Chapter 137
Chapter 137
[Isn’t the Villain Tempting? Not Really – 7]
Rain had fallen for half a month without pause. A gloomy veil seemed to cover Pingcheng’s sky, turning it a murky gray that weighed upon everyone’s spirits.
When the family gathered for lunch, Father Zhou wore a grave expression. Madam Zhou had watched him leave early and return late with worry etched upon his face for days, so she inevitably asked, “Have you encountered some difficulty in your official duties?”
Father Zhou forced a smile and reassured his wife and daughters. “It is nothing. I will resolve it soon.”
Only after finishing the meal and leaving the front hall did the deep concern show upon his face.
Pingcheng was small, but it occupied a vital passage linking north and south. Everything from the circulation of money and grain to the transport of salt and iron had to pass through it. Its strategic importance went without saying, and for that very reason, countless eyes watched the place.
Father Zhou served as Pingcheng’s Assistant Governor, an official of the lower fourth rank. Yet everyone knew the Provincial Governor was old and had long since ceased managing affairs. Father Zhou was the one who truly made decisions.
He was just past thirty and had spent years frustrated and unsuccessful at court. Only after receiving the Great General’s favor had he been sent here to govern. If he produced worthy accomplishments, he would return to the capital at the end of his term and receive both promotion and important duties.
His term lasted only three years. When it ended, he would be no more than thirty-five, relatively young for a political figure. If he truly returned to the central government, his future path would naturally stretch smooth and broad before him.
But how could accomplishing that be easy?
Pingcheng contained a chaotic mixture of people, while the influence of various factions twisted through one another like tangled roots. The water ran far deeper than Father Zhou had expected. Straightening everything out would require considerable effort.
After Father Zhou left, only Madam Zhou and her two daughters remained at the table. Zhou Shuhui quietly asked her mother, “Mother, what trouble has Father encountered? He hasn’t looked well these past few days.”
Madam Zhou understood something of the matter her husband was currently handling. She could not discuss it with outsiders, yet keeping the worry trapped inside felt unbearable, so she could only confide in her daughters.
She set down her chopsticks and gave them a rough account of the situation, then could not help sighing.
Five-year-old Zhou Shuyao did not understand, but Zhou Shuhui knew exactly how dangerous the matter was.
The circulation of money and grain and the administration of salt and iron were matters of life and death. In transmigration novels, whenever a protagonist served as a Salt Censor or took charge of canal transport, didn’t they always face several deadly dangers?
And this was no mere fictional invention. Marx himself had said that capital would take risks for a fifty-percent profit, trample every human law for a hundred-percent profit, and risk the gallows for a three-hundred-percent profit!
The profits tied to money, grain, salt, and iron far exceeded three hundred percent!
Wasn’t the heroine’s father merely a prestigious civil official with a clean reputation in the original novel? How had he been thrown into a position like this?!
Zhou Shuhui wanted to curse, but she feared her own mother would notice something strange. She lost all appetite and remained on her stool for a long while, struggling with herself, before finally whispering, “Mother, this is far too dangerous. I’m scared. Why don’t we ask Father to resign…”
Madam Zhou took this merely as childish nonsense and smiled helplessly. “Silly child, what foolishness are you saying? Your father studied bitterly for ten years and spent half his life frustrated at court. Now he finally has an opportunity to demonstrate his abilities, and you want him to abandon it? How could that be possible? Even if he agreed, the court would not!”
Before this, Zhou Shuhui simply had not known what office her father held. Now that she understood, unease drummed constantly in her heart, and she felt that something ominous was bound to happen.
Her thoughts churned, and she suddenly felt like crying. She slapped her chopsticks onto the table and exclaimed angrily, “Father was doing perfectly well in the capital! Why did he come here? His life is in danger every day, and he might lose it at any moment. What is any of this for?!”
“Utter nonsense!”
Madam Zhou’s expression changed, but before she could speak, a sharp rebuke came from outside the door.
The old woman then turned to Madam Zhou. “A girl may not need to sit the civil examinations, but she must still read and learn proper principles. What sort of words did Shuhui just speak? You need to discipline this child properly!”
Madam Zhou dared not openly oppose her mother-in-law. Besides, she also believed the old woman’s criticism was reasonable.
Her expression turned stern as she reprimanded her daughter. “Speak less and listen more. How many times have I told you? Why do you never remember?”
