In late spring, a fine, silky rain blanketed Xiangguo Temple. Its mournful melody sounded like a mournful melody between heaven and earth. Raindrops scatter in a patchwork pattern on the bronze bells atop the temple's eaves, creating a crisp yet slightly desolate "ding-dong-dong" sound that echoed through the empty temple, as if revealing a hidden secret from the depths of time.
Su Jinli stood quietly in the courtyard of the Prime Minister's residence, tightly clutching a piece of paper. The letter was wrapped in layers of oil-paper, yet her fingertips, gripping it for so long, were slightly wrinkled by the paper. The letter had been quietly delivered by Liu's personal nanny, and its words struck her heart like a hammer—Liu's life was hanging by a thread, and she longed to see her one last time.
"Are you going?" Jiang Yan had unknowingly reached her side, his eyes filled with concern and worry. He gently gathered Su Jinli's cloak around her, fine raindrops trickling down it. A thin layer of mist had formed on his glasses, a reflection of the unspoken worries deep within him. This sudden news had broken the long silence since Liu had been confined to this temple three years prior.
Su Jinli raised her head slightly, her gaze piercing the misty rain toward Xiangguo Temple. Past grudges and hatreds surged through her heart like a tide. After a long pause, she bit her lip and nodded slightly. Jiang Yan silently opened an oil-paper umbrella to shield her from the wind and rain, and the two of them walked side by side toward Xiangguo Temple.
Upon entering the meditation room of Xiangguo Temple, a pungent medicinal odor assaulted my senses, nearly choking me. The room was dimly lit, with only a few faint rays of light filtering in through the narrow window slits, casting mottled shadows on the ground. Liu lay quietly on the meditation bed, her figure as thin as a withered branch in late autumn, as if a gentle breeze could sweep her fragile body away.
Hearing footsteps, Liu slowly turned her head. The moment she saw Su Jinli, her once cloudy and dim eyes suddenly lit up, like a dying candle struggling to flicker in its final moments. "Jinli... Mother is so sorry..." Her voice was weak and hoarse, each word strained from her dry throat, revealing endless weakness and regret.
"Don't call me mother." Su Jinli subconsciously took a half step back, a flicker of disgust and determination in her eyes. The scene of Liu's ruthless push into an arranged marriage in her past life, plunging her into a deep abyss of pain, unfolded in her mind like a glaring picture scroll, and the unforgettable pain once again pierced her heart like a sharp blade.
Liu didn't seem to notice Su Jinli's reaction. A violent coughing fit suddenly erupted, and a trickle of blood oozed from the corner of her mouth, a glaring sight against her pale face. She reached out a trembling, dry-branch-like hand, and with her last ounce of strength, grasped Su Jinli's, pressing an oil-paper bag into her grasp. "Your birth mother... didn't die of illness... She was poisoned by the old woman of the Wang family..." Before she could finish her words, her hand slipped away, and the oil-paper bag fell to the ground, revealing half a blackened jade pendant from the wrapper. It was the mandarin duck pendant Su Jinli's birth mother often wore. Once smooth and lustrous, it now seemed stained with endless injustice, dull and lifeless.
"What?" Su Jinli's pupils suddenly constricted, as if struck by thunder. Her mind flashed back to her birth mother, her frail self, clutching her chest, her face etched with pain. Her family sought out renowned doctors from all over the land, but none could save her. This sudden news sent a tidal wave through her previously calm heart.
"The Wang family wants to cling to the Prime Minister's mansion... Your mother is standing in their way..." Liu's eyes gradually grew unfocused, her voice growing fainter. "The letter is in the bag... Avenge your mother..." With these words, her head tilted weakly, and she passed away completely. The Zen room fell into a dead silence, the only sound being the pitter-patter of rain dripping through the window, as if playing a mournful elegy for Liu's passing.
Jiang Yan silently squatted down and picked up the oil-paper package. He gently opened the paper package, revealing a letter written in blood that had already dried up. Su Jinli took the letter with trembling hands and read it word by word. As she read deeper, her body began to tremble slightly. It turned out that the old lady of the Wang family was jealous of Su Jinli's biological mother's favor in the prime minister's mansion. She had evil thoughts in her heart and bribed the kitchen maid to secretly put a slow-acting poison in the pregnancy-maintaining medicine that her biological mother took every day. This poison was like a venomous snake hidden in the darkness, corroding her biological mother's body bit by bit, and eventually taking her life.
"Madam," Jiang Yan squeezed Su Jinli's hand tightly. He could feel the anger and pain surging in her heart like a raging tide. His eyes revealed a resolute and determined look. "Let's go to the Wang family." Jiang Yan knew that this news was like a bolt from the blue for Su Jinli, and he was willing to face it with her and seek justice for her.
Chapter 152: The murderous intention is hidden
The Wang family compound was a scene of vibrant blossoms, with wisteria climbing freely along the trellises, in full bloom. Strings of purple blossoms cascaded down like a waterfall, swaying gently in the breeze and emitting bursts of delicate fragrance. However, beneath this seemingly beautiful scene lay a hidden, dark cloud.
Old Lady Wang sat leisurely on a carved chair, a maidservant at her side diligently waiting on her. She peeled lychees, a false smile plastered across her wrinkled face. Seeing Su Jinli and the others enter, she quickly stood up to greet them. "Ah, how did the number one scholar's wife find time to visit my humble abode?" Her tone sounded warm, yet tinged with hypocrisy.
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