"Boom!!"
Roaring thunder resounded, the night was pouring with rain.
"Why?! Why are you treating me like this?! I've been good to you... Liu Jinshuang!!” Liu Shuyan was prostrating on the ground, her screams piercing the stormy night from her soul.
Blood, in the color of black, trickled down from the corner of her mouth. Her back, soaked in filth, was pierced by a triangular poison dart. With the downpour washing over her, the blood kept flowing, amassing into a horrifying crimson stream.
Lightning tore through the heavens, painting her face a deathly white. In this fleeting light, she looked like nothing less than a terrifying ghost.
"Heh heh..." A slender, towering figure donning a raincoat slowly approached Liu Shuyan. As she bent downward, her face was filled with an unabashed smugness and mockery.
"Sister, if you have to blame someone, blame your own stupidity! You invited the wolf into the house, you failed to judge the character of a person! Your 'gentle, kind-hearted and demure' demeanor, as is expected of a noble lady, is the most irritating!”
As she finished, Liu Jinshuang lifted her foot and viciously stomped on Liu Shuyan’s right wrist.
"Ah!!"
Liu Shuyan’s body stiffened. She rapidly curled herself into a ball, straining to push Liu Jinshuang away. Veins bulged out all over her arm, and her face twisted with the unbearable pain.
"Ha ha ha ha—" Liu Jinshuang laughed manically, bent over, and forcefully yanked at Liu Shuyan's hair. "By the way, sister, I have some great news for you."
"I am with child, the heir of the third prince."
"Wh... what?!” Liu Shuyan’s eyes widened in shock. Stiffly craning her neck, she darted her gaze onto Liu Jinshuang’s belly, and then quickly moved it away. Shaking her head relentlessly, her voice was hoarse and trembling, "I don't believe it! You're lying to me! How could Zi Hao be with you?!"
"Hahaha, sister, take a closer look at what's etched on this dart."
Liu Jinshuang reached over, removed the dart from Liu Shuyan’s back, and playfully wagged it in front of her, her eyes ablaze with triumph.
Even in the darkness, the vermilion 'Hao' character struck her squarely in the eyes, insidiously piercing her heart, a painful sting to Liu Shuyan's core.
"No!" Liu Shuyan shook her head wildly, a tempest broiling in her eyes. In a fit of madness, she wanted to cast away the venomous dagger that was meant to take her life.
No, it wasn't right!
This was a setup by Liu Jinshuang!
Zi Hao loved her so much.
"Tsk, how much longer are you going to deceive yourself?" Liu Jinshuang said with a disgusted look on her face, and threw the dart in front of Liu Shuyan.
She raised the corner of her mouth slightly, "Do you really think, Zi Hao would like you just as you are? Ugh! The moment he sees your prim and proper lady-like manner, he finds you boring, he even wants to throw up!"
"Moreover, with your intelligence, wouldn't you guess that no one else could possibly get their hands on his personal dart without Zi Hao's implied consent!"
So, his love for her gentle temperament, for her tender and soft eyes, it was all deception!
He was just like any other man.
"Ha ha... So, it was all just honey laced with poison..."
Looking at Liu Shuyan's eyes, filled with desolation, so bleak even the despair had already vanished, Liu Jinshuang's lips curled up in satisfaction, and she suddenly stepped back, lifting her hand towards the person behind her.
In a split second, a thousand arrows were released, coupled with the night rain, they descended upon Liu Shuyan!
Within the blink of an eye, Liu Shuyan had become a human pincushion.
She stared fixedly at Liu Jinshuang, tears mixed with blood streaming down her face. As she choked on her own blood, with the last of her strength, she spoke slowly and deliberately, "Liu, Jin, Shuang, Qin, Zi, Hao! I will never... let you go!!"
As the sound of her voice faded, her eyes remained wide open, devoid of life...
In the dark night, the jade bracelet on her wrist gleamed brilliantly under the rain.
Liu Jinshuang let out a cold laugh, took a bold step forward, and sprinkled corpse disintegrating powder over Liu Shuyan's dead body, a glimmer of satisfaction flitted across her eyes, "Ha, finally you're dead..."
