After dealing with all the chaotic matters, the first thing Ning Qiuxiu did was to check on the safety charm she had placed beside Zhan Qingyue during her last visit.

Zhan Qingyue’s activities were limited to his bed and wheelchair.

After his outing, the caregiver had settled him back into bed and was administering some kind of IV.

His makeup had been removed, revealing his natural face, which Ning Qiuxiu found more pleasing and couldn’t help but look at a few more times.

She had to admit, she was attracted to good looks. If Zhan Qingyue hadn’t been handsome, no matter how exceptional his potential, she wouldn’t have agreed to marry him so readily.

This world really does value appearances.

Before his accident, Zhan Qingyue must have been the prince charming in many girls’ hearts, definitely not less popular than the male lead.

“This accident must have shattered many girls’ dreams,” Ning Qiuxiu thought. But if not for the accident, she wouldn’t have had the chance to marry someone like Zhan Qingyue.

After admiring her husband’s good looks, Ning Qiuxiu searched under his pillow for the safety charm.

Old Master Zhan had told her that the room’s surveillance cameras would be turned off from now on to respect their privacy, especially Ning Qiuxiu’s.

So she didn’t have to worry about being watched constantly.

The charm was still hidden under the pillow and hadn’t been moved.

She didn’t know if they hadn’t noticed it or if they did and decided to leave it alone.

However, to her disappointment, the charm had failed to absorb any energy and had turned into a useless piece of paper.

“…” Ning Qiuqiu held the useless paper, not sure how to react.

The process of cultivating a charm could vary in length, and any unexpected event during this period could ruin the charm.

Sometimes, even without any visible mishaps, a charm could fail.

In the cultivation world, she had seen some talisman masters pour their heart and soul into creating a powerful charm, guarding it in a cultivation array for seven days and nights without any incident, only to have it fail in the end.

They could only attribute it to bad luck.

Of course, in both the cultivation world and here, money was powerful.

Choosing a place rich in spiritual energy and using high-quality materials for the cultivation array could significantly increase the success rate, essentially buying luck.

But safety charms were the most basic type of talisman in the cultivation world.

Anyone with basic knowledge of runes could create and cultivate them without any issues, let alone a master-level talisman artist like Ning Qiuxiu.

Could it really be related to her own cultivation level?

But there was no way to cultivate in this world, as she had tried multiple times without success.

This result was hard for her to accept.

Sitting on the soft bed, looking at the sleeping beauty, she wondered if she really needed to reconsider the marriage.

The failed charm indicated that Zhan Qingyue, as a natural energy source, was effective.

The problem seemed to lie with her as the talisman artist.

Could it be an issue of quantity?

She didn’t look like a tiger, so was it really necessary for her to be so nervous?

Ning Qiuxui shook her head, realizing that the previous person had given her a really bad reputation.

She decided to make amends and approached the girl with a “kind” demeanor.

It’s Possible! After all, this world is different from the cultivation world, so she can’t use the same standards to measure it.

Anyway, she has drawn many talismans recently, so she might as well use them for protection!

Since she has married into the Zhan family, she can take her time to use them.

Thinking of this, Ning Qiuxui felt revitalized.

She ran back to her room, took out the box of talismans, and moved it to Zhan Qingyue’s room.

She placed the talismans in hidden spots—inside the pillowcase and pillow, in the seam of the quilt and sheets, and under the bedsheet.

It was like setting up a protective barrier.

If anyone discovered them, Mr. Zhan might think Ning Qiuxui had turned his grandson into a zombie or some kind of evil spirit, needing so many talismans to contain him.

Zhan Qingyue’s bed linens are changed once a month.

To welcome her, he had changed all the bedding on his bed.

Although it wasn’t a flashy red set, everything was new with no imprints, and it still had the faint scent of sunlight-dried bedding.

So, there should be no danger in the short term—assuming the caretaker doesn’t casually rummage through his bed linens.

She just needs to remove them before the next change.

Ning Qiuxui snapped her fingers—perfect!

In the evening, Mr. Zhan hosted a small dinner and called Zhan Qingyuan back, instructing him to bring his girlfriend along.

It was a family meal, making it seem like they were “one big family.”

The Zhan family consisted of just the Zhan brothers and Grandpa Zhan.

According to the book, Zhan Qingyue’s father passed away shortly after he took over the family business, and his mother, who appears later in the story, isn’t well-regarded by the Zhan family.

So, although it’s a grand family dinner, there are only four people present—one of whom is lying down.

Mr. Zhan is a very open-minded elder.

