The voice said, “Fu Yan’er, how is the matter my master asked you to handle?”
Fu Yan’er replied, “Yan Ziyu indeed invited Ashi Liren to his courtyard.”
The voice said, “Did he light the incense?”
Fu Yan’er said, “He did. Was it a blue incense? I saw it clearly. He lit it behind the bookshelf, where Ashi Liren could not see.”
The voice said, “Very good. Did you do what you were asked to do?”
“I have always wanted to, but I have never found the opportunity.” Fu Yan’er said, “That little girl Ashi Nan has never liked me. She would not eat anything I gave her.”
“I do not care what method you use, you must complete it within a few days.” The voice said, “I have placed ten gold coins in your cabinet. Spend them slowly. Once the matter is completed, my master will certainly grant you endless wealth and honour.”
“Thank you, thank your master.” Fu Yan’er said happily, “I will certainly act quickly. Please rest assured. It is a difficult matter for me, but it is completely effortless when it comes to my daughter.”
The voice said, “Remember, you must make Ashi Nan eat that blue sweet.”
“Yes.” Fu Yan’er said.
“Whoosh…” Instantly, the owner of that voice disappeared without a trace.
Fu Yan’er could not help but take out a box. Inside were seven or eight exquisitely crafted sweets of various kinds, red, pink, and white. Only one was blue.
Fu Yan’er could not help but pick up this blue sweet and examine it through the lamplight.
What was inside this blue sweet? Why must Ashi Nan consume it?
Of course she did not know that inside this blue sweet was an extremely terrifying poison from the Demon Continent called Demon Scatter.
Once this poison was consumed, the tendons and bones throughout the body would gradually have a melting sensation, and all strength and energy in the body would seem to be drained.
Unable to poison Ashi Liren directly, Ashi Luo chose to poison Ashi Nan. Every day, Ashi Liren used dragon power to help Ashi Nan sustain her life.
Over time, with Ashi Nan’s body as the intermediary, this Demon Scatter would gradually enter Ashi Liren’s body.
Once poisoned, one would not normally feel it. But when truly engaging in battle, when martial arts were exerted to the extreme, the body would suddenly go limp and completely lose strength, at which point Ashi Luo could do as he pleased.
It seemed Ashi Luo had taken out double insurance to achieve his goal, setting up schemes on both Yan Ziyu and Fu Yan’er simultaneously.
…
Inside Suo Lun’s study, Ashi Liren still gave no response.
It seemed Ashi Liren’s feelings for her younger brother were deeper than imagined. Even though Suo Lun had once again presented evidence of Ashi Luo’s plot against her, she still had no intention of eliminating Ashi Luo.
With no other choice, Suo Lun had to use his trump card.
Taking a deep breath, he spoke, “Because Ashi Luo is your blood brother, and he once sacrificed for you, you cannot bear to act against him. But what about your husband Yan Ping’s revenge? Are you not going to avenge that either?”
The death of her husband Yan Ping was an eternal wound in Ashi Liren’s heart!
Ashi Liren’s gaze trembled, and she said, “Yan Ping’s death had nothing to do with Ashi Luo. It was because a plague broke out in his hometown. After hearing the news, he was worried and wanted to bring his parents out. But he did not expect to contract the plague himself. At that time, I was also infected with the plague poison. I brought him back home at the fastest speed and asked the sorceress Yaomeng to save him. But… Yaomeng only saved me, not Yan Ping.”
Suo Lun said, “Do you think that plague was normal?”
Ashi Liren said, “You mean that plague was orchestrated by Ashi Luo? Impossible. That plague was extremely famous. Many, many people died. Even at that time, the Qiufeng Academy directly closed its doors to prevent the plague from entering. Most importantly, Ashi Luo was not even in Rouran City at that time.”
Suo Lun said, “That plague was indeed orchestrated by Ashi Luo. He absolutely would not allow any man to have you. Whoever dared to touch you, he would kill their entire family.”
“Impossible… absolutely impossible!” Ashi Liren said in a trembling voice.
Suo Lun said, “There were nine people in total who spread the plague, all of them Ashi Luo’s personal servants. They went to Yan Ping’s hometown and threw plague poison into the rivers, wells, fields, and roads. Eight of them were silenced after returning from completing the poisoning, but one person was different. His name is Ashi Shu. He could not bear the condemnation of his conscience and ran away before completing the poisoning. But he was intercepted by the sorceress Yaomeng. Yaomeng should have killed him but did not. She returned and deceived Ashi Luo by saying she had killed Ashi Shu. So this Ashi Shu has been living in hiding ever since.”
Ashi Liren’s gaze fixed tightly on Suo Lun and she said, “Yaomeng was Ashi Luo’s lackey at the time. Why did she not kill this Ashi Shu?”
