Finally, the question was asked. Zhu Yan knew Shen Du wouldn’t miss this opportunity.
Seeing Lai Luofu’s silence, Shen Du ordered, “Jinglin, destroy one antidote.”
“Yes, sir.” In an instant, Jinglin crushed an antidote into powder with his hand, letting it fall to the ground. He then stepped on it several times, leaving no trace.
“Ah!” Lai Luofu’s eyes bulged, her expression frantic. Unable to escape or snatch back the antidote, her eyes turned bloodshot as she panted heavily. Knowing she had no choice but to speak, she finally said,
“Back then, Shen Shijie refused to take sides and openly sympathized with Crown Prince Li Zhong, opposing the Empress’s decision to remove Li Zhong from the throne and ascend herself. However, after her ascension, the Empress still showed favor to her old ministers, even appointing Shen Shijie as the Crown Prince’s tutor. As a result, Shen Shijie later praised the Empress frequently. But the problem was that this Shen Shijie,” Lai Luofu glanced at Shen Du, her gaze flickering,
“He wanted to claim credit for every good deed. How was that possible? Supporting both the Crown Prince and the Empress? That aside, at the time, Lai Luozhi was strictly investigating those who wrote memorials criticizing the Empress. Yet Shen Shijie secretly helped those scholars escape punishment, obstructing the Judicial Office’s work and sympathizing with the officials under investigation, constantly writing memorials to plead their cases.”
“Naturally, Lai Luozhi wouldn’t let Shen Shijie off the hook. And he always acted decisively – once he made a decision, it wasn’t just about teaching a lesson. He wanted the Shen family to disappear from the Great Zhou Empire.”
The word “disappear” rolled off Lai Luofu’s tongue with such ease. Zhu Yan tightly gripped Shen Du’s hand, noticing his calm expression but the turmoil in his eyes.
Having controlled the Grand Secretariat for many years, Shen Du knew well how to interrogate suspects to make them speak the truth. He didn’t need Lai Luofu to describe the Shen family’s fate; he already knew. But now, what he wanted to know wasn’t this. He glanced sideways at Jinglin, who immediately grabbed another antidote and crushed it, slowly letting the powder fall to the ground.
Lai Luofu went berserk: “Everything I’ve said is true, not a single lie! Please don’t destroy any more antidotes, please!”
“Very well,” Shen Du said. “Then tell me, how did you accomplish it, and who else was involved?”
Lai Luofu shrank back, her little scheme seen through by Shen Du. Not daring to lie, she tensed up:
“Originally, Lai Luozhi planned to use the Shen family to fabricate crimes against the Li faction, including the Crown Prince, to catch them all in one net. But somehow, the Li faction abandoned Shen Shijie, pushing him out as a scapegoat.”
“After gathering evidence against the Shen family, Lai Luozhi asked the Empress about the final verdict. The Empress left it entirely to Lai Luozhi, staying behind the scenes.”
“Are you telling the truth?” Shen Du’s expression was cold and unreadable, his eyes dark.
Lai Luofu replied smugly, “Of course it’s true. Did you think the Empress couldn’t see through the truth and believed the crimes Lai Luozhi fabricated? And that bunch from the Li faction are all scoundrels, abandoning the entire Shen family at the crucial moment – hundreds of lives, just to support a deposed Crown Prince.”
“Silence!” Shen Du’s chest heaved, his eyes deep red, emotions barely controlled. Seeing Lai Luofu’s mocking expression, Shen Du’s lips curled into a thin smile. He gently patted Zhu Yan’s hand, regaining his composure, and asked coldly,
“Who provided the evidence?”
Lai Luofu laughed briefly, her face quickly contorting with pain. Unable to wait any longer, she said, “It was the Fire Moth Party. They provided it, without anyone knowing.”
The anger in Shen Du’s eyes could no longer be suppressed. His fist clenched slightly as he stared intently at Lai Luofu. Before anyone could react, he grabbed Lai Luofu’s collar and slammed her to the ground. A “puff” sound was heard as Lai Luofu spat out a mouthful of bloody pus, glistening in the lamplight.
“Hehe, scholars laugh at moths flying into the fire, not knowing that they are like mayflies, born in the morning and dead by night. Better to be reborn like the moth that survives the fire,” Lai Luofu muttered.
