Chapter Fifty-Six: An Uninvited Guest (2)

Update time: 2013-06-24

Kneeling on the ground, Li Jingru pressed her lips together and nodded.

Lan Shui, having confirmed her suspicions, grew sharper in both gaze and tone, her voice rising, “Why? We are both women—how could you bring yourself to do such a thing?”

Faced with Lan Shui’s question, Li Jingru’s face was filled with regret, her voice laced with guilt and panic. “I lost my head for a moment. I don’t know why I did it. I only wanted him to put on an act to make A’Che misunderstand you, but I truly didn’t expect him to actually do that to you. I swear, I never meant for it to happen! It was him—he was deluded, aiming higher than he deserved. It was all him!”

“Enough!” Lan Shui cut her off, tears streaming silently down her cheeks, falling in shattered drops upon the marble floor at her feet.

Lian Yue listened in a daze, feeling as if what they spoke of was a different story than the one she knew. In her version, there was nothing about Lan Shui’s innocence being compromised. Who was this “he” Li Jingru spoke of, and what had he done to Sister Lan?

No, she had to find out. What exactly had happened back then to bring Lan Shui to tears?

“Sister Lan…”

“Yue’er, please don’t ask. I truly don’t want to speak of it.” Lan Shui opened her eyes, looking at Lian Yue with a pleading gaze. Those unbearable memories of the past—her own shame, Qin Che’s disappointment, the corpse at her feet… If she could, she wished she could forget it all forever.

Lian Yue’s heart twisted painfully. The questions on her lips she swallowed back, nodding in understanding. She then turned her gaze to Li Jingru, who still knelt on the floor, her eyes narrowing with hostility. Lan Shui might not wish to speak, but Lian Yue was determined to uncover the truth—and she was certain Li Jingru was at the heart of it.

“You may get up now!” Lan Shui dismissed her.

Li Jingru looked at her in shock, making sure she hadn’t misheard. Was she really being let off so easily? Was Lan Shui not going to pursue this further? How could she continue her pathetic performance now?

Lian Yue, at this point, was thoroughly disgusted with Li Jingru. Calculating the time, she figured Zizhu’s errand should be nearly done; if Li Jingru kept kneeling, others might think she was terribly wronged. “Hey! Didn’t you hear what Sister Lan said? If you like kneeling so much, go kneel at the Qin residence instead.”

She shot a glare at the maid who’d accompanied Li Jingru. “What are you standing there for? Hurry and help your young mistress up. If she injures herself kneeling, how will you explain it to your young master?”

But the maid didn’t move, head bowed, eyes downcast, as if she hadn’t heard a thing. This only deepened Lian Yue’s suspicion that Li Jingru had planned all of this.

“Unless Miss Lan forgives me today, I won’t get up,” Li Jingru said, wiping her eyes with her sleeve, her attitude resolute. “You suffered disgrace because of me, and I admit my fault. I never thought it would come to this—”

“Silence! Enough!” Lan Shui interrupted her in a fury, her brows tightly knit, her whole body trembling. For the first time, Lian Yue saw Lan Shui as fragile, utterly defenseless.

Lian Yue’s mind went blank. What were they talking about—innocence, Sister Lan’s innocence—what had happened? Covering her mouth with her hand, she could hardly keep herself from screaming.

Suddenly, a figure flashed before Lian Yue’s eyes and charged straight at Li Jingru. When she turned, she saw her elder brother gripping Li Jingru’s neck with bulging veins, his voice a furious roar: “What did you say? Say it again!”

“I… I…” Li Jingru’s face turned red, on the verge of suffocation—no illusion, she really was choking. The hand at her throat only tightened. Li Jingru truly felt death approaching.

Regret overwhelmed her. She’d wanted to see Lan Shui break down, which was why she’d said so much. Seeing Lan Shui on the edge of collapse, she’d even felt a secret joy—until, in the next instant, she came so close to death.

Her unfocused pupils stared in horror at the furious face before her. In the end, she could never surpass Lan Shui. Even now, jealousy and resentment filled her heart.

Why! Why! Why did Lan Shui deserve so much? Qin Che had never forgotten her all these years, even calling her name in his sleep. And now the young master of the Yue family was shielding her just as fiercely. All she had done was state the truth.

“Say it again!” Yue Lingjun was nearly mad. He couldn’t stop replaying Li Jingru’s words in his mind. He didn’t want to believe, but he couldn’t help it. What exactly had this woman done to Lan Shui? Damn her! Damn her!

Li Jingru’s words were shocking, and Yue Lingjun had acted too swiftly. Lan Shui, trembling, kept her eyes closed. Lian Yue’s hatred for Li Jingru reached its peak. Unable to speak, she gripped Yao Yao’s hand tightly.

“Cousin, what are you doing!” That evening, Qin Che had been summoned to his father’s study. On his return, he’d found a letter from his wife on the table, saying she was going to apologize to Lan Shui. He’d rushed here, running into his cousin’s maid on the way, afraid his wife would suffer more humiliation. But this was the scene that greeted him.