Zhou Shuhui looked at the rigid old lady before her and reluctantly lowered her head in acknowledgment. Inwardly, she thought the old woman was incredibly annoying. It was one thing for her parents and younger sister to come here too, but why had this woman come along as well?!
She had never liked this grandmother. The woman approached everything with rigid formality and favored boys over girls, doting single-mindedly upon the male cousin born to Zhou Shuhui’s uncle while caring little for her or her sister. After suffering another scolding, Zhou Shuhui found her even more irritating.
Once Old Madam Zhou finished speaking to her mother and left the two sisters alone with Madam Zhou, Zhou Shuhui pouted and sidled closer. “Why doesn’t Grandmother live with Uncle? Doesn’t she only like our male cousin?”
Madam Zhou had not expected such words from her daughter. Furious, she reached over and pinched Zhou Shuhui’s mouth. “What nonsense are you saying? Your manners are growing worse by the day!”
Five-year-old Zhou Shuyao sat nearby and nodded along in innocent confusion.
Zhou Shuhui fell silent.
There was no saving her.
Her mother had been thoroughly brainwashed by feudal thinking.
Zhou Shuhui could not be bothered to argue. She pretended to have learned her lesson, said a few obedient words, then complained loudly of a headache and claimed she needed to sleep.
Madam Zhou was both angry and frustrated. She muttered that even if she had to spend favors and silver, she would find a palace-trained governess to properly discipline her daughter. Then she tugged her younger daughter’s ear. “Don’t you learn from your sister!”
Zhou Shuhui had just eaten lunch and truly felt somewhat sleepy. She lay in bed drifting for a long while. Just as she was about to fall asleep, a flash of light blazed outside the window, followed by a deafening crack.
A thunderstorm had arrived.
Faint cries of surprise came from the maids in the courtyard, likely because the sudden rain had drenched them. The matrons waiting in the outer room ordered servants to close the windows so rain would not enter.
Dark clouds packed the sky, blotting out every trace of light. The gloom weighed upon Zhou Shuhui’s mood as well.
She sat up. The room was dim, and one glance at the ominous sky beyond the window filled her heart with sudden unease.
Climbing from the bed, she asked the matrons outside, “Has Father returned?”
One matron considered the hour. “It isn’t time for Master to return yet. Besides, with the rain falling so heavily, how could he possibly come back now?”
That was true.
Zhou Shuhui hugged her arms. Her father might hold a fairly important office now, but he still had to clock in and out on schedule. They had only just finished lunch. How could he return so quickly?
That was what she told herself, but the tension in her chest never eased. She waited beside the bed all afternoon, yet her father still did not return.
The terrible weather clearly worried Madam Zhou as well. She sent someone to the government offices to find him, only to hear from a junior clerk that the Assistant Governor had left the city with several men on an inspection and might return late.
The Zhou Family relaxed slightly.
Her daughters were young, so Madam Zhou did not insist that they wait for their father before eating. Mother and daughters shared dinner, then she instructed the nurses to take both girls back to rest while she remained behind to wait.
Unease filled Zhou Shuhui, and she refused to leave.
Seeing this, Zhou Shuyao joined the fuss and refused to go as well. But she was too young to last. Before long, she lay yawning upon the table and soon fell asleep. Madam Zhou quietly signaled for a nurse to carry her back to her room, while she and her eldest daughter continued waiting in the front hall.
Rain whispered outside the windows. Neither Madam Zhou nor Zhou Shuhui felt inclined to speak. Only the sudden pop of the lamp startled them back to awareness.
Madam Zhou sat upright in a daze. “Has my husband returned?”
A matron rose and went outside for news. She returned shortly afterward. “Madam, Master has not returned.”
After a pause, she added, “The lamps are still lit in Old Madam’s courtyard as well. I imagine she is also waiting for Master.”
Madam Zhou sighed anxiously.
Their vigil lasted until the middle of the night. Madam Zhou propped up her chin and yawned repeatedly, while Zhou Shuhui had also grown drowsy. It was then that a messenger reached the Zhou residence, bringing terrible news to everyone who remained awake.
“His Excellency is gone! The carriage’s crossbeam broke. It was dark and raining, so no one noticed. The carriage slid into a mountain ravine. By the time they pulled His Excellency up, he was already beyond saving…”
Madam Zhou’s face turned deathly pale. Unable to bear the blow, she fainted.
Zhou Shuhui’s face turned ashen, her palms icy. She could scarcely believe her ears.
Father was dead?
Father was dead!
