Chapter 60 That's all, draw a clear line
Nearing noon, Shang Yuwan's trembling eyelashes made Xiao Qingxu's palm slightly itchy. He waved his hand and asked the other guests to leave.
Shang Yuwan didn't really want to raise her head.
She could feel Xiao Qingxu's moist palm.
"Wake up."
Xiao Qingxu was in a heavy mood, but he managed to keep his tone light, "I'm fine, why are you so nervous?"
There was a silence.
Xiao Qingxu pretended to be relaxed, as if he didn't notice the embarrassment.
"Is Lord Shang so worried about me?"
"Yeah, I'm worried about you."
Xiao Qingxu suddenly stopped talking, and the two fell into silence.
"Who are you?"
Shang Yuwan didn't want to go on like this. She raised her head, her eyes were red and swollen, and her face was in a mess.
"Who are you? Answer me."
Xiao Qingxu was silent for a moment, then asked, "What do you know?"
Shang Yuwan's eyes were filled with tears, and he frowned and pulled the corners of his mouth apart, "What do you think?"
"What do you think I should know?"
Xiao Qingxu turned his head away from her, avoiding her gaze, but the small puddle in his palm became clearer and clearer.
"You're not supposed to know. Just do what you want to do. Nothing else matters."
"...It doesn't matter. It doesn't matter..."
Shang Yuwan's eyes were filled with tears, her lips were trembling, and her brows were furrowed.
"unimportant......?"
"Yes, it doesn't matter." Xiao Qingxu took a deep breath secretly to suppress the pain in his heart that felt like it was being torn apart.
"My identity, my past, including my intention to save you, none of this matters to you."
"The deal between us is clear. You help me assist the princess in becoming emperor, and I will use everything in Baijialou to help you clear the Shang family's grievances and seek revenge. That's all. Lord Shang, please do not cross the line."
"...That's all?"
“…That’s all.”
“…”
"I'm sorry, it's my fault. Please don't get hurt because of this."
Shang Yuwan wiped away the tears that welled up in her eyes as she stood up and bowed, "I have something else to do, so I'll leave first."
Her back as she left pretended to be normal, looking no different from usual - the tears splashing on the ground betrayed her.
Xiao Qingxu took off his mask, and the blood could no longer be suppressed, flowing out from his mouth, and his clean clothes were stained with blood again.
He put his hand over his mouth: "Ahem...Come in."
Hearing the noise, Lou Ke entered and saw blood coming out of Xiao Qingxu's mouth. He was shocked and said, "I'll call Doctor Ji over right away!"
At this time, the rainstorm had stopped. Ji Suxian was outside treating injured civilians and guests. He had just heard the news that Shang Yuwan had returned to the room, and was then hurriedly pulled over by the guests.
She rushed into the room, "Brother Xiao! You..."
Xiao Qingxu just happened to wipe the blood from the corner of his mouth at this time, and he looked fine at all.
He shifted his gaze to the right, his eyes as cold as the twelfth lunar month. "What did you and her talk about?"
Ji Suxian's expression changed immediately, "Why, are you going to kill me?"
"If it were anyone else, you would have died long ago."
Ji Suxian snorted, "So what? Apart from your identity, I've said everything I need to say."
Xiao Qingxu said angrily: "Ji Suxian!"
"Master!" Ji Suxian was also quite angry. "Don't forget, you are the Master of Baijialou! You are our backbone!"
"Anyone can leave Baijialou, but you can't! Master Ren Xiao didn't hand Baijialou over to you to abandon this group of people for your own selfish reasons!"
Ji Suxian expressed all the resentment that had grown since he left Dancheng.
"Brother Xiao, I thought of you as my brother, my elder brother. In my heart, you are no different from my senior brother. But what about you? What did you do?"
"Are you going to follow Master Ren Xiao's example and commit suicide for love? Are you going to abandon us and all the people in Baijialou for a woman, for the sake of love?"
Xiao Qingxu's chest kept rising and falling, and his thin bones were faintly visible.
"You know I like her, you know it!"
"Yes! I know you like her. I know you love her to death and don't care about anything else!"
