Chapter 120 Familiarity and Warmth: Could this person really be my brother...?
Her gaze seemed to only encompass what was right in front of her; her eyes inexplicably stung and felt uncomfortable, perhaps she wanted to cry, or perhaps an inexplicable surge of grievance welled up within her.
The night is long and the firelight is dim, seemingly without end. It makes one want to keep going forward regardless of everything, to see where the end of this darkness is, and at the same time, it makes one want to retreat and go back to where it all began.
If this person is the older brother...
The thought had barely formed when she immediately suppressed it.
Impossible!
She told herself that the person in front of her could not be her brother, but at the same time a voice was refuting her: if this person was not her brother, then why was he so different from Yu Liuzhu, who looked somewhat like her, and why were his words and actions so advanced, like a time traveler? And why did his attitude towards her change?
Especially the promises he made to himself!
There is no deep affection without a reason in this world. Where does his affection originate and where does it come from?
A jumble of emotions overwhelmed her; she was torn apart, but finally broke free. Reason returned to reality, and her dark, unseeing eyes turned to look at Yu Liuzhu.
"The truth will out, and the falsehood will be the truth. You don't need to worry. Today, not only is the Prince here, but also General Mu and the two Lord Guans. They will surely get to the bottom of this."
Then, glancing at Qin's mother, he said, "Don't be afraid. With the Prince here, no one will dare to threaten you. Feel free to tell me everything you know."
Qin's mother sensed a hidden meaning in these words, lowered her head even further, but her voice remained loud.
Back then, Yu Qingxue prided herself on her beauty and was blinded by the prosperity and wealth of the capital, determined to marry into a high-ranking family. After her infatuation with Mu Wei failed, she was very depressed and, while walking aimlessly through the streets, bumped into the Second Prince who was out on his way.
To express his apology, the second prince invited her to tea, and the two began to interact. They gradually grew closer and often met in private. She was eager to curry favor with him, so she showered him with affection and sweet talk, which led the second prince to promise to take her into his household.
Unexpectedly, the Shen family heard rumors that the Second Prince wanted to take her as a concubine, and hastily married her off to the Su family.
She was very depressed and resentful, and not only hated the Shen family, but also took her anger out on the Su family. Even after she got married, she still couldn't forget the Second Prince, and often used the excuse of going out to visit guests or going to the market to meet with him in secret.
"absurd!"
The shout did not come from the Guan brothers, but from Mu Wei.
Mu Wei's usually gentle face showed a rare hint of sternness. "The Demon King was a prince back then, how could he have committed adultery with my wife? Tell me, why would he do such a thing?"
His question silenced the Guan brothers.
Guan Hu squinted, glancing at him one moment and then at Mu Hanshi and Shen Qinglu the next, feeling that something was amiss.
Qin's mother lowered her head even further, as if she were lying on the ground. "General, everything I have said is true. The reason why the Demon King did this is to use you, Madam, to control the Su family and the Shen family."
"Nonsense!" Guan Hu finally seized the opportunity to launch an attack. "What kind of thing is your wife? How could she possibly shake the Su and Shen families? It's laughable! Your Highness, this wicked servant is clearly spouting nonsense to confuse the public. Why not hand her over to me? I will make sure she tells the truth."
"Your Highness, everything I've said is true!" Qin Mama kowtowed desperately. "I have evidence... Back then, the Demon King gave my lady a packet of medicine, saying it was a secret medicine from the palace, instructing her to find an opportunity to poison General Shen. My lady didn't find an opportunity, but she kept the medicine and later fed it to the Princess..."
Even though she knew about this beforehand, Shen Qinglu still felt that letting Yu Qingxue die like this was too easy.
She looked up at the sky, and in the dark sky, a star seemed to be faintly visible, like someone's eyes watching what was happening below.
A person who lives in a daze from birth to death may not know if they have any knowledge in the afterlife, or if they know that the injustices of their life have been redressed.
Everyone was looking at her. She took a deep breath and glared at Qin's mother. "So you're admitting that my being switched back then wasn't due to my grandmother's selfishness, but rather Yu Qingxue's conspiracy."
Qin's mother kowtowed even faster, "Madam hates your mother for ruining her plans. Ever since she found out she was pregnant, she has been plotting... On the day of the Awakening of Insects, Dujuan was under her orders to push you into the water. Fortunately, you are blessed with good fortune and a long life."
"Your Highness, you can't believe everything this wicked servant says. Now that Yu Qingxue is dead, there's no way to verify anything. She can say whatever she wants, and who knows what kind of evil intentions she's harboring?"
These were Mu Wei's words again.
Despite saying what he wanted to say, Guan Hu was still annoyed. Even though he was glaring at him fiercely, Guan Hu still had that kind of good-natured smile, making him feel like he was punching cotton or being led by the nose, leaving him with an indescribable sense of frustration.
“General, everything I’ve said is true… With my lady’s background, where would she get that secret palace medicine? She was bewitched by the Demon King and thought about meeting him every day. She was almost discovered by the Second Young Master’s men. To prevent the matter from being exposed, they killed the man and threw him into a dry well.”