Her entire body seemed to be burning in fire, every inch of skin scorching; yet it also felt as if she were soaked in ice water, bone-chillingly cold. She curled up even tighter, hugging herself. The silk threads had already wrapped around her, and in less than half an incense stick’s time, she would be completely cocooned.
Watching her suffer, Su Guang’s eyes imperceptibly moistened. She quickly wiped away her tears and looked towards Shen Du.
Shen Du was about to approach again, but Pan Chi wrapped his arms around his waist, refusing to let go. Zhu Yan stepped forward and slapped Shen Du hard across the face.
The crisp sound startled the guards.
Finding his senses at the brink of collapse, Shen Du looked at Zhu Yan in shock, her face filled with anger. He murmured, “My lady…”
His eyes held a thin mist.
Zhu Yan’s heart ached. She cupped his face and said, “The great revenge is not yet avenged. Do not forget.”
Shen Du, not one to show emotions easily, instantly regained his cold demeanor. He pried Pan Chi’s hands off and walked over to Lai Luofu’s side.
“Please save Daisy,” Su Guang pleaded with Shen Du. She knew everyone here listened to Shen Du; he was the leader.
Shen Du silently gazed at the struggling Lai Luofu.
“What did she say?” Zhu Yan asked Pan Chi.
Pan Chi, watching the murderous Shen Du, softly translated the sentence.
Zhu Yan didn’t know what to say.
Su Guang grew anxious. That body belonged to Daisy; why should she suffer this pain?
Desperately, she looked to Zhu Yan for help. Left with no choice, Zhu Yan agreed.
“Let’s give her the antidote,” Zhu Yan sighed as she spoke, not daring to look at Shen Du. “She can serve as a witness.”
Shen Du nodded. This was his original intention, but the hatred in his heart was too intense. He wanted to see Lai Luofu suffer a bit longer.
This action also showed Su Guang that Shen Du treated Zhu Yan differently from others. Even with Su Guang’s beauty, Shen Du never spared her a second glance. His eyes were only for Zhu Yan.
Walking to Lai Luofu’s side, she was already in too much pain to even open her eyes to see who was approaching.
Finally realizing it was Zhu Yan bringing the antidote, Lai Luofu became incredibly excited. She watched as Zhu Yan poured the antidote into her palm and bent down to feed it to her.
Lai Luofu eagerly opened her mouth, but suddenly her expression changed. In an instant, Daisy took control of the body, reclaiming consciousness.
Just as the Fire-Worshipping Cult’s doctrine stated, light would always triumph over darkness, and justice would forever defeat evil.
Fighting through the pain, Daisy raised her hand and knocked the antidote to the ground.
“I’d rather die than let that person come out and continue to do evil.”
Perhaps due to a strong will to live, Lai Luofu was desperately trying to seize control of the body, but she was constantly suppressed. Daisy’s will become incredibly powerful at this moment.
Zhu Yan looked at the porcelain bottle: “That was the last antidote.” She wanted to pick it up and feed it to Lai Luofu, after all, she was an important witness, and keeping her alive would be beneficial.
But Daisy stopped her, her eyes clear but resolute: “Let me perish along with the evil.”
Zhu Yan’s hand trembled slightly. She was shocked by this determined attitude towards death.
Daisy clutched her head again, gritting her teeth to resist, unwilling to let Lai Luofu emerge. But Lai Luofu still wouldn’t give up, trying to break free from Daisy’s mental restraints.
After a long while, Daisy’s shoulders relaxed. She hugged her knees, assuming the posture of a cocoon, her expression peaceful as she awaited death.
Seeing this, tears welled up in Su Guang’s eyes as she stared blankly at Daisy.
Beside her, Zhu Yan turned away, unable to bear witness to this scene, her heart filled with mixed emotions.
In the final moment of cocooning, Daisy’s lips suddenly relaxed into a smile – her last release from the unfairness she had experienced in this life.
Daisy died, and so did Lai Luofu.
This body would no longer be manipulated to do things she didn’t want to do. She was free.
Su Guang stepped forward, crouched down, and made familiar sacrificial gestures with both hands. She touched Daisy’s cocoon and murmured, “May the true god bless you and your soul find redemption.”
Gradually, the white silk engulfed the corpse, instantly turning it to ash and smoke.