Luo Qingcheng raised an eyebrow, her cold demeanor intensifying.
She snorted lightly and left without looking back, causing the little child to cry even harder.
Out of breath? Using such a lie to escape? If she hadn’t canceled the engagement with the wealthy family, Xi Fuhong might have really escaped.
Thinking of this, Luo Qingcheng’s anger grew.
She had warned Xi Fuhong not to get any ideas, but she just wouldn’t listen! This was all Xi Fuhong’s doing, forcing her hand.
Did she have to bind her hands and feet and hang her in the dungeon for her to behave? No, even then, she would still try to escape.
With a bang, she kicked open the wooden door.
Where was the dying Xi Fuhong? Wasn’t she sitting on the bed enjoying the cool air?
“I heard you were out of breath and about to die?” Luo Qingcheng gritted her teeth and said.
Xi Fuhong was terrified when she saw Luo Qingcheng, her scalp tingling.
She nodded tremblingly, only to see Luo Qingcheng suddenly take out a key and throw it on the ground with a crisp clink.
Xi Fuhong was puzzled and didn’t dare to step forward to take it.
Luo Qingcheng glared at her coldly and took a step forward.
“You want to unlock the chains? Fine,” she looked down at her from above, her voice cold, “Trade me your legs.”
Upon hearing this, Xi Fuhong bit her lower lip.
She knew Luo Qingcheng was angry at her for lying, but she just wanted to leave.
Why did she have to stay and suffer? She was just a child from Fog Valley, why did she have to be imprisoned by her? In an instant, Xi Fuhong rushed forward to grab the key, but the next moment, the world spun, and her back hit the bed mercilessly.
The one who pushed her was Luo Qingcheng.
“Do you really want to trade your legs?” Luo Qingcheng’s face darkened, her anger uncontrollable.
Xi Fuhong was in pain from the fall, frowning tightly as she replied, “It’s not a trade! I want to escape!”
“You think you can escape?” Luo Qingcheng glared at her, gripping her hands even tighter.
“Why can’t I escape?” Xi Fuhong gritted her teeth, mustering the courage to retort.
“You’re courting death.” How dare she defy her.
Xi Fuhong struggled hard, but found that Luo Qingcheng’s entire body was pressing down on her, her wrists tightly held, making it impossible for her to get up.
A sense of powerlessness overwhelmed her, and her trembling heart grew more anxious.
She was already afraid of Luo Qingcheng, and thinking of how she was treated before, Xi Fuhong was too scared to look her in the eye.
Now, by defying her, there would be no good outcome.
She might be hung in the dungeon and whipped again…
“Do you want to kill me?” Xi Fuhong raised her head and asked, genuinely wanting to know.
Luo Qingcheng was taken aback by the question.
“Why are you keeping me locked up? Do you want to kill me? Or do you hate me that much? Is that it?” Xi Fuhong forced herself to look directly at Luo Qingcheng.
In those cold eyes, she saw her own miserable state.
Clearly so afraid, yet pretending to be strong.
Suddenly, her nose tingled, and she felt sorry for her situation, even more so for her experiences.
“Because I’m Grandma’s servant, does that make me a villain too? Do I deserve to suffer?” Xi Fuhong said as she cried.
She shouldn’t have shown weakness in front of Luo Qingcheng, but she couldn’t help it.
The bitterness in her heart overflowed, and she couldn’t bear it any longer.
“If that’s the case, just kill me.
If it’s because I’m Grandma’s servant…”
“But Grandma… Grandma abandoned me… She promised to wait for me in Miaojiang, but she left.
Am I still a villain, being abandoned like this? Am I still Grandma’s servant?” Xi Fuhong choked up, unable to speak, tears streaming down her face, a pitiful sight in Luo Qingcheng’s eyes.
Her chest tightened, and Luo Qingcheng released her grip.
“Even if you cry, Gui Po won’t come back,” she said, getting off the bed.
“Even if you cry, a villain is a villain.
Even if you cry… there’s no turning back.” Under her sleeve, Luo Qingcheng’s fist clenched tightly.