But… But…
Her ears roared. Violent grief and agony surged over her and drowned her. The last remnants of coherent thought whispered in despair.
But Father was only thirty-two years old!
Tears silently traced Zhou Shuhui’s bloodless face. Then she began wailing.
Her cries shocked Madam Zhou back to consciousness. The moment she recovered, she pulled her daughter into her arms and wept aloud with her.
Father Zhou had been thirty-two, the pillar supporting their household. Now that pillar had collapsed, Madam Zhou and her daughters were not the only ones crying. The servants wept as well.
The front hall dissolved into chaos. Old Madam Zhou forced herself to come and take charge. After thanking the messenger, she carefully asked how the accident occurred and where her son’s body and the ruined carriage were.
The messenger answered each question, then added, “The heavy rain makes transport difficult. Everything will be brought back tomorrow.”
Suspicion flashed rapidly through Old Madam Zhou’s eyes. She lowered her gaze, ordered someone to see the messenger out properly, then summoned the household steward. Her voice was aged and full of pain. “Take men and bring my eldest son home. He is wandering outside on a rainy night. I fear he may lose his way and never find home again…”
Old tears streamed down her face. Yet she quickly forced her emotions under control and instructed him in a low voice, “His death is suspicious. Keep your eyes open when you arrive. Rain is falling now, and many traces will disappear afterward. Nothing is certain until you see it yourself. Examine the wrecked carriage as well. Zhao Jiulang from our household-didn’t his adoptive father once work as a coroner? Take him with you. Do it quietly and reveal nothing. Have him look for anything unusual.”
The steward had been grieving. Now his heart tightened as he understood the gravity of the matter. He asked no unnecessary questions and immediately nodded.
“You studied alongside my eldest son from childhood and possess the sharpest mind. That is why I entrust this to you,” Old Madam Zhou whispered. “Be careful. No matter what happens, do not rush to step forward. Return home before you report to me!”
The steward answered solemnly, “I will remember. Old Madam need not worry.”
With Father Zhou gone, half the sky above the Zhou Family had collapsed.
Madam Zhou forced herself to order the removal of every inappropriate decoration and sent servants to purchase the necessary mourning articles. A pair of coral earrings still hung from her ears. Seeing her mistress staring blankly into space, the personal maid who had accompanied her into marriage carefully stepped forward to remove them.
Madam Zhou suddenly burst into tears. She snatched the earrings back and clenched them tightly in her hand. “My husband gave these to me on our wedding day!”
Over more than a decade, even a dog would grow dear, much less the man who shared her bed. And her husband had been such a good man.
He was gentle and considerate, an upright gentleman. When she failed to conceive for several years after marriage, he never grew impatient and comforted her instead. Later, she bore two daughters in succession, yet he still took no concubines. Such a fine husband had now abandoned her and their daughters while barely past thirty!
Madam Zhou wept until she nearly lost consciousness, while Zhou Shuhui’s heart shattered with pain. And what must Old Madam Zhou feel, a white-haired mother burying her black-haired son?
But her daughter-in-law and granddaughter had already cried themselves into wrecks. If Old Madam Zhou collapsed as well, the household would truly descend into chaos.
Madam Zhou and Zhou Shuhui wept for half the night, their eyes swollen like peaches. Madam Zhou was older, after all. Once she briefly struggled free of her grief, she hurriedly rose to prepare everything that came next.
Her personal maid stopped her and urged her to change first. “Old Madam is watching matters in front…”
Both ashamed and heartsick, Madam Zhou sent someone to inform Old Madam Zhou, quickly changed into mourning clothes, and began directing affairs in the residence.
The steward Old Madam Zhou had dispatched returned with Father Zhou’s corpse. Several officials who had left the city with Father Zhou the previous night accompanied him, all wearing sorrowful expressions. After offering condolences to Old Madam Zhou and Madam Zhou, they learned that the household had no adult man to manage matters, so they went forward to assist with the arrangements and receive the guests who arrived one after another.
Old Madam Zhou had remained awake all night and suffered a devastating blow. She seemed to age many years before dawn. Madam Zhou urged her several times to rest, but she refused. Only when she noticed the steward looking at her anxiously did she finally nod.
When she reached a secluded place in the rear, the steward arrived shortly afterward.
