Chapter 105 Cause and Effect (Part 3) I'm glad you have a sense of crisis. ...

Upon hearing this, Cui Wan knew she couldn't escape today. She glanced at Zou Ping, then at the assassin, and finally accepted it.

Wang Wu received the letter but did not return. He only said that whatever the matter was, his mother could handle it entirely.

To protect the Wang family's reputation, Xie wrote a letter of divorce on behalf of her son in front of the ancestral hall and relatives. The Cui family had a general understanding of what had happened from Zheng Ge. They had already done their utmost to appease Zheng Ge's betrayal and had no objection to the matter. They even wrote to apologize to Li Yunru and asked Cui Wan to be expelled from the Cui family.

Cui Wan wasn't surprised by her family's rejection. Just as Wang Wu had said before, if they chose to sacrifice her for their own interests once, they would do it again and again...

What's so great about a legitimate daughter? In reality, they're nothing more than tools of the family.

What stirred something within her was Wang Wu.

Married for three years, they had spent countless nights in each other's arms. She thought they were using each other, but there were still some feelings between them. She never expected that from the very beginning, he had been scheming against her, preparing for today's breakup. His promise to help her solve her problems was just a pretense to appease her.

She thought she was clever and cunning, but she still lost, lost completely!

...

Stepping out of the Wang family's house, Cui Wan closed her eyes, straightened her neck, and said fearlessly, "If you want to avenge yourself, then do it!"

"OK!"

Li Yunru pulled out the hairpin from her hair and pressed it against her neck, the golden light reflecting off her snow-white skin...

After an unknown amount of time, Cui Wan opened her eyes, filled with disbelief, "Why didn't you do anything?"

Li Yunru put away the hairpin, casually tucked it back into her hair, smiled, and said, "I've suffered so much, and to give you such a quick and easy thing is just too good for you."

Cui Wan asked warily, "What do you want to do?"

Li Yunru leaned closer to her, her smile wicked, "Of course, it's to make you pay back all the hardships and difficulties I've suffered!"

"Don't even think about it!"

"I won't……"

She quickly covered her mouth, "You're too noisy!"

The carriage immediately fell silent as she covered Cui Wan's mouth, but she didn't let go. Cui Wan was suffocating, her face turning red and then blue, groaning in pain. Unfortunately, no one paid her any attention. Her only hope was Li Yunru in front of her, but she didn't let go. She just watched with amusement, seemingly enjoying Cui Wan's painful struggle, and even commented seriously, "So beautiful. Even her expression of dying and suffering is so beautiful."

"abnormal!"

Cui Wan glared fiercely at Li Yunru and cursed at her, but her words were incoherent and unintelligible.

The more Li Yunru watched her struggle in pain, the more excited she became, and her smile grew even wider.

Cui Wanzhen thought she would be tortured to death, but she didn't. When she was on her last breath, the person finally let her go.

Freed, Cui Wan gasped for breath. Li Yunru watched her and laughed, asking, "How was it? This feeling of being on the verge of death wasn't pleasant, was it?"

"If you want to kill me, then kill me. Why subject me to such humiliation!"

Li Yunru said, "I told you, killing you would be too quick and boring. I won't kill you; I'll just torture you slowly..."

She told Cui Wan, "You don't know, do you? Back when I was in the palace, I was known as the living devil. My methods of torturing people were even more numerous than the tortures in the imperial prison!"

Cui Wan felt a chill run down her spine and unconsciously took a step back. She thought to herself, "If you continue like this, your cousin and aunt will not let you off the hook!"

But lacking confidence, he fell silent again.

She sat there without making a sound or struggling, as if she had resigned herself to her fate.

The carriage stopped in front of the courtyard.

Yan Ning had been waiting at the door for a while. As soon as the carriage peeked out, she went to greet it. When she stopped, the person was already holding out their hand.

"Are you alright?" he asked with concern.

Li Yunru smiled radiantly, "What could possibly be wrong? Everything's fine."

She called Cui Wan down. The two siblings had not seen each other for three years, but they were not the same as before. Yan Ning saw that her expression was cold and she did not say a word.

Li Yunru explained, "Both the Wang and Cui families have given her to me. Now I can do whatever I want with her. Her life and death are in my hands!"

"Um."

Yan Ning didn't say much, only that she had stewed a pot of bird's nest porridge and invited people in to eat so they could have a good nourishing meal.

"You've been traveling so much these past few days, it must have been tough."

"good."

Li Yunru took his arm and snuggled close to him as they entered the house side by side.

Seeing this, Cui Wan couldn't quite describe the feeling in her heart.

Zou Ping stepped forward and gestured for her to come along, "Let's go, Miss."

Cui Wan hated him. If it weren't for him, how could she be where she is today?

His use of "Miss" was utterly sarcastic, making her feel uneasy, as if something was scratching at her heart. She glared at him and strode into the house.

...

Once out of Cui Wan's sight, Li Yunru let go of her hand, but Yan Ning seized the opportunity to grab it again. "You've already held my hand, and now you want to run away?"

"I didn't intend to run away."

But there are so many people watching!

She just wanted to annoy Cui Wan!

"If you don't have it, then let's go."

He seemed unaware of this, and pulled her along as they entered the house, where he ordered someone to bring in the bird's nest porridge.

"I cooked it myself, you should try it."

"I know it tastes good without even tasting it."

