Chapter 389 Liu Qingzhu repents, deeply regretting her past actions!
Only after the Fourth Prince's nanny had truly left did Liu Qingzhu look at Li Qingluo in utter shock.
Did she really save her?
No, how could she possibly save herself?
Isn't everything she has today exactly what Li Qingluo wanted to see most?
Moreover, as Granny Zheng just said, Li Qingluo just wanted to continue torturing herself.
Resentment flashed in Liu Qingzhu's eyes, but Li Qingluo didn't even glance at her again, and left with Old Madam Pei.
Halfway there, Granny Zheng led Liu Qingzhu off the carriage.
Under the cover of darkness, they disappeared from everyone's sight.
Once they reached a secluded spot, Granny Zheng tossed Liu Qingzhu a clean set of clothes.
"Put them on."
Liu Qingzhu touched the soft fabric of the clothes, but then quickly pulled her hand back.
What exactly is she trying to do?
"Kill me or torture me, it's up to you!"
"I'd rather die than kowtow to her and admit my mistake! I did absolutely nothing wrong!"
Granny Zheng sneered, "Aren't you overthinking things?"
"Kill you?"
"If our young lady hadn't intervened when you were having an affair with Prince Yun, you would have been hanged long ago. Would you still be alive today?"
Liu Qingzhu trembled: "She pleaded for me? How could that be!?"
"I know, she did it on purpose! It really was her, wasn't she waiting for this day to come?"
"She knew all along that I would suffer the consequences and meet such a tragic end..."
Liu Qingzhu burst into tears, shoved Zheng Mama's hand away, and threw all the clean clothes to the ground.
Granny Zheng clapped her hands and sighed, "Do as you please."
"However, Liu Cao'er, I'll at least say something fair."
"Our girl owes you nothing!"
"It's you who owes her!"
"It was your Liu family's doing that we were forced to change identities! How much suffering and hardship did our girl endure in your Liu family?"
"You took the place of the young lady and enjoyed the Li family's good fortune for sixteen years. How did you scheme against her when she returned?"
"If you hadn't harbored such malicious intentions, wouldn't you have a place in the Li family?"
"Instead of cherishing everything that he shouldn't have, he insists on causing trouble."
"Why did you have to go out of your way to become someone's concubine?"
"I really don't understand, you Liu family members, are you so eager to rise to prominence and change your fate?"
"Even if it's like a moth drawn to a flame, doing all these foolish things!"
"You refused to be the principal wife of the Marquis of Zhongyi's household, insisting on becoming a concubine in the Prince Yun's household. Look at your current state!"
Liu Qingzhu collapsed to the ground in despair.
"But the marriage to the Marquis of Zhongyi was arranged by Li Qing..."
"The favoritism and pampering that the Li family showed her also belonged to her."
"Everyone thought I was the real legitimate daughter of the General's Mansion, but only when I was eleven years old did I realize what a fake I actually was!"
"I thought that only Duan Rongxuan truly loved me, and that it was because of myself, not because of the General's Mansion, not because of the Li family!"
"But I was so stupid. What I thought was love was nothing but a mirage, a mere illusion..."
"In the end, I was covered in wounds, unable to live and unable to die."
"Haha, hahaha..."
"This is indeed my fate, I deserve it..."
Liu Qingzhu covered her face and burst into tears.
Granny Zheng could only shake her head.
"But their favoritism towards you is genuine."
"If you had taken a single step back, you wouldn't be in this predicament today."
The Liu family was in dire straits, so she fled from them.
The Li family suffered misfortune, and she fled from them.
Now that the Fourth Prince's mansion is no longer glorious, she feels like she's living a life worse than death, so naturally she still wants to escape.
Granny Zheng took the silver pouch off her person and tossed it to her.
“Our girl said that people’s destiny should indeed be in their own hands.”
"But we must also uphold a shred of conscience and cherish everything we have so that we will not be alone and miserable."
"Go, wherever you want, to the ends of the earth."
"However, if you insist on going back to your death, don't ever show your face in front of our young lady again!"
"So as not to be an eyesore!"
After saying that, Granny Zheng left.
Looking at the starry sky and bright moon, Liu Qingzhu silently wept bitterly.
Once she had figured it out, she quickly got up, changed into clean clothes, washed her face by the river, and then walked into the night with the silver in her pocket.
After seeing Liu Qingzhu off, Granny Zheng asked Li Qingluo, "Luo'er, have you really let go?"
"Aren't you afraid that she'll find another opportunity to harm you again?"
Li Qingluo: "Grandmother, she can't cause any more trouble."
"I think, right now, she probably just wants to live."
"However, I will have someone keep an eye on her, so don't worry."
Only when people are driven to the most desperate situation and have the strongest desire to survive will they question and re-examine their past lives.
Liu Qingzhu, I hope you can see the error of your ways and start living a more grounded life from now on.
If you still insist on courting death, then that's your own fate.
When the emperor returned, the city gates were opened wide.
All 306 members of the Zhong family were detained and sent to the prison overnight.
All the people in Jinling City stayed up all night.
The city was brightly lit.
The Zhong family members screamed and cried out in agony.
When Li Qingluo and her grandmother returned home, they saw flames rising from the Zhong family's house.
Doctor Luo and Nangong Di paced anxiously around the gate of the mansion. They were relieved to see the grandmother and granddaughter return unharmed.
"Next time, no matter where you go, you have to take us with you!"
"That's right, otherwise you're not allowed to leave the house!"
The two old men gave Li Qingluo and her grandson a good scolding.
