Thunder and lightning interwove in the sky as they cut through the thick darkness of the night. However, when they fell upon one woman's eyes, all that was reflected in her deep, intense gaze were disdain and indifference.
From her expression, no one could tell that at that moment, she was being surrounded by a group of men clothed in black who were armed with guns equipped with silencers.
Upon seeing that she was still unrepentant with her arrogant appearance, the face of a handsome man, who was the leader of the pack, almost distorted, as he still wanted to suppress his rage. Gently, he said, "Jiuque, whatever it may be, you and I are still betrothed to each other. It was in a moment of weakness that I… Now, I also know that I've done wrong. Can't you come back to me?"
Lu Jiuque gave a lazy smile and looked at her neatly manicured nails. In a serene voice, she said, "Young Master Yan, why would you get down on your knees so humbly to bow before such an ugly woman like me? It's nothing more than a little poison. How could it be that there's no one in your family who can take it out?"
A little poison?!
The handsome man's steadfastness almost gave way right there and then! That deadly poison had penetrated its way into his heart, lungs, and all four lobes of his brain. Presently, he was struggling merely to hold out with the use of a family secret remedy. Now that he was facing the risk of death with every passing second, how could it still be deemed 'a little poison'?!
The Yan Family also had highly skilled doctors with superb medical expertise working for them. It was just that regarding this poison, it seemed like, besides Lu Jiuque, there was truly no one else under the sun who could get rid of it!
To hell with it. If he ever learned who the true mastermind behind everything was, he would absolutely chop that person into pieces.
Clenching his teeth, the man was firm in his resolve and said, "Jiuque, I know you're still a little angry, but that woman is nothing more than a new plaything to me. It's simply impossible that she would threaten your position as my lady. If it upsets you, I'll dump her right away, alright?"
He had just finished his speech when a woman with a tear-streaked face ran out from the back of the crowd. She looked at Lu Jiuque with a face filled with fear and panic.
"Sister… Sister… You can choose not to forgive me, because this is all my fault. It was me who couldn't help falling in love with him… But you can't leave him to die without saving him… Sister… He's your fiancé!"
The man heard the woman speaking these words and looked at her stunningly beautiful face as he felt both heartache and helplessness. The moment he succeeded in obtaining the antidote, he would certainly try to kill this ugly woman, Lu Jiuque, who dared to threaten him!
Lu Jiuque raised a brow and smiled as she said, "How come I've never realized that you actually had such deep feelings? You clearly knew that the other party was MY fiancé, and yet you still went ahead and hooked up with him? And now, it's even a deep, unparalleled love?"
The woman brushed away the tears in the corner of her eyes and said amid sobs, "Sister, I love Yan very much. If you're unwilling to save him because you hate us, then can't you let me borrow 'The Classics of Remedies'? I'll study it. I'll save him!"
Lu Jiuque laughed, her knitted brows easing apart. Her brows weren't exquisite, but they exuded a captivating beauty as she said, "So you're actually here to put on a tear-jerking show to get 'The Classics of Remedies' from me?"
The woman's eyes narrowed. She tried to cover up her intentions and said, "Sister…"
"Shut up!"
Lu Jiuque looked at the woman who was standing before her, a weeping beauty, with apathy. It was all because of this woman and her mother's conspiracy that her most beloved mother had accidentally met such a tragic death.
Had it not been for her, Lu Jiuque, who had finally passed the family test to become the 89th heir of the Lu Family, her mother would have been a dead body thrown somewhere in the wilderness.
This woman and her mother had caused the death of Lu Jiuque's mother and stolen this young playboy. And to think that they even meant to steal 'The Classics of Remedies'?
Dream on!
"Lu Mengqing, do you think I don't know? You think that after poisoning Yan Yue, I'll save him for sure. And in order to save him, I'll have to look at 'The Classics of Remedies,' so you would know of its whereabouts, right?"
Yan Yue froze, and with feelings of anxiety and confusion, he asked, "What do you mean?"
"The poison in your body is the kind that takes effect slowly. Someone was able to stay by your side and gain your wholehearted trust, then poison you over a prolonged period. Other than my beloved sister here, who else could it possibly be? Yan Yue, oh Yan Yue, to think that you consider yourself intelligent and wise, and yet you've been played by a woman who has you in the palm of her hand. It's simply ridiculous!"
"You…" Yan Yue's eyes were filled with shock. He turned around to face Lu Mengqing and gave her an intense stare.
