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墨書 Inktalez
Ajin was choking, her face turning red as she struggled to pry open the iron grip of the person holding her. Despite her efforts, she could only gasp for help, "Help, help me, Afu brother, please..."
At that moment, Jiang Wei had lost all reason, his eyes wide with fury and bloodshot, engulfed in chaos. "I am not your brother! I am not! Not..."
"Bang!" The door was forcefully burst open from the outside, and Afu rushed in with a panicked expression, grabbing Jiang Wei's arm. "Master, stop!"
"Get away!"
Jiang Wei's arms were like iron bands, tightly constricting Aqin's delicate white neck. He shook off Afu and shouted angrily, "Say it! Say you are not my sister! Say it!"
At this moment, Aqin's face had turned crimson, and the signs of suffocation were becoming apparent. Her eyes bulged as she kicked desperately in the air, fear overwhelming her. "Don't... don't kill me! I... I don't want to die."
Seeing this, Afu gritted his teeth and made a decisive move. "Master, I’m sorry."
With a swift chop to Jiang Wei's neck, he finally managed to make him release his grip before collapsing.
Aqin fell from mid-air, feeling weak and breathless as she stared at her unconscious brother on the ground. Fear gripped her heart as she instinctively recoiled, no longer the spoiled and arrogant girl she had been moments before.
Afu had laid Jiang Wei down on the bed and ensured he was safe before turning to look at Aqin. His gaze was filled with both concern and conflict, as if he wanted to say something but held back.
"What do you want to say?" Aqin touched her neck where pain throbbed; it would surely leave a bruise. A wave of dread washed over her.
If Afu hadn't arrived in time today, would her brother have truly killed her?
The thought sent a shiver down her spine. The look in her brother's eyes had been terrifying, as if she were nothing to him—those bloodthirsty eyes...
Afu sighed and picked her up from the floor. After a pause, his tone was devoid of any emotion as he asked for the first time, "What did you put in Young Master's medicine?"
Aqin turned pale upon hearing this. "What are you talking about? I don't understand."
"You know I wouldn't ask you this for no reason!"
Afu sighed heavily, looking at the woman he loved with disappointment for the first time. "I thought Young Master was different for you, but I didn't expect you to actually go after him. How could you? He is your brother!"
"You saw how he treated me." Aqin suddenly stood up, her small face already covered in tears. "He wanted to kill me; he really intended to kill me just now. Did you see what I did wrong?"
"Young Master has been exhausted searching for Yun Zhu Princess. These days, he has to deal with that ambiguous man. We shouldn't add to his burdens, yet you did something like this. How can you face Young Master?" Afu said painfully.
"Am I ungrateful to him?" Aqin sneered. "Right, I forgot. You are the loyal guard of the Eastern Palace, and I'm just a heartless beggar in your eyes. But did you see how he treated me?"
In her emotional outburst, Aqin expressed her grievances. "The servants in the palace look down on me, saying I'm a wild chicken that has flown up to become a phoenix. But do you know the pain of living under the shadow of that Yun Zhu Princess?
Everything I do is for someone I've never met. The Empress is confused; she thinks I'm her daughter, but the Emperor isn't confused, nor are the officials or the palace servants.
No one truly sees me as their master; they all look down on me, wearing one face when they look at me and another when they turn away. Do you know how painful my life is?"
"No one is forcing you!" Afu looked at her with a mix of pity and deep disappointment. "If you didn't want to be here, no one would force you to be the princess of Penglai. You came here willingly and chose not to leave.
Young Master may seem indifferent to you, but that's because he misses his biological sister deeply; it doesn't mean he treats you poorly.
If he really wanted you to leave the palace, he could make it happen with just one word, and you would completely disappear from this world. But he hasn't because he is actually grateful for how you've treated the Empress..."
"Enough! I don't want to hear it! Do you know what kind of life I've lived because of that crazy Empress Dowager?"
Aqin roared like a wounded beast, her voice hoarse with anger. "In that madwoman's eyes, I'm not myself; I'm just her daughter who is never seen alive or dead."
"I am just a substitute, like the Cloud Pearl Palace, merely a keepsake of that princess in this world! And your Young Master, has he ever truly looked at me? Has he ever once treated me as his sister and spoken to me? If he had, even just once, I would love him, I would love him..."
"The Empress is ill, but she has a sincere heart for you. She truly regards you as her own daughter and cares for you. How can you repay her kindness with such ingratitude?"
Afu looked at the familiar face they had grown up together with, feeling a sense of strangeness for the first time. "And Young Master, though he may not be good with words and seems indifferent to you, he has never done anything immoral towards you. His Majesty has conferred upon you the title of princess, allowed you to reside in Cloud Pearl Palace, and given you everything you desire. What are you still dissatisfied with?"
Upon hearing this, Aqin smiled sadly, tears sliding down her cheeks and hitting the ground heavily, as if striking Afu's heart.
"Everything I want in life?" Aqin stood up unsteadily and walked in front of Afu, forcefully tearing open her collar to reveal large patches of pale skin marred by glaring bruises.
"What do I want? Is it the pride that has been repeatedly rejected by my brother at the door, or the wounds from nearly losing my life as he treats me like a father’s enemy?"
