Chapter 217: with translation of chapter title

Just as she opened her mouth, the pitiful-looking person had a voice as rough as a man's.

The courtyard all around was quiet.

Li Kechuan and Liu Qingzhu had already sent their attendants away, dispersed the loiterers around, and taken control of every entrance and exit, preventing anyone from approaching.

Only Li Qingluo, because Deng Mama and the others have been on this mountain for thirty years, so she long ago knew which corner was undiscoverable yet could see everything in the courtyard clearly.

Li Qingluo saw that Li Kechuan had also carefully groomed himself today.

He wore a white long robe, his hair tied up high.

Seated in the wheelchair, after tidying his appearance, he had finally regained a hint of his former noble bearing.

Li Kechuan looked at Liu Qingzhu before him, and a sharp pang stabbed his heart.

She had left the Jiangjun Fu only two months ago, and it seemed she was not faring well.

Her face had grown thin and sharp, her whole person looked sickly, not to mention exhausted and spiritless.

The last time at the palace, Mother said she had come as well.

Although he had looked countless times, he never saw her silhouette in the crowd.

But when those noble ladies caused a disturbance outside the Zhenghua Hall, he did worry whether she might also be among them and get implicated.

Fortunately, nothing happened to her that night.

The Empress intended for her to continue relying on the Jiangjun Fu, to serve as the rope that would reconcile and even connect with Prince Yun's Mansion.

But looking at her state, could it be that Prince Yun does not dote on her?

Li Kechuan swallowed hard.

Although Qingzhu's voice had become unpleasant, it was because of his own involvement, so he did not despise it deep down.

He still spoke with a hint of ruthlessness: 'Isn't your current life exactly what you wanted? Why do you still come to me?'

'I remember that our Jiangjun Fu and you have long been severed; I never want to have anything to do with you again in this life!'

She had schemed from the start just to become a concubine of Prince Yun!

And through a twist of fate, he had lost his leg because of her; Li Kechuan hated her in his heart!

But what good does hatred do?

'What's done is done,' he even thought of strangling her, but could he really bring himself to do it?

This girl, whom he had watched grow from infancy, whom he had taught to write character by character, who would act coquettish in his arms, whose smile could melt his cold heart—she was the one he once held dearest.

Even though she had viciously betrayed him, Li Kechuan still could not bear to watch her wither away.

Seeing her wretched state, Li Kechuan gripped the wheelchair's armrests tightly, wishing he could go over and comfort her himself.

Liu Qingzhu raised her hand, covered her mouth with a handkerchief, and coughed heavily a few times.

'Elder brother… no, Young Master… I know Qingzhu has done many wrong things, but now that matters have come to this point, she has no way back…'

'My only regret is that when I left, I failed to bid you a proper farewell and made a scene; Qingzhu often dreams at midnight, waking in tears of remorse.'

'Ah… no, Young Master… do you truly have no place for Qingzhu as your sister in your heart?'

'No matter what you think, you will always be the most important elder brother in Qingzhu's heart… she has no other elder brother in this life but you.'

Having said that, Liu Qingzhu began to cough violently, and as she coughed she swayed and went limp.

Li Kechuan let out an anxious shout: 'Qingzhu—'

Weakly, Liu Qingzhu leaned against the paulownia tree, waiting for Li Kechuan to excitedly wheel himself over; only then did she lift her gaze to him, tears falling steadily.

'Elder brother, do you still care about Qingzhu?'

'It's Qingzhu's inadequacy… she not only fails to conceive the Prince's heir, but in Prince Yun's Mansion she has no money or influence, is constantly manipulated, and moreover, because of the scars on her body, the Prince has come to despise her!'

'Qingzhu originally planned to wait until she made something of herself beside the Prince, to gain some standing, and then return to see elder brother and parents, hoping to earn their forgiveness then.'

'But Qingzhu now struggles to move, and has accomplished nothing.'

'In Prince Yun's Mansion, Qingzhu is targeted and bullied everywhere, with no one to pity or back her; I am merely a daughter of a common family, and still a member of the reviled Liu clan, hated by all!'

'So is this Qingzhu's karmic retribution…?'

'Is it the retribution for these years of taking Li Qingluo's identity, and stealing the affection of father, mother, and elder brother?'

'But Qingzhu has had enough of these years; even so, she does not regret this fate's arrangement…'

Li Kechuan reached out, and Liu Qingzhu immediately pressed her cheek against his palm.

'Elder brother, today Qingzhu came to you simply wanting you to dote on her again… all I wish is to call you elder brother once more; Qingzhu truly dares not hope for anything else.'

Li Kechuan sighed deeply: 'I am your elder brother. No matter what, I will always be your elder brother.'

Unable to restrain himself, his heart aching as if twisted, he could no longer hold back and pulled her into a tight embrace.

'You are the cherished daughter who grew up pampered by my side—how could you suffer such injustice? From now on, elder brother will back you, elder brother will decide for you, elder brother will provide you with money!'

Liu Qingzhu's heart leapt with joy, yet she dared not show it on her face.

Indeed, this trick never fails on him.

Or perhaps it was the suggestion of Luoying this time that was wise—feigning illness is no match for real illness; she had deliberately exposed herself to a cold wind all night last evening, and sure enough she coughed upon waking.

At this moment, Liu Qingzhu even felt a bit smug in her heart.

Look, there truly is still someone who loves her the most in this world.

'If she can keep Li Kechuan under her control, reclaim her dowry, and even return to the Jiangjun Fu—it's only a matter of time.'

While she thought this, her body went limp and she collapsed completely into Li Kechuan's arms.

'Elder brother, Qingzhu dares not think such things—could it all really be true?'

