Clutching at Lan Linxue's clothes, Qin Kou'er was practically going crazy.
"Tell me! Was it you? Did you order the breaching of the dike? Why did you do it? Tell me now! Tell me you didn't do it!"
Qin Kou'er looked at Lan Linxue, tears slowly streaming down her face, her hope turning into despair.
Lan Linxue remained silent. Qin Kou'er was so emotional that he absolutely could not speak up to explain. Otherwise, he didn't know if he could still hold onto his original thoughts amidst Qin Kou'er's tears.
Seeing Kou'er's tears, Lan Linxue felt more distressed and pained than anyone else. She reached out and gently wiped away the tears on Kou'er's face.
Qin Kou'er, however, showed no appreciation whatsoever. She abruptly pushed Lan Linxue away, grabbed his sleeve, and walked to the table. Pointing to the labels on it, she looked at him coldly and said, "Don't tell me you don't know what these are."
Lan Linxue looked at Qin Kou'er, and was about to speak with a frown when Qin Kou'er slammed her hand on the table, startling her.
"It's okay if you don't know, I'll tell you what it is!"
As she spoke, Qin Kou'er pointed to each point and said, "These are the mountain passes with flowing water. These are the places closest to the dikes in several counties. If, and I mean if, someone puts explosives in these places, then it won't take long, just half a day of torrential rain, and all these mountain passes with flowing water will be reopened by the torrential rain, turning into flash floods."
The flash flood will rush down through these areas. Half of it will enter the county town, instantly submerging all the houses and buildings, while the rest will flow into the river. That's right here.
Qin Kou'er made another mark on the paper, then looked at Lan Linxue with even greater anxiety and resentment: "The flash floods rushing into the river will merge with the surrounding accumulated water and then all flow downstream. At this time, the gunpowder next to the dam will explode and create a breach in the dam. In this way, all the flash floods will be like giant waves, instantly burying all the towns below! And the people there will be like being in a vast ocean, never finding the shore, and not even having the chance to rush up and see the sky for a single day!"
By the end, Qin Kou'er was practically shouting.
Lan Linxue remained silent in the face of Qin Kou'er's anger.
Seeing that Lan Linxue remained silent, Qin Kou'er's anger flared even more. She suddenly picked up the Hetian jade paperweight on the table, pointed it at Lan Linxue, and roared, "Do you know how many people there are in the four counties? How many elderly people? How many children? How many mothers, wives, and daughters?"
Lan Linxue looked at Qin Kou'er with an extremely gloomy gaze, but couldn't even open her mouth.
He didn't know, he didn't want to know, and he couldn't know! If he knew, he would never be able to do it again! If he knew, he would live in nightmares every night.
Qin Kou'er slammed the paperweight to the ground, shattering it into pieces. "Let me tell you, there are a total of 5,678 households, with a total population of 17,356! Half of them are Qin Tiange's brothers! They are my family! Do you know how many children I've attended their one-month celebrations?"
Qin Kou'er stared at Lan Linxue, feeling as if her heart was being cut open.
"Kou'er, listen to me..."
"Don't tell me anything else except that this has nothing to do with you!"
Qin Kou'er roared and swept everything in her hand to the ground.
Taking a breath and suppressing her tears, Qin Kou'er looked around, grabbed the whip hanging on the wall, and pointed it at Lan Linxue: "Do you know how many people the meager harvest that the people of Jiangnan hope for in a year has to support? Three mountains, six rivers, and only a fraction of farmland. And even that meager land is scrambled away by you corrupt officials in the court! Do you know that if they encounter a major disaster this year, their whole family will have no way to survive? Do you even know?"
As she spoke, Qin Kou'er slammed the whip in her hand, fueled by her anger, onto the table in front of Lan Linxue, making a sharp cracking sound.
Lan Linxue closed her eyes slightly, her face showing an indescribable pain.
Looking at Qin Kou'er, he suddenly spoke in a hoarse voice, "I know!"
Qin Kou'er's eyes widened immediately as she stared at Lan Linxue in disbelief, her voice rising a notch: "You knew? You knew and you still did it? Lan Linxue, have you lost your mind? Do you even know what you're doing?"
Lan Linxue looked at Qin Kou'er, her gaze slowly turning extremely cold and hard. She said, word by word, "Just because I know what I'm doing, I have to keep doing it! Otherwise, why would I make such a fuss and throw people from these counties into the Qinhuai River? Do you really think the Qinhuai River can't be left unrepaired?"
"Do you expect us commoners to kneel and thank you with this 'benevolent heart'?" Qin Kou'er tilted her head, looking at Lan Linxue with shock and mockery, as if she had suddenly encountered an idiot. "No one knows what you're thinking. So although those people came with their whole families, the elderly and children didn't come at all. They only provided the best labor force in their families to help the Crown Prince repair the river embankment! And yet, you, the Crown Prince, only repaid them with a cruel and inhumane natural disaster!"
At this point, Qin Kou'er, in a frenzy, threw down the whip in her hand and rushed to Lan Linxue's side, grabbing his collar tightly. Looking at him with grief and despair, she said, "You killed their parents and children, which is tantamount to destroying their families and causing the elderly to bury their children. Do you know how many people will risk their lives to kill you? You can't possibly rule this world! You don't deserve to rule this world at all!"
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