Kill her
At the end of March in the twenty-fifth year of Jian'an, the first spring rain arrived.
After returning from the Jiang residence, Li Wan stayed alone in her room for several hours.
It wasn't until the night was deep that she called Xiuhe and asked her to bring Xiutao to the lotus viewing platform.
The Lotus Appreciation Terrace is located in the adjacent front and back courtyards of the Marquis's residence, surrounded by water on three sides, making it impossible for anyone to eavesdrop.
Although Xiuhe did not know why Madam was looking for Xiutao late at night, Madam had been depressed and gloomy ever since she returned from the Jiang residence. She had never seen her like this before, so she did not dare to delay and hurriedly went to the back room to wake Xiutao, who was already asleep.
As Xiutao braved the rain and climbed the steps to the Lotus Appreciation Platform, she saw Li Wanmo sitting sideways on a stone pier by the candlelight under the pavilion. Her hair was not tied up and she was wearing a snow-white wide-sleeved long dress.
The cold night wind, mixed with icy rain, lifted her skirt, but she seemed not to feel the slightest bit of cold, silently gazing at the water outside the pavilion.
For some inexplicable reason, Xiutao's heart suddenly trembled.
“Miss,” Xiutao said softly.
Li Wan looked over upon hearing the sound, her dark eyes calm yet unfathomable.
“Xiutao, at first, Xiao Xian asked Jiang Feiwan to write a letter to Xie Qi, but she was unwilling to do such a despicable thing. Are you aware of this?”
Xiu Tao was stunned by Li Wan's extremely cold voice and didn't realize for a moment that there was something wrong with her words. She could only nod blankly.
"Then Xiao Xian ruined her reputation, using sweet words to deceive her into obeying him. Are you aware of this?"
Xiutao's eyes widened. "Miss, what are you saying? That night you willingly went with the Third Prince..."
"Smack!"
Li Wan slammed her hand on the table and stepped closer to her. "Was it voluntary? Jiang Feiwan is the legitimate daughter of the Jiang family. How could she be so shameless as to have an affair with a man before marriage?"
"Xiutao," Li Wan growled, "that cup of poisoned wine that left her powerless, unable to call for help or escape, and left her vulnerable to being bullied—wasn't it you who personally administered the poison and served it to her?"
"You...who did you say? Girl, are you crazy?" Xiutao trembled all over from the words of the person in front of her, and her words became incoherent.
Li Wan suddenly grabbed her shoulders and pressed, "You drugged her, you helped Xiao Xian control Jiang Feiwan, didn't you?"
"Yes, it's me." Xiu Tao panicked completely. She honestly admitted that all she wanted to do was get away from her as soon as possible, but no matter how she struggled, she couldn't break free from her grip.
Li Wan stared at Xiu Tao, then smiled bitterly and helplessly, “Jiang Feiwan has lost her innocence. Fearing that the Jiang family will be disgraced because of her, she can only pretend to be insincere with Xiao Xian. It’s laughable that she still fantasizes that after Xiao Xian uses her to deal with Xie Qi, he will remember her past affection and marry her, even if she is just a concubine.”
“But,” Li Wan pulled Xiu Tao’s pale face closer, “but how did you treat her in your past life!”
"Wh...what about the previous life?" Xiu Tao couldn't understand Li Wan's words. She thought the person in front of her had completely gone mad.
Li Wan glanced at her, tears unconsciously streaming down her cheeks.
She continued, "In the previous life, Xie Qi ignored Jiang Feiwan. In order not to waste this pawn, Xiao Xian joined forces with Lin Youke and ordered you to force-feed Jiang Feiwan drugged wine, so that... so that a stranger would humiliate her again, and then frame Xie Qi for it, right?"
"Xie Qi disdained forcing women, so he didn't clarify, leaving Jiang Feiwan unscathed. However, Xiao and Lin took advantage of Xie Qi leading the army to fight the enemy to spread rumors that Xie Qi and Jiang Feiwan were in love and had secretly pledged their lives to each other. Is that true or not!"
