Madmen don't keep diaries

Chapter 426, page 425 was ruined.
Upon hearing the gunshots and after a brief commotion outside the door, Lu Tiefeng prepared to order a full-scale assault. He needed to ascertain Xu Liansheng's safety immediately.

But just then, the door suddenly opened from the inside.

It turned out that Xu Liansheng opened the door himself.

At this moment, she looked somewhat haggard, and the weariness between her brows was hard to hide, which made her even more pitiful.

Lu Tiefeng's heart tightened at the sight, and he hurriedly asked with concern, "Madam, are you alright?"

Xu Liansheng gently shook her head: "I'm fine."

She looked at the head steward standing to the side and instructed, "Show...cough cough, show the guests out."

Hearing the cough, Lu Tiefeng noticed Xu Liansheng's disheveled state—her clothes were soaked, her hair was wet and stuck to her forehead, and she was wearing a men's Western-style coat to cover her bare skin.

Men's jacket?

As the head of the police force, Lu Tiefeng was quite perceptive, and immediately turned his gaze to Xu Liansheng's back.

The door wasn't fully open, and Lu Tiefeng could only see a man sitting on the sofa with his back to them.

Lu Tiefeng's expression darkened slightly: "Madam, what's inside the room...?"

Xu Liansheng immediately closed the door a little more, blocking Lu Tiefeng's view.

Lu Tiefeng's expression turned serious. He said in a low voice, "Madam, if you're being coerced, just blink."

Xu Liansheng waved her hand helplessly. She frowned and looked at the head steward who was still not moving. Her tone was already impatient: "What, do my words no longer matter?"

The manager then came to his senses and repeatedly bowed to the surrounding police officers, trying his best to persuade them to go downstairs.

Lu Tiefeng still refused to leave—he felt that Xu Liansheng must have been coerced.

Xu Liansheng finally couldn't hold back any longer. She raised her eyes, revealing bloodshot veins, and glared at Lu Tiefeng, gritting her teeth as she said, "Get out!"

Lu Tiefeng was stunned; he had never seen Madam Xu look like this before.

Unfortunately, Xu Liansheng didn't give him a chance to ask any more questions and slammed the door shut with a bang.

……

Xu Liansheng doesn't want to act anymore.

It wasn't just because everything that happened today made her feel exhausted, but more so because she didn't know what the point of continuing to act was.

She used to be adept at navigating relationships with different men, putting on airs and comforting herself with themes of "saving the country" and "avenging her late husband." But now that the truth is out, she has lost her reason to continue doing so.

Silence returned to the house.

The stench of blood lingered in her nostrils as Xu Liansheng stood at the entrance, gazing absently into the house.

Zhao Mumu's body lay in a pool of blood by the wall. Above the balcony, Liu was saying comforting words to Shunzi. Only Feng Xiuhu sat on the sofa smoking as if nothing had happened.

Xu Liansheng took a deep breath, walked over and returned the coat to Feng Xiuhu: "Thank you, Second Master."

Feng Xiuhu touched the coat and found it was already a little damp, so he simply put it aside.

Seeing that Feng Xiuhu remained silent, Xu Liansheng went back to pick up the hunting rifle after a moment of silence and handed it to Feng Xiuhu again.

She said calmly, "It should be my turn next."

Xu Liansheng was a smart woman; she knew that Feng Xiuhu hadn't come to watch the show, but to collect a debt.

Feng Xiuhu isn't some great philanthropist. Why would he make a special trip just to tell her the truth? He's not that kind-hearted!

Therefore, Xu Liansheng was well aware that everything Feng Xiuhu did was for revenge, and revealing the truth was just one part of that revenge.

Because Feng Xiuhu not only wanted to kill people, but also to destroy their spirit.

Now that the psychological warfare has been dealt with, the next step is simply to kill.

Knowing her death was imminent, Xu Liansheng remained calm. Because this time, she was truly unafraid of death.

But unexpectedly, Feng Xiuhu did not take the gun.

Feng Xiuhu spread his arms and leaned back on the sofa. He put a cigarette in his mouth, tilted his head back, and looked at Xu Liansheng standing behind him from an upside-down perspective.

He spoke with only half of his lips moving: "No rush, I want to eat fish."

His cool demeanor lasted only three seconds before Feng Xiuhu suddenly cried out in pain, "Ouch!"

Shunzi and Fang Youliu quickly turned around and saw Feng Xiuhu covering his face and shrinking into the sofa.

Then look at Xu Liansheng.

Xu Liansheng remained expressionless: "..."

Noticing the gazes of Shunzi and the other person, Xu Liansheng had no choice but to explain, "...cigarette ash got into my eyes."

"I'm fine!"

Feng Xiuhu raised one hand—the other hand was still covering his right eye.

His only remaining left eye glared at Xu Liansheng: "Are you deaf?"

He was angry that Xu Liansheng had exposed his secrets and made him lose face.

Xu Liansheng nodded slightly: "Second Master, please wait a moment. I will tell the kitchen to start cooking right away."

Feng Xiuhu sneered, "I want to eat what you made yourself."

Xu Liansheng fell silent—when it's time to kill, one should eat. This madman always acts on a whim, and she simply couldn't understand his logic.

But she still nodded in agreement: "Then I'll go prepare now."

After saying that, Xu Liansheng turned and left the house without even changing her wet clothes.

After Xu Liansheng left, Shunzi said with some worry, "Brother, are we just going to let her out like this? What if she brings people to deal with us?"

That's just how Shunzi is. His reluctance to kill Xu Liansheng is genuine, but so are his feelings for Feng Xiuhu. Although he can't bring himself to kill Xu Liansheng, he also knows when to place himself in a certain position.

Feng Xiuhu rubbed his eyes and shook his head: "No, she's already been ruined."

This statement was somewhat exaggerated, and Shunzi didn't understand it, but Fang Youliu understood what Feng Xiuhu meant.

Fang Youliu explained to Shunzi, "She is very confused right now, like she is trapped in a room with no way out, and there is nothing she cares about anymore."

"The Duchess once gave her a way out, telling her to go against the Duke, but now she has discovered that this way was a lie."

"What can she do now? Turn around and deal with the Duchess? She doesn't have the ability to do that; or should she switch allegiance to the Duke? She can't do that either—don't forget, her initial noble banner was to save the country."

"Both of her only paths have been blocked. Everything she has done over the years has become a joke the moment the truth comes out. She has lost her reason to work hard for it, and she doesn't even know where to put her efforts. So for Xu Liansheng now, there is nothing that she cares about anymore—not even death."

Xu Liansheng's decision to leave without changing her clothes also confirmed this point. She no longer needed to play the role of "Madam Xu." Whether she was dignified or disheveled, these superficial things had all lost their meaning.

After a long while, Xu Liansheng returned to her room.

She placed the soup and dishes from the plate onto the table one by one, waiting for Feng Xiuhu to enjoy them.

Feng Xiuhu devoured the corpse beside him.

Having been in Qianyu City for so long, Feng Xiuhu finally got to eat fresh fish today.

Xu Liansheng ladled a bowl of fish soup and placed it next to Feng Xiuhu, saying indifferently, "My skills are not as good as those of a professional chef, Second Master, please don't mind."

Feng Xiuhu asked her to sit down next to him, and while drinking soup, he said, "Consider this meal payment for your life."

Xu Liansheng gave a self-deprecating laugh: "I never knew before that the food I cooked was so valuable."

(End of this chapter)