Chapter 389: Liu Qingzhu Repents, Regretting Not Having Done So Earlier!

Only after the servant from the Fourth Prince's Mansion really left did Liu Qingzhu stare in shock at Li Qingluo.

Did she really save me?

No, how could she possibly have saved me?

Isn't everything that happened to me today exactly what Li Qingluo most wanted to see?

And just now Zheng Mama also said that Li Qingluo only wanted to continue tormenting me.

Liu Qingzhu's eyes flashed with hatred, but Li Qingluo didn't even glance at her again, supporting Pei Lao Furen as she walked away.

Midway, Zheng Mama helped Liu Qingzhu get off the carriage.

Taking advantage of the darkness, they left everyone's sight.

When they reached a deserted place, Zheng Mama finally threw Liu Qingzhu a set of clean clothes.

"Put them on."

Liu Qingzhu reached out to touch the soft fabric of the clothes, then her hand jerked back.

"What on earth does she want to do?"

"Kill me or cut me up, do as you please!"

"I'd rather die than kowtow and admit fault to her! I did nothing wrong!"

Zheng Mama gave a cold chuckle: "Are you overthinking things?"

"Kill you?"

"Back when you were having an affair with Prince Yun, if our young lady hadn't intervened, you would have already been hanged by a rope—how could you still be alive today?"

Liu Qingzhu trembled all over: "She pleaded for me? How could that be possible?!"

"I get it now—she did it on purpose! Indeed, it's her; she's been waiting to see this day of mine."

"She long knew I would reap what I sow and end up in such a miserable fate..."

Liu Qingzhu burst into tears, flung Zheng Mama's hand away, and threw those clean clothes onto the ground.

Zheng Mama clapped her hands and sighed: "Do as you please."

"However, Liu Caoer, I at least will say a fair word."

"Our young lady has never owed you anything!"

"It's you who owes her!"

"The original swap of identities was also the sin of your Liu family! Our young lady suffered how much hardship and guilt in your Liu family for you?"

"You took the young lady's place and enjoyed all the blessings of the Li family for sixteen years; when the young lady returned, how did you scheme against her?"

"If it weren't for your own hidden malicious intentions, would the Li family have had no place for you?"

"You didn't cherish what you weren't supposed to have, yet you insisted on causing trouble."

"You say there's nothing wrong with what you did, yet you rushed to become someone's concubine."

"I really can't understand why you Liu people are so bent on achieving fame and fortune to change your fate."

"Even if it's like a moth flying into the flame, you go ahead and do all these foolish things!"

"You refused to be the proper wife of the Zhongyi Hou mansion, yet you insisted on becoming a concubine in Prince Yun's mansion—look at your situation now!"

Liu Qingzhu collapsed and sat down on the ground.

"But the marriage arrangement of the Zhongyi Hou mansion was Li Qingluo's..."

"All the Li family's favoritism and indulgence were hers as well."

"Everyone thought I was the true legitimate daughter of the Jiangjun mansion, but only I myself, at age eleven, realized I was actually a kind of counterfeit!"

"I thought only Duan Rongxuan truly loved me—because of me myself, not because of the Jiangjun mansion or the Li family!"

"But I was too foolish. My self‑assumed love was nothing more than a flower‑in‑the‑mirror, moon‑in‑the‑water act..."

"In the end I'm covered in wounds, unable to seek life nor able to seek death."

"Haha, hahaha..."

"This indeed is my fate; I deserve it."

Liu Qingzhu covered her face and burst into tears.

Zheng Mama could only shake her head.

"But their partial affection for you is nevertheless genuine."

"If you had ever stepped back even once, you wouldn't have ended up like this."

The Liu family's misery made her flee the Liu family.

The Li family's disaster caused her to flee the Li family as well.

Now the Fourth Prince's mansion has lost its glory; she finds life worse than death, so naturally she still wants to escape.

