The words "one last time" struck Ji Cheng's heart like a sledgehammer.
Yet an even more devastating blow was still to come.
Shi Zhiyi picked up where her son had left off. Her voice remained calm, but it carried a bone-deep chill and resolve, as though she meant to pour out twenty years of pent-up grievances, fear, restraint, and hatred in that single moment:
"Ji Cheng, I hate you."
She stared straight at him, her eyes like two icy spikes.
"Ever since you used your schemes to force me to stay by your side, ever since you condemned Youcheng and me to live in your shadow forever, ever since you began doing whatever it took to serve your own interests... I've hated you."
"I was the one who gave Yun Huai the evidence that you killed your own father. I hope you never get out from behind these walls. Better yet, I hope you die of old age in here."
There was not a ripple of emotion in her tone, yet it was more chilling than the fiercest curse.
"Yun Huai is a good boy. He has more sense than you, and more of a conscience. He understood the situation Youcheng and I were in. He didn't make things difficult for us. Instead, he gave Youcheng a chance to make an honest, dignified fresh start. From beginning to end, you were the only true villain."
At that, Shi Zhiyi gave one final look at the man whose face had twisted with extreme shock, rage, and despair, whose entire body was trembling. As though looking at a stranger who no longer had anything to do with her, she delivered her final words:
"Everything you're suffering now is the retribution you deserve. I never want to see you again as long as