How to comfort her? She never knew how to comfort people, nor did she have sympathy.
Xi Fuhong’s current situation was the path she chose.
Once on it, how could she stop? There was no turning back.
In the end, Luo Qingcheng didn’t take back the key, nor did she make Xi Fuhong trade her legs.
Feeling agitated, she left the room.
The cool breeze in the courtyard blew through her long hair, and Luo Qingcheng casually brushed it aside.
Her mind was filled with Xi Fuhong’s sorrowful face, unable to shake it off.
Just then, a little maid ran over in a panic.
Seeing Luo Qingcheng, she quickly bowed, looking very humble.
“Master, Leader Chen is here,” the little maid said, her eyes red and her voice slightly nasal.
Luo Qingcheng responded indifferently.
She went to the front hall, and as soon as Chen Tanghe saw the red figure, he came out to greet her.
But he noticed that Luo Qingcheng didn’t have her usual aura, looking quite exhausted.
Just as he was about to ask, she stopped him with a hand, a warning flashing in her icy eyes.
“Senior Brother, what brings you here?” Her voice was slightly hoarse.
“Senior Brother is here to inform Junior Sister that everything has been arranged,” Chen Tanghe said, looking at her and couldn’t help but ask, “Junior Sister looks very tired.
Don’t overwork yourself.
At this point, you must conserve your energy and not make any mistakes.”
“Thank you for the reminder, Senior Brother.
If there’s nothing else, I’ll take my leave.” Without waiting for Chen Tanghe to speak, Luo Qingcheng turned and left.
She didn’t return to her room but instead walked through the winding courtyard.
The Luo Family estate was quite large, but the entire courtyard had a desolate feel.
Once a prosperous family, now only a dozen or so people lived there.
She vaguely remembered the apricot tree from her childhood, which hadn’t bloomed in decades.
Perhaps it had long since withered, disappearing along with her fading memories.
Luo Qingcheng had everything, yet she had nothing.
She went to the only courtyard in the Luo residence with an apricot tree and slowly pushed open the wooden door.
The room was spotless.
In the large space, there was only a red table with two memorial tablets on it.
They belonged to Luo Qingcheng’s father and mother.
“Your child is unfilial, unable to visit you recently,” Luo Qingcheng knelt without hesitation, the sound of her knees hitting the floor crisp and clear.
She respectfully bowed three times before straightening her back, her expression returning to its usual coldness.
“Father, Mother, your child has found the Tiger Dragon Treasure.
Tomorrow, I will give you an explanation,” Luo Qingcheng’s low voice echoed in the room.
“Father, Mother, if you know this in the afterlife, please bless your child.
The whip manual you entrusted to me will be returned to the Luo Family, so you can rest in peace.”
Her knees ached, but Luo Qingcheng didn’t get up.
The surroundings were silent, even her heartbeat was noticeable.
“Father… Mother… your child… may have done many wrong things, but I have never regretted it.” As if talking to herself, Luo Qingcheng lowered her head, her expression unclear.
“No matter how I treated her, I never regretted it.
Whether hated or burdened with karma, I’m not afraid… even though I’m tired…”
So tired that she didn’t know what tired meant…
“Even if I hurt her… pushed her to the brink… shattered her heart…” Luo Qingcheng’s eyelashes trembled, a cold tear sliding down her cheek.
She wiped it away, surprised to find it was a tear.
How long had it been since she cried? She always watched others cry with cold eyes.
When had she shed tears?
Turns out she still remembered how to cry…
Turns out her tears, like her, were so bitter.
“No regrets.”
Can’t regret, can’t afford to regret.
The path she’s on truly has no turning back…
Xi Fuhong rubbed her empty neck, suddenly feeling a bit uncomfortable.
That morning, Luo Qingcheng actually unlocked the iron ring, not to let her go, but to move her to another place.
Luo Qingcheng prepared a carriage for Xi Fuhong, and once she was seated, she immediately heard the sound of chains dragging on the ground.
Wasn’t she locked up again? Xi Fuhong sighed helplessly.
Was she really being transported like a criminal? This carriage was probably only slightly better than a prison cart.
