Li Hua's face was as still as water, as indifferent as a god.
His princely robe was stained with black ash and oil, and his handsome face was also covered in dirt. His sleeves were rolled up high, and he looked quite disheveled.
But he stood there, drawing his longbow to its fullest extent, his imposing aura and chilling killing intent palpable. Although he was the one who was abandoned by others from birth, at this moment no one would doubt that he was the true descendant of the phoenix and the dragon, the one who was born to soar in the heavens!
At this moment, Li Hua slowly spoke, her voice neither harsh nor stern, and she would never shout and yell like Zhong Li Zhengzhen, who was so unladylike.
He asked Zhongli Zhengzhen, "What was that person doing here just now?"
"What? What are you doing? I already said they're assassins! They're here to kill me! Brother, don't point this at me! How could you point this at me?!"
Zhongli Zhengzhen tried to get up from the ground, but Li Hua's arrow was pointed at his forehead. Even Zhongli Zhengzhen had no doubt that if Li Hua wanted to kill him, he would kill him without hesitation.
Li Hua didn't need him at all; he was just a puppet, a useless puppet at that! His own brother was unpredictable and cunning; no one could rival him. He was a master of deception! Terrifying!
But Zhongli Zhenzhen was truly shocked to find himself in such a predicament, even having to... fawn over and beg for a woman he didn't love at all, and to fawn over Li Hua every day to protect his father and mother's lives, shielding him from assassination attempts by various forces.
Zhongli's eyes blazed with hatred. He had even broken his own leg! Because he hadn't allowed anyone to set it in time, the bone had now grown crooked, and he was about to become a real cripple!
How could Zhongli Zhenzhen not feel resentment?
"It's an assassin!" Zhongli Zhengzhen instinctively reached for the letter in his pocket, but he managed to stop himself as soon as he raised his hand.
That letter... filled with saccharine and disgusting love words, was given to her brother by the runaway Princess Duanrong.
Zhongli Zhenzhen absolutely refuses to give it to him! Absolutely not!
He wanted to see him search frantically but fail to find him, to see him abandoned, to see him break down! To see him unable to sleep or eat, enduring torment every single day, every single moment!
Why should he be the only one suffering? Zhongli Zhengzhen truly hates Lihua now.
She also hated that she had no ability to resist Li Hua at all; the difference between them was too great.
Zhongli is being forced to marry a woman he doesn't like, so why is Lihua able to exchange sweet messages with the woman he loves?
Dream on!
Li Hua did not lower his bow and arrow; he did not believe Zhong Li Zhenzhen's words, and he believed no one.
He recognized the assassin Zhongli Zhengzhen had mentioned earlier; he was Gan Qiongying's shadow guard!
However, Li Hua's heart was now burning with jealousy, almost like a roast duck with charred remains, and even her breath smelled of ashes.
Why would Gan Qiongying send someone to find Zhongli Zhenzhen?
Could it be that she... could it be that she really does like Zhongli Zhengzhen that much?
“I recognize that’s Gan Qiongying’s shadow guard. I’ll ask you one more question: what is he doing here?”
Li Hua pulled the bow back a little more, and the killing intent emanating from the cold arrowhead made Zhong Li truly feel as if his heart was dead.
His lips trembled, and he wanted to argue further, but when he met Li Hua's cold gaze, he blurted out at the crucial moment, "Yes, yes, it was Gan Qiongying who looked for me! It was her who looked for me..."
Zhongli Zhengzhen rolled and crawled on the ground, trying to dodge Li Hua's arrows, but Li Hua kept pointing arrows at him, watching him crawl on the ground like a dog.
Zhongli Zhenzhen was still being stubborn even at this point, saying, "He said she misses me! She wants to save me! She loves me! I told you long ago that Princess Duanrong loves me!"
Whenever Zhongli Zhenzhen thought about how Li Hua had suffered so much because of Princess Duanrong that he almost died, she wished she could personally stab a sharp blade into Li Hua's chest.
He crawled a little further away, raised his hand to shield his head, and shouted hysterically, "She loves me! She loves me madly! Even if you look exactly like me, it doesn't matter! It doesn't matter! A fake is still a fake!"
Li Hua's eyes were bloodshot, and a smile appeared on her lips. This smile was extremely cruel and violent. Her former gentleness and tenderness seemed to have been completely stripped away by Zhong Li's few words in that instant.
Li Hua immediately released the arrow, which pierced through Zhongli Zhengzhen's injured thigh, pinning him to the ground.
"Ahhhhhh—" Zhongli let out a series of wails, reaching out to cover his legs, rolling around on the ground, looking as wretched as a dying snake.
But he kept spitting out venom and kept saying that Gan Qiongying missed him and that Gan Qiongying loved him.
Li Hua drew his bow once more, this time aiming it at Zhongli's real head.
Zhongli Zhengzhen finally knew fear, but this was the first time in so long that he had been able to stir up Li Hua's emotions so much. He felt extremely happy and was determined to make Li Hua suffer even if it meant his own death!