She took it, scooped up a small spoonful and put it in her mouth. "Mmm, it's really delicious."

The man sighed with satisfaction, "Yan Changjun, with your skills, even if we don't become officials, we'll definitely not starve if we open a small restaurant together."

She had always thought he was just used to a life of luxury and would be unable to adapt to life outside the Yan family. But this time when he came back, she saw that he had changed a lot. He had not only adapted to a life without being waited on and taken care of, but had also found time to hone his excellent cooking skills.

ah!

How can someone be so amazing?

Not only is she knowledgeable in poetry and prose, but she is also skilled in both literature and martial arts, and can even cook!

Seeing her eating with satisfaction, Yan Ning smiled, but he didn't respond to her comment. He simply said, "Eat more. You've lost weight these days."

"You've lost weight too! You're always talking about me!"

Li Yunru retorted sharply.

“Yes, I’ve lost weight too,” Yan Ning said. “Then I’ll have a bite.”

He opened his mouth and swallowed the bird's nest from her spoon with such speed and precision that Li Yunru didn't even realize what was happening before it was gone.

"Hey, why did you take my food? You only cooked this little bit?"

“No,” Yan Ning said, “but the one in the princess’s bowl is sweeter.”

He sat down, pulled her onto his lap, nuzzled her neck, and said, "The princess is sweet everywhere."

His warm, deep voice was like some kind of drug, making Li Yunru feel itchy and tingly.

She had gotten used to Yan Ning occasionally spouting some startling remarks. This man, just as she had said at the beginning, was a hypocritical gentleman, shrewd in everything, including when it came to saying nice things to please women.

Li Yunru, pleased, fed him a bite and said, "Aren't you going to ask me what I plan to do with your cousin?"

Yan Ning finished eating, rested his head on her shoulder, and said casually, "The princess has her own plans, I don't need to ask."

"Aren't you afraid I'll kill her?"

You won't.

On the contrary, if it were him, he would!

If it were three years ago, when Cui Wan confessed, he had evidence that Zou Ping was in his hands. Perhaps Zou Ping wouldn't have survived to this point. Back then, no matter how much Wang Wu tried to protect him, he couldn't have done so. Besides, Wang Wu wouldn't have gone to so much trouble to protect her.

When he makes a move, it's usually without much effort on his part; he simply does someone a favor casually.

This can be seen from his decisive action in cutting ties this time.

For example, her second uncle, who humiliated her, has not yet returned to the Cui family and is still suffering in the harsh and cold Liangzhou.

In his rage, he actually intended to kill someone, but his father, who was seriously ill, pleaded for his life, and his mother also begged him. One was his mentor, and the other was the one who raised him, which brought him back to his senses.

Cui Wan is different from him...

How do you know I can't? What if I can't?

"That was her fate. Everyone has to pay the price for their actions; no one is an exception!"

Li Yunru was stunned and stared at him intently.

"What's wrong?"

Li Yunru said, "I feel like I don't recognize you anymore."

Undeniably, Yan Ning's trust in her and his unwavering support for her deeply moved her. However, beyond being moved, she couldn't help but feel a different kind of emotion.

Cui Wan is his cousin, and the two are related by blood. Even so, he could say such a cold sentence.

She was scared.

“Yan Changjun, actually I’d rather hear you plead for her,” she said. “I’d rather you plead for her, and then I’d be unhappy, we’d have a big fight, and then we’d have another argument…”

She paused, "Sometimes you feel like a stranger to me, and I'm afraid of you. I know I shouldn't think like this, but I can't help it, I can't help thinking like this..."

Her voice choked with emotion, and she couldn't continue speaking.

Yan Ning finished her sentence for her.

"Do you ever wonder if someone who can abandon their own family and blood ties might one day treat you the same way?"

Li Yunru admitted, "Yes."

She apologized to him, "Perhaps I shouldn't have done that, I'm sorry."

Yan Ning stroked her face, kissed her eyes, and said, "You didn't do anything, why should you apologize?"

Li Yunru looked at him.

Yan Ning returned the gaze.

He said solemnly, “Liyang, this is what I like most about you. You are different from me and many people in the aristocratic families. You have experienced a lot and suffered a lot, but you still continue to love this world and have compassion for all living beings. You always say that you don’t believe in gods and Buddhas, that those things are ethereal and useless, but you yourself have not realized that you carry a kind of divinity within you. But we are not like that, Liyang…”

Yan Ning said, “We have been taught since childhood to prioritize the interests of the family. Everything is based on the family and interests. This kind of divine goodness often goes against it. It does not exist in aristocratic families. We can give away porridge and food to help those refugees and common people, but that is just something we do on the side. It will not affect us in any way. On the contrary, it can be useful for our reputation. We can save them, and we can also kill them without hesitation when our interests are involved or when they harm us. We will not have any psychological burden.”

Your success today is not due to the evidence, but to your status as the late emperor's daughter, the Lady of Liyang County, and the tiger tally and military power you hold in Jiangzuo. Without these, you might not even know how you died.

Li Yunru herself was aware of this, otherwise she wouldn't have said those things to Madam Xie.

Yan Ning knew that the woman had taken her words to heart when she saw her silence.

He said, "You're right, and it's only natural to think about this. I'm glad you have this sense of crisis."

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Author's Note: I'm currently revising the opening chapter of my new book. I expect to finish this chapter by the end of the month, and the new book will be released on the 27th!