Rebirth as the Richest Woman in the World
Chapter 522, It’s cold at the top (Part 1)

Chapter 522: 522, It’s cold at the top (Part 1)

"A place for the dead to reside?" These words terrified Chu Tian! She stood up from her chair in shock, disbelievingly looking towards Chu Jin.

Chu Jin walked over to the desk, plucked a flower in full bloom, and spoke in an indifferent tone.

"Haven’t you noticed that since you moved into this room, your mental state has been deteriorating? You feel sleepy during the day, have difficulty sleeping at night, feel utterly exhausted, and often have nightmares about the dead. Moreover, you’re frequently ill, your body is extremely weak, you constantly feel inferior to others, often doubting yourself, feeling life is meaningless, and longing for death... Think about it, did you ever experience such conditions when you were in the countryside?"

Chu Tian’s expression grew more and more frightened because everything Chu Jin said was spot on. Ever since she had moved into this room, she had not had a good night’s sleep, often waking from nightmares in the middle of the night followed by a sleepless night, and her health had also been declining, with her weight dropping from the initial 98 jin (approximately 49kg) to now 65 jin (approximately 32.5kg)...

"Do you know what this flower is called?" Chu Jin toyed with the flower in her hand and asked again.

Chu Tian’s complexion was slightly pale as she shook her head, "I don’t know."

"This is a Fusang flower, it’s a homophone for ’mourning.’ It also goes by another name, ’severed head flower.’ It’s a very inauspicious flower, and ordinary people wouldn’t keep it in their bedroom because it invites unwelcome spirits. That’s why you’ve been dreaming about the dead. It’s not just dreams—those things actually exist in this space, entering your consciousness, creating pressure on you."

Chu Jin described calmly, while Chu Tian’s heart was already in turmoil, feeling terrified. Chu Jin’s words echoed in her ears, and her body trembled slightly.

"Also, do you know what those yellow flowers over there are?" Chu Jin pointed to the pot of chrysanthemums by the window and continued.

Chu Tian nodded, swallowed hard, and spoke with some difficulty, "I know, chrysanthemums..." As she finished speaking, she added, "Is there a problem with the chrysanthemums too?" Chrysanthemums are honored as one of the four noble flowers, so there should be no issue, but judging by Chu Jin’s expression, it seemed there was a significant problem with these chrysanthemums!

Seeming to catch on to her confusion, Chu Jin slightly curved her lips and said, "It’s true that chrysanthemums are honored as one of the four noble flowers, but do you know where yellow chrysanthemums normally appear?"

"I... I don’t know." Chu Tian could hardly digest such a large amount of information.

Chu Jin walked over to the windowsill at a leisurely pace, gently touched the petals of the chrysanthemum, and spoke indifferently, "Yellow chrysanthemums usually only appear in graveyards and crematoriums because they are used to pay respects to the deceased."

As Chu Tian grew up in a rural area, where funerals involved the extensive setting off of firecrackers and burning paper money, she was not aware of the practice with chrysanthemums.

"Moreover, don’t you find it strange? In the heat of June, these chrysanthemums are blooming so beautifully, isn’t that abnormal?" Chrysanthemums are supposed to bloom in late autumn, which is why they are honored as one of the four noble flowers.

Chu Tian’s steps faltered as she fell into a chair, her heart pounding fiercely, and cold sweat streamed down her back in waves.

"Why... why is it blooming so well?" Her voice shook as she spoke. If Chu Jin had not mentioned it, she would have almost missed this issue.

Chu Jin walked over and stood beside Chu Tian, patted her shoulder, and continued.

"It’s because the Fengshui of this room has been completely destroyed. The Yin energy here is thick, which causes the chrysanthemums to flourish. Have I not already told you? Your room now is no different from a Yin house (house of the dead), and if you continue to live here, within three years, a blood disaster will surely befall you."

Chu Tian didn’t say a word, as she had already plunged into deep fear, even forgetting to ask for help. She didn’t know that she had always been manipulated and that such sinister tactics had been used against her.

Chu Jin continued, "Moreover, it’s not just these two pots of flowers that are problematic in your room," she said, casually pointing at a few spots, "Here, here, all have issues. They have violated major taboos in Feng Shui. Now you should understand why you’ve ended up in this situation today, right?"

"Sister, what should I do now?" Chu Tian suddenly snapped back to reality, urgently looking at Chu Jin. She knew that Chu Jin would definitely have a way to help her.

Chu Jin leaned forward to sit across from her, her eyebrows slightly raised as she spoke.

