Liu Yan hurriedly explained, "My brother Liu Feng died unexpectedly, and Shushu specially disguised herself as my brother to avenge us. My mother and I are very grateful to her. Later, I begged Shushu to use my identity to do things. Because of her, my mother and I are living a better life. If you want to blame someone, blame me."
Liu Shushu shook her head. "Ayan, don't say such things. Aunt Liu saved my life. It's only right that I do these things."
"No, Shushu, I already repaid that life-saving grace long ago after you avenged my brother."
"It's not just because of this kindness. Aunt Liu has taken great care of me. If it weren't for you taking me in, I wouldn't have had anywhere to go in the capital."
The two thanked each other and declined each other's offers.
Hearing Qingying yawn, he felt it was truly boring.
So she reminded him, "Although you have your reasons, you still haven't explained why you lied to your brother. You know, our silly older brother is deeply in love with 'Ayan' and wants to marry her. But now, you've made his feelings a joke."
Liu Chengfeng's face paled instantly, and the shame of being insulted in his heart intensified.
Liu Shushu bit her lip, her voice trembling slightly, and choked out, "When I met you last year, I didn't know about my past. Back then... I really didn't lie to you..."
Her words implied that she too had once been moved by love.
Upon hearing this, Qingying felt a wave of nausea.
I've heard some folk tales before, saying that siblings who don't recognize each other when they meet are easily attracted to each other, thus developing forbidden feelings.
Surprisingly, this strange saying actually came true.
Liu Chengfeng frowned deeply, took a deep breath, and said, "How do I know if what you're saying is true or false?"
Liu Shushu raised three fingers and swore, "If I utter a single falsehood today, may I be cursed to never have a lover for the rest of my life, to be separated from my family, and to die alone in misery!"
Qingying raised an eyebrow; that was quite a fierce vow.
She turned to look at Liu Chengfeng and saw that his brows and eyes were showing signs of softening. She cursed inwardly: There isn’t a single normal person in the Liu family!
"Second sister, there's no need to make such a vow. My brother and I are both easygoing people. Just explain things clearly, and my brother will forgive you..."
Before she could finish speaking, Liu Chengfeng immediately replied, "I won't forgive you!"
Qingying feigned surprise and tugged at his sleeve, "Big brother, what's wrong...?"
"I hate being lied to more than anything in my life! Especially when it's you, my own sister! Shushu, I've tried my best to make up for what I did wrong since you came back, and I've treated you like a treasure, just like our parents. But what about you? Is this how you treat me?"
"Brother, I know I was wrong. I didn't mean to lie to you, I just hadn't found the right time to tell you the truth, I was afraid you wouldn't be able to accept it right away..."
"Ha~ I can't accept it now either."
"Then...then you can punish me however you want, I won't complain, but you can't disown me, brother..." Liu Shushu knelt and moved forward, tears streaming down her face, looking very pitiful.
Liu Chengfeng has always been easily swayed, especially when faced with his younger sister in tears. His defenses crumble, and the tug-of-war between emotion and reason causes him immense pain.
Qingying knew his character, and in order not to let her performance today go to waste, she added fuel to the fire: "Second sister, aren't you forcing brother? Now that you've made a mistake, you're still demanding brother's forgiveness. How did you feel when brother confessed his feelings to you? If you were brother, could you really be so magnanimous as to pretend nothing happened and continue being siblings?"
Liu Shushu's expression froze for a moment.
At this moment, Liu Chengfeng felt his face burning, and his mind recalled the way he had been so affectionate with Ayan. His stomach churned.
He took another deep breath, faced her face, and suddenly felt he could no longer sit still, so he stood up abruptly.
"Enough, say no more! Don't let our parents know about this." He gave Liu Shushu one last look and said coldly, "You'd better watch yourself!"
He then walked away.
"Brother, brother..." Liu Shushu cried and called out to him, but he didn't turn his head.
She gritted her teeth and glared at Qingying, her eyes bloodshot. "Are you satisfied now?"
Qingying blinked innocently and said, "Second sister, are you blaming me? But I didn't do anything. I just couldn't bear to let brother continue to be deceived."
"You..." She choked on her words, unable to speak. She wiped away her tears, paused for a moment, and then spoke again.
This time, the voice was calm: "When did you find out?"
Qingying smiled serenely, her eyes crinkling. "Just a short while ago, don't you find it strange that I suddenly came to your door to beat you up? Was it just that I was bored and wanted to cause trouble?"
Recalling the unusual behavior that day, she belatedly realized, "Were you doing that on purpose? Were you testing me? You had your suspicions before that, but we rarely interacted before, and I, disguised as Ayan, had never even met you once. How did you become suspicious?"
Qingying slowly rose and straightened her slightly disheveled clothes. Her tone was indifferent: "Sister, take your time to think about it. Think it through carefully. Even if you don't understand... I still won't tell you."
She wasn't that foolish to reveal all her cards, and besides, she had no obligation to answer her opponent's questions.
Qingying also left the private room, leaving the two panicked people staring at each other in bewilderment.
Liu Shushu couldn't figure out which link in the chain had gone wrong, causing such a big blunder.
Liu Yan came over and helped her up, saying, "While you were disguising yourself in the room just now, Young Master Liu was tied up in that cabinet over there."
Liu Shushu looked in the direction she indicated. At this moment, there was a half-open cabinet in the southeast corner of the private room, about half a person's height, which could be estimated to be able to accommodate at least two people.
“At that time, I was guarding outside Prince An’s house when Miss Liu suddenly brought people over and called me away. As soon as I entered the door, I saw Rong’er lying on the ground.”
Rong'er was the maid she brought out today; she had originally stayed at the Liu family's residence.
Liu Shushu frowned, her face full of worry. Recalling everything that had happened that day, she gradually realized what had happened and gritted her teeth: "It was all a trap she had set up beforehand, just waiting for me to fall into it!"
No wonder Liu Chengfeng and Prince An suddenly invited him one after the other; no wonder Liu Chengfeng was late in showing up today; no wonder Prince An arrived ahead of schedule...
"If Liu Chengfeng was brought here by her specifically to expose me, then what about Prince An? How did he get into this situation?"
Liu Yan thought for a moment and said, "Could it be that Prince An is having an affair with her?"
Liu Shushu shook her head. "The Prince of An and she are not on the same side. She would not put herself in danger. There must be something fishy going on."
But she could never have imagined that Princess Yongning, who had almost retired after her marriage, was in the same boat as Liu Qingying.
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