Chapter 147

Chapter 147

[Isn’t the Villain Tempting? Not Really – 17]

I am a hero’s daughter. How could I ever love a treacherous schemer like you?

“A treacherous schemer…”

Yu Sixian’s face twisted with anguish. He gave a sorrowful smile. “Lulu, we have known and understood each other for years. Is that truly all I am in your heart?”

“What else would you be? Given everything you have done, do you somehow imagine yourself an honorable gentleman and pillar of the realm?”

Mockery crossed Bai Lu’s face as she tore aside his mask without hesitation. “Was it not you who colluded with the Northern Rong and planned to attack the He Family from both north and south? Was it not you who betrayed military secrets to curry favor with the Northern Rong, causing our army’s disastrous defeat and my father’s death in battle? And that was only before you and I met. Have you committed any fewer sins since then? Tens of thousands of civilians died in massacres after those defeats. Is even that not enough?!”

Yu Sixian stared at her. Tears wound slowly down his cheeks. “Lulu, I know there are countless evils in me. I am not a good man, but I truly love you! Other than what happened to your father, I have never wronged you. The world may insult me, slander me, and call me anything it wishes, but you cannot. I truly gave you every good thing in me…”

“I know. But I truly, truly do not care about any of that supposed goodness.”

Tears appeared in Bai Lu’s eyes. “I was only seven when my father died. My mother was pregnant. When she heard the terrible news that he had fallen in battle, shock and grief sent her into premature labor. Neither she nor the child survived. I should have had loving parents and a healthy little brother. But because of you, my family was destroyed in a single night, and I lost everything.”

“And that was only my family. How many soldiers died for this realm in that battle? What agony did their friends and loved ones suffer? Do you know how many wives waited desperately for their husbands to return, or how many children longed to catch sight of their fathers? Because of your scheme, how many homes were destroyed and families torn apart?!”

After the first excruciating pain, the wound in Yu Sixian’s back had gone numb, as though he could no longer feel it. His face was white as paper. Only after a long silence did he force out a defense. “Lulu, I am sorry. I did not know. Back then, I did not know I would fall in love with you. Otherwise, how could I have…”

He saw her expression, and bleakness filled his eyes. His words gradually died away. “Forget it. What use is any of this now?”

Bai Lu nodded. “None at all.”

Yu Sixian fell silent. He merely gazed at her with complete concentration, as if he meant to carve her face into his heart forever so he would not forget the smallest detail, even beneath the earth.

The clash of weapons and shouts of slaughter outside intensified. Several confidants grew uneasy. They wanted to investigate, but they could not abandon Yu Sixian alone. Indecision pulled them in both directions.

Their grim faces made Bai Lu’s vitality shine more brightly. She resembled the sun rising at dawn, radiant with limitless splendor.

Zhou Shuhui had been smiling bitterly through her despair. Even when she heard Yu Sixian call “Lulu” with infinite tenderness, she did not stop.

Let her come. What could Zhou Shuhui possibly hope for now?

She had always tried to make Bai Lu her enemy, and it was true that she had overestimated herself.

But she had never expected Bai Lu to speak on her behalf and tell Yu Sixian to summon a physician to bind her wounds.

Remembering all the obstacles she had secretly placed in Bai Lu’s path and every rumor she had spread behind her back, Zhou Shuhui felt deeply ashamed.

They said a person’s words turned kind when death drew near. She wanted to apologize to Bai Lu, yet that seemed exactly like some stale plot in which a vicious supporting character refused to repent, pretended to be pitiful, begged forgiveness, and later returned to cause more trouble.

Better not.

Bai Lu would not care to hear it anyway.

Yu Sixian’s sword had blinded Zhou Shuhui, but her hearing seemed to have grown sharper. Sitting on the ground, she heard him speaking gently to Bai Lu. She heard the sudden commotion in the outer courtyard, then Yu Sixian’s muffled groan and the conversation that followed.

Zhou Shuhui was so astonished that she lost her voice. By the time she recovered, her emotions had become complicated. Beyond shock, she could not help feeling a measure of admiration.
Bai Lu truly was better suited to being the heroine than she was.

