Hibiscus as a Painting

Chapter 193

Zi Jin frowned slightly, a vague unease creeping into her heart, and unconsciously took two steps forward: "And then?"

Yu Luo glanced at Zi Jin, her eyes filled with indescribable complexity, then lowered her gaze and continued, "Ever since Miss Zheng married that woman, she has lived a life of luxury. That woman treats Miss Zheng better than her own daughter; whatever Miss Zheng wants to eat, she will have it delivered even if it's by express courier. However, the doctor in the city said that Miss Zheng's health was already weak, and she had experienced great sorrow in the early stages of her pregnancy. If she wants to protect the child in her womb, she must be extremely careful. Miss Zheng and Zheng the peddler are deeply in love, and naturally want to protect this fetus, which might be a boy. So, she started drinking that pregnancy-preserving medicine every day..." She took tonics, burned incense daily to strengthen her body, and endured the pain of acupuncture every day. Even with such caution, Zheng Xiaoniangzi nearly miscarried. This terrified the woman, who from then on assigned someone to follow her day and night. The following summer, Zheng Xiaoniangzi endured five days and nights of excruciating pain, giving birth to a baby girl. The child was born bluish-purple and lifeless. The woman who had been with her in the delivery room, ignoring the bleeding and dying Zheng Xiaoniangzi, fed the baby a shimmering pearl. Soon after, the baby girl regained consciousness and let out a very weak cry.

"How could I let you know about such a secret?" Zi Jin asked coldly.

Yu Luo smiled sadly: "Miss Zheng told her daughter... that she was going to give her a younger brother, so her six-year-old daughter obediently waited outside the window. At that time, the whole Cangyu Manor was looking forward to this child, so who would have noticed that a six-year-old child, apart from eating and sleeping, was waiting outside the back window of the delivery room?"

"You!?...You are..."

“It is me. I am the eldest daughter of that young lady Zheng, and you are the baby that young lady Zheng risked her life to bring back,” Yu Luo said in a deep voice.

—After going through many twists and turns, they found a pregnant woman whose soul was in harmony with yours, and then brutally killed the soul of the child in her womb…

The words echoed in Zi Jin's mind like a curse. She pressed her index finger hard against her temple, her nail piercing her skin, but the sound didn't stop; instead, it intensified. A thin line of blood trickled down her temple, down her sideburn, and down to her chin.

"After Madam Zheng died, the woman stopped acting, changed the six-year-old child's surname, and casually tossed him to Iron Hand Si Sha. For five whole years, the child never saw any light, spending his time practicing martial arts and killing. When he was hungry, he ate raw meat, and when he was thirsty, he drank the black water from the mountain caves and ditches. Does the master know that kind of fear? Does he not know the fear of tomorrow? Does he not know the fear of struggling to survive?"

Zi Jin barely managed to raise her eyes, her gaze filled with confusion and panic: "I..."

"At eleven, she was sent to the Yue Kingdom's palace. At fifteen, she risked her life to scheme against Zi Yingfeng, only to be saved by him and gain his favor. At sixteen, Zi Yingfeng entrusted her to Yu Luo. Every step of the way, everything Yu Luo has done, everything Yu Luo has experienced, is thanks to her master. Does her master know? Does her master know? Does her master know how much suffering Yu Luo has endured for her master? How much that ordinary people could not bear? This child is not Yu Luo's… Back then… to ensure her master's safety, Yu Luo once…" Having submitted to the Second Prince Jun An, who personally fed Yu Luo the medicine that would render her infertile... Now, Yu Luo is no longer young, already this age. By the grace of Heaven, she has been given this child, given this happiness that is within her grasp. Yu Luo begs, Master! Begs, Master... For the sake of her deceased parents, for the sake of Yu Luo's unwavering devotion to you all these years, please have mercy on Yu Luo just this once. " Yu Luo, holding the infant, her face streaked with tears, took a few steps forward and knelt before Zi Jin.

Zi Jin retreated repeatedly, her eyes filled with panic and helplessness: "How could this be...? It shouldn't be like this... It shouldn't be like this..."

Yu Luo grabbed Zi Jin's sleeve with one hand and placed the sleeping child in her arms in front of Zi Jin: "Master, look at this child, look at this child. Although he is not Yu Luo's biological son, things have come to this point. If he still doesn't acknowledge him, there will be no future for this child and Yu Luo. Master, can you bear it? Can you bear it? Yu Luo's past life is already ruined. Can you bear to ruin Yu Luo's future? Master, can you really bear it?"

Zi Jin's eyes were filled with panic and disarray. She suddenly broke free from Yu Luo's hand, lightly touched the ground with her toes, and flew away into the distance.

Seeing Zi Jin leave, Yu Luo slowly wiped away the tears on her face, gazing at the spot where Zi Jin disappeared, the melancholy in her eyes gradually fading away.

The previously meticulous patrol seemed to have vanished, allowing the distraught Zi Jin to wander freely throughout the palace. The palace was unusually quiet at night.

"Sister, Jin'er has been waiting for you for a long time, do you know that?"

—"The Soul-Gathering Jade allows people to see hidden souls."

