Chapter 52
The cellar behind him was ablaze with flames, and thick smoke with a burning smell filled the air.
Zhao Fanghua lay silently on Zhao Qinglan's back, burying her face in his broad shoulders, avoiding the sunlight that was piercing her eyes.
His steps were steady, and his back was warm, a reassuring warmth that came through the thin fabric.
"Um..." She said muffledly, her voice a little unclear, "Thank you... for letting mother go."
Although Zhao Qinglan said "no" firmly at that time, in the end, he acquiesced to Zhu Shuang's leaving with a simple bag.
This weird guy with a hard mouth and a soft heart.
Zhao Qinglan's tone was calm, and she said calmly, "Like you said, it's just a game. It won't cause any trouble at all."
He paused, but without stopping, he added meaningfully, "Besides, killing people is not my nature."
Zhu Shuang was just a commoner, posing no threat to him, so he could just let her go. On the contrary, if he really killed her right in front of Zhao Fanghua, Zhao Fanghua might not feel anything at the moment, filled with anger and betrayal. But as time passed, and she recalled the tenderness they had shared over the past year, she would inevitably feel that he was cruel and would develop fear and resentment towards him.
But Zhao Fanghua was thinking of another cause and effect: If she, the "eldest princess", had not ended up here, how could Zhao Qinglan, the great Buddha, come to this remote town in person?
No wonder there was no such disaster in the original book. It was all because of her, the butterfly that accidentally broke in.
But... she couldn't help but gently poke his strong shoulder with her fingertips.
Was I really that important to him that he was willing to risk his life for me? The look on his face when he said, "Sister is very important to me too," came to mind, and my cheeks couldn't help but heat up slightly.
It was sunny for several days in a row, and the only road out of the town was cleared.
Early that morning, a carriage with an ancient appearance stopped quietly in front of Chai's pharmacy.
Standing beside the carriage with his hands hanging down was Li Xi, the eunuch who served Zhao Qinglan.
"I..." Zhao Fanghua looked at the carriage heading to the imperial city and subconsciously shrank his neck, "Can I..."
"No." Zhao Qinglan answered her in an unquestionable voice.
He had changed into a dark-patterned uniform, which made him look more upright.
He glanced at the tightly closed door of the pharmacy, and said calmly but with a sense of finality: "Chai's pharmacy no longer exists. Where else do you want to go? Where else can you go?"
I can still live with my mother... But Zhao Fanghua just thought about this in her mind and didn't say it out loud. She decided not to cause trouble for her mother anymore.
Zhao Qinglan extended his hand toward her, palm facing upward, with an air of unwillingness to refuse.
Zhao Fanghua hesitated for a moment, but still put his hand on it.
His palms were warm and strong, and with a gentle squeeze, he helped her into the carriage.
As soon as you step into the carriage, you will find yourself in a completely different world.
In stark contrast to its understated, quaint exterior, the interior of the carriage was surprisingly spacious. A thick blanket covered the floor, and the walls were draped in light golden satin. A small, fixed table sat by the window, upon which a blue and white porcelain tea set was placed. In a corner, an exquisitely gilded incense burner belched wisps of smoke, emitting a tranquil aroma of ambergris.
Zhao Fanghua sat down on the cushioned seat and couldn't help but look around. He exclaimed in amazement: "You really know how to enjoy yourself."
Zhao Qinglan sat down beside her. Hearing this, he looked up at her, a faint smile flashing in his eyes. He slowly adjusted his cuffs and said, "You can, too."
Zhao Fanghua shook his head regretfully, and sighed half-seriously, "Forget it then."
The princess had already been attacked and killed. Could it be that Zhao Qinglan really wanted her to be resurrected? The thought of it was troubling.
The shock and sadness of the past few days, enveloped by the warm, fragrant air of the carriage, gradually transformed into a deep sense of fatigue. Zhao Fanghua felt her eyelids growing heavier. Once her tense nerves relaxed, sleepiness washed over her like a tide. She involuntarily tilted her body, resting her head gently on Zhao Qinglan's shoulder, finding a comfortable position and closing her eyes to rest.
Perhaps it was because of this complete relaxation that the puzzle that had puzzled him for the past few days suddenly became clear at this moment.
She suddenly opened her eyes, sat up straight, and blurted out, "You're so good, Zhao Qinglan! You're plotting against me again!"
She finally figured it out!
Since Zhao Qinglan is not the blood of the late emperor, the only descendants left by the late emperor are her, the "eldest princess", and Zhao Jinghui who was just burned to ashes!
As long as someone can expose their identities, and there are powerful officials operating in the court, it is not impossible to overthrow him!
But now, Zhao Jinghui was dead, completely dead, and she had witnessed it with her own eyes!
He could have solved everything quietly while she was sleeping, but he chose to let her become a witness to her death!
Just like before at Penglai Villa, he also deliberately let her "accidentally" hear his shocking life secret!
This bastard dragged her into the water again and again, forcing her to be tied to him!
Although she loves to eat melons, she doesn't want to eat such royal secrets that can cost her life!
