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墨書 Inktalez
Outside, there was a moment of silence, followed by the faint sound of a woman crying.
Liu Sirui's body suddenly trembled, and he sprang to his feet, rushing forward two steps before flinging open the door.
Two pale-faced individuals locked eyes. However, things had changed; the chasm between them was now filled with blood.
There was no turning back.
“Qiu Yuan, as you instructed, we brought her here. We heard everything just now,” Luo Dachun said, bending down to pick up a short sword from the ground. “But she took my sword and tried to kill herself.”
Shen Hongyuan's tears had smudged her makeup, making her appear particularly fragile. The woman beside her, holding her shoulder and skillfully controlling her movements, was Han Meilan.
Liu Sirui stared at her, frozen in place as if the world had hit pause.
“It was me…” The female prisoner lifted her head, her voice slightly hoarse as she confessed her crimes without any evidence but mere speculation. “I killed all three of them.”
Liu Sirui had mentally prepared himself for this moment, yet upon hearing those words, his eyes widened in shock, filled with a sense of shattered despair. He murmured, “It’s my fault, A Hong. It’s my fault. If I hadn’t left without saying goodbye, you wouldn’t have misunderstood…”
Shen Hongyuan's beautiful eyes suddenly ignited with anger.
“I have no misunderstanding. The situation is nothing like what you think!”
“Ten years ago, you disappeared without a word, leaving me alone with this inexplicable burden!” The woman pulled out a faded silk pouch from her bosom and threw it at Liu Sirui. Perhaps she threw it too forcefully; after the action, Shen Hongyuan's breathing became hurried.
The dark green silk pouch struck Liu Gongzi squarely on the face and fell to the ground, scattering some remnants of old tea leaves. The pouch must have been frequently handled by someone; its color had faded significantly. The scattered tea leaves were surely from Unaware of Spring.
Liu Sirui slowly crouched down to pick up the silk pouch, holding it tightly in his hand with care.
“I don’t care why you left me. Even if I knew now, it wouldn’t change anything. Ten years have passed; why you left is no longer important. All I know is that everything has gradually turned into hatred—an ever-growing hatred for you and for this world. If you hadn’t left, none of this would have happened; my fate wouldn’t have become what it is now. Because…”
Shen Hongyuan's expression suddenly turned icy cold: “Do you know that the friends you trusted are all wolves in human skin? Do you know that in this chaotic world, loyalty is utterly fragile? Do you know that after your disappearance, those three… violated me?”
They had long coveted her. Without a protector, a beautiful woman could only meet a tragic fate in chaotic times.
When Liu Sirui heard these words, it was as if a bolt of lightning had struck him. He stood there, dumbfounded, mouth agape, staring at her in shock, unable to utter a single word. Not just Liu Sirui, but everyone present was stunned by this sudden revelation.
"That day, I jumped into the river. But Yama King, he refused to take me! Is this fate? Am I meant to become a vengeful spirit in hell, filled with hatred and seeking revenge?" The woman grew increasingly agitated. "But I have nothing! How am I supposed to survive?"
To survive, she relied on her only remaining asset: her physical body. And for revenge, she also depended on this very body. With her frail and powerless form, she had deceived and killed three strong men.
"Lust can be deadly," Shen Hongyuan said with a cold smile. "After ten years, I finally found them, only to discover they all lived in the same place. And once again, I submitted myself to them without them feeling even the slightest hint of wrongness."
They hardly remembered her at all, let alone feel any remorse.
"I have already become a woman of the world. Therefore, I will make them experience the Supreme Bliss of this realm. I will serve them and let them die in the Supreme Bliss of this world..."
"Stop it!" Liu Sirui's tears had begun to flow. A man may shed tears but does so only when truly heartbroken.
He stepped closer, took Shen Hongyuan's hand, and gently placed Unaware of Spring into her palm. "Everything is my fault. This is my heart. Unaware of Spring is something stubborn; its essence of spring will never change. I cannot express my feelings to you nor do I have the right to expect you to understand my intentions. Yet for these ten years, not a single day has gone by without thoughts of you. I did not marry; after returning, I have been searching for you. I hoped you had married and had children safely so that even if I were to suffer, my heart would find some comfort. But..."
Liu Sirui turned to Li Shimin and knelt on the ground. "Your Highness, please show mercy and allow me to take A Hong's death sentence in place of him."
