“Ha ha ha…” Tuoba Keyan threw his head back in a burst of laughter. “Me, a good person? Ha ha ha… That is the funniest joke I have ever heard.”
“No! I deserve to die! I couldn’t even protect my own mother, my own country. I should have died long ago!”
“Keyan, how did you become like this?” Xue Gu’s eyes brimmed with tears, her voice worn raw with emotion.
No matter what kind of person Tuoba Keyan had been before, after spending all this time together, how could anyone feel nothing at all?
Especially Xue Gu, who had always treated Tuoba Keyan as her own son.
“Godmother.” Tuoba Keyan turned his head and glanced at her. “This is the last time I will call you Godmother. I am sorry. Keyan is not a good person. I am sorry.”
“No! You can be a good person.” Feng Jiu’er cried out.
“You have always been meticulous in everything you do. Yet for the sake of not harming an innocent woman, you made one careless slip.”
“If you were truly a wicked man, why did you spare Xiaoxiao that night? Had you not done so, I would never have become suspicious of you.”
“Keyan, we are all willing to give you a chance. Why can’t you give yourself a chance?”
Feng Jiu’er felt terrible inside. First it had been Shan Yi Dao, and now Tuoba Keyan — even having foreseen the outcome in advance, she still could not accept it.
“Jiu’er, you are far too kind-hearted.” Tuoba Keyan curved his lips into the faintest smile. His body swayed, and he nearly toppled over.
“I kill without so much as blinking — so why would I ever soften my heart toward a woman, to the point of leaving behind something that could be used against me?”
“Let me be frank with you: the reason I never touched Zhao Xiaoxiao is because I had already fallen for you long ago. Aside from you, I could never bring myself to touch another woman. Do you understand?”
“That has nothing whatsoever to do with whether I am a good person or not.”
Tuoba Keyan closed his eyes and drew a deep breath, then slowly opened them again.
“Jiu’er, if there is a next life, I hope I will meet you before any other man does. Perhaps — for you — I truly could become a good person.”
The words had barely left his lips when Tuoba Keyan suddenly flipped his body and leapt — off the cliff.
“Keyan.” Xue Gu broke into a run and chased after him.
Feng Jiu’er moved with swift precision, reaching out to seize Xue Gu’s arm.
“Xue Gu.”
“Keyan.” Xue Gu stared down into the depths of the cliff, her voice worn to the very edge.
Every moment of the past few months came flooding back into her mind in fragments. Feng Jiu’er understood exactly how Xue Gu felt.
With her own hands, she had ended the life of a traitor who had brought harm to many of her brothers. And yet she felt wretched too — truly wretched.
Feng Jiu’er knew all too well the state Tuoba Keyan had been in. Even if he had not fallen from the cliff, that sword strike earlier would have made it near impossible for him to survive.
“Keyan.” Grief-stricken, Xue Gu sank to her knees at the cliff’s edge and broke into soft, shuddering sobs.
Feng Jiu’er steadied her and knelt down beside her.
On the cliff, a gentle breeze drifted past. For a long stretch of time, all that remained was the faint, trembling sound of Xue Gu’s weeping — quiet, yet enough to tear one’s heart to pieces.
Once Feng Jiu’er had soothed Xue Gu’s emotions and risen to her feet, her expression had already returned to its customary composure.
She glanced back at Zhao Yusheng and said softly, “As for Xiaoxiao — don’t worry. She already knows the truth of what happened.”
“As for how to handle our affairs, since you already have your own plan, you and Xing Zizhou can take full responsibility for that.”
“I need to immediately draw up the cooperation plan with Zhao Family Village. We can’t afford to delay any longer.”
“Alright.” Zhao Yusheng gave a nod. “Don’t worry, we’ll handle it.”
“Mm.” Feng Jiu’er gave a small wave of her hand and turned around, supporting Xue Gu by the arm. “Xue Gu, let’s go back. He chose not to stay — there was nothing anyone could do.”
Xue Gu casually wiped the corners of her eyes, and the look in her gaze returned to its usual detachment.
