Chapter 264: The scummy mother gives up, the elder brother utterly hates the fake young lady?

Qu Shi sucked in a breath of cold air: "Zhu'er, could it be that you, you also know about your elder brother's matter?"

Qu Shi had no idea that, in Jinling City now, Li Kechuan's scandal had already spread all over the place.

The Qu family, in order to pull Qu Daoxun out, also wanted to expose those beggars as well.

It's just a pity that those beggars had all been cleanly taken in by the Qu family, so the plan failed; moreover, some people, wondering where those beggars had gone, began to investigate privately.

But Li Kechuan's reputation has now been completely destroyed.

Even all the servants in the Li household now know how disreputable the Jiangjun Fu has become, despised by outsiders, yet not a single one dares to speak of it in front of Qu Shi.

The people from the second and third branches were dealt with by Madam Yu's harsh methods, and they all now honestly stay in their own courtyards.

Naturally, there has been no disturbance in this household yet.

So now only Qu Shi is still dreaming, thinking that no one in Jinling City knows about Li Kechuan's scandal.

But Liu Qiongzhu knows.

She, in the rear quarters of Prince Yun's mansion, because of Li Kechuan's matter, has lost all face and suffered endless grievance.

Now it seems, Li Kechuan is even resenting her?

Hasn't she suffered enough?

But when one is under the eaves, one must bow one's head.

Liu Qiongzhu made up her mind; this time she'll just coax Li Kechuan again, and if it takes longer, so be it.

Liu Qiongzhu's eyes instantly reddened, and she opened her mouth to explain: "Mother, no matter what, it's… it's my fault toward my elder brother…"

Qu Shi looked bewildered: "How does this concern you? What on earth is going on?"

Before Liu Qiongzhu could speak, Li Kechuan fixed a gloomy stare on her and said: "That day at the ruined temple west of the city, you abandoned my elder brother and ran off so heartlessly and unjustly; I, for your safety, first pushed you out, shouting again and again for you to save me—why won't you save me?"

Liu Qiongzhu's face turned pale: "Elder brother, Zhu'er also inhaled that bewitching incense that day; if it weren't for her stomach ache clearing her mind a bit, Zhu'er wouldn't have been able to escape at all."

"Moreover, Zhu'er had originally planned to send someone to call my elder brother, but Zhu'er was instead seized and dragged back…"

"Zhu'er… Zhu'er saw my elder brother already so deeply involved, Zhu'er also didn't know how to save him… snivel… Zhu'er truly knows she was wrong."

"Zhu'er knows my elder brother now resents me, but he ought to hate even more—surely it wasn't someone who set us up?"

Li Kechuan gave a cold "Heh": "Are you making me hate Luo'er?"

Qu Shi staggered backward, heavily struck.

"Chuan'er, what are you saying!? What on earth is this? How does it involve Luo'er again? Could it really be that Luo'er designed all this? And what exactly is Zhu'er's situation?"

"Hurry up and tell Mother!!"

Qu Shi widened her eyes, and big tears streamed down.

How could she accept that everything Chuan'er is suffering now is the result of her own children scheming against each other?

Li Kechuan said lightly: "That day I wanted to set up Luo'er, to regain a bit of reputation for Zhu'er and myself, to suppress those false rumors about us in Jinling City; thus I also made an appointment with that young man from the Qu family…"

"Originally I had already teamed up with the Liu people to bind Luo'er, but who knew Luo'er had already seen through all this!"

"She actually swapped Zhu'er into the Guanyin Hall."

"I also don't know exactly how things happened……"

"But I can't help but admire her—Li Qingluo's heart is ruthless and vicious, Li Qingluo is smarter than me, and she truly is the offspring of the Li family!"

"She pulled a 'beam‑switching' trick on me, and also gave me a hard slap, turning me completely into a cripple. Hahaha, hahahaha…"

"Funny to say, I actually don't hate her anymore?"

"What I hate is you, Liu Qiongzhu!"

"I cherished and protected you so much—how could you treat me like this?!"

"I never treated Luo'er well; time and again I wanted to destroy Luo'er to protect you, I and my own sister opposed each other repeatedly, even wanting to take each other's lives—all for you!"

"But what about you?"

"Now thinking about it, if it weren't for my first plan to ruin Luo'er's purity, perhaps this karmic retribution wouldn't have fallen on me."

"Or perhaps, when things happened, if I had been ruthless enough to flee first and dump you in that ruined temple, the person now enduring endless torment and humiliation might be your Lady Zhu?"

"But you were clearly in that courtyard; if you had just gone to fetch water and splash us awake, how could things have come to this?"

"Do you know what it feels like for me to live—neither human nor ghost—suffering utter humiliation yet still not wanting to die?"

"Liu Qiongzhu, what can you use to repay me!!"

Li Kechuan, angry, reached out to grab Liu Qiongzhu, but he lay on the soft couch and couldn't get up; seeing his move, Liu Qiongzhu gasped in fright and hid behind Qu Shi.

"Elder brother, I really know I was wrong, please spare me… snivel… I really have no choice; if Zhu'er gets tangled up in this again, would Your Highness still want me?"

"Even so, am I not also implicated in this matter, and now haven't I been driven out of the mansion by Your Highness?"