"I can only help you dissipate the negative energy in this room and turn it from a house of Yin to a house of Yang. However, for everything else, you’ll have to fight for yourself. Be strong when you need to be strong, soft when you need to be soft, and firm when you must be firm. If Aunt Fu bullies you again, do as I did today, fight until she submits. Remember, you are the second young miss of the Chu Family, not a servant in this house. You shouldn’t be doing the work meant for servants, and there’s no need for you to intervene. Moreover, your father does, in fact, care for you as his daughter. Always remember, the squeaky wheel gets the grease."

No father would like a child who is always silent and gloomy.

It was Chu Tian’s excessive softness that led to her being relentlessly bullied. After all, she was the second young miss of the Chu Family; if only she had been a bit more assertive, she wouldn’t have been bullied to this extent.

Perhaps Chu Jin’s words had an effect, as Chu Tian nodded firmly, "Okay, sister, I’ll do as you said from now on."

Only then did Chu Jin stand up, took out a few talisman papers from her backpack, and threw them into the air.

The next second, an astonishing scene occurred. Those talisman papers neatly and orderly formed a circle in mid-air. Chu Jin gestured with both hands and muttered a strange incantation. The talisman papers floating in the air began to burn, and even more bizarrely, the originally clear and bright room suddenly filled with thick black fog, more and more of it appeared.

It was spine-chilling, and within the black fog, there seemed to be faint cries that were horrifying—a blood-drenched hand seemed like it could emerge from the fog at any moment.

Chu Tian tightly covered her mouth, trying her best not to make a sound. She had never experienced something so terrifying in her life, and if she hadn’t seen it with her own eyes, she would never have believed it.

The black fog seemed to appear out of nowhere in the room and could no longer be explained by science. Moreover, Chu Tian noticed that the black aura seemed very afraid of Chu Jin. They moved as if they had life, cautiously circling around Chu Jin and drifting towards the window.

About 3 minutes later, the black fog in the room had completely dissipated. Sunlight shone in from outside, bringing peace and tranquility. The lighting in the room had obviously become much brighter than before, radiating vitality and no longer oppressive.

Chu Tian also felt a great sense of relief, as the dark clouds that had accumulated in her heart instantly vanished, and she felt as if she had been reborn, extremely relaxed. Her complexion was no longer as sallow as before and began slowly to regain its rosiness.

"Sister, thank you." Chu Tian walked forward and sincerely expressed her gratitude. She was well aware that without Chu Jin, she would never have overcome this obstacle.

Chu Jin smiled faintly, "Since you’ve already called me sister, there’s no need to be so formal with me. Besides, we both share the surname Chu, and that’s fate."

Just then,

a sudden ’bang’ rang through the air - the sound of the door being kicked open.

Three people stormed into the house from outside, fuming with anger.

Two women and one man; among them was Aunt Fu, the servant Chu Jin had just abused. She trailed behind, looking aggrieved as she sobbed to the two in front, "Master and Mistress, you must stand up for me today. Although I’m just a servant, I’ve served the Chu Family diligently for many years. Even if I have no merits, I’ve had my hardships. But today, the second young mistress teamed up with outsiders to bully me..."

"I know the second young mistress never liked me, but after all, I am a distant relative on Madam’s side..." Chu Tian beating herself up, isn’t that just a slap in Madam’s face?

Chu Tian’s heart, which had relaxed, tensed up again at the sight of the middle-aged couple walking in front. It was as if she was seeing them for the first time in the countryside again.

Back then, she was but a destitute farmer’s daughter growing up in the wild, while they were the opulently dressed, top-of-the-food-chain masters. She would lower her head when she looked at them, hardly daring to meet their eyes. Some habits are not easily shed overnight.

The middle-aged couple standing before her were now her parents.

The man was named Chu Songhe, roughly around 50 years old, slightly overweight with a beer belly, his expression serious, hands behind his back, giving off a vibe of someone set to assign blame. It was not hard to see the resemblance between him and Chu Tian.

The woman was Zhou Meilin, appearing significantly younger than Chu Songhe. Dressed in a lake blue silk dress, her figure curved seductively, embodying the popular internet celebrity look with big eyes, a pointed chin, an exaggeratedly high nose bridge, her lips coated in bright red lipstick. She was clearly a woman who took great care of her appearance, which differed from that dignified and elegant aura typically associated with wealthy matrons.

These two together formed an odd picture, not quite looking like a married couple, more akin to a kept woman and her keeper. Or to put it another way, Zhou Meilin seemed to lack the inherent quality of being born into a wealthy family; even robed in imperial garments, she did not resemble a prince.

Chu Songhe glanced at Chu Tian, his tone icy, "Have you forgotten how to address people now?" This was far from how a father should act towards his daughter, his face barely concealing his disgust.

At first, Chu Songhe had been quite concerned about this long-lost second daughter. When he first brought her back, he would inquire gently about her wellbeing, fulfilling his fatherly duties. He even felt a bit guilty towards her—otherwise, he wouldn’t have gone to such lengths to bring her back from the countryside. His daughter, Chu Songhe’s daughter, was meant to be a phoenix among people; how could she suffers such hardships in the countryside? And how could his daughter fall short in any way?

