"To me, there are only tools, no feelings. If a tool is no longer useful, then it has no reason to exist," Ruan Chuqing said coldly, without even glancing at Su Yuting.
With tears in her eyes, Su Yuting asked sadly, "Mother, all these years, was all your care and concern for me just a lie?"
Ruan Chuqing snorted: "If I don't care about you or take care of you, wouldn't Su Lie suspect your identity? We're as close as mother and daughter, so he won't suspect anything. Only then can you, as a tool, achieve the best effect!"
"Mother!" Su Yuting screamed in anguish.
"Don't call me 'mother' anymore. You're a beggar's daughter; you have no right to!"
Ruan Chuqing raised the corners of her mouth slightly, her gaze towards Shen Lixue extremely cold and arrogant: "I originally planned to keep Su Yuting alive to provoke Su Lie, but since you discovered it in advance, let's get rid of her first, and I'll think of other ways to deal with Su Lie!"
Shen Lixue glanced at the heartbroken Su Yuting, pursed her lips, said nothing, and did not kill her.
"What? You don't want to kill Su Yuting anymore? Then I'll help you out!" Ruan Chuqing raised the long sword in her hand and stabbed it fiercely at Su Yuting.
Shen Lixue and Su Yuting stood one after the other. Ruan Chuqing's sword, after piercing Su Yuting's body, would also pierce Shen Lixue's body. It was killing two birds with one stone. How clever!
Shen Lixue smiled, remaining standing still, and said coldly, "Duke Wen, the truth has come out. Are you still going to continue watching the show?"
Duke Wen? Su Lie? Ruan Chuqing was suddenly stunned. In the moment of pause, Su Lie's tall figure descended from the sky, tightly gripping her wrist with a force that threatened to break it. His sharp eyes blazed with fury: "Ruan Chuqing, you're very good!"
Su Lie was furious and speechless. She drugged him, cut off his lineage, and tried to kill him, then picked up a lowly beggar woman to provoke him. This woman was truly ruthless to the extreme.
"Shen Lixue!" Ruan Chuqing glared fiercely at Shen Lixue, her eyes blazing with anger. Shen Lixue had deliberately lured her into saying those things just to get the Duke of Wen to deal with her. Clever, so clever.
Shen Lixue blinked, her gaze utterly innocent: "You told me the secret yourself, I didn't force you!"
"You wretch!" Duke Wen slapped Ruan Chuqing hard across the face, turning her disfigured face to the side.
"You dare hit me!" Ruan Chuqing suddenly turned her head, her beautiful eyes flashing with fierce light, her small hand like a sharp claw, grabbing fiercely at Duke Wen: "I'll kill you!"
Duke Wen was highly skilled in martial arts, and Ruan Chuqing was no less skilled. The two fought at an extremely fast speed. All the onlookers could see were two figures, one gray and one green, moving back and forth, accompanied by flashes of silver light, which dazzled the eyes.
Shen Lixue released Su Yuting, who was lying limp on the ground with a dazed look in her eyes, and looked at the two fighting. Duke Wen knew that Ruan Chuqing knew martial arts and that she was unwilling to stay in the dilapidated family temple. In addition to the guards, he also sent secret guards to monitor her every move. He never expected to find out this shocking secret.
"Shen Lixue, I'll kill you!" In the midst of the fight, Ruan Chuqing suddenly abandoned Duke Wen and swiftly thrust her long sword at Shen Lixue.
Shen Lixue raised an eyebrow, a cold smile playing on her lips. "You're asking for it!"
Her soft, boneless hand suddenly rose, about to strike Ruan Chuqing, when a powerful gust of wind came from behind, passing right past her and striking Ruan Chuqing hard in the chest, sending her flying four or five meters away, crashing into the wall, and then bouncing back, falling heavily to the ground.
A white robe fluttered past her eye, and the familiar scent of pine wafted through the air. Shen Lixue looked up and saw that incomparably handsome face: "Dongfang Heng, what brings you here?"
Dongfang Heng gently stroked Shen Lixue's pale face, scolding and feeling sorry for her: "Why didn't you send me a signal?" If it weren't for the secret guards sending a message, he wouldn't have known that something had happened to her.
"I can handle this!" There's no need to use too many people to deal with Ruan Chuqing and Su Yuting.
"Don't act on your own again next time and face danger alone!" Dongfang Heng scolded, his eyes filled with concern, not reproach.
"Okay!" Shen Lixue blinked. Today, she would catch Ruan Chuqing and Su Yuting in one fell swoop, and she would no longer be in danger.
"Li Xue!" came the familiar call.
Shen Lixue turned her head and saw it was the War King: "Godfather!"
"It's good that you're alright!" After carefully examining Shen Lixue, the War King was relieved to find that she was indeed unharmed.
"Godfather, take a look at this!" Shen Lixue took out the journal from her sleeve and handed it to the War King.
The War King was taken aback: "What is this?"
"My mother's diary!" Shen Lixue said solemnly, clearly seeing the War King's hand tremble.
"Ruan Chuqing, don't run away!" Duke Wen roared.
"Su Lie, you're asking for death!" Ruan Chuqing shouted, followed by the sounds of fighting.
The War King ignored him, a gentle light flashing in his sharp eyes as he carefully examined the diary. It was Qingzhu's diary. His slender white fingers gently traced the three characters "Lin Qingzhu" before slowly opening the cover.
The four large characters "To Dongfang Shuo" clearly came into view, standing out against the white paper.
Dongfang Shuo's gaze sharpened. This diary was written by Qingzhu for herself.
Turning the page quickly, lines of small characters came into view; the beautiful plum blossom-shaped regular script was none other than Lin Qingzhu's handwriting:
In the 300th year of Qingyan, on the fifteenth of August, as night fell, lanterns were lit throughout the manor. For some reason, I couldn't light my little lantern. I took it to the front yard to find my father and brother. I saw a handsome, elegant, and spirited young man standing beside my father. He was very polite and easy to like. I ran up to him and asked, "Brother, could you help me light this lantern?"
The young man kindly lit the lantern for me and even whispered to me, "With so many people here, why did you make me light the lantern?"
Without thinking, I answered directly, "Because I like handsome guys!"
The young man seemed a little stunned. I don't know what I said wrong, but I definitely didn't lie. He's really someone I like.
A layer of moisture clouded Zhan Wang's sharp eyes. He thought he was the only one who remembered their first encounter, but unexpectedly, Lin Qingzhu not only remembered it, but also wrote it down.
Turning the page further, in September of the 300th year of Qingyan... Father took my brother and me boating on the lake, where we met that young man. I already knew he was the sixth prince, a man skilled in both literature and martial arts, and very intelligent. My brother posed many riddles, and he answered them all...
In October of the 300th year of the Azure Flame Realm... at the grand banquet in the imperial palace, I saw my beloved again...
In the first month of the 301st year of Qingyan... on the Lantern Festival, my younger brother came to visit my father at the mansion...
The War King stared at the pages, his eyes filled with shock. It was indeed a diary, but one written specifically for him, recording every single meeting and conversation he had with Lin Qingzhu, word for word…
Qingzhu likes him too!
The War King felt a boom, his tall body trembled slightly, and his eyes became even more misty. All those years, it wasn't just wishful thinking on his part.
Looking down at the log again, it was the Qixi Festival in the 305th year of Qingyan, a day for couples to meet. Chuqing asked me to go out, and we ran into the young man again. He was now exceptionally handsome and stood out in the crowd. I saw him from more than ten meters away. He was chatting with his friends. I was about to greet him when Chuqing suddenly said, "That man is really handsome!"