"This was never meant for me. My mission was to wait for the Hidden Soul to come into this world. Now that my sister has arrived, it is time for Zi Jin to leave."

"—There's no going back... Father... doesn't want Jin'er, Father doesn't want Jin'er anymore... They don't want Jin'er either... Sister must help Jin'er take care of Father... Father... Sister... Jin'er hates... Jin'er hates so much... so much..."

—…After going through numerous trials and tribulations, you finally found a pregnant woman whose soul was in harmony with yours, and then you brutally murdered the soul of the child in her womb…

—The soul of the child in the pregnant woman's womb was brutally killed...

—The soul of the child in the pregnant woman's womb was brutally killed...

Live and breathing!

Live and breathing!!

Living and breathing!!!

Zi Jin ran for her life, glancing back every now and then as if a man-eating monster lurked behind her. She ran for an unknown amount of time before leaning against a wall, panting heavily.

Overwhelmed by guilt and remorse, Zi Jin was left with no energy to breathe. She pressed her hands tightly against her chest, struggling to breathe.

—Yu Luo begs, Master! I beg you… For the sake of my deceased parents, and for the sake of all the years I have devoted myself to you, please have mercy on me this once.

—Yu Luo's past life is already ruined, can you still bear to ruin Yu Luo's future? Master, can you really bear it?

—Now that I am no longer young, I am already this age. I am grateful to God for giving me this child and this happiness that is within my grasp. I beg you, Master!

Why?!

Why?!

Why did this happen? Why did this happen? Why destroy such an ordinary family? Why take a life? Why kill that baby? Why ruin half her life? Why do all this for me?! Why make me owe such an overwhelming debt of gratitude?! Why?! Why?! What is all this for? What is it all for?

Why must I bear this debt that I can never repay? Why must I incur this debt that I can never repay even until I die?

Why? Why? Why is it like this?

Fish fall... Fish fall... What do you want? I can give you anything you want. What do you want? My person, my life... But why? ...Why do you want him? Why do you want me to repay you with him? Why do you want him? How can I repay him? How can I repay him? How can I repay him to you? He, he waited for two lifetimes... He waited bitterly for two lifetimes, without complaint for two lifetimes... Why do you want him? Why do you want him?

As she looked up, her gaze brushed past a figure in white. Zi Jin forgot to breathe, staring blankly at the person sitting in the moonlight who resembled a peerless piece of jade.

As I drew closer, the unease, anxiety, fear, and guilt in my heart gradually subsided. In my mind, in my eyes, and in my heart, there was only the image of this person—smiling, still, moving, sleeping—nothing else could be accommodated.

"noob……"

Si Kou Xunxiang stiffened for a moment, then turned around abruptly, and the face he had been longing for came into view.

“Xiaobai, Xiaobai… Let’s go, let’s go now, let’s go now!” Zi Jin took a few steps forward, grabbed Si Kou Xunxiang’s cold hand tightly, and said in a low voice.

Si Kou Xunxiang slowly lowered his eyes, his feather-like eyelashes concealing the emotions in them, and he remained motionless.

"You...don't want to come with me?" Zi Jin slowly raised her eyes and asked softly.

Si Kou Xunxiang seemed to be doing it unintentionally, his gaze sweeping over the artificial hill not far away, then glancing at Zi Jin under the moonlight, his lips moving but he remained silent.

Zi Jin's pupils dilated little by little, and she gripped Si Kou Huan Xiang's hand tightly, very tightly: "Xiao Bai, Xiao Bai... no, it doesn't matter if you're not Xiao Bai, it doesn't matter if you're Si Kou Huan Xiang, it doesn't matter anymore, no matter who you are... no matter who you are, I like you, I like you... come with me! Come with me now!"

Si Kou Xunxiang's dark eyes shone with undisguised joy. He slowly raised his hand and gently stroked Zi Jin's eyebrows and eyes, softly saying, "Go back... wait for me."

"No, no... I won't go back, we'll go back together, we'll go back together!" Zi Jin frantically grabbed Si Kou Xunxiang's wrist, gripping it tightly.

Seeing the unease and panic in her eyes, Si Kou Xunxiang felt a pang of heartache. He glanced at the artificial hill in the distance, slowly pulled away from Zi Jin's grasp, turned around gently, and whispered, "Go back first, after tomorrow..." His voice was full of reassurance.

“No! You…you don’t want me anymore, do you? You don’t want me anymore, do you? Please don’t leave me…She’s so pitiful, it’s my fault, I shouldn’t have owed her…please don’t do this, please don’t do this…I know, I know I owe her, I’ll repay her however I want, however I want, but it can’t be you…it can’t be you, I can’t use you to repay her…If I do this, I can’t bear it, I can’t bear it, I can’t do this! I’d rather die than use you to repay her!” Zi Jin’s unfocused eyes were filled with panic and despair, her whole body trembling uncontrollably. She gripped Si Kou Huan Xiang’s cold wrist tightly, “Let’s go…let’s go, never come back…never come back…never come back…I can’t repay her, I can’t repay her…it can’t be you, it can’t be you! It can’t be you!…”