Unfortunately, his expectations for his daughter were too high. Where his hopes once soared, now his disappointments did too. She was nothing like the blood of the Chu Family, save for her academic performance, there was nothing about her that caught the eye. Always so sullen, as if someone owes her millions, and she has never once called him ’Dad’ voluntarily. Ever since she entered this household, all she did was sulk, bringing nothing but bad luck.

In comparison with his other son and daughter, it was like night and day.

His son and daughter were not only sensible and filial, but also excelled in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting—introducing them to others brought him great face.

And this second daughter? Timid as a mouse, lowly and spineless, barely daring to make eye contact when speaking with others, as if born inferior.

His business had been faltering more with each day, and he suspected it had a lot to do with this daughter. After all, how could good fortune come to a home that housed someone who always looked so mournful?

If not for the DNA test, he would almost doubt whether she were his blood at all.

Upon hearing this, Chu Tian looked up at the couple and called out softly, "Dad..." But the word "Mom" just couldn’t leave her lips, for this person had almost taken her life.

"Forget it, forget it," Zhou Meilin waved her hand dismissively, "If you can’t say it, then don’t. I know you’re still thinking about your foster mother from the countryside. But what I can’t fathom is, three years have gone by; even a block of ice would have melted by now, so why can’t your heart warm up? In these three years, our Chu Family has provided for you well, how can you not see that? What’s so good about that poor countryside that you still dwell on it now?"

Zhou Meilin was insinuating that Chu Tian was heartless, and she was specifically saying it for Chu Songhe to hear, deliberately stirring up trouble between the already fragile father-daughter relationship.

Indeed, after hearing this remark, Chu Songhe’s already unsightly expression turned even uglier, and his disdain for his daughter deepened — she was like a wolf in sheep’s clothing that couldn’t be tamed!

Chu Tian bit her lip, "I didn’t, it’s not like that..."

But before she could finish her sentence, Zhou Meilin hastily interrupted, "Enough, enough, I don’t want to hear your explanations. I’ll just ask you one thing, were Aunt Fu’s injuries caused by you? Over the years, our Chu Family has never wronged you. Whatever Haohao and Pingping had, you always had your share. But look at you now, bringing outsiders to bully your own family! Do you even consider me your mother and your father at all?"

It was evident that Zhou Meilin was a formidable character; she could take Chu Tian from heaven to hell with just a few words. No wonder Chu Tian had been bullied all these years.

Aunt Fu immediately stood out, wailing, "Master and Madam, you must stand up for me. Look at what the second miss has done to me..."

Only then did Chu Tian notice that Aunt Fu’s entire face was bruised and swollen, with blood oozing from the corner of her mouth, looking extremely pitiful as if she had undergone some cruel torture. But Chu Jin had clearly not touched her face — Aunt Fu’s face had been fine when she apologized to Chu Jin just moments ago. How could her face have changed so drastically in such a short time?

And if it wasn’t for Aunt Fu starting the conflict, Chu Jin would not have laid a hand on her!

This was a case of a guilty party accusing first. Although Chu Tian had long known Aunt Fu was capable of such a move, she was still very angry. Perhaps it was because the feng shui in the room had been neutralized, she suddenly lifted her gaze and stared straight at Zhou Meilin.

"Aunt Fu is slandering me! Her facial injuries have nothing to do with me!"

Chu Tian had never been as assertive as she was now, and it was as if she had become a different person all of a sudden. Zhou Meilin was taken aback for a moment before speaking.

"It has nothing to do with you? You say it has nothing to do with you, and that’s supposed to settle it? I can understand if you don’t like me as your mother, and if you have issues with me, you can confront me directly. What kind of skill is it to pick on a servant? Oh... I get it now, you’re picking on her because she is a distant relative from my hometown, right?"

Facing Zhou Meilin’s aggressive questioning, Chu Tian was clearly panicked, her complexion pale as she said, "I didn’t, it’s not like that..."

Aunt Fu was stirring the pot on the side.

"Master and Madam, you must stand up for me! Severely punish the second miss, else I will call the police and let them handle this! If that happens, don’t blame me for not considering family ties! This is just too much bullying!"

Chu Tian was clearly at a disadvantage, alone and overwhelmed.

Call the police? This could be considered a threat — abuse of a servant! If such news were to spread, the Chu Family’s reputation would be entirely ruined by Chu Tian. High society is never short of onlookers eager for a spectacle.

The higher you stand, the colder it gets; noble families fear such scandals the most.

And there were many outsiders eyeing the Chu Family, eager to catch them by the short hairs.

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