“Father, who are you going to drown?”
Liu Jinyu looked up and saw her daughter, tears immediately flooding her eyes.
“Shushu! Mother didn’t, I didn’t do anything to betray your father! It’s a setup, someone framed me!”
Qiao Shuyi looked at her mother kneeling on the ground in such a wretched state, at that well-maintained face now streaked with tears, at those eyes that had always been filled with gentleness but were now full of panic, and her heart ached.
But this was the only way to save her.
Qiao Nanyu’s fate was already sealed—
Rebellion, failure, confiscation of property, extermination of the clan.
Even if he raised an army now, he would be no match for Zong Zhengheng.
The reason Zong Zhengheng personally came to Jinzhou to search for evidence was merely to avoid using a single soldier, to maintain stability in the court, and to protect his own reputation.
From the moment Zong Zhengheng set foot in Jinzhou, the outcome of this game was already determined.
Although she had tacitly allowed Song Chengyin to set this trap, seeing her mother in this state, Qiao Shuyi would make them pay the price before the Jin’an Prince’s mansion was destroyed.
Qiao Nanyu’s voice was displeased:
“Your mother has committed such a disgraceful act. Only drowning her can preserve the dignity of my Jin’an Prince’s mansion. What are you doing here?”
Qiao Shuyi did not respond.
She knelt down and embraced the trembling Liu Jinyu.
“Father, you can divorce Mother, you can send her to the estate outside the city, you can let her spend the rest of her life with the ancient Buddha and the dim lamp, but you cannot take her life!”
She released one hand and pointed to the letter on the ground:
“What happened today was definitely orchestrated by someone behind the scenes. Father, I want to investigate this thoroughly.”
Qiao Nanyu looked deeply at Qiao Shuyi, feeling a complex mix of emotions.
This daughter resembled him—calculating, resourceful, with that unyielding spirit.
A pity she was a woman.
If she were a son, who would worry about inheriting his great cause?
He remained silent for a moment before slowly speaking:
“What if I refuse?”
Qiao Shuyi met his gaze without backing down:
“Then Father should not want this daughter either. I will leave the Jin’an Prince’s mansion and make way for Song Chengyin and her daughter.”
As her words fell, Song Chengyin lowered her eyes, hiding the flicker of panic within.
Qiao Shuyi had long considered this: Qiao Nanyu dared to kill Liu Jinyu because without Liu Jinyu, he still had her, his daughter.
As long as she remained, the Liu family’s silver would continue to flow into his pockets.
He could not afford to lose this money.
Qiao Nanyu stared at Qiao Shuyi for a long while, and Qiao Shuyi stared back unflinchingly, refusing to yield.
Finally, he looked at Liu Jinyu:
“Enough. For the sake of our many years as husband and wife, I will spare your life.”
“Take her to the estate outside the city. Without my permission, she is not to take a single step beyond it.”
Liu Jinyu’s body went limp as she leaned into Qiao Shuyi’s embrace, tears streaming uncontrollably.
Qiao Nanyu then turned to Zhou Yan kneeling nearby, his gaze icy:
“As for Zhou Yan—take him to the prison and await further judgment.”
Zhou Yan’s body trembled violently, but he dared not utter a single word.
Qiao Shuyi lowered her head, gently patting her mother’s back.
She wasn’t worried about Zhou Yan. Choosing him as the scapegoat wasn’t done randomly.
This Lord Zhou was one of the talents Zong Zhengheng intended to promote after arriving in Jinzhou; he even had his own role in the original story.
Zong Zhengheng would not let him die.
Qiao Shuyi accompanied Liu Jinyu back to her courtyard.
Along the way, Liu Jinyu remained silent, allowing her daughter to support her as she walked unsteadily, as if treading on clouds.
Once inside the room, she sat on the couch, her gaze empty.
“Shushu, your father… truly has a heart of stone.”
Her tears silently fell.
“After so many years as husband and wife, even if he doesn’t believe me, he actually… wanted to kill me.”
Qiao Shuyi sat down beside her, taking hold of her cold hand.
“Mother, don’t worry, I will save you.”
“Even if you go to the manor, you won’t live poorly. The Liu family is not short of money. I will have Grandfather send you enough valuables to live well.”
She took a brocade pouch from her sleeve and placed it in Liu Jinyu’s palm, gently closing her fingers around it.
“Mother, if in the coming days something happens… something you absolutely cannot bear, only then should you open this pouch.”
Liu Jinyu’s gaze was vacant.
Sometimes she truly did not understand this daughter of hers.
Usually, Shushu only knew how to eat, drink, and have fun, appearing completely unambitious.
Yet at every critical moment, she seemed to transform into a different person—calm, resolute, as if she could hold up the sky even if it collapsed.
Now, looking into her daughter’s steady eyes, she actually felt… reassured.
As long as she was here, everything would be alright.
But she couldn’t help blaming herself.
If it were an ordinary daughter, discovering her mother in such a dire situation, she would likely have panicked, only worrying about her own future and reputation.
But Shushu?
From beginning to end, she had been comforting her, making plans for her.
She, as a mother, was truly useless.
“Mother, don’t ask anything now. Go to the manor and live well. Don’t think about anything else.”
She reached out to tidy the stray hairs at her mother’s temples:
“Those who hurt you will not come to a good end, I promise.”
Liu Jinyu’s tears welled up again. She reached out and embraced her daughter, burying her face in her shoulder:
“Shushu, the people I love most in this life are only your grandfather and you. You must both be well…”
“Song Chengyin and her daughter, all these years they’ve set so many traps for us, I never took it to heart. Who would have thought… in the end, I still fell into their hands.”
“Mother, don’t worry, I will be fine. I will not let anyone who hurts you go unpunished.”
In a place Liu Jinyu could not see, Qiao Shuyi’s eyes held a venomous and sinister glint.
At the back gate of the manor, a blue-cloth carriage was already waiting.
Qiao Shuyi helped Liu Jinyu into the carriage and carefully instructed the coachman and the accompanying maid a few words.
“Mother, take care.”
Liu Jinyu held her hand, squeezing it again and again, before finally letting go.
The carriage curtain fell.
The wheels rolled, grinding over the bluestone pavement, making a rumbling sound.
Qiao Shuyi stood in place, watching the carriage gradually move away, pass through the alley entrance, and finally disappear into the twilight.
After a long while, she withdrew her gaze.
When she turned around, all softness in her eyes had faded, leaving only a clear, cold resolve.