Lu Mengqing instantly fell to her knees. In a sad and miserable voice, she said, "Sister, how could you do this?! All of this is my fault. I was the one who fell in love with Yan, but please don't dishonor my love for him! Why don't you kill me?! Just kill me!"
Lu Jiuque smiled cruelly and said, "Didn't you eat the soups she prepares for you every night? Believe me or don't, but think about it. That's all I have to say."
Yan Yue was no fool and soon figured out the entire situation. He was so mad that he rushed forward to give Lu Mengqing a sharp slap in the face.
"You malicious woman! You poisoned the soups!"
"No! It really wasn't me! Yan, you must believe me. I love you—"
"Believe! Of course, I believe. Who else could it be other than you?!"
"Ah… Sister, save me!"
"Damn it! Take this malicious woman away. I want her to suffer a painful death!"
"Yes, Young Master!"
...
Lu Jiuque looked on with great indifference while Lu Mengqing was being beaten to a pulp by a ferocious-looking Yan Yue until she was at her last gasp. Having offended the cold and cruel Yan Family, had she thought she would still be able to back out unscathed?
Even the Lu Family wouldn't be able to protect her!
Moreover, the present Lu Family was just an empty shell.
Lu Jiuque had long seen through Lu Mengqing's tricks. It was just that she had never gone through with exposing her.
Haha! If she had exposed her, would she have been able to see a show of dogs biting each other like the one that very day? All she had done to add fuel to the fire was omit the fact that the poison was a non-deadly one.
Mouthfuls of fresh blood spewed out of Lu Mengqing's mouth as she cried over and over again, "It wasn't me… It really wasn't me… Yan, please believe me. Believe me… It was you! Lu Jiuque, it must be you! It was you—"
Lu Mengqing was practically near a state of madness as she screamed at Lu Jiuque. Her eyes were filled with hatred.
In fact, Yan Yue had agreed to marry Lu Jiuque because of her status as the heir of the Lu Family, but he was extremely disgusted by people like Lu Jiuque with ordinary appearances. If Lu Mengqing could become the heir of the Lu Family, he would have the best of both worlds.
After dealing with an extremely selfish man like Yan Yue, Lu Jiuque had long grasped a clear understanding of his temperament.
So long as there was anything that involved a conflict of his interests, he wouldn't hesitate to abandon the other party. Even if it was someone he loved deeply, there were no exceptions.
So, she took advantage of this and turned the tables by scheming a plot against these two people.
She would make Lu Mengqing act as the one who fed Yan Yue poison, causing Yan Yue to kill Lu Mengqing in order to save his own life.
Was she cruel?
Was she apathetic?
Was she merciless?
If she, Lu Jiuque, hadn't been such a cruel, apathetic, and merciless person, she would have long been chewed out of existence, until not even her bones were left. If she wanted to survive in the dark, she could only be darker than darkness itself.
The only motivation that kept Lu Jiuque going was revenge. She wanted Lu Mengqing, whose hands were stained with her mother's blood, to be doomed to an unbearably agonizing death!
However, when Lu Jiuque became the heir to the Lu Family, she had sworn before the great old Master Lu that she would absolutely not fight anyone in their family.
But now, she wasn't technically going against her oath, was she?
The person who was directing the beatings was Yan Yue, not her. Lu Jiuque was only watching from the side as an apathetic onlooker.
Upon seeing Lu Mengqing sprawled on the ground like a dead dog without any sign of life, Lu Jiuque felt the last bit of restraint and vehemence in her chest dissipating.
Everyone said she was ruthless and merciless and that she had a malicious and cruel heart. So presumably, she truly thought that of herself, too.
After noticing Lu Jiuque's faint smile, Yan Yue immediately walked over and held onto her hand. Gently, he said, "Jiuque, I love you. I was wrong. The only person I'll ever love is you… Will you forgive me?"
Lu Jiuque gave a mellow smile and held him back. Softly, she said, "To forgive you or not is up to God to decide. The only thing I can do is send you to meet God…"
"What…? Bleah…"
Black blood came spewing out of Yan Yue's mouth. Then, he was convulsing all over as he fell to the ground. His entire body dissolved like a candle melting away as he died without the chance to rectify the situation.
Lu Jiuque smiled and slowly shut her eyes. Lightly, she said, "Well, I had the time calculated just right…"
Then, amid frenzied shouts and curses, she herself fell to the ground…
After daring to kill the Young Master of the Yan Family, she certainly wouldn't be able to escape death herself. But rather than putting her life at the mercy of someone else, she would rather be the one to end her own life.
It was simply because she had no regrets.
Because at that exact moment, she was without hatred and shackles. Her heart was truly free…