Zheng Mama took out a silver pouch from her person and threw it to her.

"Our young lady said that a person's fate truly should be in one's own hands."

"But one must also hold onto a shred of conscience; cherishing what one has prevents ending up alone and destitute."

"Go on, to the ends of the earth—go wherever you like."

"However, if you insist on rushing back into mountains of knives and seas of fire to seek death, then don't ever appear before our young lady again!"

"Otherwise, it's just an eyesore to look at!"

Having said that, Zheng Mama walked away.

Liu Qingzhu gazed at the sky full of stars and bright moon, silently shedding tears as she wept.

After she figured it out, she hurriedly got up, changed into clean clothes, washed her face at the riverbank, then tucked the silver away and walked into the darkness.

Zheng Mama saw Liu Qingzhu off, then Pei Lao Furen asked Li Qingluo: 'Luò'er, have you truly let go?'

"Aren't you afraid she'll find another chance someday and harm you again?"

Li Qingluo: "Grandma, she can't stir up any waves anymore."

"I think she now just wants to survive."

"But I will have people watch her; you can rest assured."

"Only when people are pushed to the brink, desperate to survive, do they question and reevaluate their former lives."

"Liu Qiongzhu, I hope you can mend your ways and from now on live a steady life."

"If you still insist on courting death, then that's your own fate."

"The emperor returns, the city gates swing wide open."

"All 306 members of the Zhong family were arrested overnight and thrown into the heavenly prison."

"All the citizens of Jinling City stayed awake all night."

"Lights blazed throughout the city."

"The Zhong family's wails and screams echoed continuously."

"Li Qingluo and her grandmother returned home and also saw the Zhong family's side engulfed in flames."

"Luo Shenyi and Nan Gongdi paced anxiously at the manor gate; seeing the grandmother and granddaughter return unharmed, they finally breathed a sigh of relief."

"Next time, no matter where we go, we have to bring you along!"

"Exactly, otherwise you're not allowed to go out!"

"The two old men gave Li Qingluo and her grandmother a good scolding."

"Li Qingluo smelled their odor and her face darkened."

"Luo Shenyi quickly realized: 'Girl, are you about to have another poison outbreak?'"

"Counting on his fingers, the seven-day limit is fast approaching."

"Li Qingluo, face pale, nodded and hurried back to the Free Abode with Que'er's support."

"Pei Lao Furen: 'Seal off the Free Abode; for the next two days, no men are allowed to approach!'"

"After returning, Li Qingluo felt much better once she was away from the men's scent."

"I wonder how Zulya is doing?"

"After swallowing so much poison, she ought to have an outbreak by now."

"The residence of Princess Consort Qin Yu."

"Qin Yu hearing the news from the Southern Mountain Villa was greatly shocked: 'What are you saying? The Zhong family colluded with my Lotus Sect to rebel?'"

"How could that be——"

"I never ordered assistance for the Zhong family, and the Crown Prince is still there—how could I commit such folly!?"

"Qin Yu, furious, crawled up from the bed, barefoot, her white long gown and trailing hair sweeping the floor."

"She supported her weak body to the table, braced herself, and the more she thought, the angrier she became, overturning the entire table of tea ware."

"Who is it!"

"Who exactly is trying to frame me behind my back!"

"Grandma... Ku Lianqiao?"

"Still haven't found her!?"

"All the servants and confidants in the house merely knelt on the floor."

"After the eight chief maids died, her four chief incense masters either died or went missing, and her close confidants one by one also disappeared."

"No one could step forward to answer her myriad questions."

"Just as she was so weak she could barely stand and was about to collapse, a maid at the door cried out in panic: 'Your Highness, the Crown Prince!'"

"Qin Yu's face lit up with delight as she lifted her gaze to the newcomer."

"The Crown Prince had already strode in."

"Qin Yu blurted: 'Crown Prince brother, you've come just in time. This rebellion...'"