Seeing her look of sudden realization and anger almost jumping up and down, Zhao Qinglan was not annoyed. Instead, he raised his eyebrows slightly and raised the corners of his lips in a shallow but meaningful arc, tacitly agreeing with her accusation.
"You did it on purpose!" Zhao Fanghua glared at him with a firm tone.
Not only that, he was skilled in martial arts and could have taken down Zhao Jinghui with lightning speed as soon as he entered the pharmacy, but he insisted on playing out this scene with her, being poisoned and tied up together, and completing the whole scene.
Zhao Qinglan looked at her calmly and admitted straightforwardly, "Yes."
He knew Zhao Fanghua and he were, at heart, a kindred spirit, sharing a desire and cherishing of that rare warmth. He could easily eliminate Zhao Jinghui and the other two, but what would happen afterward? How would Zhao Fanghua view him? A cold-blooded emperor who could unhesitatingly destroy the very "home" she had considered her home for a year? Even if the misunderstanding was resolved, resentment would inevitably linger.
It would be better to lay out all the filth and calculations in front of her.
Let her see with her own eyes that the so-called "home" is nothing but an elaborate scam, and the so-called "family affection" is just a bait to lure him into the trap.
Only in this way could she completely cut off her attachment to that place and understand that in this world, only he, Zhao Qinglan, was her only support.
"Sister..." He suddenly leaned forward, reached out and gently stroked her cheek. His fingertips were slightly cold, but with an aggressiveness that could not be ignored.
His voice deepened, carrying a bewitching magnetism. "In this world, only you and I are the best... Others will only deceive you and harm you..."
Zhao Fanghua shuddered all over and got goosebumps.
She was not a fool and had already vaguely realized that Zhao Qinglan's treatment of her seemed to have gone beyond the boundaries of siblings.
After all, she really didn't know that they were not biological siblings at first, but he knew from the beginning that they were not biological siblings!
He knew it, but still condoned and even encouraged her intimacy, which in itself speaks volumes.
She took a deep breath, suppressed the throbbing in her heart, and asked the key question: "So what now? Do I go back and continue to be my eldest princess? Live in my eldest princess's mansion? Can I still... support my thirty lovers?"
The last sentence had a tentative tone.
Zhao Qinglan's smiling mouth instantly tightened, his brows furrowed slightly, and his tone was filled with a barely perceptible coldness: "The eldest princess is dead."
In the "accident" a year ago, he sent out assassins to, on the one hand, find a reasonable excuse for the Queen Mother's death, and on the other hand, to completely clear Zhao Fanghua's identity.
How could he allow her to continue living in the world under the name of "Princess Zhao Fanghua" and become a weapon for others to attack them?
"Besides..." He stared at her deeply and said word by word, "You are not her."
Zhao Fanghua's eyes widened instantly, and he pointed at him with a trembling finger. Unconsciously, even his voice changed: "You...when did you know that?!"
Zhao Qinglan smiled faintly, her tone calm, "I knew it from the first time you saw me in that abandoned cold palace."
The real Zhao Fanghua would not come to the cold palace, and would not fail to recognize him.
Zhao Fanghua was so shocked that she could hardly speak: "Then you still..."
How dare he tell her so many deadly secrets?! Aren't you afraid she'll turn around and sell him out?
Zhao Qinglan raised an eyebrow, her expression full of confidence: "I trust my sister, she will never harm me."
Zhao Fanghua muttered silently: "That's not necessarily true..."
But he was thinking in his heart that he now had two huge handles on him: he was not the bloodline of the late emperor, and he had killed the bloodline of the late emperor.
Zhao Qinglan pretended to be lost in thought, tapping the table with his knuckles. "But... my sister seems to know too many secrets. What should I do..."
Zhao Fanghua's alarm bells instantly rang. Just as she was about to express her loyalty, she saw Zhao Qinglan suddenly approaching her as if he had come up with a brilliant idea.
The two of them were so close that their noses almost touched, and they could clearly feel each other's warm breaths intertwining.
"For the sake of our brother-sister relationship," he lowered his voice to a very low level, with a dangerous ambiguity, "how about giving Sister a quick death?"
What? Zhao Fanghua was stunned. Hadn't he just been saying, "The best in the world"? How could he be sentenced to death in the blink of an eye? This change of attitude was faster than turning the pages of a book!
Before she could process this sudden turn of events, Zhao Qinglan had already calmly taken out a filled glass wine glass from the secret compartment of the carriage's wall cabinet.
"Sister, please--" He handed the wine glass to her lips, his movements elegant, but with an irresistible meaning.
Zhao Fanghua rolled his eyes and said, "I don't believe you."
She didn't believe that Zhao Qinglan would really kill her, otherwise why would she come all the way here in person?
She simply took the wine glass, raised her head and drank it all in one gulp with a hint of anger.
She put down her wine glass and was about to respond to him with a provocative expression, but suddenly she felt dizzy and the handsome smiling face of Zhao Qinglan in front of her began to blur and double.
She shook her head vigorously, trying to stay awake, but a strong feeling of dizziness came over her, her body went limp, and she fell forward uncontrollably.
Damn it, he's really going to kill her!
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