"Because you are a bastard, a bastard who shouldn't have been born, hahaha!" Ruan Chuqing laughed wildly, her beautiful eyes filled with mockery and contempt: "You still don't know why you were born, do you? Well then I'll tell you myself!"
Shen Lixue ruined her reputation. If she were to kill Shen Lixue with a single sword, it would be too easy on her. She would torture her, telling her the whole story of her birth, so that she would clearly know how despicable she was.
"Ruan Chuqing, that's enough!" Shen Minghui, who had been calm and composed until now, suddenly roared, his gaze towards Ruan Chuqing like sharp arrows. How could he tell Shen Lixue that secret?
"What's there to be afraid of? She's been poisoned and seriously injured, and there are our people all around her. She can't escape and can only be slaughtered by us. So what if she knows that secret!" Ruan Chuqing glanced at Shen Minghui with disdain. This despicable man is useless, whether it was sixteen years ago or now. If she hadn't acted decisively, how could things have succeeded back then?
“But…” Shen Minghui glanced at Shen Lixue secretly. He knew his daughter’s abilities very well. If she found out the truth about what happened back then, the consequences would be unimaginable.
"But what? If you're afraid of dying, stay away!"
Ruan Chuqing glanced at Shen Minghui impatiently, her cherry lips parted slightly, and she uttered each word clearly: "Sixteen years ago, your mother and I were best friends, the kind of friends who could share everything. We had no secrets between us, and we were as close as sisters..."
"Get to the point! I'm not in the mood to listen to your nonsense!" Shen Lixue frowned and impatiently interrupted Ruan Chuqing.
Ruan Chuqing raised an eyebrow, a hint of coldness flashing in her eyes: "The point is, I've fallen for War King Dongfang Shuo, but Dongfang Shuo is in love with Lin Qingzhu. He's always around her. Before he went to war, he had Su Lie send her a painting of 'After the Rain' to express his love and ask her to wait for his return. How can I tolerate the man I love showing affection to another woman..."
"So you went to great lengths to seduce Duke Wen, Su Lie, and get him to hand over the scroll to you, didn't you?" A clear, cold female voice echoed in the dead-end alley, carrying boundless sarcasm.
The War King asked Su Lie to deliver a painting, but it was intercepted by Ruan Chuqing halfway. Half a year later, Ruan Chuqing married Su Lie. Shen Lixue had long suspected that something was amiss.
Ruan Chuqing wasn't angry. She smiled and said, "That's right. I just showed him a little kindness, and he handed me the painting without hesitation!" Back then, she was a famous beauty in the capital, admired by many young men from prestigious families. Su Lie, that hothead, was no exception to her charm.
"I originally intended to destroy that painting, but it depicted a scene after the rain, which reflected my name, so I kept it. From then on, I often went to see Lin Qingzhu to inquire about the War King, while also secretly thinking of ways to break them up. Finally, one day, I found it..."
Ruan Chuqing looked at Shen Minghui with a half-smile: "Sixteen years ago, he was your maternal grandfather's student..."
"Student?" Shen Lixue frowned as she looked at Shen Minghui. She hadn't expected that the Duke of Wu and Shen Minghui had this kind of relationship.
Ruan Chuqing smiled and said, "The Duke of Wu was skilled in both literature and martial arts. After being seriously injured, he no longer went to the battlefield. In his spare time, he taught at the Imperial Academy. He was upright, loved and cherished talent. He did not look up to nobles, nor did he discriminate against the poor. Occasionally, he would go to other schools to guide talented students from poor families. Shen Minghui was one of them..."
Shen Minghui clenched his fist tightly, his eyes dark and gloomy. He was not a poor scholar from a humble background. His Shen family had been wealthy for generations, as could be seen from the Shen family jade pendant.
Later, his grandfather mismanaged the business, and the family fortune began to decline. By the time it fell into his hands, there was very little left. He was not particularly skilled in business, so he abandoned commerce and prepared to take the imperial examinations. He was proud, unlike those purely poor scholars.
"Shen Minghui knew the identity of Duke Wu, so he would often go to Duke Wu's mansion under the pretext of asking questions to get close to him. One evening, Lin Qingzhu saw me off at the mansion and happened to run into Shen Minghui, who was there to try to build a relationship with me."
Looking at Shen Lixue's gloomy face, Ruan Chuqing smiled smugly: "I don't need to say the rest, right? When Shen Minghui saw Lin Qingzhu, tsk tsk, his eyes were practically glued to her..." Shameless men, they really are all lustful.
Shen Minghui looked at the yellow wall in front of him and recalled that evening when he first met Lin Qingzhu. Her bright face and clear eyes were truly as beautiful as a fairy. He had never seen such a beautiful woman before. Just standing there quietly, she was captivating. Her smile was clean, clear, and untouched by worldly dust, like a fairy from heaven, untouched by the mundane world.
With just one glance, he imprinted her deeply in his mind, never to be forgotten.
"Don't tell me you seduced Shen Minghui to scheme against my mother!" Shen Lixue had already guessed that Lin Qingzhu's marriage to Shen Minghui was a scheme, not something she did willingly.
Ruan Chuqing glanced at the disheveled Shen Minghui and sneered disdainfully: "Does he even deserve my seduction? He revealed his feelings for Lin Qingzhu and his yearning for high office and generous salary. I seized on these two weaknesses, made promises, and lured him into the trap."
