“Back then, her parents saved me during the internal strife in the Gongshu family. Although they both died not because of me, I still owe them a debt of gratitude. That’s why Gongshu Lan from the branch family has always grown up in the main family.”
"Before she was taken back to the Gongshu family, her parents had asked a friend to take her to the palace of the King of Ye to avoid disaster for a period of time. After the internal strife in the Gongshu family ended, she was brought back. Facing the major change of the death of her parents, coupled with the fact that she had to move to a distant and unfamiliar family with strict rules, her personality had changed drastically when she was seen again not long afterward."
Zheng Quchi frowned. Everyone has a tragic past. Just like their Zheng family, they were also destroyed and killed. How come they didn't see the siblings becoming twisted and killing innocent people indiscriminately?
"I don't want to know about her past experiences. Everyone does things for a reason. I just want to know why she did this when I have no grudge against her?"
Gongshu Jiruo said, "If you continue to listen, you will understand the whole story."
All right.
Zheng Quchi suppressed his emotions and gestured for him to continue.
“She lost her parents when she was young, and I was busy with my own affairs, so there were things I couldn’t take care of. In that moment of confusion and helplessness, she placed all her hopes and imaginations on a nonexistent shadow.”
"In order to see that person again in the future, she worked hard to learn the woodworking, mechanical and electrical skills of the Gongshu family, just so that she could help him one day."
“In her heart, there was no me, no Gongshu family, only that person. When she finally had the ability to leave the Gongshu family, she took advantage of my absence to sneak onto a cargo ship, intending to smuggle herself to the State of Ye. However, she was discovered and imprisoned in the cabin. She probably never imagined that this trip would ruin the rest of her life.”
"The shadow you mentioned... is it Yuwen Sheng?" she asked thoughtfully.
"It was him. Gongshu Lan wanted to eliminate anyone who posed a threat to her in order to stay by his side. When she learned that Yuwen Sheng had already married, she was naturally filled with jealousy and hatred. She wanted to get rid of him, but she was worried that Yuwen Sheng would hate her if he found out. So she planned to frame you indirectly. If you, who played the role of the elder brother, became the one who betrayed Yuwen Sheng, then you would also be guilty of the crime of implicating others."
After hearing all this backstory, she finally understood what she had come all this way for.
Seeing Zheng Quchi remain silent in a daze, Gongshu Jiruo continued, "Your identity was so changeable back then that I never expected it to be so complicated. By the time I learned that you were Yuwen Sheng's brother-in-law, it was too late."
Gongshu Jiru could never have imagined that Yuwen Sheng would marry Zheng Quchi, and that Zheng Quchi and Sang Xuanqing were the same person. Although if he had paid more attention and asked Gongshu Lan a question, or investigated carefully in private, he could have found out the truth... But he was too arrogant and simply didn't care.
But this one oversight almost caused him to regret it for the rest of his life.
He solemnly apologized to her: "I'm sorry, for my own selfish reasons, to be bound by an unpleasant favor, I committed the crime of favoritism and disregard for others. This is my mistake, and I am willing to pay the price and punishment. I feel ashamed, especially towards you..."
His apology was so sincere and earnest, without any sophistry, cover-up, or shirking of responsibility, that Zheng Quchi felt he had no way to express his suffering, no way to vent his anger, and no way to voice his resentment.
She coldly asked, "If I had really been killed by those barbarians back then, what would you have done?"
Gongshu Jiruo paused for a moment, neither speaking against his conscience nor exaggerating his intention to atone with his death.
He said, “I will take care of your funeral arrangements and dedicate my life to protecting your siblings so that they may live peacefully and without worry. I will never marry and will remain a widow and childless. After I have fulfilled my mission and responsibilities as the head of the Gongshu family, I will kneel before your grave and go down to apologize to you.”
When Zheng Quchi heard him finish recounting his plans for the rest of his life, as if he had prepared a draft in advance, he was stunned for quite a while without thinking.
He would never marry, be alone and childless... He even dared to say such things, but if she really died, even if he castrated himself, it would be of no use.
If the culprit Gongshu Lan had already been killed by her, then although his accomplice was also extremely despicable... she took out the "thank you gift" he had given her before, a small, dark brown, almost black plaque.
She suddenly asked, "Do you know Mu Zaiqi?"
“Mu Zaiqi…” Gongshu Jiruo saw that she had taken out that token and knew that she must always carry it with her. He nodded: “I know him. He has written to me about what happened to you before.”
So, he already knows about what happened to her before.
"He helped me because of this thing you gave me. You only had someone deliver it to me without any explanation. Now can you tell me what it is?"
Zheng Quchi tore off the small, oddly shaped plaque from around his neck and waved it in front of him.
Gongshu Jiruo said, "This is the Black Qi Token. As the personal accessory of the Gongshu family head, it is also a symbol of me. With it in hand, whether you are a direct disciple of the Gongshu family or a collateral disciple, you will obey my orders."
Zheng Quchi was surprised: "You, how could you give me this? We didn't even know each other before. Although I saved your life, you didn't know my character and personality, yet you went to such lengths?"
What if she's a petty person who takes advantage of kindness or makes exorbitant demands?
Gongshu Jiruo took a step forward in vain. His clear, snow-like eyes traced her features, with a hidden undercurrent within: "You will never know how much you touched me back then. I am very glad that I acted impulsively back then. Later, you were helped because of it, instead of being alone and helpless in the enemy camp."
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