Prime Minister

Chapter 198, Section 197: [Eternal Regret]

Upon hearing Xu Zhiwei's calm voice, Liu Ying couldn't help but sigh softly.

During this period, Li Cong frequently wrote to Hangzhou, mentioning only one thing: Xu Zhiwei was repeatedly hesitant despite the favorable situation of gradually getting closer to Xue Huai and the fame of the divine doctor spreading throughout the city. Liu Ying knew that the reasons she had used before would hardly convince Xu Zhiwei.

She wasn't surprised by this. Xu Zhiwei was indeed unfamiliar with the ways of the world, but she was always very opinionated—at least Xue Huai hadn't done anything wrong yet, so why did she have to kill him?
Therefore, Liu Ying personally came to Yangzhou to meet Xu Zhiwei, as she needed to persuade the young girl to make up her mind.

The cool sunlight streamed through the window, casting crisscrossing shadows on Liu Ying's face, which bore the marks of time.

She didn't answer immediately, but turned her head slightly, her gaze seemingly piercing through the simple walls of Jimintang and casting a look towards the distant and desolate past.

The crackling sound of burning charcoal in the brazier was particularly jarring in the almost frozen air.

"Knowing the subtle..."

Liu Ying's voice finally rang out, carrying a calmness honed by time, yet unable to conceal the tremor in her final words: "Many things are not things that your aunt deliberately hid from you, it's just that reopening this wound is too painful."

Xu Zhiwei looked at her and saw Liu Ying raise her hand to smooth her hair at her temples, revealing an old, faint scar near her ear that could only be seen upon close inspection.

"My original surname was not Liu."

Liu Ying spoke slowly, each word like a carving on ice, clear yet carrying a chilling edge. "My surname is Ling, a surname that no one in the capital mentions anymore. Although the Ling family was not a high-ranking family in the past, it was a family of scholars and virtuous people who had accumulated good deeds for generations. My father once served as the Director of the Armory Department of the Ministry of War."

"Eighteen years ago, in the second year of Taihe, Xue Huai's father, Xue Mingzhang, was transferred to the position of Inspector. His reputation for being incorruptible and impartial gradually attracted attention, and even the emperor placed high hopes on him. At that time, he was ordered to investigate a case of corruption involving military equipment, which was originally a good thing for the country and the people, but he ended up investigating my father."

“My father is a cautious man. He may have been involved in some accounting transactions, but he had no intention of embezzling, nor did he ever collude with those real corrupt officials. He was merely a pawn in a certain link. My father believes in his innocence, believes he can explain himself, and trusts that the upright Censor Xue will find out the truth.”

Xu Zhiwei listened quietly. She had never seen her aunt look so gloomy before, and a look of worry appeared in her eyes.

Liu Ying's voice began to tremble uncontrollably, a despair that could still pierce through a decade or more. She continued, "But Xue Mingzhang doesn't want the truth. What he wants is a case of a massive corruption scandal that will shake the court and the public, a major case that can solidify his position as a clean official. He's convinced my father is one of the key officials involved. The evidence might be some carefully crafted documents, or it might be some minor official's accusations to save his own life or gain merit... In short, he's convinced!"

"A strongly worded impeachment memorial, accusing my father of massive embezzlement and misappropriation of funds from the Ministry of War, was submitted to the Emperor. Naturally, the Emperor was furious and immediately ordered the Jing'an Division—"

Liu Ying suddenly closed her eyes, and a hot tear finally slid down her cheek.

"aunt……"

Xu Zhiwei felt a pang of regret. Perhaps she could have sought the answer in a different way, instead of forcibly reopening Liu Ying's wounds.

"Let me finish."

Liu Ying had no intention of blaming Xu Zhiwei. She tried her best to remain calm and said, "I remember it very clearly. That day was the eve of the Lantern Festival. The mansion was decorated with lanterns and colorful decorations, and the festive atmosphere of the New Year had not yet faded. My husband and I took the children back to visit my parents. Suddenly, the Jing'an Division barged in like vicious wolves. Without giving any explanation, my father was arrested in front of my mother. In the chaos, I was pushed and shoved against a pillar, leaving this scar on my ear. My mother collapsed on the spot in shock and despair and never woke up again."

Xu Zhiwei was deeply shocked.

From the time she was old enough to understand, Liu Ying had been all alone. She had never asked, and Liu Ying had never brought it up herself. So it was only today that Xu Zhiwei learned that her aunt had also been married and had children. So where were her husband and children now?

At that moment, Xu Zhiwei suddenly realized the truth, and a strong sadness welled up in her heart.

Liu Ying finally lost control of her emotions and paused for a long time before continuing, "The people from the Jing'an Division are like wolves and tigers. They not only want to arrest people, but also want to prove that my father embezzled. They treated my house as a den of thieves, and they practically dug up the ground. The house was turned upside down, and even the ancestral tablets in the side courtyard were destroyed by them!"

The last sentence, like the mournful cry of a trapped beast, struck Xu Zhiwei's heart with a destructive force, leaving her pale and cold-blooded.

"My father was unyielding. He believed that the innocent would clear themselves and he did not want to implicate the family. Moreover, he could not bear the humiliation and eventually bit off his tongue and committed suicide in prison!"

