"Brother Lu, do you still remember the first time you killed someone?"
"How can I not remember."
"tell me the story?"
"He killed a servant, and he has a good relationship with me, but what about Brother Qiao Xian?"
In the distance, Lu Hanjiang and Qiao Shifang were hiding in the forest with their men. Jin Yiwei's men and horses were ambushing in every hidden corner. There were spider-like leaders. They unknowingly spread a big net, trapping the people.
Both demons surrounded it.
Qiao Shifang looked far away in the direction of Huangfu Manor, with no expression on his face. He said in a cold voice: "He is a painter. He is a good painter and is somewhat famous in the industry. It is a pity."
"Why kill him?" As the sun set, Lu Hanjiang covered his forehead with his hands and looked towards the red flaming clouds on the horizon.
"Someone reported that there were anti-poems on his paintings." Qiao Shifang's tone was incomprehensible, with a hint of disdain mixed with sarcasm.
"You are not timid," Lu Hanjiang said pointedly. He turned to Qiao Shifang and asked, "So, what is the truth?"
"The poem was written by someone else. The only reason is that that person was born in a noble family, so he could easily get through the joints and make the painter a scapegoat." Qiao Shifang said calmly.
Lu Hanjiang nodded and asked, "Brother, you obviously killed a good person by mistake, but why don't you feel any guilt at all?"
"Brother Lu is joking."
Qiao Shifang watched from a distance as the last ray of sunset slipped off the outer wall of Huangfu Manor, and the world turned into the deep black of night. There was only the half-dead chirping of cicadas on the trees above his head, and the gradually rising evening breeze took away the joy of the day.
It's so hot that even people's hearts become cold little by little.
"I was just following orders, so why should I kill him by mistake? Besides -" Qiao Shifang said, the corners of his mouth rising unconsciously: "An ant like that will die as soon as he dies, who cares."
The two looked at each other, Qiao Shifang's eyes were filled with sadness, while Lu Hanjiang smiled and said nothing.
...
Huangfu's house, lobby.
The flames in the copper basin danced faintly, and under the flickering candlelight, Huangfu Yushu's figure became elusive. He was kneeling on the futon, with a meticulous look that no one could fault, but only on his face,
No sadness at all.
Incense candles, coffins, funeral flowers, and all kinds of other things that the Huangfu family can get their hands on are all here at the moment, filling the mourning hall to the brim.
But only when you are inside can you feel how empty it is. Huangfu Yushu's gaze fell directly on the coffin.
There was only unconcealable heat in the air, and the popping sounds of candlelight kept coming. Huangfu Xiaoyuan was lying quietly inside, her peaceful face did not look like a deceased person, but more like a fairy who had fallen into the mortal world, as if she had just fallen asleep.
"elder brother."
The familiar name ringing in his ears was not Huangfu Yushu's illusion. Even if he didn't look back, he could still hear the footsteps of the person behind him getting closer.
She has a face that is 70% similar to Huangfu Xiaoyuan's. If it weren't for the unclear charm between her eyebrows, it wouldn't be surprising if she was mistaken for a young girl waiting to be married somewhere.
"You came."
Huangfu Yushu folded the paper money in his hand into strange-shaped objects and threw it into the copper basin. The weak flame disappeared immediately, but after a while, it struggled to emerge from the corner.
"Ling'er, are you also here to see off Xiaoyuan?"
Huangfu Ling'er is the maiden name of the second young lady of the Huangfu family. She and that person have no parents' relationship, let alone any matchmaking. This name has been with her since she was born, and it is still the same today.
Huangfu Ling'er walked behind Huangfu Yushu, looked at Huangfu Xiaoyuan in the coffin calmly, and said: "Sisters, I'm just not welcome, and I don't know if she is willing to let me give her this last moment. Procedure."
"Little sister, she is naturally willing."
The flickering candlelight reflected in Huangfu Yushu's eyes as dark as night, and he could only be heard saying slowly: "It's a pity that the person who poisoned the poison can't be found, and we don't even know what the poison was. Little sister, go I was in such a hurry that I didn’t leave any clues.”
"Could it be that the old injury has recurred?" Huangfu Ling'er folded his palms on his waist and stood tall behind Huangfu Yushu.
Huangfu Yushu closed his eyes and said: "Although my little sister's injuries are serious, they are not fatal. Although the man's palms are strong, he did not use any vicious methods."
"This is strange. It's not an old injury. We can't find out the inner culprit. Could it be that there is really a poison in this world that can kill people without being visible?" Huangfu Ling'er sighed in distress, as if he was talking about something that had nothing to do with her.
Huangfu Yushu slowly opened his eyes and looked back at Huangfu Ling'er: "I thought it was you who did it."
"My brother's words are a bit too much. He actually thought that I was the one who harmed Xiaoyuan."
Huangfu Ling'er said that he was aggrieved, but he didn't show it on his face. He said something horrifying while talking and laughing: "Whether my girl is dead or alive is just a matter of waving her hand, why bother to do it so much."
"Ling'er," Huangfu Yushu's tone was slightly serious: "Don't say this in front of Xiaoyuan."
"Brother is always partial to Xiaoyuan, no matter what, I just listen to you."
Huangfu Ling'er bent down, picked up a piece of paper money that had fallen on the edge of the copper basin, burned most of it, and returned it to the firelight: "The people outside are waiting for you to make up your mind, brother, what to do, brother." Do you have a good idea?"
"...Originally I just thought that it would be enough to bury those things deeper and make Xiaoyuan happy for a lifetime."
Two lines of clear tears fell from Huangfu Yushu's face, but there was still no sadness on his face, and his eyes were as calm as a lifeless corpse: "When Xiaoyuan went there, I actually said in private I breathed a sigh of relief. No wonder my mother wanted to kill me. Such a beast, inferior to a beast, really shouldn't live in this world."
"Brother, why do you think so?" Huangfu Ling'er's crooked eyes were filled with a smile that couldn't be hidden.
"Xiaoyuan called Daddy at the end."
Huangfu Yushu's movement of putting the paper money in was slightly halted, and the hot little flame found the opportunity to quietly burn his hand, but he seemed unaware of it.
"Xiaoyuan, have you already known about it?" Huangfu Yushu said.
"Maybe, but brother, you know what you mean by that."
Huangfu Ling'er stared at the face that was carved out of the same mold as hers. At the moment when Huangfu Xiaoyuan lay quietly inside, the subtle differences between the two seemed to be being erased.
"When you say you know, you mean Xiaoyuan knows that it was the elder brother she always respected who killed her father and mother?"
"Or, when you say you know, do you mean that Xiaoyuan knows that the hero of the Huangfu family, whom she has always been proud of, is actually a hypocrite wearing a mask?"
"Or--"
The intimate breathing was close to Huangfu Yushu's neck. Huangfu Ling'er gently hugged his body from behind. His green-white fingertips hooked away the tears from the corners of his eyes, and then put in the delicate sandalwood.
He sucked gently with his mouth, and the sparkling fluid between his jade fingers and red lips added a bit of lustful sin to the pale mourning hall.
"When you say you know, you mean Xiaoyuan knows that his real father is actually a bad seed who took action against his own sister?"
－－－－－－Digression－－－－－
Thanks, Duckweed Buyi, for the reward, and thanks to all readers for their recommendation and support.