The Dark Moon Pavilion Master listened to Shen Yao's account without denying his words. He simply smiled faintly and looked at him with utter calmness.
Seeing that the Dark Moon Pavilion Master did not deny it, Shen Yao continued his story.
"Initially, Su Ci refined Gu worms to cure diseases and save lives. Later, he discovered that someone had improved upon the Gu worms he had refined."
After numerous improvements, the poisonous insect was finally nearing its current form. However, later, Imperial Physician Su discovered that the man was using the insect for other purposes and intended to report him. Unexpectedly, the man struck first, wiping out the entire Su family. Lord Lu Yuanxiu, am I right?
After speaking, Shen Yao turned his gaze back to the man standing in front of him.
That's right, the Dark Moon Pavilion Master is none other than Lu Yuanxiu, the former Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review.
Lu Yuanxiu looked at Shen Yao with a smile, but his eyes revealed a hint of regret. "What a pity, Shen Yao, you are indeed a rare talent, but in the end, you cannot be used by me..."
"So what if it is? The entire Su family did die at my hands."
Upon hearing Lu Yuanxiu's acknowledgment, Shen Yao's eyes darkened, as reflected in his expression.
Shen Yao showed no sign of remorse.
"The only person blocking your way is Su Ci. Why did you kill his wife, daughters, and elderly parents? Su Yan is a child you watched grow up."
Although Shen Yao did not know about the tragic state of the Su family four years ago, he learned about the heart-wrenching cries that night from Wang Rufu's account.
When Lu Yuanxiu heard Shen Yao's words, he just frowned unhappily, as if he was very disgusted by Shen Yao's sudden mention of the name 'Su Yan'. "I never thought of killing Xiao Yan'er, but things didn't go as planned. Xiao Yan'er appeared at the Su family that night. I clearly saw her leaving the Su family gate in a bridal sedan chair."
Lu Yuanxiu felt immense regret whenever he thought about it.
Seeing Lu Yuanxiu's crocodile tears, Shen Yao felt utterly disgusted and coldly said to him, "I don't care whether you are Lu Yuanxiu, the Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, or Chu Yu, a descendant of the former Crown Prince, your plan to restore the Chu Kingdom will never succeed."
Lu Yuanxiu looked at him coldly, ignoring Shen Yao's words. He simply took out a porcelain bottle from his pocket and walked towards Ye Qingzhu behind him.
“Go and say goodbye to him. After some time, he will no longer recognize you.”
After saying that, Lu Yuanxiu handed the medicine bottle to Ye Qingzhu and turned to leave the room with an air of nonchalance.
Although Lu Yuanxiu viewed human life as worthless, he was fully aware of Shen Yao's importance in Ye Qingzhu's heart.
If a person wants to be invincible, then he needs to personally eliminate his own weaknesses.
This is why Lu Yuanxiu asked Ye Qingzhu to come with him to see Shen Yao.
After Lu Yuanxiu left, Ye Qingzhu's hand holding the medicine bottle trembled incessantly, because she knew what was inside.
She had imagined countless times what the final outcome would be with Shen Yao, but she never thought it would turn out like this.
She dared not disobey any of her adoptive father's orders, but she also could not bear to watch Shen Yao die in front of her.
Faced with these two problems, Ye Qingzhu wished she could die rather than confront them.
Shen Yao looked up at Ye Qingzhu, a faint smile playing on his lips, and said with a hint of self-mockery, "It seems that I, Shen Yao, am destined to die at your hands in this lifetime."
At this moment, Ye Qingzhu's mind was in turmoil, especially after hearing Shen Yao's words, she didn't even have the courage to walk towards him.
Ye Qingzhu stared at Shen Yao, her mind replaying their first meeting.
At that time, she received orders from her adoptive father to go to the northern frontier to investigate the situation, but in reality, she was going to help Lu Yuanxiu to reach a cooperation agreement with the king of the northern frontier.
However, on the way back, they unexpectedly encountered Shen Yao, who was unconscious, in the desert.
At first, Ye Qingzhu didn't want to cause trouble, but seeing Shen Yao covered in blood and almost dying, yet still shouting about 'reclaiming the lost territories and freeing us from the suffering of war'...
Having grown up fighting among corpses since childhood, Ye Qingzhu did not understand the meaning behind Shen Yao's words, but they did indeed stir her compassion.
For the first time, Ye Qingzhu disobeyed her godfather's orders and saved a life.
However, Ye Qingzhu also benefited from this misfortune, as Shen Yao had made outstanding military achievements and was clearly the next Great General Protector of the Nation.
However, Ye Qingzhu received a message from Lu Yuanxiu instructing her to get close to Shen Yao.
Ye Qingzhu did as Lu Yuanxiu said, pulling Shen Yao into her camp.
However, Ye Qingzhu had no ulterior motives.
She fell in love with Shen Yao, and during that time she genuinely wanted to be his wife and live a happy life with him.
But the dream was ultimately a lie. Shen Yao rebelled against the imperial power for her sake and was stripped of his military post, so naturally he lost his value to Lu Yuanxiu.
Ultimately, even chess pieces cannot escape the fate of being discarded, whether it's Shen Yao or himself.
"Shen Yao, three years ago I truly wanted to marry you," Ye Qingzhu said, looking at Shen Yao with unwavering determination.
Upon hearing this, Shen Yao couldn't help but burst into laughter. "Sincere? What sincerity do you have? What sincerity do you have? I, Shen Yao, am nothing but a pawn you're using. Ye Qingzhu, do we really have any feelings for each other?"
Do you have feelings for them?
Ye Qingzhu didn't actually know whether she loved Shen Yao or not, but she still clearly remembered that those days were the happiest time of her life.
Looking into those eyes that showed no emotion whatsoever, Ye Qingzhu could clearly sense that Shen Yao no longer held the same gaze he once had for her.
Love is something I may have had before, but now it's all gone, Ye Qingzhu thought with a touch of self-mockery.
"Shen Yao, you're right, our meeting was a mistake from the very beginning..."
After saying that, Ye Qingzhu took the medicine bottle and squatted down in front of Shen Yao.
Shen Yao did not meet Ye Qingzhu's gaze, but simply closed his eyes with a cold expression, calmly accepting the arrival of his fate.
Seeing Shen Yao close his eyes and turn his head away from her, Ye Qingzhu felt as if she were being pricked by needles.
"Don't you have anything to say to me?"
Shen Yao did not answer, responding to her words with silence.
"What about Su Yan? Don't you have anything to say to her either?"
Upon hearing the name 'Su Yan', Shen Yao suddenly opened his eyes, his face filled with worry, and asked Ye Qingzhu, "What did you do to Su Yan?"
Since being captured, Shen Yao had no idea what was happening outside. He only heard Ye Qingzhu suddenly mention the name 'Su Yan' and subconsciously assumed that she had been captured.
Seeing Shen Yao's worried expression towards Su Yan, Ye Qingzhu couldn't help but sneer, "It seems that the woman disguised as a man named Su Yan is quite extraordinary to you!"
When Shen Yao heard that Ye Qingzhu actually knew that Su Yan was a woman disguised as a man, his pupils widened slightly, as if he was very surprised.
Because no one else knew about Su Yan's disguise as a man, Shen Yao was extremely surprised when Ye Qingzhu also found out.
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