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"What does it matter that she is my daughter?" Li Wan'er looked utterly lost. Suddenly, she lunged at Chen Xuan, or perhaps at Wanwan in Chen Xuan's arms, her face twisted in rage as she screamed, "I regret giving birth to her! If it weren't for her, you would still treat me well. If it weren't for giving birth to her, I would still be your Wan'er, not Wanwan's mother!"
"You've gone mad! You're insane!" Chen Xuan instinctively moved to protect his daughter. But they had all forgotten that Wanwan was no longer there; now she was just an innocent soul who knew nothing and understood nothing.
Li Wan'er collided violently with Chen Xuan, causing him to stagger back several steps. Despite Chang Tai's timely intervention, he was still knocked down. Lying on the ground, he stared at his wife with bloodshot eyes, repeatedly murmuring those five words: "You've gone mad! You're insane!"
Wanwan was confused; she sat on the ground, looking at her mother and then at her father. Finally, she made a decision and reached out, slowly crawling toward the mother who had taken her life.
She smiled sweetly, but Li Wan'er looked terrified. With each step Wanwan crawled toward her, Li Wan'er instinctively took a step back.
Wanwan was puzzled; she stopped and turned to look at her father.
Chen Xuan felt a pang in his heart as he murmured, "Wanwan, my poor Wanwan."
Xing Ruyi could no longer hold back; she walked over to Wanwan and carefully picked her up.
"Li Wan'er, do you see? Even though you personally took Wanwan's life, in her eyes, you are still her mother—the one who gave birth to her and raised her, the one she feels closest to. She still doesn't understand hatred; she only knows that you are her mother."
Li Wan'er shook her head unconsciously, unsure of what thoughts were racing through her mind at that moment.
"Do you know why Chen Xuan named her Wanwan? Do you know why Chen Xuan loves her so much?" Xing Ruyi pressed on: "Chen Xuan named her Wanwan because your name is Li Wan'er. In Chen Xuan's eyes, this child is your continuation and also a continuation of his love. The reason Chen Xuan loves Wanwan so much is not only because she is his daughter but also because she is your daughter. He loves you, which is why he loves Wanwan. Li Wan'er, do you understand? Your originally happy life was not destroyed by your daughter but by yourself!"
Li Wan'er trembled slightly; she slowly raised her head to look at the pained expression on Chen Xuan's face and hoarsely asked, "Is what she said true? No! It can't be like that! She's lying to me, right?"
Chen Xuan's expression was conflicted but ultimately replaced by anger and sorrow. He fixed his gaze on Li Wan'er and said each word clearly: "Yes! Ruyi is lying to you! How could I possibly like you—like someone so malicious as to murder your own daughter? Li Wan'er, I hate you! I regret ever buying you!"
Li Wan'er sat dazed on the ground as if everything in the world had drifted far away from her.
Chen Xuan suddenly got up at that moment and rushed to Li Wan'er, grabbing her collar with his hand. "Tell me! Tell me how my Wanwan died! How did your wicked mother harm her?"
"How did she die?" Li Wan'er raised her head slightly, looking into Chen Xuan's eyes, which were filled with despair, yet tears flowed uncontrollably down her cheeks. "I was jealous! I was jealous of how good you were to her. You patiently coaxed her to eat, coaxed her to sleep, listened to her babble nonsense, and then you would smile foolishly at her happiness. All of this was supposed to belong to me! I couldn't accept it. To make you notice me, to make you remember me, I hurt her. I made her suffer because only when she was in pain would you come to my side. Even though you were still asking about her, at least you looked at me; your eyes had me in them."
Chen Xuan's grip slowly loosened. Even though he had just shouted in anger at Li Wan'er, the pain in his heart could not be hidden. He was inherently kind and never good at hiding his feelings. All the kindness he showed to Wanwan was merely a clumsy way of expressing his affection for this woman before him—his own wife. But he never expected that his clumsiness would ultimately lead to the death of their daughter.
He looked into Li Wan'er's eyes and gently brushed aside the hair from her forehead. "I didn't look at you because you were always tired. It pained me to see you carrying Wanwan all night long; I just wanted you to get some more rest during the day. I coaxed Wanwan to eat and sleep just to help share the burden with you. I know I'm clumsy and can't say sweet words, so I can only try hard to do what I can. Wan'er, you are my wife; you are the one who will grow old with me!"
Li Wan'er cried, and amidst her sobs, there was finally a hint of regret.
"Tell me how Wanwan left us? You didn't do it on purpose, right? I know you didn't mean it. No matter how much you misunderstood me or hated Wanwan, she is still your daughter—the daughter you carried for ten months through hardships before bringing her into this world."
"What does it matter if it was intentional or not? Does it mean that if it wasn't intentional, you could forgive me and we could go back to how things were?"
Chen Xuan avoided Li Wan'er's probing gaze. "I... don't know."
