"I have been very worried about you."
"I know." Liu Linglong coughed a few times, then sat up with Qin Mu's help and leaned against him.
"I know you love me very much, but it's my own fault for letting you drift away."
"I?"
“Your Majesty, don’t deny it, face yourself bravely.” Two lines of tears slowly fell down Liu Linglong’s face. “I noticed it a long time ago. From the first time Your Majesty favored Ning Zixin, she was in your heart. It’s just that you have been denying it.”
"Linglong, me?" Qin Mu wanted to say that he didn't, that the person he loved most was still her, but looking into Liu Linglong's dark eyes, he suddenly couldn't say those words.
He had to admit that the little girl might have already entered his heart, but he had never dared to admit it.
He dared not admit that he had fallen in love with someone else, dared not admit that he had truly fallen for the woman his father had arranged for him.
I was clearly very unwilling.
“I was really upset before, but now I suddenly feel relieved. You've fallen for someone else, so if I die, you won't be so sad.” Liu Linglong held Qin Mu's face. “Actually, I've done a lot of things that I'm sorry for. I lied to you about many things.”
Because of her father's influence, she often chose her father over him.
There are reasons why the emperor would develop feelings for someone else.
"I know, I've always known, and I don't blame you."
He knew perfectly well that Grand Tutor Liu had ulterior motives.
The reason we kept him was for Linglong's sake.
"But I've done so much for my father, and he treated me like that?"
Liu Linglong practically spat out those words through gritted teeth.
"My unborn child was harmed by Lanxin, yet my brother protected her." And her father, upon hearing that her unborn child might be in danger, actually sent her sister-in-law with her half-sister in, so that her half-sister could take her place in the emperor's favor.
“Linglong, your father-in-law is only doing this for your own good. Your health is not good, and you've lost this child. You probably won't be able to have another one. It would be better to recommend Lingfang. If Lingfang has a child in the future, it can be registered under your name. You are sisters, and you should help each other.”
None of her family members cared about her health; all they cared about was the emperor's favor.
Liu Linglong was so angry that she lost the baby and suffered a massive hemorrhage. Now, she is probably just having a brief moment of lucidity before death.
She probably doesn't live much longer.
Liu Linglong never imagined that she would end up like this.
She had always doted on Lanxin, who lived a more comfortable life than the young ladies of wealthy families. Just because she didn't let her serve the emperor, she actually put musk in her incense burner and made soup with safflower for her to drink. And her family, the family she had always cared for, had also betrayed her in this way.
Her life was both ridiculous and tragic.
"Amu," Liu Linglong suddenly called Qin Mu's name, "Can you hug me?"
"Okay." Qin Mu's eyes stung with tears as he pulled Liu Linglong into his arms. "Linglong, don't think too much. The imperial physicians will find a way to treat you."
"There's no time left." Liu Linglong shook her head. "Amu, if there's an afterlife, don't let me enter the palace. I don't like it here; it will corrupt me." The palace is the easiest place to corrupt people. From her initial innocence to her later habit of telling lies, she changed little by little.
"Okay." Qin Mu nodded vigorously. "As long as you're alright, you can say whatever you want."
"You really have fallen for someone else, otherwise you wouldn't have answered so readily." As if she'd discovered some secret, Liu Linglong chuckled. "Promise me—you will, you will remember me—"
As he laughed, his voice gradually faded.
The hand that had been resting on Qin Mu's shoulder also fell down.
Qin Mu stiffened and rested his face on Liu Linglong's shoulder.
"Liu Fu, draft my decree: Consort Liu is virtuous and kind, a model of the palace, and has passed away suddenly. I am deeply saddened by her death. She is posthumously honored as Imperial Consort Liu and buried with the rites due to an Imperial Consort, as a sign of my high regard."
Ning Hong never expected things to develop this way.
The client wanted to take revenge on the Liu family, but before he could even make a move, the Liu family had already brought this upon themselves.
Lan Xin plotted to murder her master, Consort Liu.
Liu Hui actually protected her.
Is his brain filled with tofu pudding? Otherwise, how could he do something so stupid?
Lan Xin was caught in Liu Hui's bed.
The matter has become quite a big deal.
Liu Hui's wife discovered her husband's affair with Lan Xin. She hated Lan Xin to the core and grabbed a pair of scissors, intending to slash Lan Xin's face. Liu Hui actually protected Lan Xin, and in the struggle, the scissors accidentally cut off Liu Hui's genitals. Seeing the blood flowing freely from below, Liu Hui screamed in agony, and his wife, terrified, also screamed.
On that very day, the Vice Minister of Rites came to Grand Tutor Liu's house to discuss Liu Linglong's funeral arrangements.
I happened to witness this scene.
The Vice Minister of Rites, who was not one of Grand Tutor Liu's men, immediately spread the news. Those who needed to know about Liu Hui's downfall now knew.
Liu Hui's wife also wanted a divorce. In order to get rid of Liu Hui smoothly, she directly exposed the fact that Lan Xin had killed Liu Linglong.
Qin Mu was still immersed in grief and had no intention of capturing Lan Xin. Now that he heard that Lan Xin was in the Liu family mansion and that Liu Hui was having an affair with her, he immediately locked both Liu Hui and Lan Xin in the dungeon.
Liu Taifu was also stripped of his official rank and demoted to a commoner.
Qin Mu, however, still had some conscience towards him and did not confiscate his property.
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