Xu Longsi finished speaking and stood up directly.
Ever since that day when Xu Longsi returned from Lantau Island with his head hung low, covered in dust, he had become much thinner.
He and Queen Yan, Madam Shi, were cousins; blood was thicker than water. Yet as Madam Shi lay dying, she neither cursed nor reproached him for kicking her when she was down, nor did she entrust the care of her daughter, Zheng Xiu'er, to him. Instead, she let him go without even granting him a second glance.
Since childhood, Xu Longsi had been somewhat afraid of this cousin, due to some experiences unfit for others' ears. For a time in his youth, the mere sight of this cousin, who spent her days in the company of straw effigies and insects, would send shivers down his spine.
Deep down, Xu Longsi looked down on Zheng Yiguai and Tianbao, but toward Madam Shi, he felt a mixture of fear, anger, closeness, and guilt. These emotions reached their peak on the day Madam Shi drove him away from Lantau Island.
