Turns Out I'm the Real Monster?!

"I’ve already dealt with that traitor. The boy got off easy. I originally planned to flay him and rip out his tendons, but I was afraid the commotion would attract the Demon-slaying Bureau’s attention, so I just poisoned him instead."

Madam Han asked nonchalantly as she casually untied her sash,

"You called out to Lord Jiang just now. What did you want to tell him?"

THUD!

Han Chenghu’s knees gave out, and he dropped to the ground, splashing tea everywhere.

"N-nothing! I... I wasn’t going to say anything!"

"Then why are you so nervous?"

Madam Han slipped off her outer robe, leaving her in only a thin, form-fitting undergarment, and sat languidly in her chair.

She extended a pale, delicate foot, placed it on Han Chenghu’s head, and pressed down with gentle force.

"Look at you. So clumsy. You’ve gotten the floor dirty again."

"Lick it up."

"Yes... Yes..."

Han Chenghu’s face was deathly pale. Trembling, he lowered himself and began to lick the spilled tea from the floor, bit by bit.

Madam Han leaned languidly against the back of her chair. Her voice, though soft and alluring, was laced with a chilling coldness as she said faintly,

"Men... they all have a despicable streak buried deep inside them.

When they want something, they’re willing to rip out their own hearts and souls to get it. But once they have it, they grow tired of it and cast it aside like a worn-out shoe.

Tell me, am I wrong?"

The man’s face was ashen. He said hurriedly,

"No! Absolutely not! Senior Sister, I’ll treat you well for the rest of my life. I’ll never be disloyal!"

"Senior Sister?"

Madam Han flicked the tip of her foot up, hooking his chin.

Her smooth, rounded toes pressed gently against his Adam’s apple. There was no hint of a smile in her eyes, only cold, murderous intent.

"Remember, you are my husband now. Your name is Han Chenghu. Understand?"

"Y-yes!"

Han Chenghu nodded frantically.

After a moment’s hesitation, he said in a low voice,

"My lady, the rebel army in Yan City has been suppressed. The situation looks grim. Why don’t... we leave? Once the Court finishes with Yan City, they’ll surely come to purge this place. We can’t win against them..."

"Heh, scared already?"

Madam Han closed her eyes and leaned her head back against the chair, her expression aloof.

"The rebellion in Yan City was merely a test by our lord. Besides, there are still plenty of Demon Fiends entrenched there. What are you panicking for?

Do you know what is most important to a nation?"

"What is it?" Han Chenghu asked instinctively.

"A nation’s fate."

Madam Han said slowly,

"Why do you think Jing Country sought a marriage alliance with Great Qing and sent over that Princess hailed as the ’Most Beautiful Woman Under Heaven’?

It was because Jing Country’s fate was in decline, nearly exhausted.

They hoped to use the Princess as a conduit to graft Great Qing’s flourishing national fate onto their own, extending Jing Country’s lifespan.

A pity, though..."

A mocking smile curved her lips.

"Jing Country fell in the end. That Princess failed to graft their national fate, right up to her death.

If a person loses their fortune, at worst they’ll be plagued by bad luck and live a mediocre life. But if a nation loses its fortune, it faces natural disasters and man-made calamities—the fall of the state and the extinction of its people!"

Han Chenghu seemed to only half-understand.

"So the chaos in Yan City was meant to drain Great Qing’s national fate... And from the looks of it, it seems to have worked?"

"Precisely."

"But..."

"Don’t you worry. You’re not going to die."

Madam Han opened her eyes, gently tapping the man’s cheek with the tip of her foot. "With me here, what is there to fear? The higher that man Jiang climbs, the better it is for us."

A flicker of pain and conflict appeared in Han Chenghu’s eyes.

"I’m not afraid of death. I just feel... we don’t have to go down this path of no return. Senior Sister, you know I’ve always loved you deeply. I just want to live a quiet, peaceful life with you..."

THUD!

A muffled thud.

Han Chenghu was sent flying by a single kick.

Madam Han stood up and looked down at him, her eyes as cold as ice.

"If we don’t take this path, we both die!

Don’t think I don’t know what you’re really thinking. Love me? Hah! You just lust after my body!

You wretched men, how many of you are willing to give your true heart to a woman? Other than what happens in the bedroom, what else do you ever think about?"

Han Chenghu clutched his chest, wanting to protest, but he swallowed his words when he met the woman’s icy gaze.

Madam Han ignored him, turning to walk to the wall. She caressed its cold surface gently, as if stroking a lover.

"My dear husband, you are the only one in this world who was ever truly good to me."

She murmured, slowly bending at the waist.

Seeing this, the man’s breathing quickened. He got up and walked toward her.

Madam Han’s eyes narrowed. The fingernails caressing the wall pressed down, scraping shallow marks into its surface.

She pressed her lips to the wall in a gentle kiss, but tears streamed from her eyes.

"My dear husband, I love you so much. I miss you so, so much...

We were husband and wife for twenty years.

But rest assured, if I should die one day, I will be sure to drag that man Jiang down with me to the grave.

Then, we can all be together in the Underworld... My dear husband, you must wait for me.

The three of us... hmm... we’ll surely be able to live well together..."

...

...

Jiang Mu returned home.

Yuan Ahqing had already thoughtfully prepared hot water for him.

After washing up, Jiang Mu lay on his bed, the scene at the entrance of the Han Mansion replaying in his mind.

’Han Chenghu’s expression had been so strange.’

’What had he wanted to say?’

’He seems terrified of his wife.’

Jiang Mu then recalled what Lan Rou’er had said about seeing her aunt hanging clothes inside her room late at night.

’Hanging laundry in her room in the dead of night instead of sleeping?’

’No matter how you looked at it, the whole thing felt sinister.’

’Something’s not right!’

’That woman is definitely not as simple as she appears. It looks like I’ll have to investigate her in secret.’

’After all, Chu Lingzhu is close to Lan Rou’er. If the Han family is really involved in something shady, there’s no telling if she’ll get dragged into it.’

’But before that...’

’I should get through my birthday tomorrow first.’