A Long-Held Wish (14) - Asking for It

"He is, after all, my own flesh and blood, my own son..." The lady sighed, then glanced at Xiao Meng, "You must be thinking that if I really liked him even a little bit, I wouldn't have done this, right?"

Xiao Meng paused for a moment, then lowered her head slightly. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw that the space beside her was empty. Xiao Ling, who had stood beside her for so many years, was no longer there, just like Young Master Fang.

She and Xiao Ling served the madam together, served tea and water together, helped the madam do bad things together, covered for the madam and the Master together, and finally obeyed the madam's orders together, indirectly causing the young master's death.

Just a few nights ago, they went back to their room and chatted like best friends, then slept in the same bed as before.

In the darkness, only by keeping each other warm can they feel truly alive, instead of losing their human souls amidst the conspiracies and ugliness they have witnessed.

Xiao Ling's presence had become a habit for her, more like a part of her body and soul.

Now that Xiao Ling is gone, she feels as if she has been severed, as if her soul has been ripped away. She is terrified. Even though the things the madam did were terrible, they still believed that the madam would never lay a hand on them.

But...

"Why aren't you saying anything? Are you blaming me for giving Xiao Ling to the Master?" The lady turned her head and looked at Xiao Meng tenderly, like a mother looking at her child.

Xiao Meng closed her eyes, a bitter smile playing on her lips.

The wife showed no tenderness towards her own son; what she was displaying now was merely a facade.

Her eyelashes trembled, she opened her eyes, and shook her head.

"Madam, I have no right to blame what happened."

"Sigh... Since you don't blame me, talk to me for a bit." The lady turned her gaze back to the study, her teacup tilting, spilling two drops of cold tea onto her skin. "Tell me... if I don't love him, where does this reluctance to let go come from?"

Xiao Meng's lips curled into a slightly mocking smile, though of course, her expression was unseen by Madam.

"Perhaps you've always loved him, but... you have more important things to do, things that require Young Master Fang's sacrifice." Her tone was flat, respectful yet devoid of emotion.

"That makes sense. I'm just not used to it yet." The lady stood up, her stunning beauty undiminished even in the darkness. She told Xiao Meng, or perhaps she was telling herself, "It's just that I'm not used to it yet..."

"Xiao Meng, how are you feeling?"

Xiao Meng felt cold all over, and the wound on her arm was still throbbing painfully, but she said, "Reporting to Madam, it's much better now."

A warm smile played on the lady's lips as she turned and gently touched Xiao Meng's arm. "If I had a choice, I wouldn't want to use your blood. After all... you are the people who have been with me the longest, and the only ones in this world who remember the carefree me I once was."

"But what can I do? That bastard who gave birth to me arranged for you and Xiao Ling, two maids born on an unlucky day and in an unlucky month, to be by my side, all for the same reason, isn't it?" As she spoke, the lady laughed out loud, "A beauty that could topple kingdoms, beauty that will last forever... Hahaha... all for such a trivial matter."

"She just didn't have time to do it. She could never have imagined that I would discover everything, and that she would die before me." The lady lowered her eyes, and her next words seemed to be a soliloquy.

"I hate her, but I am her daughter. My selfishness, my twisted nature, and my despicable behavior are all thanks to her."

"I lost the ability to love someone a long time ago, and my son is no exception. To me, he's just a tool, something to serve my pointless obsessions."

"This gene will continue to be passed down. It's better that he's dead. Rather than let him live in darkness forever, never able to experience love, it's better to end it here." The lady lowered her hand and said easily, "It's over. The curse on my family ends with me. I will no longer breed another victim for those things in the graves, that filthy bloodline..."

Xiao Meng suddenly looked at the lady, her voice trembling.

"You're saying that because of the curse, no one in your family can fall in love with anyone else?"

The lady nodded and sighed, "That's right, not only that, but they are also born with a destructive streak towards others."

"No, you didn't try to resist or change it?" Xiao Meng's fingers trembled, but she hid them in her sleeves so the lady of the house wouldn't notice for a moment. "If someone can break this curse, your family's curse will also come to an end, right?"

