And this became the fuse!

"Why? How can doing good deeds bring disaster?" Shuanghua felt that this was simply unreasonable.

Granny Qin sneered, "A tall tree catches the wind! Do you remember the young man the old master saved? By then, he was already a high-ranking official in the court. Although he knew the Qin family was wealthy, he never imagined they were this rich—more than the national treasury! And the money the young lady took out was practically nothing to the Qin family. This aroused the covetousness of many. Coupled with the fact that none of the other concubines in the harem had an heir, several powerful figures decided to seize all of the Qin family's wealth and, incidentally, drive the young lady into a desperate situation!"

Frostflower was furious, and a faint pink blush appeared on her usually cold face.

Lan Linxue remained stiff and motionless, but his fists were clenched tightly together.

"I still remember that day, the fourteenth of July, the Ghost Festival! Every house was decorated with colorful lanterns, and river lanterns floated on the river. But instead of raining, it started pouring down. That day, I went up the mountain with a bamboo basket to pick a kind of refreshing grass that only blooms on this day. But when I came back, before I even got down the mountain, I saw a huge fire burning in Qin Family Fort. The screams could be heard from afar, making your heart tremble. I knew something had happened at home, so I didn't dare go back directly. Instead, I climbed down a secret passage."

That secret passage was the last escape route left by the eldest young lady when she was still alive. Through the hole in the wall, I witnessed countless people wearing ghost masks wielding knives, indiscriminately killing men, women, and children, and then throwing the victims into the fire. The young master of the second branch of the Qin family was only nine years old, and the second master desperately protected him as they ran to the entrance of the secret passage. Just as I was about to open the door to the secret chamber, they rushed in and hacked the second master and the young master to death. In the end, fearing that the child wasn't completely dead, they disemboweled him.

It was only then that I learned from them that they were actually people from the imperial court, and that they were after the Qin family's wealth.

After they looted the Qin family's house and killed everyone, when I crawled out, it had become a living hell. Flames and thick smoke were everywhere, corpses littered the ground, and the Qin family women's condition was particularly horrific. "Your Highness, what happened that night was utterly unforgivable! Those weren't human, they were beasts!"

At this point, the old man burst into tears.

Lan Linxue's hands began to tremble uncontrollably.

Shuanghua felt terribly saddened upon hearing this, and awkwardly tried to comfort the old man with her handkerchief in hand.

Granny Qin cried for a while, wiped away her tears with a handkerchief, composed herself, and then continued, panting and choking, "Later, I crawled out through the secret passage again. I planned to go to the capital to tell the Empress about the injustice suffered by the Qin family. But the very next day, the whole world knew that the Qin family had been executed for treason! They said the Qin family was plotting something sinister, privately manufacturing weapons, and hiding evidence of collusion with foreign armies. Your Highness, I swear to God, those weapons were all ordered by the court! The Qin family had never colluded with anyone!"

I endured it, thinking that if I could see the young lady in the capital, she would surely find a way to avenge the Qin family! But by the time I arrived in the capital, the young lady had already perished in flames! I didn't even get to see her one last time!

"Where is the Emperor? What did the Emperor say?" Lan Linxue asked coldly, her face devoid of any expression.

"The Emperor? Hahaha, the Emperor! The seal on that yellow list is the Emperor's! Who else could Lan Shanyang think of besides his throne? He said he sent people to investigate, but the evidence was irrefutable! The young lady committed suicide in front of him, and he couldn't even save her, can you believe it? In the end, he's the mastermind behind it all. He's forgotten the Qin family back then, and he's forgotten how the young lady helped him secure his position! He's a beast in human form! The young lady was blind in the end, trusting the wrong person!"

To openly insult the Emperor like this is a crime punishable by the confiscation of one's property and the extermination of one's entire clan. But Shuanghua simply stood there woodenly. If such a thing had happened to him, he might have already brandished his cold sword and killed countless people.

Lan Linxue felt a chill creep through her body, spreading to every corner of her being, and began to tremble uncontrollably.

"Kou'er, how did Kou'er survive?"

Granny Qin cried for a long time before she could control herself. Wiping away her tears, she choked out, "Kou'er is the eldest daughter of the young lady's younger brother. As for how she survived the fire, I don't know! It was only a few years later that one day Kou'er suddenly found me and took me back. But I know that Kou'er's parents and younger brother all died in that fire that night. Now she's all alone in the Qin family! This child has such a tragic life!"

After saying that, Granny Qin started wiping away her tears again.

Lan Linxue sat there blankly. Although he had guessed what was going on, hearing it now still felt like being pricked by needles.

"Is Kou'er's insistence on becoming the Crown Princess related to what happened back then?"

Granny Qin looked at Lan Linxue, grasped his hand tightly, and said with tears in her eyes, "Your Highness, the suffering in Kou'er's heart is beyond your imagination. She was only five years old when the incident happened that night. Just think, she watched her entire family die tragically before her eyes. What kind of child could bear that? And yet, she has achieved so much today. What kind of effort did she put in to get it? At thirteen, she was already wandering the world, dealing with all sorts of people. In five years, she had become the most renowned person in Jiangnan! The joys and sorrows she has endured cannot be explained in a few words! To say that Kou'er has forgotten what happened back then is impossible! But what she is planning to do, I don't know! Only she herself knows what's in her heart!"

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