Qin Wang sighed softly and pulled him up. "Sirui, you are a sensible person; how can you speak such foolishness? Crimes cannot be transferred from one person to another! If that were possible, wouldn't I be the culprit for sending you to Eastern Turkic? If we speak like this, where is the justice of national law?"
Liu Sirui's expression changed suddenly upon hearing Li Shimin say: "In this matter, the three deceased were at fault first; however, regardless of the cause and effect, the murderer must bear the guilt. Shen, you hold three lives in your hands; it is only right that you should pay with your life—do you understand?"
Upon hearing this statement, Liu Gongzi's face suddenly brightened with joy. I had been listening intently from the side and now felt a sudden sense of relief.
Where there is "originally," there will be "but!"
"But in a country where weak women are bullied and have no means to seek justice—having to rely solely on their frail bodies to uphold righteousness—that is a national crime. In the future, there will be laws and official authorities that will ensure your safety so that you will no longer need to resort to such means."
I stared at him in shock, feeling a deep admiration for a historical figure for the first time. What a modern concept of justice! It was almost ahead of its time!
Truly a Bright Ruler! He would be a truly great emperor!
“Shen, today I act in the capacity of Official Authorities to punish you; kneel down,” Qin Wang said calmly.
Shen Hongyuan complied and knelt, with Liu Sirui also kneeling beside her.
“Your punishment is to be entered into slavery for life, never to be freed. You will serve in the Si Rui residence and will not be granted the status of wife or concubine.”
The two of them bowed in gratitude.
“What does that mean?” I quietly asked Luo Dachun beside me.
Luo Dachun scoffed, speaking in a hushed tone, “What else could it mean? It means she’ll be a servant for life, don’t expect any status. It’s just a way to keep her humble and unable to hold her head high. But do you think those two care about that?”
In reality, this punishment was nothing compared to the crime she had committed; after all, it involved three living lives.
But this was ancient times, where royal authority was absolute. Moreover, this was the best outcome one could imagine. Those two would surely spend their lives atoning for their actions. For them, being together must feel like happiness.
They asked a few more questions, but I stopped listening as Han Meilan and I began to pack up our things, preparing to return to Wanzi Mountain. Finally, it seemed like things were coming to an end; I could use a break! To be honest, diving into investigations was indeed quite exhausting.
On the way back, Nie Qiuyuan casually mentioned to me, “Shen, she originally didn’t plan on killing anyone on the mountain. She had just started seeing Guan Sheng and intended to have him come down to meet her before taking action. But when she entered the room at night and caught the scent of Unaware of Spring tea, her anger flared up, and that’s when she decided to kill.”
Perhaps this is fate. If she hadn’t acted on the mountain, Guan Sheng’s case would have been handed over to the Official Authorities, just like the previous two cases. Although someone from Wanzi Mountain had died, Nie Qiuyuan would still go see it; however, we would never see the original scene. If we couldn’t see it, this case would be treated as an ordinary Strangulation Case. We might not have been able to capture Shen Hongyuan.
Then she would never have had the chance to see Liu Sirui again or find her way back onto the right path.
Everything would have been different.
"Actually, the taste of Unaware of Spring tea is quite nice," Nie Qiuyuan suddenly smiled lightly, pulling out a delicate pouch from her pocket and handing it to me. "Do you like it? Want to drink it when you get home?"
I nodded with a demure smile.
I thought this pouch of Unaware of Spring was a gift from Liu Gongzi to her, but at that time, Liu Gongzi was only thinking about A Hong and had no mind for such things. It wasn't until much later that I learned it was actually taken by The First Great Thief, who had a sudden change of heart and casually swiped it from someone else.
But none of that matters anymore.
***The Author has fainted***
Is it September now? It must be September, right? On my way home from work today, I suddenly noticed that the lilacs in the district have bloomed, and so have the crape myrtles! Shouldn't they bloom in April?!
After thinking hard, I remembered they did bloom this past April. Moreover, I hadn't seen them bloom in September in previous years!
With the progress of Unaware of Spring, have you all become confused too?
Ever since I joined the Supernatural Channel, everything around me seems to have taken on a supernatural quality. Just now, I saw a dog that had the body of a Chinese Rural Dog but the fluffy head of a Schnauzer. It grinned at me and stuck out its tongue as if it were oddly laughing. Oh my gosh...
In any case, the Unaware of Spring chapter ends here...
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