Until…

Until what?

Li Cheng hesitated, wanting to speak but worried that saying it out loud would be problematic. Finally, after taking a deep breath, he spoke anyway. “Back then, a literary gathering was held in Gaoding City. Many talented scholars attended, including quite a few sons from official families. At that time, Du Mubai competed against a hundred others and took first place, so his reputation in Gaoding grew larger and larger. I remember my father saying that he would surely be among the top three in the palace examination, and had the talent of a zhuangyuan. It was because of my father’s words that he finally revealed his feelings to my elder sister, saying that after the palace examination, once he achieved one of the top three rankings, he would immediately propose marriage. But… how could it be that easy? Even if he truly became zhuangyuan in the future imperial examinations, he would only be a Hanlin Academy compiler. To become a court official, he would need even more connections. No matter how much my father helped him, he ultimately didn’t match our Li family in status! My father would absolutely never agree to their marriage, and it might even cause a lot of trouble. Moreover, my elder sister’s marriage has never been her own decision—everything must follow my father’s wishes. Elder Sister understood this very clearly. The person she would marry in the future had to be someone of reputation in the court, so she and Du Mubai were impossible. They could only keep their feelings hidden, and she also stopped Du Mubai from proposing. From beginning to end, this matter… only I and Gong Shilin knew about it! How coincidental that the person my father wanted to betroth Elder Sister to turned out to be Gong Shilin himself.”

Speaking to this point, Li Cheng gave a bitter smile.

This world was truly unpredictable.

Who would have known that, going round and round, his future brother-in-law would turn out to be Gong Shilin?

After he finished speaking, Ji Yunshu finally understood.

She and Jingrong exchanged a glance.

Both had already prepared themselves mentally.

They just hadn’t expected the relationship between Du Mubai and Li Wenshu to be so difficult.

Ji Yunshu said to Li Cheng, “So that’s why you reacted so strongly when you heard that Du Mubai and Su Qiao were mutually in love?”

“That’s right. Du Mubai treated my elder sister very well—I saw all of this with my own eyes. Now Du Mubai is already dead, and his relationship with Su Qiao is even more murky. In any case, I still don’t believe it. I don’t believe he was someone who would abandon one love for another. He treated my elder sister very well!”

He treated my elder sister very well.

Li Cheng kept emphasizing this sentence.

But Jingrong slowly voiced a statement: “Perhaps some things are not as you imagine them to be.”

His words carried profound meaning!

Li Cheng asked, “What do you mean by that? What do you mean ‘not as I imagine’?”

Jingrong replied, “Think about it. When Du Mubai came to Gaoding, he used money that Su Qiao gave him. A grown man taking a woman’s money to come to Gaoding for the examinations, yet he himself fell in love at first sight with another woman in Gaoding, disregarding the woman at home who waited bitterly for him—this is disloyalty!”

Disloyalty!

This term seemed somewhat too severe.

Li Cheng said, “What you’re saying is strange. How can this be considered disloyalty? Perhaps… Du Mubai merely borrowed her money, originally intending to repay her after achieving success, but Su Qiao misunderstood.”

“Then what about what the beggar said earlier? That he kicked over someone’s rice bowl, spat on them, and even humiliated them verbally—this shows a lack of righteousness! If a person is neither loyal nor righteous, how can he deserve the reputation of being a talented scholar of Nanshen? I think… he’s not at all the refined scholar you imagine him to be.”

“Impossible.” Li Cheng refused to accept it. “Everything is just your speculation, not enough to prove what kind of person he is. Besides, you’ve never even had contact with him. You’ve only heard a few words from that beggar and Su Qiao’s fellow villager, and you’ve already determined he’s a disloyal and unrighteous person. This is simply laughable.”

Actually, when saying these words, Li Cheng’s heart had already begun to doubt.

How could that gentleman who appeared elegant and refined on the surface possibly be someone who would abandon one love for another, with such a vile temperament?

Such a drastic change—no one could possibly accept it right now.

Jingrong wouldn’t force him to accept these things either, so he said, “If you don’t believe it, no one can force you.”

“…” Li Cheng was at a loss for words.

Outwardly resisting and disbelieving.

But inwardly understanding.

It was precisely because he understood that he had such a strong reaction.

Ji Yunshu completely agreed with Jingrong’s assessment. Looking at Li Cheng, who was unwilling to accept it, she said, “Young Master Cheng, some things are not as simple as they appear on the surface. Perhaps there are truly many things behind all this that neither you nor I know about.”

“Although I didn’t have constant contact with Du Mubai, he treated my elder sister very well. His manner was also very humble and gentle. He’s not at all the kind of person you’re describing.”

“But have you considered… one possibility?”

“What possibility?”

Ji Yunshu hesitated, somewhat concerned.

Li Cheng grew anxious. “Speak! What possibility?”

Ji Yunshu’s eyes darkened slightly before she said, “Perhaps… Du Mubai was fundamentally someone who would stop at nothing to advance his own prospects.”

“Huh!” Li Cheng’s eyes widened, his steps became unsteady, and he stumbled back two steps. His lips trembling, he said, “Stop at nothing? So… you mean?”

“So he might have had ulterior motives! I hope you prepare yourself mentally, and I hope your elder sister can prepare herself as well, because once this case is investigated further, what we’ll be examining won’t just be a murder case—it will also involve human hearts!”

Human hearts.

Ji Yunshu was giving him an advance warning.

Li Cheng’s gaze gradually became dazed.

As if he had suffered a tremendous blow.

Then his entire body sank down. He clenched his fist and lightly pounded it on the table, a feeling of anger stuck in his chest that he couldn’t express.

Heavy.

Jingrong, sitting across from him, glanced at him and silently poured him a cup of water, then placed it before him, saying, “Have a drink.”

Li Cheng didn’t even look at it. He grabbed it up and poured it into his mouth!

As carefree as drinking wine.

Jingrong was momentarily stunned but could understand his behavior.

Li Cheng finished drinking and set the cup down.

Jingrong poured him another cup.

He picked it up again and downed it in one gulp.

But he still felt a mass of energy stuck in his chest—couldn’t spit it out, couldn’t swallow it down.

After a long while, he finally said with a distressed expression, “If… if it’s really like this, then… then how am I supposed to explain this to my elder sister? If I tell her, she definitely won’t be able to accept it.”

Regarding the fact that Du Mubai was murdered, Li Wenshu was already consumed with guilt, thinking that if she had noticed something unusual back then, this case wouldn’t have waited six years before being retried.

Now if she were told that the man she had kept hidden in her heart for six years might fundamentally be a “beast,” and that he had “fallen in love at first sight” with her only for his own advancement—Li Wenshu wouldn’t just be unable to accept it; she would wish she were dead.

That was the last thing Li Cheng wanted to see. He didn’t know what to do. If the truth really turned out to be like this, how could he bring himself to speak of it?