Hearing that declaration, the System pointed at himself with both paws and said in dismay, "ME?! Host, I’m a SYSTEM, not a human! I can’t just walk up to the old Master and have a conversation with him! He can’t even SEE me!"

Heena looked at him and said patiently, as if explaining something to a small child, "Then who told you to go deliver the message YOURSELF? Just write an anonymous letter with all the juicy details about what you observed, and throw it into the old man’s study when no one’s looking."

Hearing that plan, the System looked at her incredulously and said, "But Host, if it’s just writing a letter, YOU could do it yourself! Why are you making ME do this?!"

Heena looked at her nails with exaggerated concern and said casually, "Oh, well, you see, I just twisted my hand a bit during our earlier... conversation. And writing with these ancient brushes is so irritating when your hand is sore. So I thought you could handle this small task for me."

The System’s mouth dropped open. "WOOHOO! WOOHOOHOO!" he protested loudly, waving his paws. "That’s such a bad excuse! How can you—"

’SMACK!’

Another slap landed on the other side of his face.

"OW!"

"Keep complaining and I’ll make it symmetrical on both sides," Heena said sweetly.

---

’’[Thirty Minutes Later]’’

And so, of course, the System—after suffering for another ten minutes of threats and occasional smacks—found himself laboriously writing a letter.

The brush was as big as his entire body in his small lion form. He was gripping it with both front paws, struggling to form legible characters on the paper.

Heena watched his attempts and said with disgust, "Good God, your handwriting is even WORSE than mine. And that’s saying something."

Hearing that criticism, the System looked at her with tears still in his eyes and said miserably, "Then why don’t YOU write it yourself?! Do you have ANY idea how hard it is to write with PAWS?! I don’t have opposable thumbs in this form!"

Heena looked at him with mock sympathy and said, "Oh really? I didn’t see you having such a tough battle with manual dexterity when you were gambling away my money last week. You seemed to handle the dice and cards just fine with those paws."

Hearing that pointed reminder of his gambling activities, the System hurriedly shut his mouth and returned to the painstaking task of writing.

After another twenty minutes of struggle, the letter was finally complete.

It read, in barely legible handwriting:

’"Honorable Master of the Household,’

’It grieves this humble observer to report concerning behavior witnessed in the market district three days past. Your esteemed wife was seen in lengthy conversation with a scholarly official, one Chen Yifan of the provincial administration. Their interaction appeared quite familiar and intimate for strangers.’

’The following day, your wife was again observed in the temple district, where she once more encountered this same official. They spoke privately for nearly an hour in the temple gardens, their conversation appearing emotional and personal in nature.’

’This humble observer felt duty-bound to report these observations, so that you might be aware of your household’s activities and reputation. Whether this constitutes improper behavior is not for this lowly person to judge—that determination rests with you, the rightful head of household.’

’A Concerned Well-Wisher"’

Heena read through it and nodded with satisfaction. "Perfect. Vague enough to avoid specific accusations, detailed enough to plant serious doubts, and the tone is appropriately obsequious so he won’t dismiss it as malicious gossip."

She looked at the System. "Now, go throw this into his study. Make sure no one sees you do it—wait until late at night when everyone’s asleep."

The System groaned but floated away with the letter, muttering complaints under his breath about tyrannical hosts and their unreasonable demands.

---

’’[The Next Morning]’’

Heena was jolted awake by shouting—AGAIN.

"AHHHHHHH!"

It was the old Master’s voice, bellowing from his study with what sounded like absolute fury.

Heena groaned and said irritably, "What the HECK is it NOW? Can’t people have ONE peaceful morning in this household?"

Samuel was lying on his own sleeping mat nearby. He’d just returned from some late-night business dealings and had only been asleep for perhaps two hours. He was exhausted.

Hearing Heena’s groan, he mumbled without opening his eyes, "You should go see what it is this time."

Hearing that lazy suggestion, Heena just pushed at him with her foot and said, "It’s YOUR family causing all this drama. YOU should go see what’s happening."

Samuel cracked one eye open and said tiredly, "I’m exhausted. I just got into bed two hours ago. Can’t you just go check quickly?"

Heena looked at him in disbelief.

Then she said in an increasingly irritated tone, "YOU should go and see. It’s YOUR family matter, not mine. I’m just the daughter-in-law. This is between your father and stepmother, so YOU deal with it."

With that, she pulled the blanket completely over her head, blocking out the continuing shouts from across the compound.

Samuel groaned. "But I’m so tired..."

"NOT MY PROBLEM!" came Heena’s muffled voice from under the blanket.

From the courtyard, they could hear the old Master’s voice getting louder and more furious:

"MAYA! Get in here RIGHT NOW! I want EXPLANATIONS!"

Then Maya’s voice, confused and alarmed: "Husband, what’s wrong? Why are you shouting so early?"

"Don’t play innocent with me! Who is Chen Yifan?! WHO IS HE?!"

There was a moment of shocked silence.

Then Maya’s voice, higher and more panicked: "I don’t know what you’re talking about! I don’t know anyone by that name!"

"LIAR! I have it in WRITING! You were seen with him! Multiple times! In the market! In the temple! Having intimate conversations!"

"That’s—that’s absurd! Who told you such lies?! I’ve done nothing wrong!"

The argument was rapidly escalating into a full-blown screaming match.

Under the blanket, Heena was smiling with evil satisfaction.

’Perfect,’ she thought. ’The anonymous letter worked exactly as planned. Now the old Master is paranoid and suspicious, Maya is on the defensive, and their relationship is fracturing.’

’And the best part? I’m nowhere near any of it. Just an innocent daughter-in-law trying to sleep while the older generation has their marital disputes.’

Samuel finally gave up on getting Heena to investigate and dragged himself out of bed with a long-suffering sigh.

"Fine. I’ll go see what disaster is unfolding now."

"Thank you, husband," Heena said sweetly from under her blanket. "You’re so considerate to handle these family matters."

Samuel shot her a look that clearly said he knew she was somehow involved in this chaos, but he had no proof and was too tired to interrogate her properly.

He left the room, heading toward the source of the shouting.

As soon as he was gone, Heena threw off the blanket and sat up, looking extremely pleased with herself.

The System appeared, still nursing his sore face.

"Host, that was... actually quite effective. The old Master completely took the bait."

"Of course he did," Heena said smugly. "Paranoid old men with young wives are ALWAYS susceptible to infidelity accusations. Especially when the accusation comes from an ’anonymous concerned well-wisher’ rather than from someone with obvious motives."

She stretched luxuriously.