'But Qingzhu's head is killing her right now…'

Li Kechuan nervously supported her: 'Qingzhu, don't be afraid; elder brother will summon a physician for you shortly.'

A woman's voice suddenly interjected: 'No need to wait! This young master and… oh my, it's actually a young lady?'

'We were puzzled by the sound, wondering how two men could be meeting here in secret. It turns out it was a misunderstanding.'

"This young master and lady, coincidentally we went up the mountain to offer incense today, bringing a doctor along; why not let him examine your lady?"

"Lady?"

"This made Liu Qiongzhu and Li Kechuan both blush."

"However, Li Kechuan did not explain anything."

"Seeing this, Liu Qiongzhu also could not explain."

"She nervously stood up quickly and asked, 'How did you barge in? Also, who are you?'"

"A noble lady, leading a retinue, walked in."

'"Why can we not enter? Is this Green Pine Temple your private residence?"'

'"We, the lady, have donated a lot of incense money today; Daoist Master Ling Fengzi naturally will treat us as honored guests, giving us side rooms to rest. Do you think that because you also donated incense money, you can occupy the whole courtyard?"'

"Actually, Li Kechuan's donated incense money today was also not small."

"However, he instructed the Daoist priest to give the entire courtyard to them."

"Moreover, no outsiders were allowed to come near the vicinity."

"Otherwise, how would he dare to be so bold as to hug and embrace Liu Qiongzhu here?"

"If this gets out, Prince Yun will certainly not spare the two of them, let alone how the people will gossip about them later."

"But Li Kechuan did not expect that today's private meeting between him and Liu Qiongzhu would be exactly Li Qingluo's going along with the flow."

"And she had long prepared, having Zhang Mama and the others come early to inform Daoist Master Ling Fengzi; otherwise, this situation would not have arisen."

"At the gate, the servants, guards, and maidservants that Li Kechuan and Liu Qiongzhu had brought were all pressed to the ground."

"Obviously, this lady had more retainers and they were more formidable."

"However, those who dared to block the benefactors, even the little Daoist priest, naturally also contributed."

"Liu Qiongzhu, seeing this scene, was about to get angry, but suddenly saw a graceful, tall beauty slowly walking out from behind the lady."

"Upon seeing who this beauty was, Liu Qiongzhu cried out in alarm, 'Cui Jiuniang, how could it be you!!'"

"Liu Qiongzhu immediately lowered her head in panic, looking at Li Kechuan."

"Li Kechuan also changed his expression."

"Cui Jiuniang?"

"Could it be that she is the fiancée I have not yet married?"

"This was Li Kechuan's first time seeing Cui Jiuniang."

"He felt a momentary daze in his heart."

"As it turned out, she looked like this……"

"Pure and cold like a white magnolia on a branch, holy and beautiful."

"Li Kechuan naturally had imagined what Cui Jiuniang would look like, but she turned out to be a hundred times more beautiful than he had imagined."

"But she saw that you had just been together with Zhu'er; could she misunderstand something?"

"Li Kechuan was about to speak when the lady snorted coldly, 'You are the eldest son of the Li family? Unexpectedly, even with a broken leg you remain dishonest, what are you doing flirting with a young woman here?'"

"The lady's rebuke made Li Kechuan truly embarrassed."

"His face turned both black and red as he said, 'This is my younger sister; lady, there's no need to speak so harshly.'"

"Cui Jiuniang calmly said, 'If I'm not mistaken, isn't this the Lady Zhu of Prince Yun, Your Highness's residence?'"

"The lady accompanying Cui Jiuniang was none other than her great-aunt, and also the wife of Chancellor Cui, Lady Qin."

"Lady Qin exclaimed in shock, 'Really? It's her? I've heard that you, non-blood-related siblings, have an illicit relationship; our Cui family originally didn't believe it, but we never expected to actually witness such a disgusting scene today!'"

"You Li family are really bullying people too much! I think this marriage should just be called off! Jiuniang, go; aunt, take you back and immediately tell your uncle about this!"

"Lady Qin flicked her sleeve, grabbed Cui Jiuniang, and hurriedly turned and hurried away."

"Could this lady be the matriarch of the Cui family!!"

"How could Li Kechuan have known that things would change so suddenly?"

"His engagement to Cui Jiuniang is already imminent; how could he suddenly call it off?"

"Moreover, if the Li family were to lose this marriage alliance with the Cui family, it would surely be adding insult to injury; what future prospects or hope could the Li family possibly have left?"

"Li Kechuan's face was utterly panicked; he shoved Liu Qiongzhu, who had clung to him, aside and hurriedly chased after her in his wheelchair."

"Lady, Miss Nine, please wait; let me explain—things are not like that—"

"Leaving the courtyard, outside was a small path."

"Both sides were bamboo groves."

"At this moment, the bamboo groves rustled; Cui Jiuniang pulled Lady Cui to a stop."

"She turned to look at the anxious Li Kechuan and said, 'This matter originally had nothing to do with me, but I still want to hear how you, the eldest son, intend to explain it.'"

'"As a young lady from the inner chambers, I truly do not understand—what exactly are you doing, holding hands and embracing your former younger sister, with cheeks pressed together in affection?"'

"Cui Jiuniang asked each word clearly, yet Li Kechuan momentarily did not know how to answer."

"After a long pause, he finally spoke: 'I and Zhu'er are pure and innocent……'"

"However, just then, another cry came from the bamboo grove."

"Everyone turned to see, and it was actually a woman in a red cloak who had fallen and sat on the ground."

"Li Kechuan saw this woman, and his expression changed again: 'Shanhu!?'"