Xiao Zuo said, "Du San Niang's bracelet is indeed a flaw. Silver ornaments turn black when they get wet, but when she stood at the bow of the boat and showed this bracelet, it was quite dazzling, clearly newly made. At first, I thought it was a way for her to seduce men, but then I wondered, could it be a secret signal?"
Feng Qiansu lowered her eyes. Back at the Yellow River ferry, when she saw Du Sanniang show off that bracelet, she knew that everything was ready.
“When I found the Dragon King and opened the bracelet, the mechanism inside was already empty.” Xiao Zuo continued, “I’m probably the only one who would dare to steal from Ziyu Xiangman. Since it’s impossible for anyone to have tampered with the bracelet before, the only suspect is you.”
Feng Qiansu remained silent, feeling quite uneasy: she thought she had covered her tracks perfectly, but who could have imagined that a pair of sharp eyes had already seen through everything?
Xiao Zuo continued, "Actually, back in Hancheng, I was almost certain that you were behind all of this. There's just one thing that I can't figure out: how did you detonate that ship?"
Feng Qiansu pursed her lips and said, "There was a potted orchid in the lower deck. I poisoned it and destroyed it. The withered branches fell and triggered the mechanism, causing the ship to explode."
Xiao Zuo's eyes flickered as he said, "Then how did you contact the Hundred Ghosts along the way? A bracelet and a coded message alone can't explain much."
"This arrangement was made before departure, so there was no need to contact them. If you hadn't changed your plans at the last minute, I wouldn't have even needed to misread a line of poetry on the Yellow River to hint at the little devil. Afterward, I released a brown kite, which symbolized my next destination, Hecheng."
"So Hua Ye rushed to Hecheng overnight, just to wait for me?"
Feng Qiansu said, "That's right. Hua Ye is not only highly skilled in martial arts, but she is also extremely beautiful. Few men in the world can resist her charms..."
Xiao Zuo replied with a smile, "But what you didn't expect was that she also lost."
Feng Qiansu sighed dejectedly, "I knew from that time that your martial arts were too high, and it was unlikely that I could kill you. Perhaps I could use other methods to force you to leave..."
Upon hearing this, Xiao Zuo's expression turned cold: "The argument between Chen Feng and me in the room that day was actually about us arguing over the position of city lord. But you took it out of context, killed him first, and then used the opportunity to frame me, didn't you?"
Feng Qiansu trembled, and the pain she had been suppressing suddenly burst forth. She seemed to hear her heart tearing like cotton, so piercing that it almost drove her mad.
"He deserves it!" She clutched her chest tightly and said bitterly, "Who told him to follow me? I went to see Xiao Gui and Jue Ye, but he secretly followed me and discovered my secret. How could I let him live?"
"You!" Xiao Zuo's face twisted in rage. "How could you do that? Feng Qiansu! How could you kill someone who loved you, cared for you, and understood you!"
Feng Qiansu laughed loudly three times, it was unclear whether she was laughing for him or for herself: "Love me, pity me, understand me? It was precisely because I was soft-hearted towards him that I wasn't on guard, and he took advantage of me and discovered my secret. I've said it before: I'm not my father! He was blinded by love, losing his career and his life for a woman, but I won't. Anyone who stands in my way or stops me will die!"
Xiao Zuo raised his hand, but then abruptly stopped in mid-air. Upon seeing this, Feng Qiansu not only didn't dodge but instead went to meet him: "You want to hit me to avenge your friend? Go ahead and hit me!"
Xiao Zuo stared at her, his hands trembling. Feng Qiansu sneered, "I am such a ruthless woman. The Gong family took me in for seventeen years, yet I schemed to seize their wealth. Baili Chenfeng liked me, so I killed him and used his death to force you to leave. I'm hopelessly wicked. What are you waiting for? You want revenge for your friend, revenge for your lover, justice for the martial world? Come on! I don't know martial arts, so I can't do anything to you. My men can't even come to my rescue. With just one light slap, you'll be done for. Do it!"
Xiao Zuo took a step back, his expression shifting from rage to pity. That pitying gaze stung Feng Qiansu, making her even more reckless: "I understand! You don't dare! Xiao Zuo, you don't dare kill me because you know Gong Feicui's life is in my hands, right? You see, you're better than me in every way, but in the end, you're still helpless against me. Because you have emotions, your emotions are your weakness, while I have no emotions, so you can't use anyone to blackmail me. That's the difference between us! Blame Baili Chenfeng for liking the wrong person. You're right, I'm a curse; whoever touches me dies! Baili Chenfeng is like that, and so is Gong Feicui..."
Volume 1, Chapter 10: The Smoke and Fire Have Cleared (3)
Section Three: Fateful Tribulation
"Enough, stop talking!"
With such a clear shout, a person emerged from behind an old elm tree several feet away. She was slender with long hair that reached her waist.
Feng Qiansu gazed at her and smiled leisurely, "So you've come too, Gong Feicui."
Now, recalling her last words before she left—"Just as I was blind and misjudged you"—everything is clear.
Knowing she had misunderstood Xiao Zuo, how could she be so cruel to him again? Her statement, "As long as I don't repeat this mistake again," was actually an implication to Xiao Zuo that she wouldn't make the same mistake again.
Who would have thought that Palace Jade possessed such wisdom!
Feng Qiansu smiled again. One wrong move and the whole game is lost. She's lost, she's lost...
Gong Feicui slowly walked up to her, her face completely drained of color. She opened her mouth and called out...
Feng Qiansu was taken aback. What did she call her?
—Sister Qiansu?
She even called her Sister Qiansu!
Feng Qiansu raised her lips in a cold laugh: "Miss Gong, isn't it a bit hypocritical to still address me like that? From what I know, you're not exactly a magnanimous person..."
"Stop talking!" Gong Feicui suddenly interrupted her. "Let's go!"
"Go? Where to?"
"Back to Luoyang. Home."
"Home? I have no home." Feng Qiansu continued to sneer, "If Miss Gong wants to deal with me, this traitor, isn't it the same here?"
“You do! The place where you’ve lived for seventeen years is your home!” Emerald said in a deep voice. “Besides, I have no intention of punishing you. I just hope that you will forget about this matter completely from now on! Come back with me, and you will still be you, Feng Qiansu, the head steward of the Gong family, my sister Qiansu.”
Feng Qiansu stared at her blankly for a while before she understood what she was talking about.
Xiao Zuo seemed surprised that she would say that.
Feng Qiansu laughed loudly: "Miss Gong, you have such good manners, you can actually act as if nothing happened. However, you can, but I can't... I am an ambitious person, I cannot tolerate being subordinate to you for the rest of my life! I have dedicated the best years of my life to the Gong family, just so that one day I can take it for myself! And you are the first stumbling block I must remove!"
Gong Feicui's face turned even paler, and she said in a trembling voice, "You really want to kill me, Sister Qiansu?"
Another "Sister Qiansu"... A sudden pang of sorrow gripped Feng Qiansu's heart. When was the first time she heard her call her that? Was it when she was two years old? That year, she was only seven... No! Feng Qiansu, it's laughable to recall the past now! It's meaningless!
Forcibly suppressing the complex and indescribable emotions surging within her, Feng Qiansu said coldly, "That's right, I want you dead! You're an adult now and will soon be married. If you were to marry a weak and incompetent husband, perhaps I could spare your life. But you..."