Return of Black Lotus system:Taming Cheating Male Leads

Chapter 322: Chapter-322

Then she said directly: ”So. Are you going to tell me what this world is REALLY about? What the hidden mission parameters are?”

Hearing that question, the System sighed deeply and looked at her with genuinely pitiful eyes. His little tail drooped down sadly.

”Host... you know I can’t. The information is classified above my clearance level.”

Heena nodded slowly. This was one of the persistent problems with transmigration missions.

Even though Heena was the Host and her entire purpose was to complete the world’s objectives, sometimes the World System deliberately hid half the story—especially in difficult, high-complexity worlds like this one.

’So I can only guess,’ Heena thought analytically, ’that whatever information is being hidden from me, it’s directly connected to the original Seera’s memories and past.’

’Seera’s background seems to be a major mystery. Something is seriously wrong there. And from my calculations, it all connects in a chain:’

’Seera’s hidden memories → Her unknown past → This world’s TRUE completion requirements → The actual high-difficulty mission I’m supposed to accomplish’

’It looks like I need to complete the obvious task of defeating Maya FIRST. Only then might I unlock access to the deeper story and find out what’s really going on.’

Heena looked at the water flowing past and smiled slightly.

’Which means I also need to prepare for the possibility of DIVORCE.’

The thought made her pause.

Even though divorce was absolutely TABOO in this era—treated worse than death in many ways—Heena knew she might need to do it anyway.

’Why? Because okay, fine—Samuel is GOOD. He’s actually a quality man by any reasonable standard.’

’He’s not bad. He’s rich. He’s educated—a scholar, which has social prestige. He’s handsome. And you could say he’s good in basically every aspect a woman would want in a husband.’

’But there’s one MAJOR problem: Samuel doesn’t fit into my next-stage plans.’

Heena had been thinking about this carefully over the past few days.

’If my situation analysis is correct—and it’s NEVER been wrong before—then my background as ’Seera’ is far more complicated and powerful than Samuel’s family.’

’I know that Samuel has tried to investigate my identity. Not just once or twice, but MANY times. He’s used his considerable resources and connections.’

’Yet he hasn’t been able to locate ANY information about Seera’s origins.’

’That level of information blackout shows that whoever is hiding the truth about Seera’s background is SIGNIFICANTLY more powerful than Samuel and his merchant family connections.’

’For someone to completely erase or hide all traces of Seera’s past from someone as capable as Samuel... that indicates involvement from either:’

’A) Extremely high-level government/imperial power’

’B) Major aristocratic families with serious influence’

’C) Criminal organizations with deep reach’

’D) Something even more unusual’

Heena was so deep in thought that she almost didn’t notice approaching footsteps.

When she finally registered the sound and turned around, she saw Chen Yifan—the male lead himself—walking toward her along the riverside path.

And even though she maintained a serene, calm expression on the outside, inside she was absolutely DISGUSTED.

’Why?’

’Because there’s one specific reason I hate this type of man above almost all others.’

Heena’s internal monologue continued with cold analysis:

’Even though Chen Yifan wasn’t the one who DIRECTLY poisoned Seera in the original story timeline—he didn’t personally administer the poison or do the actual murder—this bastard was absolutely KEY to enabling it.’

’He SUPPORTED Maya. He provided her with resources, protection, social legitimacy.’

’And I don’t CARE whether he knew the full truth of what Maya was doing or not.’

’The FACT is: he supported her. His support directly led to Seera’s death.’

’If this bastard had SO MUCH love for Maya—if he was SO devoted to her—then he should have made her DIVORCE the old Master properly and married her himself through legitimate channels!’

’But NO. What did he do instead?’

’He helped Maya KILL the old Master.’

’He helped her KILL innocent Seera who was just a pawn in all this.’

’And in the process, he caused Samuel’s death too!’

’He destroyed an ENTIRE HOUSEHOLD for one woman!’

Heena’s eyes narrowed as she continued her analysis:

’Now, some people might argue: ”But he did all this because he LOVED Maya! Love makes people do crazy things!”’

’But I don’t think that’s the real reason. Call it a problem with my cynical brain, but I know one thing for SURE about this type of official in historical settings:’

’They absolutely CANNOT marry divorced women.’

’Divorce in this era is like a BRAND. Like slavery-level social stigma.’

’It’s SO bad. If actual slaves could walk around with their heads up in this society, divorced women are treated WORSE.’

’She’s essentially cursed. Everyone taunts her. Everyone whispers behind her back.’

’The social philosophy is literally: ”You should DIE before you divorce. Death is more honorable than divorce.”’

’And even in cases where the WOMAN initiates the divorce—where SHE’S the one who left—it’s STILL assumed that the man threw her out.’

’People immediately start questioning her character: ”What did SHE do wrong that her husband left her? What’s wrong with HER that he couldn’t stand being married to her?”’

Heena’s smile turned cold as she completed her reasoning:

’And Chen Yifan is NOT a fool. He’s an educated official, well-versed in social norms and career implications.’

’So just THINK about it logically:’

’If Maya’s husband died → If the old Master died → If Samuel died → Whose property would EVERYTHING go to?’

’Of course it would ALL go to Maya—the only living person left in the household!’

’And the money involved is NOT trivial.’

’Even though this household LOOKS poor on the surface—the mansion isn’t huge, there aren’t thousands of servants, the gardens aren’t elaborate, the ponds aren’t massive—what people MISS is the actual WEALTH.’

Heena had been observing carefully during her time here:

’Even in this era of drought and economic hardship, the old Master wears SILK clothing. That’s extremely expensive—far beyond what most merchants can afford regularly.’

’The household eats MEAT every single day. During a drought when food prices are astronomical, they have MEAT DAILY.’

’After spending time with Samuel and seeing his expenditures, I’ve come to understand just how EXPENSIVE this family’s lifestyle really is.’

’The old Master is like a snake sitting on a pile of gold. He hoards his wealth and spends carefully in public, but the money is DEFINITELY there.’

’And then there’s Samuel’s mother—the woman who died years ago. She was the DAUGHTER of one of the richest merchants in the entire region at that time.’

’Just thinking about her dowry alone, about the wealth she brought into this marriage... it must have been ENORMOUS.’

’And Samuel himself is exceptionally talented and successful. He’s earned substantial money through his own business ventures. And where does it all go? To the family coffers controlled by the old Master.’

’So even though this place LOOKS like a relatively poor household trying to maintain appearances, I’m not going to fool myself.’

’I’ve seen this pattern before—people who hide their wealth, who dress down deliberately, who appear modest while sitting on fortunes that could rival small kingdoms.’

Heena’s eyes focused on details she’d catalogued:

’Just look at the old Master’s clothing. Even though the styles look plain and the colors are dull, the FABRIC is always expensive silk.’