652: Mourning the Dead [Seeking Monthly Tickets]

Shen Tang toyed with the wick, which was on the verge of going out.

She added lamp oil with a small spoon and said as if making idle conversation, "Sigh, Wangchao, why do some people think 'better to live badly than die well,' while others can scare themselves to death with nothing but their own imaginations? If Qiu Wenyan had just swallowed his pride and made a grand, public return, could Qiu Dulang have openly mistreated him? Let alone killed him. If he'd thrown a tantrum and refused to be escorted back tomorrow, he could've held out until his classmates sent the ransom money and bought his freedom..."

All it took was a thick skin.

Gu Chi gave her the answer. "It's a matter of temperament."

Qiu Cheng's temperament had doomed him to be driven to his death.

"My lord probably doesn't know much about Qiu Cheng's youth. He was born into the distinguished Qiu clan, but its illustrious name weighed on him far more than it honored him. Outsiders thought scions of great families should ride fine horses in splendid clothes and spend money like water. Little did they know Qiu Cheng was strapped for cash. He refused to admit his poverty or show weakness, so he could only keep up appearances. Over time, some things sank into his bones."

The more carefully Qiu Cheng polished his public image, the more praise he won and the higher people raised him. The harder it became for him to face the shame of his reality.

Gu Chi said quietly, "Proud yet insecure, confident yet arrogant. He couldn't, and wouldn't, throw a tantrum and beg my lord for a way to live. And as the loser of a war, facing his clan's mockery and the charity of his elder brother, Qiu Dulang,