These words matched what Mu Wei had mentioned about the case before, but Guan Hu felt that things were probably more complicated than that.
Sure enough, what Qin's mother said next was a real shock.
"My wife is willing to do anything to stay with the Demon King. She believed the wealth and glory he promised her and even went so far as to distort the truth. That letter of surrender that convicted the Su family was forged by her!"
After the letter of surrender was sent, the Guan brothers finally realized that they had been tricked.
Guan Hu sneered at Mu Wei, "It must have been difficult for General Mu to put on such a good show in front of the Prince."
He knew that Mu Hanshi was the mastermind behind all of this, but he only dared to say such things to Mu Wei.
After saying this, he cupped his hands towards Mu Hanshi and said, "Your Highness, this wicked servant is probably in cahoots with someone, and not a single word he says can be trusted. Please order me to take this person away, and I will definitely investigate him thoroughly and give Your Highness an explanation."
Without lifting his eyelids, Mu Hanshi asked Qin's mother in a calm voice, "Can you prove that what you said is true?"
Madam Qin seemed to be thinking seriously. After a while, her eyes lit up. "I remember now. Madam imitated Lord Su's handwriting to write the letter of surrender. Then, she secretly sneaked into Lord Su's study and stole Lord Su's private letter. When she was stamping it, she was so nervous that her hand trembled so badly that she stamped it twice."
After the rebellion of the Demon King, all matters were taken over by Prince Xin, and all relevant evidence was sealed in the Tianwu Guard's office. In recent years, not only the Shenwu Camp, but even Mu Hanshi has not interfered.
The letter of surrender that was found in the Chiwang Mansion and used to convict the Su family was also among them.
Mu Hanshi glanced at Mu Wei, who immediately understood and mounted his horse, saying to Guan Hu, "Lord Guan, please do me a favor."
Guan Hu was so angry he wanted to curse, but he dared not disobey and left with him.
They rode off and quickly retrieved the letter of surrender. Just as Qin's mother had said, the seal on it did indeed show signs of being stamped twice.
As a servant, she could never have known such inside information if she hadn't seen it with her own eyes.
As for whether this letter of surrender was forged by Yu Qingxue, sending someone to find out by carefully comparing it with the memorials written by Imperial Censor Su in the past will reveal the answer.
The night grew deeper, and although it was still far from dawn, a faint glimmer of light appeared on the horizon.
"Your Highness, it's still unknown whether this servant is telling the truth or not, but there's one thing she absolutely has no proof for. She claims I'm the offspring of the Demon King, how can she prove that?"
There's really no way to prove that.
At that time, Yu Qingxue was still Su Qihe's wife. Even if she had an affair, the child could still be her husband's.
Seeing that everyone was stumped by her question, Yu Liuzhu raised her chin slightly and said, "Even if my father were to testify that he never touched my mother, it would be just empty words and wouldn't stand up to scrutiny."
Upon hearing this, Qin's mother trembled slightly and subconsciously looked at Shen Qinglu.
Her mind was filled with the words Shen Qinglu had spoken to her, and along with shock came a touch of regret. If she had known that this person who had been mentally challenged for over a decade would suddenly become so intelligent, she should have secretly surrendered from the beginning; perhaps she would still have a chance to survive.
Now, it's too late to say anything; the only way is to exchange her death for the safety of her children and grandchildren.
She slowly raised her head, her forehead already bruised and bloody, and looked at Yu Liuzhu with an extremely eerie gaze. "Young lady, Madam died so tragically. Before she died, she kept shouting that if she could do it all over again, she would never give birth to you. Even if she did, she would strangle you on the spot!"
“You…” Yu Liuzhu was startled by her. “You said all of this. Who knows if it’s true or false?”
“Young lady, everything you say is fake, but everything I say is true.”
After saying that, she glanced at Shen Qinglu and then rushed forward.
Guan Hu instinctively drew his sword as a threat, but instead of dodging, she grabbed the sword and thrust it straight at him.
Her stab was quite accurate, hitting the vital point. After being pushed away by Guan Hu, she fell backward to the ground, her eyes open unwillingly, and she seemed to hear Shen Qinglu's voice in her ears.
"Words are no proof, only death can prove it."
This time, there was no fake death drug; she was truly dead.
Shen Qinglu looked at her, her eyes icy cold.
Everything she did to innocent people was aiding and abetting evil, and she deserved to die just like Yu Qingxue.
Heaven's justice is clear, and cause and effect are in accordance with the law. She said that Yu Qingxue had regrets before she died, but the wicked man's belated remorse is worthless. A person who spends his whole life scheming and plotting for his daughter deserves to die at her own daughter's hands. He has also suffered retribution and backlash.
They don't deserve any sympathy!
Suddenly, her slightly cool fingertips were enveloped by the man's large hand.
Shen Qinglu tilted her head slightly, tilting her small face up to meet a pair of deep yet gentle and warm eyes that inexplicably inspired trust and reliance, making one want to get closer. The warmth, like the sun, had a familiarity etched in her memory, like the hand of a loved one, traversing time and space to caress her wandering soul.
Is it possible that this person is actually the older brother?
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