Bai Shuilian saw the cloth bundle, and her face instantly turned pale as she couldn’t help but step back.

Although she was a spy, she wasn’t skilled; what she’d learned was mainly how to serve and entice men, lurking near the target and following orders from her master.

Her only task beside Song Zhiqing was to seduce him, causing chaos in the Song Family, making Song Zhiqing completely follow her lead, using deception to sow discord among the brothers, which would count as a great achievement.

But within less than two years of coming to this mansion, she’d been suffocated by the mighty presence of Song Ci, let alone causing any turmoil in the mansion—she had seldom even left her courtyard.

From the outset, Song Ci had shown his dislike and disdain for her, so no matter how she portrayed herself as virtuous and gentle, she couldn’t win people’s hearts, making it naturally difficult to achieve anything.

It was indeed their urgency, or rather the urgency of those above; the smallpox incident was truly a bungled move no less damaging than a self-inflicted wound; apart from causing the third branch’s daily quarrels and marital discord, the foundation of Song Mansion remained intact, and it provoked Song Ci to be increasingly disgusted with her, leading to the arrival of Concubine Shen, a loss outweighing the gains.

After Concubine Shen arrived, her side was increasingly restrained, and Song Zhiqing began to suspect more due to Song Zhiyuan’s words.

Then came the current situation.

As it turned out, Granny Quan was only looking to extricate herself; she was merely a pawn being used.

Or rather, that person simply never intended to save her.

Upon realizing this, a chill raced through Bai Shuilian’s heart; already susceptible to cold in winter, she felt even more frozen all over.

Bai Shuilian’s eyes darted around as she said, "I know nothing. I only acted under Granny Quan’s instructions; I don’t know anything else. Otherwise, why would she use me up and then want to silence me?"

The scarred guard glanced at her and said, "Don’t pretend to be innocent and pure here, Bai Shuilian. A girl from the mountains ran into your master and was taken away by him. Later, at sixteen, you bore him a daughter named Wan and willingly became a spy, lurking beside the third lord of the Song family, waiting for your chance—isn’t that right?"

Bai Shuilian’s expression changed several times.

The scarred man took out a blade, thin as a cicada’s wing, from the cloth bundle and scraped his fingertip with it, saying, "Do you know what this blade is used for? It’s perfect for skinning; starting from the scalp, I can slice all the way down—I’ll peel your entire skin off and make a pretty human-skin lantern. Don’t worry, my craftsmanship is excellent; you won’t be wronged..."

"Stop, stop." Bai Shuilian’s head felt numb as she imagined her skin being peeled off and turned into a lantern hanging in the windy place.

She turned her head and retched a few times, nearly vomiting bile.

"Tell me, where is your master? What does he look like?"

At this point, Bai Shuilian had no choice but to speak.

She shook her head weakly and said, "I don’t know, I truly don’t know; it was all Granny Quan contacting him. She can change her appearance and has mastered the Bone Shrinking Skill—getting out of the mansion is much easier for her than for me."

"You even had a child with the other party. To say you don’t know—is that looking down on me, or do you wish to become a human-skin lantern?" The scarred man walked up to her and directly pressed the blade against her neck.

Bai Shuilian screamed, her body went limp, and she stammered, "Please, don’t kill me; I truly don’t know. I’ve only been with him once, then had that child. Even then, he was wearing a mask—I never saw his face."

The scarred man chuckled, "So you’re saying, you sent yourself out without even knowing what the other party looked like, and then willingly became a spy?"