“I have made a fool of myself. At my age, to be crying and whimpering like this.”
“You can’t blame yourself for that. Everyone saw with their own eyes how much hope you had placed in him. His failure to live up to it — that is his loss.” Feng Jiu’er supported Xue Gu as they turned away.
“Let’s head back. There is still much waiting to be done.”
Xue Gu gave a nod but offered no further reply.
In an instant, quiet returned to the cliff’s edge, as though nothing had ever taken place here at all.
……
No matter how dark the night, when the sun rises, light is restored to the land once more.
Early the next morning, Feng Jiu’er, Jian Yi, Zhao Yusheng, and Qiao Mu reunited with Zhao Zhuosheng once again.
After spending a good while speaking with a number of the village elders of Zhao Family Village, they returned to Zhao Yusheng’s courtyard in the main village — by which point it was already mid-afternoon.
“Zhao Yusheng, has lunch been prepared? I’m nearly starving to death.” Feng Jiu’er called out the moment she stepped into the courtyard.
From the look of her, she had fully emerged from the grief of the night before — but whether that was truly so, perhaps only she herself knew.
Everyone understood that the Tuoba Keyan matter had grieved more than just Xue Gu, his godmother.
Tuoba Keyan had died by Feng Jiu’er’s sword. Unforgivable as Tuoba Keyan’s crimes had been, how Feng Jiu’er must be feeling — everyone could well imagine.
“Someone was sent to prepare it long ago.” Zhao Yusheng said, offering a faint smile.
“Young Master.” A servant walked over.
“Bring the midday meal in at once.” Zhao Yusheng said quietly.
“Yes, Young Master.” The servant clasped his hands in a bow, then turned and strode off.
When Feng Jiu’er, Jian Yi, Zhao Yusheng, Zhao Zhuosheng, and Qiao Mu entered the main hall, a maid came through the door carrying tea and pastries.
“Young Master.” The maid approached Zhao Yusheng and called softly to him.
“Bring them into the side chamber.” Zhao Yusheng waved a hand. “Also send in two basins of warm water — Miss Feng and Miss Qiao will want to freshen up.”
“Yes.” The maid gave a nod, stepped into the side chamber for a moment, then hurried back out.
Feng Jiu’er was not fussy about such things, and Qiao Mu was naturally no different.
In the end, the water the maid brought in was all sent to the side chamber. The two women gave their faces a casual wipe, rinsed their hands, and then made their way over to the table laid with a generous spread of dishes.
Jian Yi helped Feng Jiu’er to a drumstick; Zhao Yusheng ladled a bowl of soup for her.
Seeing this, Zhao Zhuosheng also ladled a bowl of soup and set it in front of Qiao Mu.
Qiao Mu glanced at Zhao Zhuosheng with a mildly surprised expression, then looked over at the three people sitting across from them.
“Zhao Zhuosheng, you’re not feeling sorry for me, are you?” Qiao Mu said with a smile, reaching out to push aside the bowl he had placed before her.
“Feeling sorry?” Zhao Zhuosheng furrowed his brows slightly, casting a somewhat puzzled look toward the others across the table before returning his gaze to Qiao Mu. “Why would you say I feel sorry for you? I had no such intention.”
Qiao Mu met his earnest gaze and reached over to take the soup from his hands.
“I was joking. Thank you.” She gave him a light smile, lifted the bowl, and began drinking the soup in big, hearty gulps.
In the blink of an eye, the entire bowl of soup had been drained.
She set the bowl down and picked up the cloth napkin beside her to wipe her mouth, only to find that Zhao Zhuosheng was still watching her.
Qiao Mu picked up her chopsticks and said quietly, “Zhao Zhuosheng, I was genuinely joking just then. Are you still thinking about it?”
Zhao Zhuosheng gave a faint smile and drew his gaze back, picking up his chopsticks as well.
“I understand.”
Zhao Zhuosheng gave a nod, then let his gaze drift back to Qiao Mu again.
“Even so, I would like to know — what exactly did you mean by that? Miss Qiao, would you be willing to explain?”