Chapter 22 Don't forget that the daughter of a disgraced official can only be a concubine!
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A cool breeze rustled the bamboo leaves and stirred the peach-colored hair ribbon. The ribbon was extremely light and thin, and the wind caught and rolled it up, like the tendrils of a vine searching for a foothold, tentatively probing and flaunting itself.
Just like Shen Qinglu's mood at this moment.
Why can't she?
Mu Lin looks so much like her...
Moisture suddenly condensed in her large, dark eyes, accumulating more and more, swirling around incessantly, pitiful yet stubborn, refusing to fall.
She looked up at the person before her, her beautiful face like a lotus blossom, her eyes blurry with tears. It wasn't to elicit sympathy, but rather because she felt inexplicably wronged.
After a moment, reason returned, and she accused him, "You bullied me!"
These words fell like meteorites from the sky into a stagnant pool in a secluded valley.
A flicker of emotion finally appeared in Mu Hanshi's icy eyes.
He seemed to frown slightly, whether out of disapproval of Shen Qinglu's words and actions or a realization that something was wrong with him. A hint of illness was faintly visible beneath his refined demeanor, giving him a sickly appearance.
"Don't fight or snatch what isn't yours, or you'll only suffer the consequences."
After saying that, he vanished without a trace.
Shen Qinglu was amazed by his sudden appearance and disappearance, and a mocking look slowly rose in her eyes.
What a coincidence!
Some things are rightfully hers, and it's only right for her to fight for them.
As she inhaled the unique fragrance of bamboo and walked around the bamboo grove again, she unexpectedly had a strange feeling, as if this was not an ordinary path, but another path in her life.
It took her eight years to walk from the orphanage to her new home.
The new home is very nice; it's a detached house with a small bamboo grove in front.
In this season when all things are thriving, new bamboo shoots have already sprouted tender green leaves, and the green of the old bamboo blends together with the green of the new bamboo.
A gentle and handsome young man, as delicate as a bamboo shoot, stood at the door to greet her. His first words were: "From now on, I will be your older brother."
elder brother……
The day that changed your destiny was anything but ordinary, even when you look back on it many years later.
Reborn into another world, with a different body and a different heart, the beautiful memories will never fade away.
As her vision blurred with the mist, a somewhat familiar face appeared before her eyes, and she suddenly felt as if she were in a dream.
Mu Lin saw her from afar by the bamboo forest, so alone, so lost and helpless, so pitiful, her dark, jade-like eyes instantly captivating.
"Miss Ali, so you've been here all along."
"Where am I?" she murmured, asking Mu Lin, and also asking herself.
Mu Lin thought she had gotten lost and wondered why she didn't have any servants with her. "Miss Ali, don't be afraid. This is the Marquis's residence. You won't get lost."
yes.
She wouldn't get lost; even if she died, she could still travel to places where the shadows of her old friends lingered. Even if they only resembled them slightly, it would be enough comfort to her.
"Sister Tang'er said she was going somewhere and asked me to wait for her. I waited for a long time but she didn't come, so I came to look for her. Have you seen her?"
This statement was completely opposite to Yu Liuzhu's, and Mu Lin frowned subconsciously.
"You mean she left first, told you to wait for her, and when she didn't come, you came looking for her?"
She nodded emphatically, looking innocent and bewildered.
Mu Lin couldn't help but trust her more, and her impression of Yu Liuzhu inevitably became bad. "She should know the way back. I'll take you back first."
After passing through the bamboo grove, it's a short walk to the garden. Not long after entering the garden, they ran into Yu Liuzhu and the maid from the Marquis's mansion who had led the way for them earlier.
Yu Liuzhu's expression changed several times the moment she saw them together.
The young man in the brocade blue robes was in the prime of his life, handsome and composed, with the agility of a martial artist and the noble air of a young master from a prestigious family.
This was the man who once won her heart. Even though they had become an ill-fated couple, and even though she was given a second chance at life, she was still resentful and indignant.
"Young Master Mu, my cousin is mentally challenged and doesn't know the seriousness of the relationship between men and women. Don't you know that too? If someone sees you alone with her, wouldn't her reputation be damaged?"
"I..." Mu Lin wanted to say that this was the Marquis's residence, and he was fulfilling his duties as a master, but he also knew that as an outsider, his words and actions were indeed somewhat inappropriate. "I was just in a hurry and didn't think that much about it."