"The Crown Prince seized Qin Yu's throat and pressed half her body against the table."

"Zong Zheng Yuer."

"I've given you face?"

"You dare collude with the Zhong family to rebel!"

"The Zhong family is what kind of knot in my father's and grandmother's hearts; I clearly told you before, why would you still do this!?"

"Do you want me to wipe out your Lotus Sect in one pot before you're happy?"

"Hmm——"

"The Crown Prince drew out the syllable, his face a mask of malice as he stared at Qin Yu."

"The maids and servants inside knelt on the floor."

"Princess, Princess..."

"Crown Prince: 'All of you, get out!'"

"No one dared stay; within moments they all fled clean."

"Duan Rongyin panted heavily, staring at the girl whose neck he was choking in his hand."

"She is a heaven-sent genius; at a young age she could open taverns, gambling houses, all kinds of shops, earning overflowing wealth, rich enough to rival a nation."

"She always had her own unique take on court affairs, often helping him relieve his worries, even pinpointing various problems with striking clarity."

"She could always devise all sorts of strange and wondrous methods."

"She differs from any maiden in this world; sometimes she is spry and quirky, sometimes bold and unconstrained, sometimes sentimental, and sometimes steady and imposing, captivating him."

"She truly is the most special maiden he, Duan Rongyin, has ever seen in this world."

"Her dazzling brilliance made him, from his youth onward, involuntarily keep his eyes on her."

But the person she began to like was not herself.

She grew up chasing after Xiao Wu, her heart full of admiration, and only Xiao Wu.

He, Duan Rongyin, initially also never thought she would find him.

Only because he had unintentionally heard her say that she wanted her husband, and in this life she would have only one beloved.

What she wants is a lifetime together as a couple.

And that faithful, unwavering love.

And now her eldest daughter is already eight years old, and she has three sons.

Among the women of the Eastern Palace, only she is missing.

So, back then she found herself imprisoned in the Southern Palace Annex, asked him if he still wanted that position, and that she could lend him a hand, only wishing that in the future he could have a place for her by his side; besides his heartfelt excitement, the long-hidden feeling deep in his heart also fully revived and burst forth.

But the ideal country she envisions, hearing it, is indeed beautiful.

But how could the Crown Prince not know that it is merely her foolish delusion?

Who among the aristocratic clans could easily move?

Touching the foundation of the ancestors, those clans would not mind joining forces to change the surname of the dynasty.

But he was still moved.

For the benefits she gave, how could he not be moved?

What a beautiful face.

And she also did the most shocking, outrageous deed in the world.

With just her, a woman, she could establish a cult, and that cult could help him achieve many things he could not do himself.

Zongzheng Yuer is indeed a fine blade.

It's a pity that her ideas seem not to belong to this era at all……

She is a strange being in this world.

"Crown Prince older brother…… you…… what do you want to do……"

"It's not me…… I didn't ally with the Zhong family……"

"I too am…… being framed……"

Qin Yu's tears poured down, and in no time they soaked Duan Rongyin's big hand.

He felt as if he had touched scalding boiling water, finally reacted, and let go in one motion.

"No……"

He realized what he had done.

A flash of regret crossed his face.

And he pulled Qin Yu tightly into his embrace again.

"Yuer, I did not mean to do that."

"I was just angry. You believe me……"

Qin Yu slowly closed her eyes, raised her hand, and embraced him.

"Crown Prince older brother, I now have only you."

"If even you doubt me, do not believe me, then I truly have nothing left."

Duan Rongyin's deep affection at this moment, however, did not reach his eyes.

"Good, I believe you are that."

Qin Yu's face hidden in his embrace also grew inch by inch icy and indifferent.

She understood in her heart: Crown Prince, this is to get rid of the donkey after using the mill.

And the Crown Prince: Zongzheng Yuer, this Lotus Sect leader, cannot be kept. But how should she die to die a proper death?