Afu could not bear to keep his eyes open: "Even so, you should not have drugged Young Master."
"I didn't!" Aqin shook her head, her gaze vacant as she repeated countless times: "I didn't."
"You did." Afu turned away, unwilling to look at the face that had made his heart flutter countless times and ache just as many. "The innkeeper just passed by with the soup you prepared for Young Master. I clearly smelled the strong aroma of Perilla Leaf inside..."
"Perilla Leaf is not poisonous. You can't say that I'm harmful to my brother just because of this..." Aqin was still arguing, her delicate face showing a hint of timidity. "I would never hurt my brother. I wouldn't."
"Perilla Leaf is indeed non-toxic." Old Madam's voice came from outside the door. "But Aqin, you know very well that one of the herbs needed for Young Master's asthma is Aconite. Aconite is highly toxic but works wonders for Young Master's condition.
However, during medication, it must not be taken with Perilla Leaf; otherwise, it could lead to confusion or worse, madness. Aqin, are you planning to take Young Master's life?"
"I didn't!" Aqin stood up and looked at Old Madam's weathered face at the door, her tone agitated as she was unsure whether she was deceiving herself or others: "I never thought about harming my brother. How could I harm him?"
"Aqin, from the day you and Afu went to Security Hall to buy medicine together, Afu has already grown wary of you. You rely on your beauty and think you have absolute control over Afu, which led to your carelessness and exposed your flaws."
Unbeknownst to them, all of this had already been known by Old Madam. "Aqin, you are too foolish." Old Madam walked in without looking at her, heading straight to the bedside, gazing at Jiang Wei, who was unconscious, and sighed, "What a tragic fate!"
Upon hearing this, Aqin collapsed onto the ground, her face pale and gray, her head hanging in despair. "I didn't... I didn't harm my brother, I didn't..."
Afu looked at her with pity, then glanced at Old Madam, his expression complex. He knew that if Aqin were escorted back to Penglai Pavilion, not only would her identity as a princess be at risk, but she might also face accusations from the entire court.
At that time, even if the Queen favored her, the Emperor would have to make a decision to give the officials an explanation. How would Aqin cope then?
Thinking of this, he couldn't help but seek help from Old Madam. "Madam..."
Before he could finish his sentence, he was stopped by Old Madam waving her sleeve. "If you want to seek my help, you should consider how Young Master will handle things when he wakes up."
Aqin's eyes flickered with a glimmer of hope but quickly faded: she had never been favored by her brother. Now that she had made a grave mistake in a moment of confusion, he must hate her deeply and would never forgive her, let alone cover for her...
Afu understood this reasoning all too well; it was just that he couldn't bear to watch the woman he loved be punished. "Old Madam, if I am willing to take the blame for Aqin, would Young Master keep this matter under wraps?"
Aqin suddenly raised her head to look at him but found everything blurred before her eyes. When she touched her face, it was wet; she had unknowingly been crying.
She recalled how she had always relied on her status as a princess to command him around while he always looked at her with a warm smile, tolerating everything about her. Even though he knew she was using him, he still thought of her and even risked himself for her...
Filled with regret and guilt, she covered her face and cried out loud. "Afu, why are you so foolish?"
Afu's broad and warm hand rested on top of her head. After hesitating for a long time, he clenched his fist and withdrew it, forcing out a smile that was more painful than crying. "If I weren't foolish, how could you bully me?"
Hearing this, Aqin cried even louder.
Old Madam looked at the young couple and couldn't help but sigh and shake her head. She left with one last remark before walking out.
"Everything will be decided when the Young Master wakes up. Old Madam is tired, so Aqin will be entrusted to your care."
The door was gently closed, and Aqin was still crying. However, the usually dull Afu's eyes lit up as he quickly picked her up. "Hurry back to your room and pack your things."
"W-what's wrong?" Aqin asked, her eyes filled with tears, her voice thick with a nasal tone from crying too long.
"Old Madam is giving you a way out. Quickly, pack your things and get ready to leave before the Young Master wakes up," Afu said, moving swiftly to pull her out of the Young Master's room.
"Wait." Aqin suddenly remembered something before stepping out. She stopped and looked at him. "What will you do if I leave? Old Madam asked you to watch over me, but if you let me go without permission, how will you explain it to my brother?"
"You don't need to worry about that. Your safety is the priority right now. If you wait until the Young Master wakes up, you won't be able to leave," Afu urged hurriedly.
"No, I won't go!" Aqin shook her head, her face showing determination for the first time. "I already owe you too much; I can't and don't want to owe you any more."
Afu stood there, looking at her, his silly face reflecting a sadness that didn't belong to him. "Would you really rather die than have anything to do with me anymore?"
Aqin shook her head and nodded at the same time. "I won't go."
"Thud."
Afu suddenly struck the back of her neck, causing Aqin to collapse limply onto his shoulder. He whispered, "But I would rather you owe me for a lifetime than see you suffer even a bit." With that, he strode out.
On the bed, Jiang Wei suddenly opened his eyes wide, staring at the gray ceiling above him, unable to discern his expression!
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