"You gave Jiang Feiwan drugs every day, rendering her powerless to commit suicide, tormenting her for nearly half a year until the early stages of Yugu Pass, when you finally killed her, and then used her death to smear Xie Qi with the stigma of committing suicide for his daughter. Is that right or wrong!"
Li Wan's expression was extremely crazed. All the grief and hatred she had suppressed since reading Jiang Feiwan's last letter erupted completely at this moment.
It turns out that she wasn't the only one who was reborn; Jiang Feiwan was the first. But unfortunately, she was reborn after Xiao Qian had destroyed her life.
She said she was cowardly; she didn't have the courage to face everything that happened in her past life again, nor was she able to change it. So, before she was completely controlled, she chose to commit suicide.
Before committing suicide, she recorded everything from her past life, including Xiao Xian and Lin Youke's conspiracy, as well as the fate of Xie Qi and Jinlin Army.
She believed that Buddha had given her a second chance at life because he couldn't bear to see the tragedy of her past life repeat itself. She prayed that someone stronger and more powerful than her could change everything.
Fortunately, Buddha heard Jiang Feiwan's prayer.
Li Wan closed her eyes, letting the surging hatred in her heart surge wildly.
“Xiutao, do you know that everyone died in the previous life? Xie Qi, Xie Ye, Lord Xie, Jiang Feiwan, Jiang Nanyue, Jiang Feiche... the father and brothers of Niutian Village, and all 120,000 soldiers, all died.”
Li Wan looked at Xiu Tao, who was stunned with fear, and slowly released her hands, but her voice was filled with heart-wrenching pain.
"Everyone died because of you, so why should you be the ones to reap the benefits and inherit the great country that they risked their lives for? Why!"
Xiu Tao, who had been released, took a step back and finally realized that something was wrong with the person in front of her. The person kept saying "Jiang Feiwan," so... who was she?
Xiutao stared blankly at the person in front of her, overwhelmed by a huge sense of horror. Her voice trembled as she asked, "You're not a girl, you... who are you?"
Li Wan laughed, "Of course I'm not Jiang Feiwan. Jiang Feiwan has already been killed by you, she died in both her lives."
Xiutao swallowed hard. She couldn't understand what the person in front of her was saying, but this person was definitely not that weak and incompetent girl. If she told the Third Prince this news, she would definitely be valued by the Third Prince and could rise to prominence in the future.
Therefore, Xiutao quietly took a few steps to the side, and in order to divert the attention of the person opposite her, she said, "Why do you look exactly like Jiang Feiwan, and why are you impersonating her?"
“I’m not impersonating anyone. Right now, I am Jiang Feiwan.”
Sure enough, the person opposite lowered their eyes and paused for a moment.
Just then, Xiutao turned and fled out of the pavilion.
However, she had only descended two stone steps when she suddenly felt a chill on the back of her neck, and then the person behind her had firmly grabbed her neck.
What are you going to do?
Li Wan stood on a higher stone step, looking down at her and grabbing her with all her might, her fingernails almost digging into her flesh.
"You want to go find Xiao Xian, hoping to manipulate me like you did in the previous life? Unfortunately, I am not Jiang Feiwan who is soft-hearted and easily bullied."
Li Wan's lips brushed against Xiu Tao's ear, her voice carrying an unprecedented chill.
“You wicked people, you will only kill more good people if you live. I have thought about it carefully. I have neither military power nor court strategy. The only way to stop you from doing evil is to take the opportunity to kill you one by one.”
“When a person dies, they can't do anything anymore, right?”
“I’m not afraid of killing people. I just think of you as pests in the fields. It would be better if you died.”
Raindrops gathered around the pavilion, forming a curtain of water.
Li Wan pulled the extremely long hairpin from her hair and, without hesitation, stabbed it down hard.
Unfortunately, on her first attempt at killing, she missed her target. The hairpin grazed Xiu Tao's cheek, and the flowing blood made her pause for a moment.
"Help! Help!"
Despite the excruciating pain, Xiutao disregarded everything else and shouted loudly.
