about to retaliate, but was stopped by Zhao Caiting. Zhao Caiting had been spoiled for so long, and this was the first time she had encountered someone of such low status who dared to defy her. She continued to hit back, and then the two started fighting.

Finally, the two fell into the lake, which led to the series of events that followed.

"So, have you found out who wrote the letter?" Zheng Luoqi asked expressionlessly.

Standing to the side, Boyu carefully leaned close to Zheng Luoqi's ear and whispered a few words.

As Boyu finished speaking, Zheng Luoqi's previously tense lips slightly turned up, forming a meaningful smile, and she said softly, "Hehe, interesting, this matter is getting more and more interesting!"

Zheng Luoqi always believed that Chen Xianlin had orchestrated this series of events.

But in fact, it was only after Miss Han saved the person that Chen Xianlin planned the whole series of events.

As for the matter between Zhu Qianlin and Zhao Caiting, it has little to do with Chen Xianlin.

However, both Zhao Caiting and Zhu Qianlin experienced nightmares after returning home that day, which was indeed caused by Chen Xianlin.

Her reason for doing this was simply to take the opportunity to introduce the concept of ghosts and gods into the public eye, and then use this opportunity to target Consort Jiang's child and eliminate the last bloodline of the Xue family.

.........

Inside the palace

It's unclear when exactly, but Chen Xianlin gradually came to believe in Buddhism, and she even built her own Buddhist hall in the palace.

At this moment, Chen Xianlin was kneeling devoutly in front of the Buddhist hall, closing her eyes and praying quietly. In one of her hands, she was holding a string of Buddhist prayer beads and turning them continuously.

At the same time, his other hand held a small, exquisite wooden fish, which he tapped rhythmically and gently, producing a crisp and melodious sound.

Just then, a palace maid, looking nervous and walking hurriedly, entered the Buddhist hall.