Students from poor families have no connections or support in the court. Even if they pass the imperial examination with top honors, they can't become high-ranking officials. Ruan Chuqing told Shen Minghui that Duke Wu's position in the court is very important. If he could marry Duke Wu's most beloved daughter, getting promoted and making a fortune would be a piece of cake.
"How exactly did you scheme against my mother?" Shen Lixue had guessed the outcome, but she never imagined the despicable and shameless process they had orchestrated.
"The War King has won a great victory at the border and is about to return to the capital. According to the clues in that painting of the sky after the rain, he will propose to Lin Qingzhu after returning to the capital. How can the man I love marry another woman? Therefore, I must strike first and stop him from marrying this woman!"
Mentioning the War King, a hint of ruthlessness flashed in Ruan Chuqing's beautiful eyes. That man was hers, and no one could take him away.
“That day, as usual, I invited Lin Qingzhu to a teahouse. After we finished tea, I coaxed her to look at clothes and jewelry at a shop. She didn’t object. As we walked into a relatively secluded alley, suddenly more than a dozen lewd men rushed out and surrounded us…”
“Those sleazy men, you were the ones who arranged it!” Shen Lixue suddenly spoke up.
"That's right, but Lin Qingzhu didn't know that. She was only concerned about my safety and forcefully pushed me out of the encirclement. As for herself, of course she was caught by that group of lewd men..." Ruan Chuqing's smug eyes flashed with strong mockery and disdain. What a stupid person she was. She didn't even realize that the trap was set for her.
"Then Shen Minghui stepped in, chased away the lewd men, and played the hero to save the damsel in distress!" Shen Lixue's lips curled into a mocking smile. What a cliché trick: "What else did you do?"
If it were just a simple case of a hero saving a damsel in distress, Lin Qingzhu could simply express her gratitude to Shen Minghui afterwards; there was no need for her to marry him.
"You'll have to ask your father about that." Ruan Chuqing's eyes sparkled, a smug, ambiguous smile playing on her lips. "Ask him what earth-shattering thing he did!"
"Shen Minghui!" Shen Lixue called him by his name, her cold gaze fixed on him.
Shen Minghui didn't look at Shen Lixue, but coldly stared at Ruan Chuqing: "Ruan Chuqing, let's leave it at that. Stop talking nonsense!"
"What do you mean by 'nonsense'? I'm telling the truth!" Ruan Chuqing's eyes widened, looking determined to get her way.
"You don't dare to say it, do you? I'll say it for you. After you appear and drive away those lewd men, you take Lin Qingzhu back to the manor as her benefactor, secretly giving her an aphrodisiac. On the way, Lin Qingzhu's aphrodisiac takes effect, and you pretend to take her to a clinic. While she's delirious, you force yourself on her. When she wakes up, you lie and say that the aphrodisiac can only be cured in this way. You even put on an act, pretending to die in front of her to atone for your sins..."
Shen Lixue felt a sudden thud, her slender hands clenched into fists, and her cold eyes flashed with fierce light: "Shen Minghui, you beast in human clothing!"
Enraged, she grabbed something and started hitting Shen Minghui across the face.
Shen Minghui's body was already weak and his movements were slow, so he couldn't dodge at all. He subconsciously raised his arm to block, and the stick hit his arm solidly. With a crack, his arm was broken.
"Ah!" Shen Minghui's shrill scream pierced through the clouds and echoed throughout the sky.
Shen Lixue had considered many possible reasons, but she never expected that he would deceive Lin Qingzhu in such a despicable and shameless way. Thinking of what Lin Qingzhu had written in her diary, her anger flared even more fiercely, and she struck Shen Minghui with the stick, each blow heavier than the last.
"No wonder you were not only unhappy after I returned to the capital, but also targeted me at every turn, helping everyone else to deal with me. You were afraid that if I married him, you would find out that you were the one who plotted against my mother and caused the death of my maternal grandfather. You would lose face, lose your official position, and lose all your wealth and honor. So, you were determined to have Shen Yingxue marry Prince An in my place, ruthlessly trampling me down..."
"Li Xue, listen to me, I love your mother, I love her..." Shen Minghui fell to the ground, beaten so badly that he could only defend himself and had no power to fight back. His coarse cloth clothes were torn to pieces, revealing his skin covered in bruises.
"You love her? Hahaha." Shen Lixue laughed coldly, striking Shen Minghui heavily on the chest with the stick in her hand. Several mouthfuls of black blood spurted out, staining the ground black. "Is your love to push her into the icy lake to freeze her to death in the October sky, or to lock her in a room and burn her to death?"
In Shen Minghui's heart, official position has always been the most important thing. Because of Lei Taiwei's threat, he ruthlessly chose to sacrifice Lin Qingzhu: "Ai, you despicable and shameless villain, do you even deserve to talk about love?"
"I am your biological father. You killed me, which is patricide and will be punished by heaven!" The dense rain of blows came down heavily. Shen Minghui was in excruciating pain all over his body. He kept rolling around, feeling as if his internal organs were about to shift. His body was even numb and about to lose all feeling. If the beating continued, he would definitely die.
Shen Lixue was furious. He couldn't persuade her or break free from her, so he had to use seniority and etiquette to pressure her.
It would have been better if Shen Minghui hadn't brought it up; the more he did, the more furious Shen Lixue became. She intensified her beatings, each blow striking his chest until his face turned deathly pale, large beads of sweat forming on his forehead.