Yu Sixian said no more, and his confidants seemed to have gone mute with him. The shouts of battle in the outer courtyard gradually faded. Zhou Shuhui heard a crisp clatter, followed by several more sounds, some light and others heavy.

Having only just lost her sight, she was not yet quick at identifying sounds. She turned them over in her mind for some time before realizing that the first had been a golden hair ornament striking the ground.

Only one person in the courtyard wore such an ornament: Bai Lu.

Yu Sixian was gravely wounded, and several confidants guarded him. With Bai Lu’s skill, she would not lose ground even against all of them together. Even if the worst occurred and they somehow gained the advantage, there was no reason for them to do nothing except remove the ornaments from her hair.

Zhou Shuhui considered the matter. Bai Lu must have taken off the golden ornament herself. The scattered objects that fell afterward were likely the other jewels from her coiffure.

What a pity.

That headdress was crafted from gold and rubies and worth a fortune. Yu Sixian truly loved Bai Lu. He had specially gathered dozens of master craftsmen, who spent half a year creating it!

Zhou Shuhui had seen it only recently. Bai Lu was vivid and beautiful, and the resplendent gold-and-ruby headdress complemented her perfectly. The sight had been breathtaking. Now it lay in the dirt. Who knew whether the fall would damage it?

Zhou Shuhui mourned its loss, but Yu Sixian was even more stunned. Before his eyes, Bai Lu removed the jewels from her hair and threw them to the ground. Her long hair spilled loose, and with several sharp movements, she ripped apart the red gown she wore and cast it aside.

She had plainly prepared long ago. Beneath the red gown, she wore plain white clothes. She wiped away her lip color and snapped off a flowering branch to pin up her hair. Not a trace of celebration remained upon her. Cool and clear as a shaft of moonlight, she offered the fall of Prince Su’s residence as a sacrifice to the parents she had lost so many years ago.

Though Zhou Shuhui could not see the scene, she could hear it. For some reason, the phrase “pale hands rend the scarlet gown” flashed through her mind, and through the haze she remembered something Bai Lu had said as a child.

Bai Lu truly did sound like the name of a wandering heroine.

Yu Sixian’s face turned ashen with anguish. “Lulu, do you hate me so much that you will not leave me even one last memory? Some people treat everyone around them well, but I treated only you well. Lulu, must you truly be so heartless?!”

“Yu Sixian, you have never understood. I am a person, not an object you raised to display the depth of your devotion. The man I admire should not be kind only to me. He should possess a benevolent heart, show compassion, and treat all people with kindness. The world is so vast. If you are good to me alone, does that not merely prove how narrow your heart is?”

Bai Lu continued, “A person should look far and keep an open heart. I may be only a young woman, but I do not believe a woman’s aspirations should be confined to one man’s narrow and obsessive affection. You expect your so-called devotion to move me until I bind my life and death to yours. You think far too little of me!”

Yu Sixian’s face grew even whiter. The taste of blood surged into his throat again, and he spat out a mouthful.

Dagger in hand, Bai Lu walked slowly toward him. “My first strike did not damage your vital heart channels. As long as you do not exert yourself violently, you will not die for a little while…”

Light and hope suddenly entered Yu Sixian’s eyes. But Bai Lu smiled faintly. “I did not spare you because you hold some place in my heart or because I could not bear to kill you. Nor did I miss through lack of skill. I simply wanted you to live a little longer, long enough to watch Prince Su’s faction collapse and Jingzhou fall. That is all! You still do not know, do you? I led the men from Fuzhou into the city. And my aunt’s family-you personally welcomed them through the gates! Jingzhou is finished!”

Yu Sixian’s face changed abruptly. His confidants looked horrified, and one shouted, “Bai Lu, what a vicious heart you have!”

“Vicious? I do not think so.”

Bai Lu arched a graceful brow and sighed. “Yu Sixian, your father, Prince Su, is a member of the imperial clan. In terms of his former reputation, he far surpassed Chancellor He. Yet now everyone in Jingzhou curses his name. Have you ever wondered why?”