Li Qingluo's face turned ugly as she smelled their scent.
Doctor Luo quickly realized: "Girl, are you about to have another attack of the poison?"
Counting on my fingers, the seven-day deadline is almost here again.
Li Qingluo nodded with a pale face and quickly returned to Zizai Residence with Que'er's help.
Madam Pei: "Lock up Zizai Residence. For the next two days, no men are allowed to approach!"
After Li Qing landed back and was away from the man's scent, she felt much better.
I wonder how Zulya is doing?
Having swallowed so much poison, she should be taking it to the brink of death by now.
Princess Qinyu's Residence.
Qin Yu was shocked when she heard the news from Nanshan Villa: "What did you say? The Zhong family colluded with my Lotus Sect to rebel?"
"How is this possible—"
"I did not order anyone to assist the Zhong family, and my brother, the Crown Prince, is still there. How could I have made such a foolish mistake?!"
Qin Yu angrily got out of bed, walked barefoot, her long white dress and long hair trailing on the floor.
She supported her weak body as she approached the table, and, growing angrier with each passing thought, overturned all the teaware on the table.
"Who is it!"
"Who on earth is trying to frame me behind my back?!"
"Grandpa... what about the bitter forsythia?"
"Still haven't found her!?"
The room was filled with servants and confidants, all of whom simply knelt on the ground.
After the deaths of her eight maids, her four main leaders either died or disappeared, and her trusted confidants also vanished one by one.
No one could step forward to answer her many questions.
Just as she was so weak that she almost collapsed to the ground, the maid at the door cried out in alarm, "Your Highness!"
Qin Yu looked up at the person who had come with a face full of joy.
The crown prince strode in.
Qinyu immediately said, "Crown Prince, you've come at the right time. This rebellion..."
The Crown Prince grabbed Qin Yu by the neck and pinned half of her body to the table.
"Zongzheng Yu'er".
"Did I give you any face?"
"How dare you collude with the Zhong family to rebel!"
"I clearly told you before what kind of grudge the Zhong family held against my father and grandmother, so why did you still do this?!"
"Do you only feel happy when I wipe out your Lotus Sect completely?"
"Um--?"
The Crown Prince drawled out the last syllable, his face filled with a sinister glint as he stared at Qin Yu.
The maids and servants inside the room were all kneeling on the ground.
"Your Highness, Your Highness..."
Crown Prince: "Get out of here, all of you!"
No one dared to stay any longer, and they all ran away in no time.
Duan Rongyin, panting heavily, stared at the girl whose neck he was gripping.
She was a prodigy; at a young age, she was able to open restaurants, gambling dens, and all sorts of shops, making a fortune that rivaled that of a nation.
She always had her own unique insights into politics, and on many occasions she could help him share his burdens, even pointing out various incisive points.
She always comes up with all sorts of strange and wonderful ideas.
She was unlike any other woman in the world; she was sometimes mischievous and quirky, sometimes free-spirited and unrestrained, sometimes sentimental and melancholic, and sometimes so calm and domineering that she captivated him.
She was indeed the most special woman Duan Rongyin had ever seen in this world.
Her dazzling beauty made him unconsciously keep his eyes on her since he was a child.
But the person she started to like wasn't herself.
She followed Xiao Wu as he grew up, and her heart was filled with love for him, and only for Xiao Wu.
Duan Rongyin never expected that she would find him.
It was only because he had overheard her say that she wanted her husband to be the only person she loved in her life.
What she wants is a lifelong, monogamous relationship.
And that unwavering love.
Now his eldest daughter is eight years old, and he has three sons.
Of all the women in the Eastern Palace, she was the only one not among them.
So when she found him imprisoned in the Nangong Villa and asked him if he still wanted that position, and that she could help him, hoping that she could have a place by his side in the future, he was not only filled with excitement, but also his long-hidden feelings were completely revived and erupted.
The ideal world she wanted did sound wonderful.
But the Crown Prince knew perfectly well that it was just her foolish delusion.
Who can easily provoke a powerful and influential family?
Having touched the very foundation of their ancestors, those clans would certainly not mind uniting to change the dynasty's surname.
But he was still tempted.
How could he not be tempted by the benefits she offered?
What a beautiful face.
He also did the most astonishing thing in the world.
She, a mere woman, was able to establish a cult, and this cult could help her do so many things that she herself could not do.
Zongzheng Yu'er is indeed a fine knife.
Unfortunately, her ideas seem to be completely out of step with this era...
She is an anomaly in this world.
"Crown Prince... what... what do you want to do..."
"It wasn't me... I didn't join forces with the Zhong family..."
"I was also... framed..."
Qin Yu's tears rolled down her cheeks, quickly wetting Duan Rongyin's large hands.
He reacted as if he had touched boiling water, finally realizing what was happening and letting go.
"No……"
He realized what he had done.
A look of annoyance flashed across his face.
He then pulled Qinyu into a tight embrace.
"Yu'er, I didn't mean it."
"I was just angry." You believe me...
Qin Yu slowly closed her eyes and raised her arms to hug him.
"Crown Prince, you are all I have now."
"If even you doubt me and don't believe me, then I will truly have nothing left."
Duan Rongyin's deep affection did not reach his eyes at this moment.
"Alright, I believe you are the one."
Qin Yu's face, nestled in his arms, grew increasingly frosty and indifferent.
She knew in her heart: the Crown Prince was about to discard her like a used tool.
The Crown Prince said, "Zongzheng Yu'er, the leader of the Lotus Sect, cannot be allowed to live. But how should she die so that she can die a worthy death?"
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