He hurried forward, seeing his frail wife, and shouted, “Let go of her!” Yue Lingjun didn’t move, so Qin Che reached out to pry his hand away.

“You’d best not move, or I’ll snap her neck in the next second!”

“Do you know what you’re doing! She’s your cousin-in-law!”

Qin Che hesitated. Meeting Li Jingru’s hopeful gaze, he finally withdrew his hand. He didn’t know what had transpired in this hall or why his cousin was so enraged, but he knew Yue Lingjun was a man of his word.

He could only look for help from the figure he longed for, yet dared not face. “Sister Lan…”

At the sound of his voice, Lan Shui’s trembling gradually stilled. Yet hearing him speak for his wife’s sake, she realized it was time to give up on him. How could a man like this be worth her sorrow?

Lan Shui’s eyes passed over the man who’d caused her grief and fell on the one who’d been angry on her behalf—the boy who’d always called her “Big Sister Lan.” His back was now so broad. Now you see, she thought, why we are not suited. I am unworthy of you.

“Let her go,” she said, her voice weary and drained.

Yue Lingjun’s hand tightened once more before he flung the hateful woman to the floor, wishing he could kill her with the force of it.

Li Jingru, revived, struggled to sit up, rubbing her sore neck and coughing, her eyes full of fear and her heart utterly desolate.

Her husband had only looked at her with affection on their wedding day. Now, his eyes held only that woman; he hadn’t spared Li Jingru the briefest glance. No matter how hard she tried, she could never match a single word from Lan Shui’s lips. It was all wishful thinking.

“Shui…” Qin Che looked at Lan Shui, so close yet so far, sweat beading on his palms and back, his throat tight. He managed just a single word before Lan Shui cut him off.

“You’re just in time. Take her away—I don’t want to see either of you again.”

Her cold and distant words carried no sadness, no trace of feeling, but pierced Qin Che’s chest like a sword. So this is what it means to meet again as strangers.

Lian Yue, silent for too long, finally exploded. “Qin, tell me—did you know about what happened to Sister Lan’s innocence?”

“I…”

“No need for excuses. Just tell me—did you know or not?”

Qin Che nodded helplessly. “But—”

“That’s enough. I understand. You may leave.” She then turned, furious, to Li Jingru, who had just risen. “And you—get out!”

“Cousin, you’ve gone too far! Even if we must leave, at least tell me why. Jingru was wrong, but she’s already suffered a slap from you—why did she almost get strangled? Don’t we deserve an explanation? What does any of this have to do with Jingru?”

Lian Yue looked at Qin Che’s indignant face, watching him still defend that wretched woman, a cold smile curling her lips, as Yue Lingjun’s fist drew ever closer to that loathsome face.

“Careful!” she cried. Li Jingru saw it too, and with a gasp, threw herself in the way, but was pushed aside by Yue Lingjun’s other hand. Qin Che watched his wife thrown aside yet again and tried to intervene, but Yue Lingjun’s fist was already upon him, forcing him to block. The two men became locked in a stalemate.

“Enough! Stop this at once!” Lan Shui’s voice was not loud, but both men immediately lowered their hands. Qin Che cast a complicated glance at Lan Shui before going to help Li Jingru, who lay weak in her maid’s arms, and carefully lifted her.

Lian Yue was about to speak again, but Lan Shui’s look stopped her. If looks could flay a person, the two before her would already be covered in wounds.

“You should leave now,” Lan Shui said. She then took Yue Lingjun, still bristling with anger, by the hand, nodded to Lian Yue and Yao Yao, and left without a backward glance.

Lian Yue watched, astonished—was this, she wondered, a blessing in disguise for her brother? She and Yao Yao followed.

Yao Yao had thoroughly enjoyed the spectacle, though she didn’t quite understand what had transpired. She resolved to question Lian Yue about it later.

For a time, only Qin Che, Li Jingru, and her maid remained in the vast hall. Qin Che drew his gaze from the doorway, looked at the woman in his arms, lifted her up, and sighed softly. “Why put yourself through this? What happened back then was your fault, but you needn’t come here to confess.”

Li Jingru shuddered in his arms, slowly closed her eyes to hide the flickering light within, and rested her head against his chest, saying nothing.

Meanwhile, after walking a short distance, Lan Shui let go of Yue Lingjun’s hand and spoke, “You were too reckless today.”

Yue Lingjun wanted to say something but finally lowered his head, like a chastened child, and murmured softly, “It was my fault. I’ll bid farewell to Aunt tonight, and tomorrow we’ll leave Heluo Prefecture.”

Lan Shui nodded, her figure flashing as she leaped onto a nearby rooftop and vanished into the night. Lian Yue wanted to follow, but Yue Lingjun stopped her. “I’ll go.”

Without giving Lian Yue a chance to react, he too disappeared, leaving only Yao Yao, Lian Yue, and Zizhu, who had followed behind.

“Big Sister Yue, I didn’t quite get what just happened—explain it to me again!” Yao Yao’s curious gaze made Lian Yue’s head ache—she herself hadn’t quite figured it all out yet!