"You and I are a thing of the past. There's no way to start over. I'll never go back to you," Liu Yushu's words were sharper than a knife, showing no concern for Wu Qing who was already on the verge of death.
She quite liked her own harshness. If she had been as tough earlier, her life wouldn't have ended up like this.
Liu Yushu brought up the topic that scared Wu Qing.
Wu Qing trembled and finally couldn't hold on anymore, collapsing into the pool of blood on the ground. His lips were pale, and he gasped for breath with difficulty. His body was getting colder and colder, and his heart was colder than an ice cube.
She didn't want him anymore. He had become the lonely oddball he used to be, living alone in the world.
It's hard for those who have experienced happiness to accept loneliness. Wu Qing would rather die immediately than live alone. Unfortunately, he didn't even have the strength to kill himself now.
Thinking of this, Wu Qing's eyes welled up with tears. The teardrops he tried so hard to hold back accidentally fell, dropping one by one on the ground. "Kill me," he said in despair.
When he cried, her eyes also felt sore, and her heart was filled with pain.
Even though there had been hurts in the past, she decided to forgive him.
"I won't dirty my hands," Liu Yushu choked out.
Wu Qing shook his head with red - rimmed eyes. "Please, kill me. I just want to give my life to you. I just want to die by your hand. No one else but you can kill me."
Liu Yushu couldn't understand. "Why are you so stubborn? I've said I won't kill you." After all, she simply couldn't bring herself to do it.
Finally, he fainted, but she didn't leave. Instead, she cried and stopped his bleeding, applied medicine to his wounds, and bandaged them. She took care of him silently all night, and his life was saved.
In the early morning, she was so tired that she fell asleep unconsciously.
Wu Qing got up in pain. Although he was surprised that he was still alive and that she had saved his life, his heart was filled with mixed emotions. He was more and more confused about her thoughts.
Wu Qing gently stroked the hair on the side of Liu Yushu's face. He gently planted a tender kiss on her smooth forehead. His deep eyes were overflowing with love as he whispered, "My Yushu, what exactly do you want me to do? If you don't want to be my caged bird, why did you save my life? Do you know that by doing this, you'll only make me want to repeat the past?"
Liu Yushu was awakened by Wu Qing's gentle kiss. Her hazy vision gradually cleared. Seeing his cold face in front of her, she dodged him in disgust.
Seeing this, the smile on Wu Qing's face faded. "Are you still angry? If you're still not over it, or if you regret it, you can kill me right now." With that, he picked up the dagger covered with dried blood on the ground and handed it to her, but she waved it away. "I've said I won't kill you. Killing you would be too easy on you. I want you to live. For the rest of your life, you'll have to live with guilt towards me." Only in this way could she vent her anger and perhaps one day let go.
She was weak. The argument with him last night had taken a toll on her, and now she felt dizzy.
"Are you okay?" Seeing her pale face and trembling body, Wu Qing endured the sharp pain and got up to go to the door. "I'll take you out and find a doctor for you."
"No! Don't pretend to be kind," Liu Yushu said coldly. She bent down and opened the bundle on the ground. Inside were seven or eight steamed buns and two flasks of water. She picked up a bun and threw it at Wu Qing, glaring at him. "Whether you can survive depends on your own luck. I won't come to see you again. Take care of yourself."
Wait... Thinking carefully, it seemed...
Wu Qing suddenly realized that she had brought him food before coming. She never really wanted him to die.
The sudden joy made him dizzy. He asked her excitedly, "You still love me, don't you? You do love me!"
"Shut up," she roared in annoyance. Having her thoughts guessed by Wu Qing, she seemed a bit flustered.
Ignoring Wu Qing's pleas, Liu Yushu flicked her sleeves and left. Mu Chan had been guarding outside the door. They had set a secret signal. As long as Liu Yushu knocked on the door, Mu Chan would open it from the outside to let her out.
