https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-533-The-Truth-Unveiled-and-Vengeance/13464752/
Chapter 534: A Self-Inflicted Doom
Chapter 534: A Self-Inflicted Doom
Hongxiu leaped down the cliff, catching the rapidly falling Ziyu. She then waved her sleeve, summoning a white silk ribbon to wrap around a tree at the cliff's edge, using it to pull them both back up.
Ziyu's blood soaked through her wedding dress, dripping from her pale, white fingers to the ground.
"Ziyu... Ziyu..."
Xiao Rong'er hurriedly cradled Ziyu in her arms.
She looked at Ziyu's bloodless face and the arrow that had pierced her chest, her hands trembling uncontrollably.
She was on the verge of collapsing: "Ziyu... Ziyu, answer your mother... answer your mother..."
Ziyu's body convulsed, each spasm causing a gush of blood to flow out.
Xiao Rong'er quickly applied pressure to the wound to stop the bleeding.
But it was no use.
The arrow had pierced her heart, snuffing out all her life.
If only she had shown a modicum of mercy to Meng Qianqian, she wouldn't have ended up killing her own daughter.
Ziyu's eyes grew vacant, and she no longer had the strength to convulse.
"Mother will use her energy to heal you..."
Xiao Rong'er clutched her daughter's hand, pouring her inner strength into her daughter's meridians without reserve.
Hongxiu whispered softly, "Lady, Second Miss is gone."
"You're lying!"
Xiao Rong'er fiercely rebuked Hongxiu, "Ziyu isn't dead... she won't die... I'll take her back to the Thousand Mechanism Pavilion... if they can't heal her, I'll find the Medicine King Valley to cure her..."
Hongxiu suddenly turned, her eyes alert as she looked in the direction they had come from. "Who's there? Show yourself!"
Meng Qianqian slowly appeared, accompanied by the mischievous Tanjie.
Hongxiu was stunned.
She wasn't sure whether to be surprised by Meng Qianqian's presence or by the fact that Tanjie, who should have been confined in the Thousand Mechanism Pavilion, had somehow escaped.
Tanjie crossed her arms and looked up at the sky. "Ha, you think a few measly drugs can trick me? Dream on!"
Hongxiu raised her hand.
Meng Qianqian said, "I advise you not to make any rash moves, or you'll end up dead, and no one will be left to protect your lady."
Tanjie nodded. "Exactly! Look at how shaken she is. If I don't keep an eye on her, she might jump off the cliff in despair."
Though harsh, every word struck a chord with Hongxiu.
She retreated to Xiao Rong'er's side, ever vigilant to prevent her from taking her own life.
Xiao Rong'er, brimming with murderous intent, glared at Meng Qianqian, her eyes filled with venom. "You killed my daughter and still have the nerve to show your face? Very well, today you will join her in death!"
Meng Qianqian calmly replied, "Lady of the Pavilion, I understand your pain, but is the one who truly killed your daughter really me?"
Xiao Rong'er's eyes were red and swollen. "If you hadn't secretly switched Ziyu, she wouldn't have died!"
Meng Qianqian said, "So I deserve to die?"
Xiao Rong'er gritted her teeth. "Of course you do... everyone who harmed my daughter deserves to die!"
Meng Qianqian said with a lightness in her tone, "So, you believe your daughter's life is worth more than mine. Knowing this, I'm at ease."
Xiao Rong'er glared at Meng Qianqian, shocked and furious. "You're a madwoman..."
Meng Qianqian smiled. "Lady of the Pavilion, I understand your hatred, but if you blame me for this, you are mistaken.
"I was sealed with the Thousand Mechanism Pavilion's point pressure technique. Do you think I could have freed myself?"
"Even if I had, do you think I have the ability to switch places with someone under everyone's watchful eyes?"
Xiao Rong'er clenched her fingers. "What are you trying to say?"
Meng Qianqian looked in the direction of the Thousand Mechanism Pavilion. "The one who confronted you was not me."
...
In the middle of the night, the gentle spring rain fell, as soft as a woman's delicate touch.
Meng Qianqian held an oiled paper umbrella and passed by the entrance of Mingxin Hall.
A disciple called out to her, "Senior Sister Yan?"
Meng Qianqian turned around.
The disciple, carrying a bucket of paste, stepped out of Mingxin Hall, braving the rain to approach her. "Is it really you?"
Meng Qianqian asked, "You are—"
"It's Peng En. Last time, when I injured my leg, thank you, Senior Sister Yan, for setting it."
Meng Qianqian remembered. When she first arrived at the Thousand Mechanism Pavilion, she had indeed helped a disciple who had fallen and broken a bone.
"Ah, that disciple was you."
Peng En smiled sheepishly. "I was so scared back then, thinking I would be crippled. I forgot my manners, please don't hold it against me, Senior Sister Yan."
Meng Qianqian glanced at the brush and paste bucket in his hand.
He quickly explained, "Many of the wedding characters have been damaged by the rain. The wedding is tomorrow, and the managers have asked us to reapply them tonight."
"Damaged wedding characters are not a good omen."
Peng En looked around and whispered, "Everyone is saying that privately."
"Are you alone?"
"Our Pavilion Master is here too."
After answering, Peng En realized Meng Qianqian was asking about the others who were applying the wedding characters with him.
He awkwardly said, "Yes, they went to eat."
Meng Qianqian said, "I'll help you."
Peng En blushed and stammered, "Ah... this... this is too much to ask? This is a job for servants..."
Meng Qianqian softly said, "If it's inconvenient, then never mind."
"It's fine!"
Peng En hurriedly said, "If we can finish sooner, the seniors will be happy. Senior Sister Yan, please!"
Meng Qianqian returned to the entrance of Mingxin Hall.
She looked at the large red lanterns adorned with wedding characters, her gaze calm and composed. "Peng En, can you not tell anyone that I came to Mingxin Hall tonight?"
...
Meng Qianqian looked at Xiao Rong'er with a faint expression. "Madam, you must have guessed who it was, right?"
Xiao Rong'er shook her head in disbelief. "No... no way..."
Meng Qianqian said innocently, "I thought he wouldn't, but it seems that compared to letting me marry into Prince Jin's Manor, he'd rather push his own flesh and blood into the fire."
Xiao Rong'er shuddered. "That won't benefit him... you're lying... you're lying!"
Meng Qianqian said calmly, "Madam, why deceive yourself? I just let him know that I was about to be a substitute bride for his daughter who would rather die than yield. The one who put your younger daughter into the bridal sedan is your husband. The one who ignored her desperate pleas and shot her through the heart is you."
"Stop it!"
Xiao Rong'er screamed in despair.
"Tanjie, let's go."
Meng Qianqian led Tanjie away.
Xiao Rong'er, feeling as if her insides were being torn apart, asked heavily, "Who are you, really?"
Tanjie looked at Meng Qianqian.
Meng Qianqian paused her steps.
Xiao Rong'er, gritting her teeth, asked, "He would rather risk angering His Majesty than let you marry into Prince Jin's Manor. What is he afraid of?"
Meng Qianqian curved her lips. "Madam, I didn't know at first, but after today's events, I'm fairly certain he has guessed something."
Xiao Rong'er shouted, "Stop playing games with me!"
Meng Qianqian said coolly, "Madam, the people from Prince Jin's Manor are almost here. You'd better think about how to explain things to them."
She looked up at the endless sky, as if gazing at the spirits of the Shang family:
"I am looking forward to this wedding toast."
Today, Qianqian is still hoping for some praise~
(End of Chapter)
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