Seeing that he admitted his mistake, Yu Liuzhu felt not relieved, but even more depressed.
He never admitted his mistakes in the feud between husband and wife, but now, because of someone else, he actually bowed his head.
Then what am I?
"Does Prince Mu think he can do whatever he wants just because he's in a moment of panic? Where do you place my cousin? Where do you place me?"
“Miss Yu, you are all guests of my Marquis’s residence. If a guest goes missing in the residence, isn’t it only right that I, as the master, help search for them? Why are you speaking so rudely? Have I done anything to displease you?”
"Don't you know what you've done?" The resentment and hatred from her past life filled Yu Liuzhu's heart, causing her pain and bitterness. "Prince Mu, don't you know what our relationship is? Ask yourself, how have you treated me? Shouldn't I be dissatisfied?"
A verbal marriage agreement is still a marriage agreement; outsiders may not know it, but the parties involved certainly do.
Mu Lin was speechless for a moment. He was the one who agreed to the marriage, and he was also the one who didn't want to continue the relationship. From this point of view, he did deserve to be scolded.
After a long silence, he said, "I'm sorry."
An apology couldn't dispel the resentment in Yu Liu's heart; it was more like adding fuel to the fire, making her unable to control her emotions. The resentment in her eyes and the anger in her expression were clearly visible.
Shen Qinglu looked at them and felt that everything was inexplicably absurd.
She looked around, trying to figure out where she was, and finally her gaze fell on the maidservant of the Marquis's mansion. The maidservant had her head down and was holding a cup of tea.
The tea has gone cold, and the heat is gone.
After taking a sip of tea, the coolness churned in her stomach, chilling her internal organs.
Yu Liuzhu's resentment was choked up when he saw her drinking tea as if nothing was wrong. He couldn't express it or suppress it, and it just got stuck in a rut.
"Little sister Ali, didn't I tell you not to run around like that? I..."
"You said you were going to check ahead, but I waited for a long time and you didn't come back. I went to look for you and I think I heard you talking to a man, that man..."
Upon hearing this, Yu Liuzhu's heart skipped a beat. "You must have misheard!"
After saying that, she didn't dare to look at Mu Lin's face and pulled her away.
She didn't struggle. Only after she was far away from Mu Lin's gaze did she shake him off. Her dark, slightly empty eyes were like bottomless abysses, mysterious, unpredictable, terrifying, and gloomy.
"I saw it."
"What did you say?" Yu Liuzhu's expression changed, and he looked at her in disbelief.
Her gaze was sinister yet unclear, making it impossible to discern whether she was truly foolish or feigning it.
"I saw the person you were talking to..." she said, pretending to try to remember, while looking up at the sky.
"You mean that person?" Yu Liuzhu was certain that even if she had actually seen him, she wouldn't know Mu Hanshi's identity, so she lied to her, "I was in a hurry to find you, so I just asked a servant in the Marquis's mansion for directions."
She said "Oh," as if she believed it.
He really is an idiot.
Yu Liuzhu thought to herself, but felt uncomfortable again when she touched her peach-like face.
It's a real waste of talent to have a child born with such a mental disability.
“Sister Ali, I know there are many things you don’t understand, but there are some things I still want to tell you. You are the daughter of a disgraced official, and your background is not good. Even if you are good-looking, no respectable man will marry you. If any gossip spreads, you can only be a concubine.”
"What is a concubine?" She pretended not to understand, looking completely bewildered, which only highlighted her natural beauty, flawless and pure, comparable to a rare and precious jade.
Yu Liuzhu felt increasingly uncomfortable as she looked at him, and jealousy and agitation welled up inside her, intertwining and turning into sharp words.
“A concubine is no different from a servant; she can be bought, sold, and killed. Your aunt has raised you with great difficulty for many years; you must not fall to that state and cause her sadness and disappointment.” She pinched her palm, her expression stern and displeased. “If it weren’t for you, your aunt wouldn’t have had to suffer so much.”
"I am the daughter of a disgraced official, I can only be a concubine..." Shen Qinglu muttered to herself, looking as if she didn't quite understand.
After a while, she looked up as if suddenly enlightened, and said, "Sister Tang'er, I've got it."
The clarity in her eyes vanished quickly, replaced by darkness. "And don't forget that either."
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