"All this should be Li Qingluo's fault! If she hadn't schemed to frame us, we wouldn't have come to this point—why don't you hate her?"

"Elder brother, you…"

Qu Shi turned back and slapped Liu Qiongzhu hard across the face.

"Enough!"

She let out a low growl, glaring viciously at Liu Qiongzhu: "Do you still want to sling mud onto Luo'er?"

Liu Qiongzhu looked in disbelief at the furious Qu Shi before her: "Ah… Mother? Mother, why are you also blaming me?"

"But elder brother just clearly said it—this time it's definitely Li Qingluo who set us up!"

Qu Shi: "Then what are we to do about Luo'er?!"

"Are we just supposed to obediently let Chuan'er scheme against us, losing our reputation and purity?!"

"If you don't flee, or if you take your elder brother and flee together, or if you grit your teeth and risk your life to save Chuan'er, your elder brother wouldn't be so miserably implicated by you today!"

"Zhu'er, we have forgiven and accepted you time and again, yet in the end you repay us like this?! You simply disappoint me too much!"

Qu Shi's tirade left Liu Qiongzhu unable to accept it for a moment.

"It turns out Mother's heart has long leaned toward Li Qingluo… I thought I was the most important daughter in Mother's heart…"

Qu Shi's face turned completely cold: "Yes. Before, I truly regarded you as my heart and liver, my pearl in the palm; even Luo'er, my own biological daughter, had to yield before you."

"But Zhu'er, do you really think I'm a fool?"

"You faked your death by self-immolation, burned so many buildings of the Jiangjun Fu, killed so many servants—do we really not know your viciousness?"

"You did all this just for Prince Yun, even sacrificing the family girls' reputation and chastity to collude with someone—do you really think I, as a mother, am completely blind and can't see it?"

"On Guanshui Cliff, I chose you and abandoned Luo'er, causing her to fall off the cliff and return alone via the mountain path."

"Back then, not knowing the truth, I thought your self-immolation was just fear of the family's neglect; only then did I feel how much pain and hatred I had, watching Chuan'er repeatedly torment and humiliate Luo'er, hoping he'd vent his anger for you—only then did my heart feel a little better. Do you know that?"

"I truly have never been able to let go of you, after all you're the one I raised myself; even though Luo'er is my own birth daughter, even though Luo'er suffered so much for you in the Liu family, enduring so much hardship, I once also thought you were blameless, that you too were innocent."

"But what about you? Time and again you toyed with us, treating us like fools!"

"I can forgive you again and again, accept you, but you absolutely should not have harmed the older brother who loves you most!"

"I only have this one son!"

"Look at what he has become now!"

"His legs are broken, his spirit broken, and now he can't even hold onto scraps of food!"

"Who exactly should bear responsibility for all this? Isn't everything related to you?"

"Zhu'er, you clearly know what feelings your older brother harbors for you, right?"

"But you merely treat our Jiangjun Fu as a stepping stone for your rise to high office!"

"Liu Qiongzhu, I'm not truly stupid; I only kept yielding because I love you, and in the end you treat us like this… hah, ahahaha…"

Qu Shi lifted her head, and the bitterness in her heart turned entirely into tears that rolled from the corners of her eyes.

Liu Qiongzhu stared in shock.

Only then did she realize she had exhausted her mother's and brother's affection for her.

She should flee this place at once…

Just as she was retreating step by step, trying to escape, Li Kechuan noticed her intention.

Seize her!

Liu Qiongzhu struggled and shouted, "What are you doing?!"

Since Mother and Elder Brother no longer cherish Zhu'er, just let her go!

Mother—ah!!

Liu Qiongzhu was roughly pressed against a pillar, she screamed and struggled, but Qu Shi seemed to no longer see her.

Her heart was utterly weary.

She lifted her head, gazing calmly at Li Kechuan: "How do you want to deal with her? Kick her out of the Jiangjun Fu, or let her return to the Liu family? Chuan'er, from now on Mother doesn't want to manage her anymore—you can do as you wish."

As long as your heart feels a little relieved… my son, Mother now has only you.

Look at how your father has ended up like this—what hope can I still have?

You must strive, never give up on life—do you hear me?

What Qu Shi fears most is that Li Kechuan won't emerge from this gloom.

She originally thought that if Liu Qiongzhu returned, she could help Li Kechuan get past this—after all, Chuan'er loves Liu Qiongzhu the most; if Liu Qiongzhu sincerely coaxed her brother, perhaps Chuan'er could truly set aside this shadow.

But Qu Shi never expected that this incident would actually involve Luo'er again!

Just thinking of Li Qingluo made Qu Shi's heart ache as if pierced by needles.

The more she thought, the more she spasmed, unable to bear it.

How did they and Luo'er come to this point?

Even she herself couldn't explain it…

But what use is more regret?

But in all this, Zhu'er bears the primary responsibility!

If it weren't for her, they and Luo'er would never be as they are now, treating each other like enemies!

And Chuan'er hates her so much!

But hatred is better than having one's heart truly die.

At least one can still have hatred.

Qu Shi didn't look at Liu Qiongzhu, letting Li Kechuan be carried past, then he seized her face in a grip.

Zhu'er, since you've returned, just attend to your older brother properly until the day I recover!

Take her to the Lan Cang Courtyard!