Human hearts.
If they are turbid,
everything one sees will be tinted.
Master Lu was just such a person.
He thought that by relinquishing such a great benefit, there was no way this woman would prefer to be a mere maid rather than become the ruler of all the people.
So,
he judged Luo Qiu's thoughts based on his own.
However,
how could the thoughts of Luo Qiu, who had lived for hundreds of years, be fathomed by juniors like him?
If she had wanted to be at the peak of power,
hundreds of years ago,
with her status and abilities, it would not have been impossible for her to become not only the prime minister revered by all but even the female emperor of a country.
But,
what did Luo Qiu do?
She didn't use her devastatingly beautiful face to her advantage. After her sister's death, she completely hid that face and used secret techniques to change to a different one for her deeds.
Even after doing so many bad things, she never showed her sister's face.
Now,
how could she betray her sister for such a trifling gain?
Humans.
Truly selfish and greedy creatures.
He thought that everyone, like him, put fame and fortune first.
When Master Lu died,
his eyes were wide open.
How could he believe that just a moment ago, the woman had smiled so brightly at him, but when she had completely read his memories, she had struck without hesitation.
As if,
he had been nothing more than a pawn to her.
Master Lu died.
Killed by Luo Qiu.
Luo Qiu didn't look back. Behind her, the ground was soaked in blood.
"Courting death," she murmured.
Her hands were already stained with blood.
So why would she mind eliminating these villains who had harmed her sister's family?
She snapped her fingers lightly,
and a flame appeared in her hand.
Luo Qiu tossed it behind her and instantly left the entire manor, hovering in the air.
The raging fire
instantly engulfed the entire manor.
Who could have thought that just before this, there had been laughter and joy in the Nine - Dragon Manor, but it was completely wiped out because of one person.
"Filthy hands," Luo Qiu sneered, looking down.
The reflection in her eyes was not the sky - filling flames but rather the icy snow - capped mountains of the frigid regions.
The red light
was like a fiery snake, devouring all the former glory.
Luo Qiu had already resolved most of the matters on her side.
Before this,
Zhao Shuning had already arrived in Jiangning City.
When she reached Jiangning City, she first sent her mother to the Spatial Palace on a spirit crane and had contacted Banyue beforehand.
He would be responsible for picking up her mother.
It was evening in Jiangning City.
As night fell,
the twilight grew thick.
Normally, this should be a quiet and deserted time, but though it was quiet, there were twice as many people on the streets as there were during a normal market day.
This was the longest and largest street in Jiangning City.
At this moment,
this street
was filled with bustling crowds, yet no one dared to speak.
They just hung their heads.
On the city wall,
stood a man.
The man was dressed in a purple - red robe, and his eyes were filled with fury.
His serious face was brimming with killing intent.
This was Yang Hun.
Originally,
he should have been in the Nine - Dragon Manor this evening, drinking fine wine and enjoying the company of beautiful women. But these small merchants in Jiangning City had given him a good lesson.
Today,
it had been more than two months since the Flower - Seeking Festival.
The Hundred - Flower Fairy had already been selected.
Today was the day when the Hundred - Flower Fairy was supposed to inspect the grandeur of Jiangning City. The Hundred - Flower Fairy was an important figure selected during the Flower - Seeking Festival. Although she was extremely beautiful, Yang Hun had always done a good job in dealing with matters in the capital. Naturally, he didn't dare to act rashly against the people sent from the capital.
During the inspection of the city today,
everything was normal.
The people lived and worked in peace and contentment.
Along the way, many children and women came to admire the beauty of the Hundred - Flower Fairy and pray for her blessings. Everything seemed to be the best arrangement.
In previous years,
Yang Hun had always done a good job in putting on a show.
This year was no different.
However,
what Yang Hun didn't expect was that in the evening, when he was supposed to attend the banquet at the Nine - Dragon Manor, someone went to the Hundred - Flower Fairy's residence and told her that the night view of Jiangning City was very beautiful and that she could take this opportunity to explore it.
Jiangning City was not a very large city, so the Hundred - Flower Fairy had only reached Jiangning City after visiting other major cities.
The Hundred - Flower Fairies every year
were all carefully selected beautiful women, mostly from noble families. Therefore, most of them had never traveled far.
This time, with the opportunity,
the Hundred - Flower Fairy naturally wanted to come out and see the world.
However,
it was in the evening, when Yang Hun was not in Jiangning City, that things happened.
The small merchants in Jiangning City unexpectedly started to hang banners at night and stage a protest.
It was a bustling market.
The Hundred - Flower Fairy naturally noticed this "commotion".
After learning about the situation,
she was filled with indignation.
She even began to persuade everyone to resist together.
So,
things had evolved into the current situation.
More and more people oppressed by Yang Hun joined the protest, and the crowd grew larger and larger.
The commotion caused
was also much greater than what Zhao Shuning had expected.
When Zhao Shuning arrived,
since there was no immediate movement, she calmed herself down and hid among the common people. From time to time, she moved towards the city wall under the cover of night.
Beside Yang Hun,
stood a beautiful woman.
Just by looking at the woman's attire, Zhao Shuning could tell at a glance that this should be the Hundred - Flower Fairy of this year's Flower - Seeking Festival. She was naturally beautiful and clearly from a noble family.
The woman exuded an air of nobility in every gesture.
Judging from Yang Hun's attitude towards her,
the situation should not have reached an irreparable stage yet.
They were talking about something, and it was only after Zhao Shuning got closer that she heard a bit of their conversation.
"Your Highness has been pampered since childhood and was born in the imperial city. You've never lived in a small city like this, so it's easy for you to be deceived by these rascals. They are deliberately framing this official. Your Highness shouldn't be misled by them."
The woman frowned slightly at this moment.
She threw a stack of complaint letters in front of Yang Hun.
"Then I'd like to ask the governor to explain. Are all the blood - fingerprints on these complaint letters fake?"
"I saw with my own eyes tonight the vicious servants from your governor's mansion forcibly abducting a civilian girl, claiming they were acting on your orders. Is that also fake?"
"Moreover, I was personally appointed by the current lord's wife. I'm not some little girl who can be easily deceived. Governor, are you threatening me by putting on such a show in front of me and telling me all these are false?"
The woman was articulate and clear - minded.
When Zhao Shuning saw this,
she thought that the woman was quite to her liking.
However,
when did Gu Zhiruo get married? She really should find the time to see what kind of woman his wife was and what her personality was like.