At that moment, Ji Yanzhi no longer recognized Lin Qing at all.
This woman had suddenly torn away every layer of her disguise, her violence carrying something like release, and the splattered blood landed squarely in the cracks of his understanding.
A suspicion stirred faintly in his heart, but the moment that thought surfaced, he pushed it back down in disgust.
"Do you have a grudge against Xu Jiezhen?"
Xu Jiezhen was Ling Xi's mother's name. Lin Qing smiled silently. "If that's a truth you can accept, then that's what it is."
With those words, she left the choice entirely to Ji Yanzhi.
"What really caused my mother's death back then?" Ji Yanzhi looked straight into her eyes and paused briefly. "Was it suicide, or did Ji Shize kill her?"
Lin Qing's gaze suddenly grew unfocused. A long time passed before she murmured, "It was suicide."
"Why? Just because Ji Shize didn't love her?"
"Yes."
Ji Yanzhi's chest tightened, and he couldn't help drawing a deep breath. "If Ji Shize didn't love her, why did he marry her? I don't believe he had no right to refuse back then."
"Shili only became what it is because it sucked the Jiang family dry when it was on the brink of collapse. That's why there's something for you to inherit now."
At that, a self-mocking expression crossed Lin Qing's face. "I was useless, too. If I could have, I would have loved to use you to destroy Shili."
Ji Yanzhi's eyes turned cold. "Just like you destroyed Ji Shize?"
Lin Qing's expression changed again, her smile sincere. "I've had insomnia all these years. No medication ever helped. But when I learned you'd sent Ji Shize to prison yourself, I slept for an entire day and night."
Ji Yanzhi looked at her without