They said a cup of tea’s time, and it really was just that.

Soon, everyone gathered in the main hall.

Yan Sanhe saw that the three Zhu masters’ clothes and cloth boots were soaked through. “Hurry back and change clothes before coming. It won’t delay much time.”

The three Zhu brothers all showed surprise in their eyes.

These words from elder sister’s mouth would be ordinary, but hearing them from Miss Yan’s mouth was rare indeed.

Touched, Zhu Yuanmo quickly said: “Miss Yan, please wait. We’ll go and come right back.”

The three went hurriedly and returned hurriedly.

The last to enter, Zhu Yuanhao walked into the main hall and turned to close the door.

The room instantly darkened.

The old steward quickly lit candles and served hot tea to the three masters.

Zhu Yuanmo accepted the hot tea, didn’t mind the heat, and gulped it down in several swallows. Then he set the teacup down heavily on the table.

“He set up an Eight Gates Formation at the burial site—Open Gate, Rest Gate, Life Gate, Injury Gate, Closed Gate, View Gate, Alarm Gate, and Death Gate all had spells cast on them.”

Zhu Yuanmo’s opening statement shocked everyone.

“He” referred to Master Zhu.

The Zhu family had three sons and three daughters. Except for Second Miss, the rest all called Master Zhu “Father, Father, Father.”

Now that Zhu Yuanmo used “he” as the address, he was truly disappointed.

Yan Sanhe: “What is an Eight Gates Formation?”

“This would take too long to explain.”

Zhu Yuanmo: “Simply put, it’s a feng shui arrangement. One gate, one variable. Eight gates layered one upon another. The main purpose of this feng shui arrangement is to trap the person inside the gates.”

Yan Sanhe roughly understood. “Who is the person inside the gates?”

“My mother.”

Zhu Yuanmo: “In this courtyard, there was also once an Eight Gates Formation. Each gate used my mother’s blood, fingernails and hair, plus her birth date and time as the formation eyes.”

Zhu Yuanmo reached into his chest and pulled out a wrapped handkerchief.

He placed the handkerchief on the table and spread it open.

Everyone craned their necks to look.

Inside the handkerchief lay ash the size of a small fingernail.

Yan Sanhe’s brow jumped: “You found this in the residence?”

Hate was written all over Zhu Yuanmo’s face.

“After learning about the Eight Gates Formation, we used Mother’s birth date and time to locate the eight gates. These were scraped from the eight formation eyes.”

Yan Sanhe: “Where are the formation eyes?”

Zhu Yuanmo pointed downward.

Underground has formation eyes?

Everyone felt a chill rise from the soles of their feet, rushing straight to the top of their skulls.

Good heavens, no wonder Zhu Xuanjiu never wanted to spend the night in this courtyard.

The real reason was here!

“So.”

Yan Sanhe’s voice carried a rare tremor.

“When he originally renovated this residence, besides covering up his shameful deeds, it was also to secretly set up this formation?”

Zhu Yuanmo ground his teeth: “It should be.”

How could Yan Sanhe be the only one shocked? Everyone in the room was stunned speechless.

After Zhu Xuanjiu became family head, this courtyard began renovations.

In other words, Madam had been living in this courtyard for many years!

Yan Sanhe took a deep breath. “How did he manage to set up the formation so that people didn’t know and ghosts didn’t notice?”

“Miss Yan, because this courtyard isn’t the main feng shui arrangement.”

At this point, Zhu Yuanzhao slowly took over. “The main formation is at the ancestral grave. This is just a small formation within the main formation, playing a very minor role.”

“But…”

Yan Sanhe: “…didn’t you notice anything during Qingming grave-sweeping or burning paper money on the seventh month’s fifteenth?”

Zhu Yuanzhao glanced at elder brother’s expression and steeled himself: “Miss Yan, besides blocking backlash and heavenly punishment for him, this formation actually has another purpose.”

“What is it?”

“To protect the Zhu family’s sons and grandsons.”

Zhu Yuanzhao pointed to elder brother and third brother: “We’re all Zhu family people. For these past ten-plus years, we’ve all been protected by the Eight Gates Formation, so we simply couldn’t detect it.”

“In other words…”

Yan Sanhe’s voice was icy: “Zhu Xuanjiu sacrificed Madam Mao alone to maintain prosperity for all you Zhu family people?”

Zhu Yuanzhao clenched his teeth hard, forcing out through the gaps: “Yes!”

Is he even human?

Li Buyan instantly blazed with fury.

Madam Mao married far from home to the Zhu family, bore him children, managed the inner household, worked hard for decades—yet in Zhu Xuanjiu’s heart, she wasn’t even considered a Zhu family person, just a tool to ward off disaster?

Yan Sanhe swept Li Buyan with a glance. Li Buyan clenched her fists, gritted her teeth, and forcibly suppressed her anger.

Zhu Yuanmo looked at Li Buyan faintly. “This is just underground. There’s also above ground.”

“There’s more above ground?” Li Buyan asked in horror.

Zhu Yuanmo nodded. “Above ground there are also eight gates, also an Eight Gates Formation. Except for the Death Gate, the other gates all have a dandelion planted—seven plants total.”

Young Master Pei had just taken a sip of hot tea to calm his shock and quickly asked: “Brother Zhu, what’s the significance of dandelions?”

Zhu Yuanmo didn’t answer but glanced at Zhu Yuanhao.

Zhu Yuanhao pushed the door open and went out. When he returned, he held several plants in his hands.

He furiously threw the plants to the ground.

Everyone’s gaze focused on these plants.

Yan Sanhe immediately noticed something wrong. “These dandelion leaves look like needles!”

“They are needles.”

Zhu Yuanmo’s face was deathly pale, his palms covered in cold sweat. “Every needle, every day, every month, every year—all pointing directly at this courtyard’s mistress.”

Yan Sanhe was so shocked she gasped: “What will happen?”

“While alive, my mother was a fish in his net, a bird in his cage, at his mercy. This lifetime she could never escape his grasp. After death, my mother must descend to the eighteenth level of hell for him.”

Zhu Yuanmo’s eyes slowly reddened. “In feng shui, this is called the Seven Kill Formation.”

An Eight Gates Formation with a Seven Kill Formation nested inside?

The room filled with one gasp after another. The air instantly condensed into piercing ice shards.

Everyone felt their blood run completely cold.

They say one day as husband and wife brings a hundred days of affection—what kind of vicious heart could do such unconscionable things to a bedside companion?

“This is also why my mother grew older and older—because all her vital blood, her qi and blood, were exhausted day after day, year after year.”

Zhu Yuanmo’s tears finally fell. “Originally… originally… she should have had thirty more years of life.”

Thirty years less?

Good heavens.

Xie Zhifei and Pei Xiao exchanged frightened glances, both feeling the impulse to turn and run from the Zhu household.

Yan Sanhe said in a trembling voice: “This is the real reason Madam only has ten hours left?”

Zhu Yuanmo: “Yes!”

Yan Sanhe: “It doesn’t have much to do with the heart demon?”

“Even without the heart demon, after his death, my mother couldn’t have lived more than half a year. Everything was exhausted, completely exhausted.”

Zhu Yuanmo slowly closed his eyes, his face showing intense hatred ready to burst forth.

“Miss Yan, you were right—the person he loathed was my mother!”

Eight Gates Formation.

Seven Kill Formation.

This was already beyond loathing—this was murdering her “life.”

Madam Mao first met him at age twelve, pledged herself at eighteen, shared his bed for over thirty years, only to end up like this.

The wolf wearing human skin slowly revealed his true face—a face that shocked everyone speechless.

Too damn terrifying.