The River Clam Spirit secretly mocked Anning for his whimsical idea, thinking a few red ropes could bind it, it was simply a dream.

She leisurely lay at the bottom of the vat, contemplating how to escape at night.

Anning placed the River Clam Spirit in the water vat and went to eat breakfast.

After breakfast, she went to accompany Granny Yao.

Just after exchanging a few words with Granny Yao, a maid came to say that Old Master Yao wanted to see Anning.

Granny Yao hurriedly said: "You should go quickly, your uncle is calling you, surely there must be something important."

Anning then followed the maid to Old Master Yao’s inner study room.

She entered the study and saw Old Master Yao standing at the desk writing.

Anning approached and greeted, "Hello, Uncle."

Old Master Yao looked up and smiled: "Ningning has come, you sit first, let me finish writing these few words and then we can talk."

Anning nodded.

She found a place to sit, while Old Master Yao concentrated on writing. After about a quarter of an hour, he finished writing, washed his hands, and then spoke to Anning.

"Ningning, yesterday when you arrived you told Sheng’er that our home had demon energy, how did you perceive it?"

Anning raised her eyebrows: "Uncle, have you discovered something?"

Old Master Yao didn’t hide from Anning: "Last night, I had Yao Si keep an eye on Jun, and it turned out someone disguised as Xue Lian approached Jun."

"That must be someone in disguise."

Anning nodded firmly: "Last night, I slept with sister, and she slept straight until dawn, absolutely wouldn’t secretly meet Young Master Fu."

"I naturally trust my own daughter."

Old Master Yao chuckled: "I pondered for a while, thinking it’s very difficult for an outsider to enter our home, and the servants in the house wouldn’t have the courage to do such a thing. Thinking it over, I suspect that some spirit might have emerged, so I wanted to ask you, did you mention the demon energy to Sheng’er jokingly, or did you truly discover something?"

Anning blinked: "I did see a layer of black energy in our home. Recently, I’ve been reading various supernatural storybooks, and somehow, after reading them, I can perceive different energies like clear energy, purple energy, as well as yin energy and demon energy. The accuracy varies, but yesterday I did see a bit, so I told cousin, but he didn’t believe me."

Old Master Yao then walked to the bookshelf and took out a book for Anning to look at: "What energy do you see in this book?"

Anning stared for a long time, rubbed her eyes to see carefully: "Uncle, if I’m not mistaken, there’s a bit of purple energy in this book, but it’s very faint."

Old Master Yao laughed again: "Indeed, you’re not mistaken. This book was bestowed upon our ancestors by the Grand Ancestor Emperor, and naturally carries a trace of purple energy."

Anning also laughed: "I wasn’t mistaken after all, regarding sister’s matter, based on Uncle Yao’s investigation, it seems the one meeting Young Master Fu in secret is indeed a demon."

"Can you tell where this demon came from?"

Old Master Yao asked again.

Anning chuckled: "It’s a coincidence. Today, I made some food and threw it into the lake, and a greedy river clam ended up caught by me. Now I’ve raised it in the water vat in my courtyard, and the clam is much bigger than usual, appearing as if it has turned into a spirit."

"You are incredibly bold."

Old Master Yao’s face changed instantly: "You should have told me, and I would have summoned a Mage to hunt the demon. Instead, you dared to provoke that demon yourself. If anything were to happen to you, how could I explain to your mother?"

Anning waved her hand: "Don’t worry, ordinary demons can’t harm me."

Old Master Yao was still skeptical.

He stood up and said: "Alright, you go back first, I’ll head out to find a master now."

Anning didn’t linger much longer and left the study room to return to her room to rest.

Old Master Yao went to seek a Mage, we won’t discuss that now.

At that time, Xiao Yuan and Cong Zhongbai were rushing along the road, originally heading in the direction of Pingzhou. After hearing the Magistrate had been promoted to the Prefect of Ding City and was on his way to Ding City, they quickly turned towards Ding City.

Coincidentally, they were already near Ding City, and halfway there, they encountered the Li family’s convoy heading to Ding City.

Xiao Yuan and Cong Zhongbai pretended to be merchants and followed far behind the Li family’s convoy.

After traveling for a while, Xiao Yuan took out a talisman for Cong Zhongbai: "This is a talisman I drew, it can make people invisible. Brother Cong, stick it on and go over to the Li family to investigate."

Cong Zhongbai didn’t refuse, he applied the talisman and stealthily infiltrated the Li family’s convoy.

First, he followed behind the carriage said to be that of the new Magistrate’s wife, and when the wind lifted the curtain, he discreetly glanced inside.

With that glance, Cong Zhongbai’s heart skipped a beat.

Inside the carriage sat two people.

One had a delicate appearance, wearing a red dress, looking quite flamboyant. The other seemed timid, shrunken and kneeling in the corner.

For most people, they would assume the one in red was the master, and the other in plain clothes as a servant.

But Cong Zhongbai had heard Constable Geng describe Luo Anqing’s appearance, so he realized the one kneeling was Luo Anqing, and the one in red might be the maid Chunniang.

He didn’t look further and continued following attentively.

During the midday break, he saw Li Pengcheng enter the carriage.

Cong Zhongbai perked his ears to listen, hearing Li Pengcheng show warmth and care towards Chunniang, but to Luo Anqing, there were only scolding and beating.

Luo Anqing merely cried for mercy without any resistance.

By rights, Luo Anqing, as a daughter from a prominent family, should have pride, unable to tolerate such humiliation, yet this Luo Anqing allowed herself to be demeaned by them, truly making others feel both anger and pity.

In this manner, they traveled all the way to Ding City, and Cong Zhongbai frequently saw Luo Anqing enduring humiliation while pleasing Li Pengcheng, even witnessing him kick Luo Anqing in the heart, yet Luo Anqing showed no resentment.

Cong Zhongbai felt there was something odd, Li Pengcheng must have used some means on Luo Anqing.

He quietly returned to Xiao Yuan’s side, sharing what he had discovered.

Xiao Yuan pondered: "It’s possible Miss Luo has indeed been subjected to evil magic, that’s why she is so bewitched, if this continues, her life might be in peril."

That evening, the Li family’s convoy stayed at an inn, and Cong Zhongbai again eavesdropped.

Squatting under the window, he listened to Li Pengcheng and Chunniang discussing their plans for returning to Yang City to visit relatives, having Chunniang pretend to be Luo Anqing. If the Luo family didn’t recognize it, Chunniang would truly replace Luo Anqing. Luo Anqing would then be unnecessary. If the Luo family identified her, they’d switch back. Regardless, having been poisoned by love poison, Luo Anqing would never oppose Li Pengcheng’s words.

Hearing such words, Cong Zhongbai was furious.

Li Pengcheng was truly wicked-hearted, and Chunniang wasn’t a good person either.