Hearing her extol He Kanglin so highly left Yu Sixian feeling far more than mere shame and fury. He leaned weakly against a confidant and glared at her, unable to utter a single word in rebuttal.
At that moment, the outer courtyard fell completely silent. A cadence of perfectly synchronized footsteps followed. They stopped at the entrance, and a middle-aged scholar walked inside. It was Tan Yan.

After entering, Tan Yan bowed to Bai Lu and said with a smile, “The deed is done. Our army has taken Jingzhou. On behalf of the governor, I thank Miss Bai for her aid!”

Bai Lu returned the courtesy. “I did only what I ought. There is no need for such thanks, Master Tan.”

Yu Sixian’s final sliver of hope shattered. Betrayal by the woman he loved and the collapse of his lifelong ambitions struck him together. He coughed up another mouthful of blood, and his gaze lost focus.

The soldiers Tan Yan had brought entered and seized the remaining confidants. Seeing the situation was hopeless, the men did not resist. They submitted dejectedly.

Tan Yan asked Bai Lu, “Now that matters here are settled, what do you plan to do?”

“There is nothing here I will miss. I will leave for the north today and pay my respects at my parents’ graves. I will tell them Yu Sixian is dead and Jingzhou has fallen.”

Tan Yan grew solemn. “General Bai sacrificed his life for the realm and was a true pillar of the nation. The governor said before that once affairs in Jingzhou were resolved, he would travel north personally to pay his respects!”

Bai Lu asked him to convey her gratitude to He Kanglin. Tan Yan produced travel documents he had prepared in advance and handed them over. “These will make your journey easier. If you need assistance, you may ask the local government offices for help.”

“Thank you,” Bai Lu said sincerely.

Her luggage had long been packed. All she needed to do was mount her horse and depart. She bade farewell to Tan Yan and started to turn away, only to glimpse Zhou Shuhui sitting nearby with blood and tears covering her face. She stopped and called, “Hey.”

The voice sounded very close. Zhou Shuhui lifted her head in confusion. “Are you talking to me?”

“Who else would I mean?”

Bai Lu said, “Zhou Shuhui, do you know that I genuinely despise you?”

Zhou Shuhui lowered her head bleakly. “I know.”

“But no matter how detestable you are, you do not deserve death.”

Bai Lu continued, “I have already spoken to Master Tan and asked him to send you home to the Zhou Family. Old Madam Zhou died during your second year in Jingzhou. Your mother lost her husband, then her daughter. After the mother-in-law she depended upon also passed away, she wept constantly and damaged her eyes…”

She sighed, compassion entering her voice. “Your father was a good official, and the Zhou Family has always possessed an honorable name. Unfortunately, you… Go home. Since you were fortunate enough to be born human, you ought to possess some conscience.”

With one last nod to Tan Yan, she turned to leave.

“Wait!” Zhou Shuhui groped her way to her feet. “Bai Lu, don’t go!”

She pleaded in panic, “I don’t know anyone but you. If you send me back…”

Bai Lu was so angry she laughed. She turned, spat, and said, “Screw you! I am not your mother. Why should I look after you? Arranging for someone to send you home is already more than generous, and now you want to take advantage of me!”

“I am going to pay respects to my parents. I have no time to escort you!”

She continued irritably, “If you trust me, let Master Tan arrange your journey. If you do not, remain here blind. Whether you live or die is your choice!”

Zhou Shuhui’s face twisted with fear. “I am sorry. I truly am sorry. I know I was wrong! Bai Lu, please be merciful one more time and take me home. I don’t trust anyone else. I will die!”

An attendant led over Bai Lu’s horse and presented her luggage with both hands. She took it and swung into the saddle. “What the hell does that have to do with me? Do you imagine I knew nothing about all the trouble you caused me in secret over the years?!”

Bai Lu held her riding crop and scoffed. “Don’t you know that we wandering heroines draw a clear line between those we love and those we hate?!”

She ignored Zhou Shuhui and merely cupped her hands toward Tan Yan. “Until we meet again, Master Tan!”

Tan Yan smiled. “Safe travels, Miss Bai.”

Bai Lu smiled in return, settled her conical hat upon her head, cracked her crop, and rode away.