Despite the usual expectations of a commercial family, where marriage can be seen as a transaction, Mr. Zhan doesn’t hold any prejudice.

He treats Ning Qiuxui as kindly as he does the heroine.

He was in a great mood today. As soon as they sat down, he said to Zhan Qingyuan, “Fill up the glasses for your sister-in-law and Ji Weiliang. Let’s toast as a family.”

The term “sister-in-law” startled Zhan Qingyuan, making him nearly spill the wine.

After a moment, he processed the term, looked at Ning Qiuxui, and said, “Alright.”

Both the male and female leads called her “sister-in-law,” which made Ning Qiuxui feel comfortable.

This development was clearly more interesting than a love triangle.

Zhan Qingyuan served the wine to Mr. Zhan and then poured red wine for Ning Qiuxui and Ji Weiliang.

He first filled Ning Qiuxui’s glass.

As he set the full glass in front of her, Ning Qiuxui took out a red envelope she had prepared earlier and handed it to Zhan Qingyuan, saying, “Just a small token, don’t mind it, little brother.”

Zhan Qingyuan: “……”

Ning Qiuxui was ready to play the long game, using her wit and determination to carve out a place for herself in this intricate family dynamic.

However, under Mr. Zhan’s watchful eye, no one dared to cause trouble.

Despite their clear discord, the two had to pretend to be good sisters-in-law.

Ning Qiuxui didn’t mind.

She and Ji Weiliang didn’t actually know each other.

Since Ji Weiliang wasn’t the one who took her spot, she had no reason to feel guilty.

As Old Master Zhan and Zhan Qingyuan have some important matter to discuss in study room, Ning Qiuxui and Ji Weiliang was left behind.

So, she calmly said to Ji Weiliang, “Miss Ji, please have a seat over there.”

Ji Weiliang clearly didn’t want to be alone with her, but she couldn’t leave immediately, so she followed Ning Qiuxui to the sofa in the living room.

After the servants brought out the dessert fruit, Ning Qiuxui ate a piece of pineapple.

Noticing that Ji Weiliang wasn’t inclined to speak, Ning Qiuxui took the initiative and said, “I didn’t expect us to become sisters-in-law. Fate is indeed quite intriguing, isn’t it, Miss Ji?”

The heroine was not the type to be meek and easily bullied.

She replied, “Yes, Miss Ning, I admire your selflessness and it has changed my previous perception of you.”

“Selflessness,” Ning Qiuxui said with a gentle smile, “It seems Miss Ji, like Qingyuan, doesn’t believe that I married Brother Qingyue for love. But that’s understandable; after all, in Miss Ji’s view, there’s no such thing as pure affection.”

Ning Qiuxui deliberately emphasized the word “pure.”

Ji Weiliang was struck by this remark, her expression darkening.

However, as the heroine, she quickly regained her composure and said, “Even the most beautiful love in the world cannot be a hundred percent pure. But I do admire that Miss Ning married Brother Zhan for love, without ulterior motives like using your proximity to your advantage. You must make sure your marriage lasts forever to make people like me, who are not pure, believe in love even more.”

This statement completely tore away the veneer of friendliness.

Ji Weiliang didn’t even want to maintain a facade of friendship, showing her deep dislike for Ning Qiuxiu.

From her perspective, it’s understandable—being so capable and excellent but eliminated due to family background can be quite upsetting.

But Ning Qiuxui wasn’t about to take on a blame that wasn’t hers.

She maintained her smile and said, “What does it matter whether Miss Ji believes in love or not?”

“However, as for ‘using your proximity’…” Ning Qiuxui pondered these words and said, “Whether you get the advantage or not is one thing, but proximity does tend to make people feel insecure, don’t you think, Miss Ji?”

Ji Weiliang: “……”

The evil female antagonist and the heroine had their first direct confrontation, and the antagonist won.

In the evening, before Ning Qiuxui went to rest, she first went to Zhan Qingyue’s room to take a look and to check if the talismans she had placed there had been discovered by the inattentive caretaker.

When she entered, the caretaker who had first pushed Zhan Qingyue came out of the bathroom with a basin of hot water, apparently to wipe Zhan Qingyue’s face.

As the new bride, she had to make a good impression, so she took the initiative and said, “Brother Chen Yi, let me do it.”

“Alright,” Chen Yi readily handed her the basin and smiled, “It’s more appropriate for Miss Ning to handle the personal care.”

Ning Qiuxui: “……”

Personal care?

What is that supposed to mean?!