Qiao Shuqin's Hatred

Outside the window, the sunlight was lovely.

Qiao Shuqin knelt on the floor, one hand pressed to her cheek.

"Qiao Shuyi, don't you have a weakness?"

Bracing herself against the floor, she slowly rose to her feet and stood swaying:

"Do you know what someone will do when you drive them into a corner?"

Of course she knew Qiao Shuyi was right.

Which woman in the inner household didn't have schemes staining her hands?

Her mother had indeed harmed Liu Jinyu, but every time, even without evidence, Qiao Nanyu had taken Liu Jinyu's side.

It was the same with her and Qiao Shuyi. They were both his daughters, yet Qiao Shuyi had everything.

When she snatched a man and brought him back to the manor, he indulged her; when she refused to marry, he let her have her way; even when she did wrong, he merely laughed it off.

And what about her? She had nothing.

She hated.

She had hated for so many years.

She hated the blind heavens for giving every good thing to Qiao Shuyi.

She hated that Qiao Shuyi had been born a legitimate daughter, hated that she could have everything without lifting a finger, hated that even when she did wrong, no one dared utter half a word against her.

How she longed to see her fall, just once.

Just once.

She had thought that with Liu Jinyu repudiated, she and her mother could finally have a place in the manor, could finally stand up to Qiao Shuyi for once-

But Qiao Shuyi had slapped her in the face in the most direct way possible.

She had killed her mother.

Killed her.

In that moment, Qiao Shuqin had felt as though the sky itself had collapsed.

Hatred.

She truly hated her so much.

She hated the heavens for showing this woman such favoritism.

She hated that Qiao Shuyi had never suffered a single hardship since birth.

She hated that Qiao Shuyi had lived her whole life as she pleased, without restraint, while she herself had to tread carefully in this inner household.

Qiao Shuyi gazed at the undisguised hatred in Qiao Shuqin's eyes, her heart perfectly calm.

Of course she knew Qiao Shuqin hated her.

But she didn't care.

In truth, before long, everyone in the Prince of Jin'an's Manor would be reduced to ashes along with Qiao Nanyu's rebellion.

She could have spared Song Chengyin and let her die alongside Qiao Nanyu.

But she had killed her anyway.

Because she couldn't wait.

Qiao Shuqin's tragedy had never been her doing.

She, Qiao Shuyi, had been born a legitimate daughter. That was fate, decided by Qiao Nanyu; Song Chengyin herself hadn't been capable enough to hold on to her position as his principal wife.

What did any of that have to do with her?

All these years, she had only wanted to be the legitimate young lady, to eat, drink, play, and live happily as she pleased.

It was Qiao Shuqin and her mother who had provoked her again and again, tripped her up, and struck at her from the shadows.

This time, they had even used despicable means to frame her mother.

If she hadn't been so calculating, if she hadn't trusted no one, if she hadn't been prepared-

Her mother would already have been utterly disgraced, dead without a burial place.

And now, of all things, Qiao Shuqin felt wronged?

What did she have to feel wronged about?

That she had lost her status as a legitimate daughter?

If she had the nerve, she could go to Qiao Nanyu.

Qiao Shuyi gave a derisive laugh.

"I do have a weakness, but I'll keep my weakness well protected."

"Before, in the manor, my weakness was my mother. No matter what you did, as long as my mother suffered no real harm, I could give you a small punishment as a warning and let you off."

Her gaze abruptly turned cold:

"But you just had to make her so heartbroken."

"I'm very angry."

"So I can only make you just as heartbroken."

Qiao Shuqin's pupils contracted sharply.

But Qiao Shuyi didn't look at her again. She merely said coolly:

"Now the estate is full of my people and the Liu Family's people. Even though my mother has been repudiated, she'll live very well. Don't even dream of hurting her again."

"As for now, Zhigui is the only person I care about in the manor."

"But he's with me every day. You can't hurt me, and you can't hurt him."

With that, she walked away without looking back.

Behind her, Qiao Shuqin watched her retreating figure grow more distant, and the hatred pent up in her chest for years finally burst through the dam:

"Qiao Shuyi-!"

She practically shouted, her voice so shrill it cracked:

"I'll make you pay! I swear I will!"

Qiao Shuyi didn't break stride. She merely curved her lips, as though she'd heard a joke.

A price?

The price you'll make me pay is nothing more than a trap I dug for you myself.

Fool.

Qiao Shuqin staggered outside.

She had just crossed the threshold of Jinglan Garden when she heard two low voices talking nearby.

Two maids were walking back, talking as they went, without noticing her.

"...Tell me, Young Master Zhigui and Miss sleep together every day, so why haven't they consummated their marriage yet? The bed's clean every morning."

"I heard Sister Fuzhi say that Miss really likes Young Master Zhigui. He said he wanted to spend more time growing closer to her, and wait until their feelings were deep enough before consummating the marriage. Miss actually agreed!"

"Really? With Miss's temperament, when has she ever denied herself anything? She must really like this young master."

"That's what I think too..."

As they talked, the two looked up and came face-to-face with Qiao Shuqin's pale face.

Their voices cut off abruptly.

Their expressions changed. They quickly lowered their heads, hurriedly curtsied, and fled into the courtyard.

A short distance away, behind a corridor pillar.

Qiao Shuyi leaned against the pillar, watching the scene.

Qiao Shuqin, don't disappoint me.

She raised a hand and smoothed her cuff, her gaze inscrutable.

For the final step between Zongzheng Heng and me, I still need you to fan the waves.

The mourning hall.

White candles wept, their light falling on a pitch-black coffin.

Qiao Shuqin knelt before Song Chengyin's coffin, one hand on its edge, the other stroking the wood.

"Mother... I hate her so much."

She collapsed over the coffin, tears sliding silently down her face:

"I know perfectly well that Qiao Shuyi was the one who killed you. But I... I can't kill her."

Her fingers tightened on the edge of the coffin:

"In this manor, unless there's something in it for them, no one tells the truth or does any real work. I've investigated for days and found nothing. Those maids and old servants all agree to my face, but once they turn around, which one of them takes me seriously?"

"Heh, but... even if I found proof, what good would it do? Would Father really punish Qiao Shuyi?"

She gave a cold laugh.

"You're dead, and he hasn't even come back to see you once. When has he ever cared about you? When has he ever cared about me, his daughter?"

"Mother, do you know? I've made up my mind about all the dowry money you saved for me over the years. I want to spend every last bit of it hiring a killer to murder Qiao Shuyi."

"But I know Liu Jinyu gave her shadow guards who've protected her since she was little. Just as she said, I can't kill her."

"Mother, I'd already fallen into despair. I didn't know what I could do for you."

"But now I've thought of something."

"Doesn't she like that male favorite she snatched back?"

"Then I'll snatch him away. I'll do everything I can to take him. If I can't win his heart, I'll still take him for myself."

"Mother, I'm sorry."

"I can't find a good family to marry into and live out my life in peace, the way you hoped I would. Even if jade and stone burn together, I'll make her suffer."

The mourning hall was silent, save for the soft sound of candle wax dripping.

She knelt there just like that.

After a long while, she raised her hand and wiped the tears from her face with her sleeve.