Chapter 175 A Belated Atonement
Shen Ruyi collapsed to her knees, tears streaming down her face, her voice hoarse from shouting, and she kept repeating the same thing over and over.
She pounded the ground repeatedly, muttering to herself, seemingly to no one in particular:
"I remember now, on the day of the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet, Mother... she seemed to have known something was going to happen. She arranged everything in the mansion, even..."
"She even gave me her personal seal, saying it would keep me safe... But when I went to see her, her eyes were so bright and she was so happy. She held my hand and asked me if I was doing well at the Song family's house, if I was eating well..."
She broke down in tears, almost collapsing to the ground:
"She never said a harsh word to me until she died! She never said a bad word about Song Qingming. She just looked at me... looked at me... her eyes were full of reluctance! It was me... it was me who pushed her to those assassins! It was me!!"
Shen Yiqiu watched her heart-wrenching performance with cold eyes, her gaze unmoved.
"The person is already dead, and now you're here wailing and lamenting. Who are you putting on an act for? Is it the same as last time, where you pretend to be remorseful and repentant, but in your heart you're still thinking about those good-for-nothings from the Song family, hoping they'll turn back?"
"Shen Ruyi, put away your hypocrisy. A person like you is not worthy of being Shen Zhaohua's daughter, and you don't need to taint her path of reincarnation."
Shen Ruyi attempted to defend herself:
"I'm not...I..."
Shen Yiqiu interrupted him mercilessly:
"You keep saying you're not good at martial arts and only love poetry and songs, which is why your grandmother dislikes you. Your uncles and aunts all wear worn-out training clothes, but what about you? How did you get the title of 'the most talented woman in the capital'?"
"It was all thanks to your grandmother who spent so much money hiring renowned teachers and collecting rare books to create this. When has your grandmother ever restricted your pursuit of elegance?"
"She simply understands better than you that a scholar who can't even kill a chicken can't shoulder the responsibilities of the Yongjia Marquis's mansion or protect the soldiers on the border! You're just used to blaming all your misfortunes on one person, but you never reflect on your own incompetence and cowardice!"
She approached step by step, looking down at that familiar yet unfamiliar face:
“From childhood, you’ve always found fault with me, complaining that my personality isn’t like yours and that I inherited some of Grandmother’s traits. If it weren’t for Grandmother secretly sending people to protect me and constantly keeping you in check, I’m afraid I really wouldn’t be alive today!”
"Shen Ruyi, ask yourself honestly, as a daughter, you have been unfilial! As a mother, you have been unkind! To your superiors and subordinates, have you ever fulfilled even the slightest responsibility?"
Looking at the disappointment and hatred in her daughter's eyes, Shen Ruyi finally realized how wrong she had been.
In utter despair, she grabbed the longsword that had fallen to the side, and instantly pointed the sharp blade at her neck. Her hand trembled violently as she attempted suicide!
"presumptuous!"
Xiao Yongjing had been observing coldly, but his reaction was extremely quick. He moved swiftly and his toes precisely struck the hilt of the sword.
The longsword slipped from his hand and crashed to the ground with a loud clang.
Shen Yiqiu looked at Shen Ruyi, who had collapsed to the ground, looking utterly dejected, and spoke indifferently:
“You don’t need to put on this act of feigning remorse and dying for me. I gave you a chance. Last time at the manor, if you had truly repented, we could still maintain a facade of mother and daughter. But now…”
She shook her head gently. She sighed.
"They're just strangers."
Upon hearing this, Shen Ruyi burst into tears. She crawled forward on her knees, grabbed Shen Yiqiu's trouser leg tightly, and looked up with her tear-streaked face:
"Qiu'er, I know... I am guilty of a grave sin and deserve to die. But... but before I die, I ask you for one thing. Marquis Yongjia has dedicated his life to the country and its people. She should not... should not bear such a stigma."
"My eldest brother, Runian, was Mother's proudest son. He was loyal to the emperor and loved his country, and died on the battlefield. He would never betray his country. The things Song Qingming has must be fake. You must... you must clear their names! Otherwise, Mother... will not rest in peace!"
Shen Yiqiu looked down at her, her eyes filled with a complex and unreadable expression:
"You don't need to ask. I will investigate my grandmother and uncle's innocence myself, and I will uncover the truth myself. So please don't trouble yourself."
Her gaze swept over Shen Ruyi's disheveled appearance, her tone growing even colder.
"I'll be grateful if you just stop being so clever and causing trouble."
Shen Ruyi was taken aback, and her grip on her trouser leg loosened slightly.
Shen Yiqiu stopped looking at her, remained silent for a moment, then slowly squatted down, picked up the long sword that the Crown Prince had kicked away, and handed it back to Shen Ruyi.
"Although letting you die like this is too easy for you, it is your own business how you want to deal with your life. If you want to end it all here and be done with it, like you have for the past few decades, selfishly abandoning everything, that is also your choice."
Shen Ruyi gripped the sword hilt, a resolute glint in her eyes, turned the sword tip around, and once again thrust it fiercely towards her own heart.
Just as the sword tip was about to touch her clothes, Shen Yiqiu suddenly gripped the blade.
Blood gushed from between her fingers and dripped onto the ground, but there was no sign of pain or fear on her face.
She stared at Shen Ruyi, feeling a mixture of disappointment and frustration:
"Shen Ruyi, you are truly incorrigible! What else can you do besides courting death?!"
As Shen Ruyi watched the blood gushing from her daughter's palm, she was deeply moved. The lie she had carefully woven to deceive herself shattered in an instant.
At that moment, overwhelmed by emotion, Shen Yiqiu coughed violently, spitting out dark red blood, and her body swayed.
"Remembering Autumn!"
Xiao Yongjing's expression changed drastically. He rushed forward, pulled her limp body into his arms, and shouted sharply,
"The imperial physician! Summon the imperial physician!"
Shen Ruyi looked at her daughter's pale face and bleeding hands, and felt as if she had been struck by a heavy blow.
She was suddenly struck by the realization that her daughter, who had always appeared incredibly strong, was probably already severely depleted inside.
The longsword in her hand fell to the ground again, her hands hovering in the air, repeating the action:
"I...I can't die...I can't die."
“Shen Yiqiu, I want to live. I will spend the rest of my life atoning for you, for Mother…”
...
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