“Tomorrow, we will be able to get rid of Prince Han. The next one we have to deal with is Concubine Yan and Prince Zhou. Don’t you think we should place some informants by their side?” Fu Shui laughed, “That person is Chief Yu.”
Sun Lingshu did not believe him. “Yu He has served Concubine Yan for so many years and is Concubine Yan’s most trusted servant. How could he betray Concubine Yan and side with the Crown Prince?”
“Everyone has ambitions. As long as you can satisfy his ambition, he will be able to do the thing that satisfies you. Sheng Chujun is a perfect example. Even brothers can turn to become enemies, much less a master and a servant.” Fu Shui smiled once more.
Although Sun Lingshu was not smart, she was not stupid. “You men are always full of schemes. No matter what, I have to tell the Crown Prince.”
Fu Shui was stern. “No, you will ruin my plan.”
“I am the Crown Princess and I will be loyal only to the Crown Prince.” From the past till now, she only had one goal. That was to walk with the Crown Prince all the way.
“Fine, if you want to tell the Crown Prince about this, then should we also tell him how you personally poisoned your own sister?”
Sun Lingshu froze as she turned around sharply. “Don’t accuse me!”
Fu Shui made the final decision. “When you poisoned the jujube cakes, I was standing right outside the window.”
In the silence, a pearl rolled out from beneath the cupboard, a shadow was trembling.
Fu Shui’s gaze was penetrating. “Come out!”
Shuangxi stood up from behind the cupboard. She was carrying a jewellery box in her hands with a fearful expression on her face.
Chapter 78.1: A Mournful Song
Sheng Chujun got his hairpin back and was rushing through the garden. He had to quickly get out of here. All of a sudden, someone dashed out from the narrow path beside him and they almost collided.
He held the person’s shoulders and could not help but be surprised. “Shuangxi?”
As soon as Shuangxi saw him, she immediately grabbed onto his wrist. “Sheng Chujun, Hurry! Hurry and go to the Sun Residence. Tell Master and Madam that the Crown Princess was the one that set the poison!”
Sheng Chujun was in disbelief. “Repeat what you just said!”
Shuangxi shouted, “It is true! I heard it personally! The Crown Princess was the once that poisoned the cakes with arsenic and framed Consort Han…”
Imperial Guards appeared, chasing after her aggressively.
Shuangxi hid behind Sheng Chujun in fright. “Save me...I know that that Crown Princess poisoned her own sister. She will kill me to silence me…”
“Bastard!” Sun Lingshu appeared from behind the guards. “You dare to steal my things and still accuse me. How dare you say such malicious things to frame your owner!”
Two imperial guards surrounded them from behind Sheng Chujun. Shuangxi was not prepared and was dragged away by them.
“I am not lying! Everything that I said is real! Believe me, I am telling the truth!” Shuangxi continued to struggle and shout. However, she had no power to resist.
Sheng Chujun did not move. He only looked at Sun Lingshu expressionlessly. So the Crown Princess was the true murderer of Lingwei and his elder sister, and he had just spoken up for her in front of his elder brother! He could not believe it but everything now made sense.
Sun Lingshu tried to cover it up. “Shuangxi has been serving me for so many years, yet I have failed to see her true nature. I could have forgiven her even if she stole or lied. But in order to make excuses for herself, she actually dares to slander me and say that I killed Lingwei. I will not tolerate this. Sheng Chujun, you won’t believe the nonsense Shuangxi said right?”
Sheng Chujun fell silent for a long while. Just when Sun Lingshu was about to lose patience, he spoke, “If I pretend to believe you, things may still be repairable. But I don’t want to pretend and I am not willing to. I don’t care if I can walk out of the Eastern Palace alive today. Because the murderer of my lover is finally standing in front of me. If you want me to pretend to hear nothing and turn and leave, I can’t do it! I just want to ask a question that I have asked myself every single day since Lingwei died. Why? Lingwei is so innocent and pure. She would never hurt anyone, why did you kill her?”
“Okay, since you don’t want to pretend, I don’t have to pretend in front of you either.” Sun Lingshu chuckled bitterly, “Everything was because of you. You said that she is someone that would never hurt others but you are wrong. Ever since the days she liked you, she hurt me. She betrayed me. She could have fallen for anybody but why does it have to be you? Why must it be Consort Han’s younger brother?”
Sun Lingshu slowly got agitated. “She clearly knew that I was fighting with Consort Han and Consort Han has been humiliating me. Why did she want to treat the sister that has doted on her like this? How could she be so heartless?”
Sheng Chujun stared at her. “Lingwei always said that you were a good sister. She had no idea that you had already turned into an evil witch and would do anything to achieve your goals. And what grudge do you have against my sister that you have to punish her with death?” He lowered his eyes and drew his sword. “However, it is alright. After you die, you can suffer in purgatory.”
Sun Lingshu’s eyes trembled slightly. “They wronged me first…”
All of a sudden, an arrow was shot into Sheng Chujun’s chest.
Holding a bow in his hands, Fu Shui stood atop a man made mountain. He coldly ordered. “Sheng Chujun is trying to kill the Crown Princess, kill him!”
Imperial guards immediately surrounded Sheng Chujun and attacked him mercilessly. The heavily injured Sheng Chujun let out a long hiss and swiped viciously, making the guards retreat temporarily. He then stuck the sword into the ground and with his very last breath, he flung his hand out. The purple sparrow hairpin flew past Sun Lingshu’s face.
Sun Lingshu let out a startled cry as she held her face and panicked. “What are you all doing? Hurry and kill him! Kill him now!”
At that very moment, Sheng Chujun’s head drooped down. He was still standing but was no longer breathing.
Sun Lingshu glared at Sheng Chujun’s body and hugged herself. “Perhaps what he said was true. If he was willing to pretend to believe me, tonight would have ended differently. Why was he so stupid? Why would he risk death just to accuse me?”
“Because he loved too strongly.” Fu Shui picked up the purple sparrow hairpin and handed it over to Sun Lingshu. “Because he hated too strongly.”
Sun Lingshu took the hairpin. “Loved too strongly? Hated too strongly?”
“Once a person loves or hates too much, they will turn into someone crazy and have no regard for any consequences.” Fu Shui informed the guards to get rid of Sheng Chujun’s body.
“Wait.” Sun Lingshu walked up to the body. She trembled as she placed the hairpin in Sheng Chujun’s hands. “I don’t regret killing you but I still want to thank you. Thank you for not disappointing Lingwei.”
Out of nowhere, the faint sound of a flute being played filled the air, mourning for the loss of a young life.
Fu Rou looked at Prince Zhou who was playing the flute.
She did not want to come but the sounds from the flute were so miserable that it did not feel human. She thought of Tutor Qian and the sorrowful way he sang back then. In the end, he was gone. Now, she could no longer ignore this pipe sound and had to come over and take a look. It would be for the best if she was overthinking this. However, if he had something on his mind, perhaps she could help him resolve it and prevent misfortune from happening. Time will never stop moving and cannot be turned back. Life was precious.
Prince Zhou seemed to notice her as he lifted his eyes to look at her. He continued to finish playing the song.
“Which palace rule did I break such that Court Lady Fu is alerted?” He was going to remember which one and break it a lot more in the future.