After Liu Yushu came out, she staggered and fell to the ground. She was suffering from lack of oxygen in her brain and felt dizzy. Mu Chan quickly helped her back to the room.
The doctor came to feel her pulse and said that she was overly sad and over - worked, and not eating or drinking had taken a toll on her body. After prescribing some tonics for her, the doctor left.
Mu Chan made some appetizing dishes and brought them to her, but she couldn't eat at all. Her heart felt as if it was being roasted on a fire, and she was on the verge of exploding.
Now that her family was ruined, how could she have the mood to eat or think about her own health? Just surviving until now had taken all her strength.
After drinking some water, she said feebly to Mu Chan, "Mu Chan, why is it so hard to live?"
Mu Chan felt heart - broken when she heard this. Tears welled up in her eyes, but she dared not cry. She could only choke back sobs and comfort Liu Yushu, "Miss, everything will get better. After getting through this difficult time, there will be good days ahead for you."
Liu Yushu smiled weakly and murmured, "Will the good days come? Do I deserve them?" After going through all these things, she fell into deep self - doubt.
She felt that she had no future. Even if there was one, it would be completely dark.
She had lost both wealth and power. The former legitimate daughter of Minister Liu was now even worse off than an ordinary commoner. The saying "A fallen phoenix is inferior to a chicken" was really true.
"Mu Chan, go and get me some wine. I want to drink," Liu Yushu cried painfully.
Mu Chan panicked. "Miss, you're weak. You can't drink."
"I told you to get me some wine!" Liu Yushu frantically threw the teacup in her hand to the ground. At this moment, she didn't want to face reality anymore. She would rather be drunk and live in a dream.
If only all of this was just a dream. Unfortunately, reality was so cruel.
Liu Yushu drank strong liquor for a whole day and night. After getting drunk, she vomited violently. But since she hadn't eaten anything, all she vomited was sour liquid. She experienced what it meant to be worse off than dead.
Finally, she fainted. Mu Chan rushed to find the doctor again like a madwoman. The doctor managed to save her life with great difficulty. Maybe she was alcohol - poisoned, and she became dull - witted. When Mu Chan fed her, she just swallowed blankly. Mu Chan shed tears and said, "Miss, you can't continue to be so decadent. You have to cheer up. You still have your younger brother to take care of. Young Master Yi is your last relative. For his sake, you have to take good care of yourself and live on."
Suddenly, there was a glimmer of light in Liu Yushu's dead - like eyes. She seemed to come back to life like a frozen person. Tears fell from her beautiful eyes, and she gobbled up the food.
Yes, she couldn't seek death. Although her family had fallen, she was still alive. She had to believe that she would have a chance to rise again. Even if not, she had to take good care of her sickly younger brother. She didn't want her brother to go through all these heavy realities again.
When her body recovered a bit, she went to the woodshed again. She wanted to see if the person inside was dead.
Many days had passed. No one had brought Wu Qing medicine, food, or even water. He should have turned into a corpse by now.
Well, if he was really dead, she would just have someone come and collect his body. She was already numb to death and wouldn't feel any more ripples.
Mu Chan opened the door. Liu Yushu walked in with a candle. The room was filled with the smell of blood and decay. She knew it was Wu Qing's wound that had festered.
"You still came. I thought you wouldn't come again," a hoarse and dry voice sounded from the dark corner. Wu Qing looked extremely haggard. More than half of his hair had turned white. Although he was not even twenty - five years old, he looked as old as a seventy - or eighty - year - old man.
This was probably what they called turning white overnight.
"You deserve this. I'm here to see you off for the last time," she said. She wanted to see him die with her own eyes.
Outside, Mu Chan kept knocking on the door of the woodshed and whispered anxiously, "Miss, it's bad. Young Master Wu is here. He insists on seeing you. He's searched the whole Liu Mansion and is just short of this place. Now he's coming this way."
What!!! No, Wu Chunzhe must never come here!!!
The enmity between her and Wu Qing couldn't involve Wu Chunzhe.