“Following Old Madam’s instructions, I examined the scene first. Master and the coachman both died from falling into the ravine, but the broken crossbeam on the carriage was suspicious. I feared my judgment might be wrong, so I had Zhao Jiulang inspect it closely. He also said something was wrong. The beam did not resemble wood that had failed from age and wear. It looked as though someone deliberately sawed through it…”
“Master also smelled of wine. Even after rain washed over him for so long, the odor had not faded, which proves he drank a great deal. But Old Madam knows Master. He could not hold his liquor and always exercised restraint. He had gone out on official business. There was no reason for him to drink so much.”
The steward listed every suspicious detail he had discovered. The more he spoke, the more his voice choked. He wiped his face haphazardly. “Old Madam, what should we do next? Give the order, and I will obey. We cannot allow Master to die for nothing!”
Grief that seemed to penetrate the bone veiled Old Madam Zhou’s face. After a long silence, she said, “Investigate that coachman. Find his family and learn how they have fared recently. As before, place caution above everything else.”
The steward departed under orders. Old Madam Zhou remained seated alone, her expression dark as the Buddhist beads raced through her fingers.
Five-year-old Zhou Shuyao could not fully understand what had happened, but Zhou Shuhui was different.
On the surface, she was merely an eight-year-old girl. In truth, she possessed a soul in its twenties. She understood the meaning of death and bore the agony of losing her father with complete clarity.
The pain felt as though someone had ripped her three souls and seven spirits from her body, subjected them to the ten great tortures of the Qing, then brutally stuffed them back inside.
The man who loved her most in the world was gone.
After Zhou Shuyao woke, she repeatedly asked where Father had gone. Zhou Shuhui sat woodenly nearby, listening as the nurse patiently told her sister again and again that Father had gone on a long journey. Irritation accumulated within her until it finally reached the edge of collapse.
“Father is dead! He will never come back! Can you understand that when I say it this clearly?!”
Zhou Shuyao froze in fright. After several blank moments, her mouth opened and she began to cry.
The nurse saw the eldest young lady’s condition and dared not say anything that might further provoke her. She hurriedly comforted Zhou Shuyao and led her elsewhere.
Madam Zhou sat to the side and called weakly, “Shuhui.”
She was both grief-stricken and exhausted. “Don’t behave like this.”
The resentment Zhou Shuhui had felt since the previous day finally erupted completely. “I said Father never should have become this stupid Assistant Governor, but none of you listened! You recited one grand principle after another as though I was throwing an unreasonable tantrum. Now Father is dead. Are you happy?! When all is said and done, that so-called Great General is to blame! If he hadn’t insisted upon arranging this position for Father, how could Father have died?! All of you killed him together!”
Madam Zhou’s expression changed with fury. Staring at the raving daughter before her, she raised a hand and slapped her across the face. “Have you gone mad? What nonsense are you spouting?! Can your father’s death be blamed upon the office he held? Can it be blamed upon the Great General for arranging the position? Why don’t you blame the rain last night? Why not blame heaven for allowing your father to be born into this world?!”
Zhou Shuhui covered her face and stared at her mother in disbelief.
Madam Zhou’s anger had not faded. “If you don’t want to see anyone, return to your rooms. If you don’t want to speak, then remain silent. Your father is gone, and you are his daughter. Do not stain his reputation after death or bring shame upon him. Stop raving here!”
Zhou Shuhui gritted her teeth and said resentfully, “Mother, I think you’re the one who has gone mad!” With that, she stamped her foot and ran outside.
Madam Zhou remained behind alone, angry, wounded, and overwhelmed with grief.
…
The coachman had been a local man, so his family was naturally easy to find. When the steward followed the information to their home, he saw white mourning banners hanging before the gate. They had clearly learned of the coachman’s death. Looking more closely, he noticed people in the courtyard packing luggage and moving furnishings.
The family was holding a funeral, so many strangers milled around. Pretending to be a curious bystander, the steward approached an old woman hired to sing funeral songs. “What is that family doing? It looks as though they plan to move.”
The woman sighed. “The man of the house is gone. His wife no longer wants to live here. Once the funeral is finished, she plans to seek shelter with her brothers in her natal family.”
The steward’s suspicions deepened. He did not hurry away. After watching for a long while, he noticed another clue.
The family was neither poor nor wealthy. If they were moving, they should take every valuable item with them. Yet he saw them leave many light, portable objects behind, locking them in a side room along with the heavy furniture.
There was clearly something sinister behind this affair!
The steward reported his findings to Old Madam Zhou. She remained silent for a long time before finally raising her head. “Summon my eldest son’s wife.”
When Madam Zhou arrived, Old Madam Zhou told her everything the steward had uncovered.