Suppressing her grief, Liu Ying took a deep breath and said, "After the news came back, the family was in chaos. My two-year-old child had a high fever due to excessive fright, but we couldn't find a good doctor. At that time, no one dared to get involved with the Ling and Liu families. My child was in my arms, delirious with fever, calling for his mother over and over again, and then slowly cooled down..."

Only Liu Ying's suppressed sobs remained in the warm pavilion, like the mournful cry of someone on the verge of death.

That deep-seated hatred and pain weighed heavily on Xu Zhiwei's heart, making it almost impossible for her to breathe.

She looked at Liu Ying, at the silent tear tracks streaming down her pale face, at the despair and hatred that had been built up by countless days and nights of torment in her eyes, and had no more doubts—this was not a fabricated story, but a bloody truth etched deep in her soul!
Xu Zhiwei's hands trembled, a cold sense of destiny gripping her.

She suddenly understood why Li Cong and the others hated the Xue family father and son so deeply, and why there was always a chilling aura beneath her aunt's calm exterior.

“My husband treated me like a precious jewel. He spent all his wealth and risked his life to hide me away, and then had me sent out of the capital through various means.”

Liu Ying forced down her sobs, her eyes filled with a burning hatred, and slowly said, "But he himself was captured by the Jing'an Division and finally... cut in half at the waist and displayed to the public!" She spoke the last four words extremely slowly, with a ruthless cruelty that seemed to have been used to chew up flesh and blood.

Xu Zhiwei raised her hand and very carefully wiped away the tears on Liu Ying's face, whispering, "Auntie, I'm sorry."

Do you know why I changed my surname?

Liu Ying forced a smile that looked more like a grimace, and said sadly, "Because my husband's surname is Liu, he gave me everything he had to survive, leaving me with this deep-seated hatred!"

The air inside the warm pavilion was bone-chillingly cold. Xu Zhiwei had completely lost her voice, and only Liu Ying's icy voice could be heard.

"The Ling family was wiped out, and the Liu family was destroyed because of me... From that moment on, every hour I live and every breath I take is for revenge. Xue Mingzhang died young, but it is only right for a son to pay for his father's sins. Now that Xue Huai has come to Jiangnan, I will naturally make sure that the Xue family is destroyed and its members die, only then can I quell the hatred in my heart!"

Liu Ying's hands clenched tightly, her knuckles turning white: "Zhiwei, those patients you treated are grateful for your kindness and call you a miracle doctor. When I was begging for help with my child, I so hoped that a miracle doctor like you would descend from the sky, but nothing happened, and I could only watch helplessly as he..."

She sobbed uncontrollably, her body trembling uncontrollably.

Xu Zhiwei sat there in a daze.

Xue Huai's new policies in Yangzhou were real and truly beneficial to the people, but they seemed utterly pale in the face of his aunt's tearful accusations.

Liu Ying gradually stopped crying and looked at Xu Zhiwei with an almost humble gaze. Her voice was extremely hoarse and she said wearily, "Zhiwei, I know that if you use Moyu, your benevolent heart as a doctor will be tarnished. Your aunt will not force you. The final choice of whether to kill Xue Huai or not is in your hands."

Xu Zhiwei remained silent.

Her aunt's care and protection, the nurturing grace of more than ten years, the resources and strength that Jimintang relied on, the tragedy of the Ling and Liu families, and Xue Huai's handsome and gentle face that represented the root of blood feud—all these images intertwined and tore at her heart.

Time passed slowly, and Liu Ying stopped speaking, only staring intently at her with those eyes that had borne too much blood and tears and were now filled only with obsession.

That gaze, a mixture of despair and hope, was like an invisible giant net, tightly binding Xu Zhiwei layer upon layer.

A few sporadic firecrackers occasionally drifted in from outside the window, a reminder that the New Year was approaching.

The light inside seemed dimmer, and the flames in the charcoal brazier appeared rather weak.

After a long, suffocating silence, Xu Zhiwei stretched out his hand with great difficulty—a hand he had once used only to practice medicine and save lives.

Her slender fingers trembled slightly as she slowly approached Liu Ying's hand.

Liu Ying held her breath.

Those trembling fingers finally hesitated before grasping Liu Ying's hand.

A single tear silently slid down Xu Zhiwei's pale cheek, falling to the ground where it was instantly absorbed by the dry blue bricks, leaving no trace.

She lowered her eyes, avoiding Liu Ying's gaze. All her struggles froze at that moment, and she whispered only one sentence: "Aunt, I am willing to help you take revenge."

Liu Ying's tense body finally relaxed slightly, and a complex light, a mixture of sorrow and ruthlessness, flashed deep in her eyes. She said earnestly, "Zhiwei, thank you."

Xu Zhiwei simply lowered her head and looked down.

A moment later, Liu Ying got up to tidy herself up and wash. When her figure disappeared behind the door, the warm pavilion became as silent as a grave.

Xu Zhiwei sat alone by the couch like a frozen jade sculpture, her knuckles unconsciously clenching.

Her eyelids were lowered, her empty gaze unfocused as she stared ahead. The faint flames in the charcoal brazier reflected no warmth in her eyes, only a deep, cold ash.

On a table not far away, her usual medicine box lay quietly. On one side of the box were four small characters, which Xu Zhiwei had personally engraved after treating her first patient.

The four characters are "悬壶济世" (xuán hú jì shì).

Xu Zhiwei looked up, and amidst the flickering light and shadow, only a chilling coldness remained on her beautiful face.

(End of this chapter)