"Easier said than done. Do you think I haven't tried?" The woman's voice turned cold. "When I was young, I tried to fall in love with a naive boy. But he was too naive. Even after I stabbed him in the heart, he was still telling me... Don't look at him, don't let his death become a shadow in my heart."

"What is love? I know that boy loves me, loves me hopelessly." The lady smiled, but her body was stiff. She murmured, "But I don't love him, just like Young Master Fang, who died and that's it..."

Xiao Meng suddenly knelt down, tears welling up in her eyes. "No, Madam! You love them! If you didn't love the young master, you wouldn't feel sad at all. If you didn't love that person, you wouldn't have remembered for so long, imprinting his words so clearly in your heart!"

"Madam, perhaps the curse of your family is not that you can't fall in love with others, but that you'll never realize that you've already fallen in love with those people..." Xiao Meng's nails dug into her flesh. Looking at the madam's suddenly changed expression, she choked up and revealed a secret she had kept for many years.

"Moreover, this curse can truly be broken! Young Master Fang... Young Master Fang... fell in love with Xiao Ling a long time ago! Even though he always knew that the medicine Xiao Ling served him was a slow-acting poison at your behest, he drank it all to avoid Xiao Ling being punished..."

"Young Master has already... broken the curse of this bloodline. He lacks no ability, but you..."

"Is what you said true? Why didn't you say so sooner!?" The lady suddenly bent down and grabbed Xiao Meng by the collar. She was even more panicked than when she killed that innocent boy. An unprecedented feeling welled up from the bottom of her heart and quickly spread to her limbs.

"Young Master said it! Young Master said that you don't like him and have always hoped for his death. If you find out about his affair with Xiao Ling, you might kill Xiao Ling to hasten his death." Xiao Meng stared into the madam's eyes, feeling the pressure and trembling from her collar, and paused for a long time.

However, just as the lady's heart was churning with turmoil, Xiao Meng seemed to have given up entirely. She grasped the lady's hand and softly said, "Madam, just because you can't do it doesn't mean the young master can't. You could have seen the young master break this curse that you so deeply hate, but everything... has been destroyed by you."

"With an obsession that you yourself find utterly absurd, you personally destroyed the only hope of breaking the curse."

Xiao Meng's forehead touched the lady's forehead; however, the lady was in no mood to pursue this highly inappropriate behavior.

She whispered in the lady's ear, "Madam, do you regret it? You brought this on yourself."

"No..." the lady murmured as she released her, her noble bearing fading as she sat on the ground, utterly dejected.

"Get out... let me have some peace and quiet."

Xiao Meng obediently stood up and left the lady's room.

She peeked at the lady's condition through the crack in the door, then reached out and closed the door.

"Well done, excellent acting." In the shadows on the other side, where he was barely noticeable, Luo Liang watched the whole show with his arms crossed and gave Xiao Meng a thumbs up.

Clearly, he heard the whole thing.

Xiao Meng wiped away her tears, her body still trembling from excitement.

She crouched in the corner, sobbing, "She killed the young master, sacrificed Xiao Ling, she destroyed all possibilities of ending the curse... Luo Liang, I hate her, but she was my master..."

Luo Liang, playing A Gui, stepped out of the shadows and looked at Xiao Meng with surprise. "Really? You're that into character? Hey, you're really getting heartbroken for the role. How long can you maintain this state?"

"Give me five minutes to calm down..." Xiao Meng covered her face in her sleeve, seemingly trying to compose herself.

Luo Liang thought to himself, "Awesome!"

I had long heard that Si possessed a unique ability when performing divination, which had both advantages and disadvantages; today I have witnessed it firsthand.

Viewers kept refreshing the screen, and some viewers who had never heard of the name "Si" before started asking longtime viewers what was going on with this woman.

[I knew the newcomer would be confused. This ability of hers is passive; she's fine most of the time, but when it comes to role-playing, she becomes one with the character.]

[Perfectly inherits the character's personality, deducing all of the character's background from the information provided by the system. This process will continue until the deduction is complete.]

[Does that mean that when she plays a role, she believes she is that character?]

[No, she remembers that she is a deducer and can do missions, but, well, it's just a bit complicated. You're not wrong to ask this question. For example, right now, just treat her as Xiao Meng herself with the deduction system.]