"Fine, I'll tell you—I did it on purpose! That morning, when I saw you reluctantly saying goodbye to her, I suddenly felt so much hatred. There was a voice in my head telling me that as long as Wanwan disappeared, we could live happily like before—just you and me without Wanwan. So I grabbed her delicate neck!" Li Wan'er extended her hands as if they still held the faint warmth of Wanwan: "These hands—the same hands that washed your clothes and cooked for you, the same hands that helped undress and served you at night—I used them to choke Wanwan's neck, and with just a little force, she stopped moving and fell asleep. I was terrified; I feared that when you returned and saw that Wanwan was gone, you'd blame me. So I set fire; I wanted to destroy everything. But the neighbors found out and came over to help put out the fire, and then you returned. You didn't see my panic; all you saw was Wanwan. You held her tightly and shouted her name as if she could come back. I thought you'd yell at me, blame me, scold me—but no, my lord, you didn't do any of that; you comforted me instead, telling me it wasn't my fault and that even though Wanwan was gone, I still had you. Because of your lack of blame or reproach, I felt like what I'd done was somehow right."
Li Wan'er took a deep breath and stroked Chen Xuan's noticeably thinner face: "It feels like we've returned to the beginning again. You watch over me with such tenderness in your voice. You no longer call me 'Wanwan's mother' but instead call me 'Wan'er.' But my lord, I can see you're not happy. You can't eat or sleep; in your drowsy state, you're murmuring Wanwan's name. You've become thinner than before; even when going out, you'd forget to tie your belt. You are such a meticulous person; you're the best teacher in the private school—but because of me, because I caused Wanwan's death, you've changed! My lord, I'm sorry; I've made you love the wrong person!"
In a fit of emotion, Li Wan'er quickly pulled off the red hairpin from her head and stabbed it forcefully into her chest!
"Wan...Wan'er?" Chen Xuan rushed forward to hold Li Wan'er, trying to pull out the hairpin with his hand but was stopped by Li Wan'er.
"My lord, wait! There are still words I want to say to you."
"Wanwan, why are you doing this... why are you being so foolish?"
"Wanwan is not foolish. Wanwan knows that if she continues to live, the master will never forgive her for the rest of his life. Rather than living like that, it is better to die. At least in death, the master will remember Wanwan and those happy days they once shared."
After saying this, Li Wan'er finally shifted her gaze to Wanwan. Wanwan stretched out her hand, desperately trying to break free from Xing Ruyi's embrace.
Xing Ruyi sighed softly. No matter how malicious this woman was or how unworthy of forgiveness she seemed, she was still going to die. Of course, she could save her, but she didn't want to.
She placed Wanwan on the ground and let her crawl onto Li Wan'er's body before turning away. In her line of sight stood Chang Tai. He looked at Xing Ruyi and asked, "Are you okay?"
Xing Ruyi nodded but did not speak.
Behind them came Li Wan'er's voice apologizing. "Wanwan, I'm sorry! Although I know I don't deserve to be your mother, I am also powerless in this situation. The so-called love can blind some people's eyes at certain times."
Wanwan didn't understand, but she felt that her mother was about to die. She looked anxious and wanted to touch Li Wan'er's cheek and hug her neck. But no matter how many times she tried, all she touched was empty air. She turned to her father for help, but he just looked at her with hollow eyes.
Li Wan'er felt the warmth leaving her body little by little. She forced a smile and looked at Chen Xuan, asking him, "Do I look good? Am I still the Li Wan'er you bought back home?"
"You look good!" Chen Xuan cried, unable to comprehend the complex emotions within him.
"You’re lying! I'm not beautiful anymore. My face has many spots that can't be hidden. But don’t worry, I bought some fine powder from Ruyi Rouge shop. Ruyi is nice; she only charged me thirty wen. She also told me that the main ingredient of that powder is Motherwort, which won’t harm Wanwan. But at that time, she didn’t know that I had already harmed Wanwan; no matter what I use now, it won't help my daughter anymore. I, Li Wan'er, the mother of Chen Wanwan, am the one who can truly hurt Wanwan!"
After saying this last sentence, Li Wan'er slowly closed her eyes. A wisp of spirit detached from her body. Chen Xuan saw it but did not move as if he hadn’t seen anything at all. He just held Li Wan'er’s gradually cooling body tightly.
Wanwan was very happy because she could finally hold her mother and happily act spoiled in her embrace.
Li Wan'er smiled gently, radiating a brilliance that belonged solely to a Mother. She held Wanwan and walked up to Xing Ruyi, saying, "I will no longer have the chance to use those precious medicinal powders."
"There is still a way," Xing Ruyi replied with a smile, "I can ask Meng Po to deliver them to you."
"Meng Po? A person as wicked as I am still has a chance for Reincarnation?"
"Yes, but it would be in the Beast Path. However, even as a beast, one should strive to be the most beautiful one."
"Ruyi is right." Li Wan'er smiled. After death, it seemed that all the entanglements of past events no longer existed. She looked down at Wanwan in her arms and asked, "What about Wanwan? Will she live a very good life?"
"She will have a better life than you! Although she may not have Wealth and Honor, at least she will meet a Mother who loves her dearly and a father who cherishes her."
"That's good!" Li Wan'er returned Wanwan to Xing Ruyi's embrace. "The time has come; I must leave!"
"Take care, no need to see you off!"
"Ruyi!" After taking two steps, Li Wan'er turned back and glanced longingly at Chen Xuan. "If possible, please take care of him for me!"
"I'm afraid I cannot promise that. Because in the near future, he will meet someone who can take care of him for a lifetime."
"In that case, I can rest assured!" Li Wan'er said with a faint smile, and her fleeting shadow instantly vanished.
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