Just then, a tall and imposing figure emerged from the front hall of Zhenyun Hall in the distance, followed by several other figures.
It's Xie Qi, Lord Xie!
Xiu Tao was overjoyed. As long as she told Lord Xie that Jiang Feiwan was a fake, she could save her life.
Therefore, Xiutao shouted at the man with all her might, "Thank you for saving me, Lord Xie! This person is not..."
A soft splattering sound, the sound of flesh being pierced.
The hairpin tip pierced Xiu Tao's neck with precision, and warm blood gushed out instantly, splashing onto Li Wan's sleeve and cheek.
Xiutao's cries for help came to an abrupt end.
Footsteps approached slowly.
The man's figure emerged from the rain, his deep eyes fixed on Li Wan.
But Li Wan did not stop.
Fearing that Xiutao might not be dead, she raised her arm again and then lowered it.
The second strike, the third strike... each one was ruthless, a random, indiscriminate stab.
Rainwater mixed with blood flowed down her wrists, soaking her snow-white sleeves—a shocking sight.
Xie Qi stepped onto the stone steps of the pavilion, his dark hair slightly dampened by the rain, which made his face appear even more stern.
The pavilion was surrounded by soldiers who had come after hearing the commotion, and no one dared to step forward without their master's permission.
Several officials followed behind Xie Qi, all of whom stared in disbelief at the bloody scene, not daring to utter a word.
Xie Qi walked to Li Wan's side, his strong arm wrapped around her waist from behind, and his other bony fingers precisely gripped her wrist that was tightly holding the hairpin.
Li Wan's knuckles were stiff and turned white from the exertion.
Xie Qi gently rested his chin on the top of her wet hair, tightening his arms to completely trap her in his embrace. His voice rang against her ear, deep and undeniably forceful: "Let go."
The familiar scent brought her back to her senses, and Li Wan's fingers trembled, causing the blood-stained hairpin to roll out of her palm.
Xie Qi pulled her tightly into his arms, turning to block all prying eyes.
He raised his eyes, his cold gaze sweeping over the few officials who were trembling with fear.
The officials were all shrewd and experienced in the ways of officialdom. They could tell at a glance that the murdered girl was just a maid, and there was no need for them to risk offending Lord Xie for the sake of a servant.
Therefore, everyone pretended not to see, bowed their heads and clasped their hands, saying repeatedly, "It's late, we'll head back to our residences now."
"Yes, yes, the roads are slippery on a rainy night, so we will take our leave now."
"Mo Qi, see off the esteemed officials." Xie Qi's tone was calm and indifferent.
Mo Qi accepted the order.
After the officials left, Xie Qi raised his hand, signaling the guards to disperse.
As the rain intensified, Li Wan nestled in Xie Qi's strong and broad embrace, feeling warm and... at ease.
Xie Qi wiped the rain and blood from her cheek with his dry, burning palms, and asked in a low voice, "Why did you kill her?"
Li Wan lifted her head from his embrace, her eyes filled with tears, but her voice was firm, "That day, she tricked me into drinking the drugged wine, causing me to lose my innocence. My lord, shouldn't she die?"
"I see."
Xie Qi's gaze suddenly darkened the moment Li Wan finished speaking, his deep voice chillingly cold.
“You’re merciful to grant her death. If it were me, I would let her live forever, and every day she would long for death.”
"Xie Qi".
Caught off guard, Li Wan suddenly stretched out her arms and hugged the man's lean waist tightly. "I want to hug you."
The woman's words and actions caused Xie Qi's arm around her slender waist to tighten suddenly, and the two embraced tightly, their bodies pressed together.
The next moment, Xie Qi felt the delicate body trembling slightly, whether from fear or cold, he didn't know.
With his tall waist bent down, he easily lifted her up and held her firmly against his chest. At the same time, the woman's arms also wrapped around the back of his neck.
Xie Qi carried the woman and strode out of the pavilion, passing the guards who hung their heads and dared not raise their eyes, and coldly gave orders.
"In the pavilion, chop it up and feed it to the dogs."
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