Suo Lun said, “Because this Ashi Shu had secretly passed a piece of pastry to Yaomeng’s daughter. At that time, Yaomeng’s daughter was locked in a cage, being trained by Ashi Luo using starvation tactics.”
Ashi Liren said, “Where is this Ashi Shu?”
Suo Lun said, “In Qingmu Town, one hundred and thirty li outside Rouran City. He has disfigured himself, adopted many orphans, and makes shoes for a living, raising those children in order to atone for his sins of that year.”
Ashi Liren’s beautiful eyes fixed tightly on Suo Lun, and she said coldly, “How do you know these secrets? It seems your relationship with the sorceress Yaomeng is quite close.”
Suo Lun raised his hand and said, “Who I am is not important. After Ashi Luo killed your husband, he schemed against you again and again. Are you going to let him continue to wreak havoc like this? Moreover, if a demon monster like him becomes the City Lord of Rouran one day, the foundation of the Ashi family will sooner or later be destroyed in his hands.”
Ashi Liren closed her beautiful eyes and engaged in a difficult struggle.
After a long while, she opened her beautiful eyes and said, “He is my younger brother. He once sacrificed much for me, and his transformation into what he is now is half my responsibility. So whatever he does to me, I… cannot hold it too much against him, and can only keep my distance. But if he truly killed my husband, that is intolerable.”
Then she walked towards the outside and said, “I will go to Qingmu Town to find Ashi Shu and verify what happened that year. Then I will give you an answer.”
Suo Lun said, “Madam, please… pay attention to your methods and manner. Obtaining the truth is important. But do not cause Ashi Shu to lose his life because of it. He has already atoned for his sins, and he is the father of many children.”
After hearing Suo Lun’s words, Ashi Liren’s gaze immediately warmed, and then she said coldly, “You are so immensely capable. Wanting to preserve the life of such a person should be easy for you, is it not?”
Then she went straight out.
…
The next morning!
Fu Yan’er, who never prepared breakfast for her daughter, made breakfast for Qin Qin early. Then she took out a box of sweets and said, “Good daughter, when you get to class, give this box of sweets to A Nan to eat, understand?”
This box originally had eight sweets, but now only three remained, one red, one blue, and one purple.
Fu Yan’er felt that if she gave too many, Ashi Nan might not eat the one containing the Demon Scatter.
Qin Qin was startled, but still nodded.
Fu Yan’er said, “Good baby, these sweets are for A Nan to eat. You must not eat them yourself, understand? You absolutely must not eat them. If you dare to eat them, I will definitely beat you. Do you hear me?”
Qin Qin’s eyes reddened, but she still obediently nodded.
Fu Yan’er hugged her daughter and said, “Darling, we will be able to live a good life very soon.”
At this moment, little A Nan called from outside, “Qin Qin, are you ready? My mother made many delicious snacks for you. Come out quickly.”
A Nan disliked Fu Yan’er, so she never entered her room. Each time she waited for Qin Qin outside.
“Go.” Fu Yan’er kissed her daughter on the face.
Qin Qin ran out with her little schoolbag on her back.
Fu Yan’er quickly followed her out and saw the two little girls holding hands, walking towards the school.
A Nan’s eyes lit up when she saw the sweet box in Qin Qin’s hand. “What beautiful sweets!”
Qin Qin thrust the sweet box into A Nan’s hands.
“For me?” A Nan said excitedly.
Qin Qin nodded.
“Thank you, Qin Qin, you are so kind.” A Nan said happily, then joyfully took the sweet box, impatiently opened it, took out a sweet and put it in her mouth.
Then the two little girls happily left the courtyard.
Fu Yan’er’s face showed delight, and she turned back to her room.
However…
Once her mother could no longer see, Qin Qin suddenly stopped and pointed at the sweet box in A Nan’s hand.
“You want me to give you one to eat, right?” A Nan said.
Qin Qin nodded.
A Nan said, “There are two left, one purple and one blue. Which one do you want?”
Qin Qin took the blue one, but did not eat it. She simply hid it in her pocket.
A Nan suspected nothing, happily ate the purple one, and left.
…
In class, Suo Lun noticed that his daughter Qin Qin seemed somewhat distracted, frequently losing focus.
Normally she was not like this. Every class she was extremely, extremely attentive.
Moreover, she was exceedingly intelligent. This year she was the youngest, but among the seven children in the class, her grades were consistently second place, only behind Ashi Yuanba.
After class ended at noon, Suo Lun said, “Children, come eat with teacher at noon.”
The children immediately cheered.
In the courtyard, Suo Lun found an opportunity to be alone with Qin Qin and said, “Darling, what is the matter?”
Qin Qin raised her head, her big eyes looking at Suo Lun, then took out a blue sweet from her pocket and placed it in Suo Lun’s hand.