This is absolutely amazing!

[As mentioned, there are advantages and disadvantages. Her acting never goes wrong, but relatively speaking, it greatly limits her ability to complete tasks. For example, this time, if you asked her to kill the madam, she simply couldn't bring herself to do it because she now believes she is "Xiao Meng".]

[I heard this isn't just any ordinary sacrificial ability; it's something she accidentally obtained during a deduction she went through before. It directly affects her, taking up a sacrificial slot, and she can't get rid of it.]

Luo Liang, like the longtime viewers, knew this.

But it was the first time he had seen it with his own eyes, and he was deeply shocked.

"You know what? If there were a vote for the 'Weird Person' contest, I'd definitely give you one. It's truly eye-opening."

Si finally recovered, wiped away her tears, and stood up straight. "You're too kind."

"You're really amazing. I almost thought you actually possessed all of Xiao Meng's memories." Behind Luo Liang was a young man dressed as a servant, who didn't stand out much. However, for a diviner, someone without any distinguishing features might be the one to be most wary of.

Si Yi's voice was still hoarse when she spoke. She couldn't stray too far from the Madam, or she would be noticed. She cleared her throat in a low voice and said, "No need. Just a half-hearted provocation of the Madam will suffice. After all... she sacrificed Xiao Ling, my best sister."

Luo Liang: "..."

Teammate. "..."

Okay, that's what a truly dedicated actor looks like!

To confirm the progress of the exploration, Luo Liang asked again, "Which parts of your conversation with the lady just now were false?"

Si glanced at him. "Young Master Fang doesn't love Xiao Ling that much. I'm just talking nonsense. This young master is just like Madam, a heartless person. He only pretends to like Xiao Ling to oppose Madam, so that Xiao Ling will become his mole."

"This family truly lives up to their cursed reputation..." Luo Liang sighed. "I always feel that the Madam's storyline is so complicated; if you really get caught up in it, you'll never reach a conclusion. Tsk, this might be the intersection of another deduction and ours. I wonder if anyone has experienced this before."

"Even if it happens, it's none of our business." Si had just finished crying, her face was pale, and she was also feeling dizzy from blood loss due to a severe injury to her arm.

"Liu Xue should be arrested soon. Don't stay with me. You're too conspicuous. Don't implicate me." She resumed her indifferent expression from the daytime, appearing cold and aloof inside and out.

No sooner had he finished speaking than a commotion erupted at the doorway. Because it was late at night, the noise was quickly silenced before most people could even wake up from their dreams.

"Let's go!" Luo Liang knew that staying was not a good option, so he grabbed his teammates and quietly ran towards the gate.

Si, who was left behind, sighed and obediently stood guard in front of the lady's door. Her feelings for the lady were very complicated, but now, she could only be her maid.

Yu Xing, Zhao Yijiu, and Fang Pian were certainly not asleep. Even if they weren't waiting for things to develop, it's perfectly normal for modern people not to be asleep around 11 p. m.

The current situation is as follows.

After nightfall, everyone returned to Zhao Yijiu's room, Yu Xing and Fang Pian hid outside first.

During the journey, Yu Xing made a joke about the fact that the Master's servants were all mixed-gender, and was kicked out by Zhao Yijiu.

After that, the Fang Mansion entered their nighttime rest period. Yu Xing carefully observed the presence of certain spies who were definitely not asleep, while conserving her energy.

He only perked up his ears and tried to pinpoint the location when he heard Liu Xue's voice from outside the door.

The fifth courtyard was too far from the main gate, so the sounds weren't clear. Luckily, it was quiet enough at night, and Liu Xue was howling loudly enough.

Zhao Yijiu slipped out, and the three of them headed towards the Fang Mansion's gate to witness a tragedy that was destined to unfold.

The Master, dressed in a black robe, walked calmly, while his two servants held Liu Xue's arms. One of them covered Liu Xue's mouth with his free hand, while blood dripped from the other's hand.

It was obvious that Liu Xue's mouth had been covered the whole way, and just now, she bit that person, which gave her a brief moment of freedom, allowing her to cry out for help.

Then he was subdued by another person.

Liu Bingxian behind, smiling obsequiously at the Master with a humble demeanor.