After spending a day in the hospital, the Second Lady of the Shi Family returned home and heard about the myriad of incidents that occurred in Shi Lan’s room, yet she couldn’t bring herself to believe in such superstitions.
That night, she had been terrified enough by the gun placed on the dressing table by the Shi mother, and Shi Lan’s portrait merely amplified the already horrifying atmosphere of that moment.
In her mind, the Second Lady thought it was obvious who would want to disturb the peace of the household with so few people around.
Especially after hearing about the photograph in the Shi mother’s room, she took a hammer and stormed into the Shi mother’s room. After knocking open the door, she smashed Shi Lan’s photograph to pieces, "I’ll have you stop playing god and stirring up spirits, I’ll have you stop causing mischief!"
The rest of the Shi Family, hearing the commotion, hurried upstairs and upon seeing Shi Lan’s memorial portrait scattered on the floor, instantly got goosebumps.
"Second Aunt, isn’t what you’re doing a bit inappropriate? Sister Lan has already passed away; you’re showing such great disrespect to the deceased," said the youngest daughter of Old Third of the Shi Family.
"Who is more important, the living or the dead? Didn’t your Sister Lan harm a lot of people in the past? What I’m doing is simply enacting divine justice!" the Second Lady shouted harshly, "I’m now going to get rid of all this filth, so you don’t have to be scared anymore. Since that woman has already moved out, I’ll have someone clean out the room in a moment, tear down the wall, and make a bathroom for you."
The butler stood behind them, expressionless throughout the entire episode, showing no sign of displeasure.
However the Second Lady instructed, the butler complied.
"Now that she’s gone, don’t even think about stepping foot into the Shi Family’s door again!"
Since the Shi mother had left, the Second Lady had made herself the head of the Shi Family, or at least, that’s how she elevated her status.
"This isn’t enough. Butler, have someone keep an eye on that woman and report her condition to us at all times, especially with the Shi Family’s banquet approaching. We can’t let her ruin a good thing for the Shi Family! Shi Lan used to be domineering and disrespectful here. Now, mother and daughter alike, they are cut from the same cloth," she railed.
"I will do my utmost," the butler said with a bow.
It was only then that the Second Lady’s anger subsided.
"Also, change all the locks of the Shi Family home. We don’t want those disorderly people coming in anymore," she added.
The Second Lady had long been looking for an opportunity to drive out the Shi mother. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have made those smaller moves earlier on, but the Shi mother had been too tolerant. Now that she’s finally gone, it played right into the Second Lady’s hands, didn’t it?
She gained it all without any effort.
"I’ll take care of it now," said the butler.
The butler ordered people to tidy up Shi Lan’s memorial portrait, then had Shi mother’s room sealed first. He instructed the craftsmen to change all the locks of the Shi Family home.
After the butler had completed these tasks, the Second Lady nodded in satisfaction. With her arms crossed, she said to the Third Lady, "Fortunately, the butler is still on our side, which makes things very convenient."
"Certainly, Second Sister-in-law, you can rest assured when the butler is taking care of things," said the Third Lady, cracking sunflower seeds and sitting in the living room to watch the show unfold.
When it came to being fierce, she definitely couldn’t match the Second Lady.
When it came to being ruthless, she also couldn’t match the Second Lady.
But she had her own cunning ways. In many situations, just appearing weaker sufficed, especially since someone else was taking the lead.
Her current task was to cozy up to the Second Sister-in-law, to flatter her, and to completely deal with the Shi mother. Once the right moment came and she had power in her hands, it wouldn’t be too late to settle the score.
Of course, nobody knew the each family member’s true nature better than Shi Lan did.
The Third Lady may have appeared to be weak, but that didn’t mean she did any less harm than the others.