He Couldn't Bear to Kill Her

Qiao Nanyu's gaze darkened.

There was a road to heaven, but he would not take it; hell had no gate, yet he insisted on forcing his way in.

The panic had vanished from his face, replaced by the vicious ferocity of a cornered beast fighting to the end.

"Lord Gu, I have served diligently in Jinzhou for more than ten years, guarding the northern frontier for the court and keeping the region at peace. Today, His Majesty would condemn me with a single imperial decree-but is there any evidence?"

"Your Highness wants evidence?"

He took a ledger from his sleeve. "These are the accounts of Your Highness's expenditures for training troops in the valley outside the city. Every sum is recorded, clear as day."

He took out a stack of letters and tapped them lightly against his hand.

"These are Your Highness's secret letters to various powers. Yanzhou, Qingzhou, Xuzhou, and even several tribes beyond the pass. Your Highness's messengers made frequent trips, and my men followed them closely. Every letter was copied."

Finally, he drew a map from inside his robes.

"This is a map of the places where Your Highness trained troops. I have sent men to take over the three granaries east, south, and north of the city. The people in charge of the weapons workshop to the west have already been replaced. As for the valley Your Highness is proudest of, His Majesty's men are already waiting there."

Qiao Nanyu's pupils contracted sharply.

"No-that's impossible!"

"Guards! Seize Gu Huai'an! I am the prince of Jinzhou, the very heavens of this northern frontier! You're a mere capital official, and you think you can set foot on my territory and leave alive?!"

The time it took to drink a cup of tea passed.

Gu Huai'an's men did not move, and neither did Qiao Nanyu's.

Gu Huai'an stood with his hands behind his back, his eyes narrowing slightly.

"Your Highness, His Majesty stationed an honor guard of eight hundred outside Jinzhou City, saying they had come to wish you a happy birthday. Those eight hundred men are now waiting outside the manor."

"As for the guards in your manor-they have, every last one, gone to their deaths."

Qiao Nanyu's legs gave out, and he fell back into his chair.

Impossible. How could this be?

What followed came like a fierce wind and driving rain, leaving not the slightest room to turn things around.

The guests, who had only moments ago been clinking cups, came to their senses amid the panic to find themselves courteously "invited" into the courtyard.

Gu Huai'an stood in the hall. His voice was not loud, but it reached every ear with perfect clarity.

"There is no need to panic. His Majesty has ordered that anyone uninvolved in the rebellion will be released once the investigation is complete. However, this case has far-reaching connections, so you must remain in the manor for a few more days. You may leave once everything has been thoroughly investigated."

"As for everyone in the Prince of Jin'an's Manor, they will be executed in half a month."

Those last words fell like a knife, stabbing into the heart of every member of the Qiao Family.

Some cried out in alarm, some covered their mouths, and some went weak at the knees and collapsed straight to the ground.

The Qiao Family was not taken to prison. There were too many of them, so the manor itself became their cage.

Qiao Shuyi rose from the ground, her knees somewhat numb from kneeling. She brushed the dust from her skirt and looked neither at Gu Huai'an nor at the people huddled together in tears. She simply turned and walked along the corridor toward Jinglan Garden.

Gu Huai'an's gaze lingered on Qiao Shuyi for a moment, then swept over the masked man behind her, but he gave it no further thought.

He looked at the crowd filling the courtyard, all of them frantic with fear, and frowned deeply.

Sealing off the manor, counting the people, screening the guests-every last task awaited his attention.

He rubbed the space between his brows and sighed inwardly.

He had carried out everything His Majesty had instructed him to do, but where was his master now?

Zongzheng Heng followed silently behind Qiao Shuyi.

One behind the other, they passed through the winding corridors and walked through the garden, where spring was in full bloom.

The branches of the fringe trees swayed gently in the wind, scattering tiny flecks of white across the ground.

But for those admiring the flowers, things were no longer as they had been.

"Heh!" A shrill laugh came from behind them. "Qiao Shuyi, so this day has come for you too?"

Qiao Shuqin appeared from nowhere, dressed in plain clothes.

"Qiao Shuyi, the Prince of Jin'an's legitimate daughter, so high and mighty, looking down on everyone-how does it feel to become a prisoner overnight?"

She stepped closer, her gaze filled with malicious glee.

"When you killed my mother, did you ever think this day would come for you? When you stripped me down to my undergarment and made me kneel before her coffin, did you ever think this day would come for you?"

Qiao Shuyi turned and looked at her, her eyes cool and clear.

"Elder sister, I'm a prisoner, but aren't you one too?"