"She only loves me! If you kill me, she'll only hate you, hate you to death!"
Li Hua's movements indeed stopped, and Zhong Li Zhengzhen began to laugh wildly again, laughing so hard that he almost passed out, lying on the ground like a dying crow.
"You've finally met your match, Zhongli Hua! You deserve this! Poisoning your parents and murdering your brother, you're destined for a life of misery! You were born a cursed star! You deserve to be abandoned and despised!"
"You deserved it! Hahahahahahaha—"
Li Hua slowly lowered his bow and arrow, his expression shifting constantly, but he did not completely collapse or go mad as Zhong Li had truly imagined.
He said to the people around him, "Go over there and hold him down."
Soon, several people went over and pinned Zhongli Zhengzhen down, while Li Hua threw the bow and arrow to the person next to him, walked to Zhongli Zhengzhen's side, and bent down to take the crumpled paper that had been exposed on his chest due to his struggle.
Zhongli was genuinely surprised to see that Li Hua hadn't collapsed as he had imagined. He saw Li Hua walk towards him, reach out his hand, and look down to finally see the crumpled paper on his chest.
Zhongli Zhengzhen started frantically trying to cover it up again, but was quickly restrained by the servants and could only lie there while Li Hua took the paper ball away.
Zhongli was wailing, "Give it back to me! Brother, please! Give the letter back to me! Give it back to me!"
"That's from her, it's from her! It's a letter she had someone deliver to me! Give it back to me—"
"It's a love letter she wrote to me, using the most tender language in the world! Brother, didn't you want me to marry Wen Xueling? If you just give me back the letter, I promise to marry Wen Xueling. I'll marry whoever you want me to marry! I will never disobey!"
"Give me back the letter!"
Li Hua held the crumpled paper in his hand, watching Zhong Li Zhengzhen disregard his leg injury and crawl towards him on his knees, just to get the letter back.
He seemed to care about the letter immensely, as if it were more important than his life.
However, Li Hua did not give him the letter. He wanted to see how Gan Qiongying loved Zhongli Zhengzhen and how she used all the tender words in the world, just as he had said.
In front of Zhongli Zhengzhen, amidst Zhongli Zhengzhen's wails, Li Hua slowly unfolded the letter.
He was trembling violently, and the rage burning in his chest was almost incinerating him.
His hand gripping the letter trembled violently, his vision blurred intermittently, and tears streamed down his face. For a moment, he didn't even have the courage to open the letter, afraid that he would actually see Gan Qiongying's feelings for Zhong Lizhen, which would prove that he had been nothing more than a clown all this time.
If that's the case... what can he do if that's the case?
"You can't look! Don't look at your brother! That's for me..." Zhongli was still trying to dissuade him in vain, desperately crawling towards Lihua, trying to snatch the letter.
But Li Hua won't give it to him.
Li Hua... Li Hua is even learning how to make her favorite roast duck.
Li Hua unfolded the letter with trembling hands and finally saw its contents: "Seeing this letter is like seeing you in person, opening this letter brings a smile to my face... It has been a long time since we last met, and my thoughts of you have been with me deeply..."
Li Hua took a deep breath, blinked hard, and bit her tongue before continuing to read.
But soon, he was frozen in place, staring at the letter, completely unable to move.
Because it says: "My dearest Li Hua, please don't be angry or resentful..."
"My dearest Li Hua... please don't be angry or resentful..."
Li Hua seemed unable to see the words after that. He stared at those words, checking them over and over again. He even wondered if he was hallucinating.
He forgot to breathe.
When he finally caught his breath, his face was flushed, veins bulging, and he coughed violently, his hands trembling as he held the thin piece of paper, supporting himself on his knees as he coughed until he couldn't lift his head...
"Cough cough cough cough... cough cough cough cough..."
Li Hua's tears fell like beads from a broken string, like a flood bursting its banks. He was coughing so violently that he couldn't catch his breath and even knelt on the ground, supporting himself with one hand as if he was about to vomit.
But the trembling hand holding the letter pressed against his heart, so heavy yet so light, so heavy as if it were supporting his heart to prevent it from stopping.
It was so light, as if afraid that the piece of paper would melt away like snow falling into the palm of one's hand.
This letter is for him.
It was written for him!
“My dearest Li Hua…”
Li Hua knelt on the ground, breathing deeply in and out, trying to calm herself down.
After countless attempts, he was finally able to breathe normally, only to find himself surrounded by a group of people. Sanjiu had returned sometime earlier.
Sanjiu lifted him up from the ground. Lihua watched them talking, but seemed unable to hear them, his ears ringing incessantly.
He could only hear his own heart pounding like a drum, and the trembling of his breath, a sound like crying.
"Your Highness! Your Highness, what's wrong? Quickly, summon a physician!"
"Master, Master, look at me, look at me, breathe, breathe!"
Li Hua could barely stand, clutching the letter tightly, her eyes glazed over. She could only stand upright with the support of San Jiu and her subordinates.
Today is April 19th, 129 days since Gan Qiongying left us.
He received a message from her again...
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