Ji Suxian's eyes widened in anger. "Then why should she be kept in the dark?! How many things have you done for her since she was a child? How many people have you secretly helped her eliminate who was harmful to the Shang family? Do you really think I can't find out? I don't even need to think about it. I just need to find the Shenlanlu and ask him to dig it out. Who knows what a mess it will be!"
"You for her candy, you for a few pieces of honey, you..."
Ji Suxian was so angry that she could hardly speak.
"Master Ren Xiao treats you like his own son. Everyone in Baijialou treats you as the owner in public, but privately they all treat you as family. Don't you know? How dare you say you don't know?!"
"Shang Yuwan did have feelings for you, but I won't say anything about her. But isn't she like me, for whom family is most important?"
"She gave everything for the entire Shang family. She never had the innocent and lovely demeanor of an ordinary noblewoman. Everything she learned, thought, and did was for the Shang family! But in the end, didn't she still forget about you?"
Xiao Qingxu coughed violently, and Ji Suxian gradually calmed down his anger and steadied his tone.
"Anyway, I've already told her your feelings. If you want to settle the score, I'll accompany you to the end, but don't think you can stop me."
"In my heart, you are family. You will always be more important than your loved ones. Master will find a way to save your life. Although I don't know when he will return, my brother and I will not sit idly by and wait for death. We will try our best to save you."
Ji Suxian pursed her lips, with a gloomy look between her brows.
It's not like she hasn't thought about the worst possible scenario. "If there's really no way to save the situation, I'll follow your wishes and let her take over Baijialou."
Xiao Qingxu coughed and looked up at her.
Ji Suxian sneered repeatedly, "What are you looking at? You told her that you were making a deal. On the surface, she's a counselor, but in reality, isn't she holding the power of the building owner's wife? Otherwise, why do the guests listen to her when you're not around?"
"Why are you pretending? Are you still trying to deceive me now?"
She walked forward and grabbed Xiao Qingxu's wrist. "Nothing's wrong. You're just a little weaker than before. You can't afford any illness in this body."
He cast his eyes downwards. "Don't worry, I won't harm her. She has a good temper and is a very nice person. Even if you do stupid things for her like a fool, these are your own ideas. She didn't force you. I blame you, not her. I blame you, not her."
However, Ji Suxian was angry before and didn't control his mouth.
Xiao Qingxu lowered his head and said in a low voice, "She must hate me terribly right now."
Ji Suxian glanced at him and said, "Tsk."
"Yeah, yeah, it's not a big deal. I'd be surprised if I didn't hate you."
"In her previous life, she was a famous noblewoman in Kyoto. Rumor has it that she was knowledgeable in astronomy and geography, and was proficient in all eight female arts. She was also very good at backroom dealings, otherwise she wouldn't have become the temporary ruler of the Shang family at such a young age, holding on to power for seven or eight years. Her father is the eldest son of the Shang family and lives far away in Yanmen. Although her second uncle is her biological brother, he is also the second oldest. According to the family inheritance, she is also the legitimate heir."
"You clearly knew her character, yet you took it upon yourself to use your own life to fill the huge hole left by her rebirth. You also deceived her and treated her like a fool, like a delicate flower."
Ji Suxian crossed her arms and said, "Even without you, with her cleverness, as long as those people in the palace didn't intervene, she could still protect the Shang family with her own means in Kyoto."
"As long as she survives, she can still make a comeback and do everything she can to make those treacherous villains who hurt the Shang family pay the price they deserve."
"She's dead, and Shang Mingqi has the Shang family's blood flowing through his veins. Furthermore, there's also Shang Twelve. Although cruel, it's not particularly unique. No matter what the world is like, everyone has their own suffering. Shang Mingqi is smart, and as long as he's alive, there's no need to worry about not being able to take revenge in the future."
Ji Suxian paused, "But you acted on your own initiative and brought Shang Yuwan back to life. You made them, and yourself, live in fear of Shang Yuwan's second death every day. Twelve protected her so well, I don't believe you couldn't see it."
"Not to mention that you made her bear a debt of gratitude that she will never be able to repay in this lifetime."
"......" Xiao Qingxu put on a mask to cover up the unclear look in his eyes.
"I have already drawn a clear line between me and her. You don't have to worry about me anymore."
Ji Suxian remained silent.
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