"And what if I am a prisoner? It's only one life. If the one sitting high on the throne wants it, he can take it. All these years I've lived, I've had fine clothes and exquisite food, lived freely and boldly, and never denied myself the slightest thing. As I see it, dying is more satisfying than being exiled to Lingnan and reduced to a commoner."

Her smile deepened. "What about you, elder sister? Can't you bear to die?"

Qiao Shuqin bit her lip and forced a cold laugh.

"What have I to be reluctant about? But you-can you bear to leave Young Master Zhigui behind?"

"What's there to be reluctant about? I've always been able to take things as they come. While I'm alive, I fight for whatever I want and take whatever I like. Every day I enjoy is a day gained. As for what happens after I die, what has that to do with me?"

Qiao Shuqin looked at her untroubled face. Her lips moved several times, but she could not say a word.

She had only wanted to see Qiao Shuyi brought low for once, to see her in a sorry state, to see her afraid.

But now, even with the blade of execution hanging over her entire family, this madwoman was still the same-

Untroubled and utterly unconcerned.

Her nails dug into her palms, the pain piercing to the bone, but it could not compare to the hatred in her heart.

Qiao Shuyi looked away from her, turned around, and walked off at an unhurried pace.

They returned to Jinglan Garden.

The maids and servants who had once bustled to and fro in the garden with lowered eyes and meek expressions were nowhere to be seen.

Now and then, soft sobbing could be heard from the side rooms, or anxious, panicked whispers.

They were all going to die anyway, so who would serve whom?

Qiao Shuyi pushed open the bedroom door. The candles were still burning, but no one was attending them.

She walked over and sat down on the edge of the couch. Zongzheng Heng followed and sat beside her.

She raised her hand and removed the silver mask from his face, revealing the handsome features beneath.

The candlelight flickered, leaving his face half in shadow.

She suddenly sighed.

"Zhigui, I'm sorry."

Zongzheng Heng was taken aback. "Why are you apologizing?"

Qiao Shuyi caressed his cheek with tender reluctance.

"I used to say I would give you glory and riches, that I would share all the luxuries of this world with you. It seems I won't be able to do that."

"But fortunately, we haven't married yet, and you aren't a member of the Qiao Family."

"The Qiao Family's misfortune won't reach you."

Zongzheng Heng's gaze grew complicated.

He had thought that, given her you are mine temperament, she would probably want to drag him to his death with her now that things had come to this.

Someone like her would rather destroy what belonged to her than let anyone else have it.

He had always believed that.

Yet she was making plans for his sake.

She was actually afraid of implicating him.

She punished him, humiliated him, carved words into his body, and then said she liked him. Zongzheng Heng had scoffed at such affection.

Yet with death at her door, she was thinking not of herself, but of how she had failed to give him glory and riches, and of how he would live on.

It seemed she... really did like him...

As he was thinking, Qiao Shuyi suddenly grasped his right hand.

Her hand was small and cool. She lifted his hand and slowly guided it to her neck, placing his palm against her slender throat.

"Zhigui."

She tilted her head and looked at him with clear black-and-white eyes, utterly serious.

"I know you hate me. I'm going to die in half a month anyway, so why don't you let me die by your hand? How about it?"

Zongzheng Heng's heart gave a violent leap.

Kill her... with my own hands?

He could feel her delicate throat beneath his palm, and her pulse beating again and again. If he exerted just a little force, she would die in his hand at once.

Zongzheng Heng's fingers tightened little by little.

She closed her eyes. Her face gradually flushed red, and her breathing grew rapid, yet she never struggled or opened her eyes.

She was like a cat with its claws drawn in, lying quietly in his palm and waiting for him to decide.

When she locked him in the water dungeon, when she stepped on his shoulder and forced him to kneel, when she carved words into his body-at every one of those moments, he had wanted to kill her.

But...

Zongzheng Heng abruptly released his grip.

A great gulp of air rushed into her throat, and she began coughing violently.

But as she coughed, she began to laugh.

She threw herself into his arms, wrapped both hands around his neck, and hung on him, just as she had done countless times before.

"Zhigui, I'm so happy. You can't bear to kill me, can you? You like me just a tiny bit too, don't you?"

Zongzheng Heng did not answer. He merely sat stiffly and let her hold him.

She buried her face in the crook of his neck and rubbed against him. Her voice was muffled, but it held a smile.

"Zhigui, do you know? You can't bear to kill me, so even if I die, I won't have any regrets."

Zongzheng Heng's gaze was unreadable.

"Shushu... I just don't want blood on my hands..."

She was going to die in half a month anyway, so why dirty his own hands?