Suo Lun was startled and said, “Darling, are you giving teacher a sweet to eat?”
Qin Qin shook her head vigorously, indicating it must not be eaten.
Suo Lun carefully examined this blue sweet. It smelled fragrant and was very enticing. There seemed nothing unusual about it.
So he sniffed it again forcefully.
Suddenly, the Demon Star said, “Master, there is some kind of evil and terrifying poisonous energy inside this sweet.”
Instantly, Suo Lun’s expression changed dramatically, and he said, “Darling, who gave you this sweet?”
Qin Qin lowered her head, her expression sorrowful.
“Your mother gave it?” Suo Lun said.
Qin Qin lowered her head in confirmation.
Suo Lun said, “Was it for you?”
Qin Qin shook her head.
Suo Lun’s expression changed and he said, “For A Nan?”
Qin Qin lowered her head in confirmation.
It turned out that every night Fu Yan’er was unwilling to sleep early. Either she would pose coquettishly in front of the mirror, or she would simply be… pleasuring herself.
And whenever this happened, she would certainly force her daughter Qin Qin to fall asleep quickly, so as not to disturb her private world.
But Qin Qin often could not fall asleep, so basically every day at this time, she would lie in bed with her eyes closed pretending to sleep, but was actually awake.
So by accident she discovered her mother’s secret.
She did not know what this blue sweet was, nor did she know why that person insisted on giving it to A Nan. But she could sense this person harboured ill intentions.
So she had taken these actions.
Without a doubt, someone was using Fu Yan’er to deal with Ashi Liren. This person was one hundred percent Ashi Luo.
Upon arriving at this answer, killing intent immediately arose in Suo Lun’s heart.
This foolish woman Fu Yan’er, she had actually already connected with people outside?
Otherwise, why not just get it over with, have someone take the mother and daughter home after, secretly do away with her, then hand Qin Qin over to his sister Suo Ningbing to raise. That way she would only be happier.
But Suo Lun quickly abandoned this killing intent.
No matter how foolish or bad this woman was, she was still Qin Qin’s biological mother.
However, he must quickly have someone take Fu Yan’er and Qin Qin away and bring them back to Tianshui City.
Ashi Luo had already set his sights on Fu Yan’er, so he would naturally also set his sights on Qin Qin.
The thought of his daughter being targeted by this kind of perverted demon made Suo Lun shudder with fear.
This idiot Fu Yan’er. Fortunately her daughter Qin Qin was as intelligent as ice and snow. Otherwise it would truly have been a catastrophic disaster.
…
At night, Suo Lun had already gone to bed.
Suddenly, the air turned cold, and then an enchanting fragrance wafted over. An extra person stood before his bed.
A devilish curve of mountains and valleys, without a doubt it was Ashi Liren.
“Ashi Shu has told everything, and it completely matches the circumstances of that year.” Ashi Liren said, “My husband Yan Ping’s entire family was killed by Ashi Luo.”
Suo Lun said, “Actually, this answer is not unexpected to you at all. It is just that you are unwilling to admit it, unwilling to face it.”
Then Suo Lun took out a blue sweet and handed it over, saying, “Someone, through Fu Yan’er, wanted to make A Nan eat this sweet.”
Ashi Liren’s beautiful eyes turned cold, and her stunning face hidden behind the veil trembled slightly.
Suo Lun said, “Madam, you must make your decision. You cannot let Ashi Luo continue to harm you like this, nor can you let such a person become the City Lord of Rouran and destroy the foundation of the Ashi family.”
Ashi Liren said, “Apart from wanting to eliminate Ashi Luo, what else do you want, Lord Suo Lun?”
She directly called out Suo Lun’s name, which startled him slightly.
After a very long while, Suo Lun asked, “Was it because I treat Qin Qin too well that you saw through me?”
Ashi Liren said, “You also never truly intended to hide it from me, did you not? Moreover, your treating Qin Qin well is not really a flaw, because I also treat Qin Qin very well, and Yuanba also treats Qin Qin very well. That child, she is too lovable.”
Then Ashi Liren continued, “What truly confirmed your identity to me was the matter of Ashi Luo using the plague to kill my husband’s entire family. This is an absolute secret that no one could possibly know, except for the sorceress Yaomeng. That day I moved to kill her, but she did not die, and you returned to take her away.”
This truly startled Suo Lun completely.
Ashi Liren said, “I did not see all of this. I only deduced it.”
Suo Lun looked into Ashi Liren’s gem-like enchanting eyes. This woman was far more intelligent than imagined.
“Come, follow me to a place.” Ashi Liren walked towards the outside.
Suo Lun said, “Where to?”
Ashi Liren said, “Did you not want to destroy Ashi Luo? Your wish is granted. I will take you to meet someone!”