How could Madam Zhou not feel furious when she learned that her husband had died not from natural disaster but by human hands?
She wished she could drag out the mastermind and devour his flesh. Yet she knew her mother-in-law’s judgment far surpassed her own, so she did not rush to speak. She merely said, “What does Mother plan to do? Your daughter-in-law will obey.”
Old Madam Zhou felt somewhat gratified. After settling herself, she said slowly, “My son likely suffered this calamity because he stood in someone’s path and they struck him down without mercy. Whose path did he block?”
Madam Zhou knew a little of official affairs but possessed few details. She thought for several moments, then shook her head helplessly. “My husband mentioned certain matters after returning home, but the information he shared was too limited to judge…”
“Why make the matter so complicated?”
Old Madam Zhou remained calm. “My son arrived here only recently. He was gentle by nature and never made personal enemies. His sudden death could not have arisen from a private grudge, but from conflict over public affairs. If that is so, why not submit the matter to the Great General who sent him here to govern? You and I are women of the inner residence, and there is little we can accomplish. The Great General is different.”
Understanding dawned upon Madam Zhou. She felt both heartsick and moved. “Fortunately, Mother remains here to steady the household. Had your daughter-in-law faced this alone, I fear I would have lost all sense of direction long ago…”
Old Madam Zhou had endured the pain of losing her son, yet forced herself to comfort her daughter-in-law. “My eldest son is gone, so you must care for yourself all the more. If not for anyone else, then for your two children. Raise and teach them well. A daughter’s filial devotion to her parents is no less than a son’s. As for the future, my second and third sons remain. We are all one family.”
Hearing the rare gentleness in her mother-in-law’s voice made Madam Zhou even more miserable. The old woman had lost her son and could not possibly hurt less than she did. Yet she still forced herself to offer comfort. If Madam Zhou continued sinking into despair, she would truly become an embarrassment.
She forced herself to calm down and consider their next actions. “First, we should inform the Provincial Governor. Now that my husband is gone, we will need his assistance with Pingcheng’s affairs. He can order the coachman’s family detained.”
After further thought, she added, “The government offices in Pingcheng may not be peaceful either. We will have to ask the Provincial Governor to devote additional effort and closely guard the coachman’s family. The men who left the city with my husband last night may not be clean either.”
Seeing her daughter-in-law recover her resolve, approval appeared in Old Madam Zhou’s eyes. “The Provincial Governor is old and merely waiting to retire. Were this not a grave matter, I would not wish to involve him. But my son’s death is suspicious. We have no choice but trouble him!”
Father Zhou had served as Pingcheng’s Assistant Governor, the highest official beneath the Provincial Governor. Now he had died in the line of duty. No matter how old the Provincial Governor was, he had to visit the Zhou residence and offer condolences.
Old Madam Zhou was literate, while Madam Zhou had been known as a talented young woman before her marriage. Together, they wrote a plea for help in which every word seemed written in blood, then arranged for the steward to carry it to the capital. When the Provincial Governor arrived, they invited him into the inner rooms and knelt before him together.
The Provincial Governor fell silent.
This had come out of damned nowhere, and his head ached!
Give me back the peaceful retirement I was supposed to enjoy!
But the Zhou mother- and daughter-in-law had brought their plea directly before him and “inadvertently” mentioned that a letter was already on its way to the capital. No matter how desperately the Provincial Governor wished to avoid the affair, he had no choice but handle it impartially. He ordered the coachman’s entire family detained, sealed off the site of Father Zhou’s death, and took control of everyone who had accompanied him that night to await investigators from the capital.
The Zhou Family’s steward rode without rest. After two days and one night, he finally reached the Great General’s residence in the capital on the second evening.
Emperor Gaozu was eating dinner. He accepted the letter and scanned it once. Coldness instantly appeared between his brows. Setting down his chopsticks, he ordered in an icy voice, “Assemble men and depart immediately. You must uncover the absolute truth! If the situation changes, you may requisition the local garrison to assist the investigation!”
His trusted subordinate acknowledged the order and turned to leave, but Emperor Gaozu stopped him. “Wait.”
He added, “Prepare a generous gift and offer my condolences to Old Madam Zhou and her daughter-in-law.”
The subordinate nodded and departed.
Emperor Gaozu picked up his chopsticks, his expression calm, and continued eating.
Lady Zhu and their two sons had long since grown accustomed to this and found nothing strange. Lady Zhu even served her husband another bowl of rice.
He Kanglin, however, looked somewhat surprised. Chopsticks in hand, his gaze wandered deliberately and repeatedly across his uncle’s face.
Emperor Gaozu noticed and asked him gently, “Kanglin, is something wrong?”
He Kanglin looked slightly embarrassed. Seeing no anger upon his uncle’s face, he finally said, “When that gentleman delivered his report, Uncle’s expression looked unpleasant. But now you seem as though nothing happened.”
Emperor Gaozu laughed. “I was angry because someone defied the law and acted recklessly. Once I sent men to handle the matter and investigate the truth, half my anger faded. The rest must wait until the truth emerges and I see whoever caused trouble in the shadows. All of you are my closest family. You have done nothing to provoke me, so why should I show you an ugly face? What sense would that make?”
He Kanglin’s temperament resembled his mother’s: gentle but resilient. Even so, when angered, he inevitably displaced some resentment onto those around him. He was hardly alone. Most people in the world behaved that way.
Back in the Hu Family, Hu Guangshuo had once acquired a beautiful concubine. Unfortunately, both mother and child died during childbirth. Hu Guangshuo’s mood became terrible. He cursed everyone he saw and found every child displeasing. It was not merely the twins. Even Concubine Zhang’s son dared not cross his path. The boy obediently hid in his courtyard for more than half a month, only emerging after Hu Guangshuo had vented his anger and pain.
Because of that experience, He Kanglin felt even more deeply impressed by his uncle’s conduct.
“That is a good habit,” he said. “I want to learn from Uncle as well.”
Emperor Gaozu smiled. “That would be excellent.”
The emperors in the space were still pondering what had happened in Pingcheng.
Li Shimin suddenly said, “Brother, do you think this Zhou official who was likely murdered might have some connection to the heroine of this world?”
Zhu Yuanzhang was equally alert. “They both bear the surname Zhou. There are so many surnames in the world, yet the heroine happens to share his. That is rather coincidental.”
Emperor Gaozu recalled what the white silk had said. He knew only that the heroine was named Zhou Shuhui and the villain was a ruthless man who killed without restraint and massacred cities at the slightest provocation. As a small additional favor, it had informed him that his nephew was the original male lead. Frankly, that hardly counted as a useful warning.
Countless people beneath the heavens bore the surname Zhou. There had to be a thousand girls named Shuhui, if not eight hundred. Where was he supposed to find the transmigrated heroine?
As for the villain, finding him would be even harder.
He Zhenkui had met the Zhou official before and greatly admired his abilities. But no matter how much he appreciated the man’s talent, he would hardly make a special inquiry into whether the official had a daughter named Shuhui. Anyone hearing such a question would conclude that the Great General was not a respectable Great General at all.
Emperor Gaozu frowned slightly. The theory did seem plausible, and investigating it would cost little effort. He summoned a servant and ordered him to find out which members of the Zhou Family remained, with every detail thoroughly examined.
Liu Che clicked his tongue and asked, “If the Zhou Family truly has a daughter named Zhou Shuhui, what will you do? Seize her and kill her immediately?”
Ying Zheng looked disgusted. “Can you stop saying things that sound idiotic the moment they leave your mouth?”
Emperor Gaozu lifted his bowl of soup, blew across it, and slowly took a sip. “What could I do? Her father served the country and died in the line of duty. She is the descendant of a loyal martyr. Naturally, I must treat her generously.”
Liu Che gave a dismissive laugh. “Keep it simple. Speak more plainly.”
Emperor Gaozu laughed. “There truly is no need to interfere. Given how desperately she wants to fling herself at the villain, she will torment herself to death without my help. Why dirty my hands and earn a vile reputation for no reason?”
The System, which had remained hidden for a long time, cautiously emerged. “What if she and the villain truly fall for each other and form a powerful alliance?”
Emperor Gaozu raised an eyebrow without speaking. Within the space, Liu Che already began laughing like a squealing pig.
“Oh my heavens! A powerful alliance! Hahahahaha! That is the funniest joke I have ever heard! Hahahaha!”
The System fell silent.
Zhu Yuanzhang stroked his chin. “I think it is more likely that the heroine will lead us to the villain, allowing us to capture both in one net.”
The System remained silent.
Mockery touched Ying Zheng’s lips. “Why do people never understand? The villain is psychologically twisted, not stupid. He likes a genuine little white flower-a truly innocent, steadfast, and good woman. When he encounters a counterfeit version, he will merely make her entire family wear white mourning flowers!”