HLnovel Chapter 726 You Must Remember Me
Chapter 726 You Must Remember Me
Sheng Junyao's gaze fell on Lu Yangyang with gentleness.
Like the bright and warm sunshine of spring.
But when the focus shifted to Tu Jiuying, only indifference remained.
Even though his expression remained unchanged, Tu Jiuying could see it clearly.
Why?
All their entanglement, isn't it worth even a glance from him?
Sheng Junyao calmly instructed, "Jingchao."
Jing Chao dismounted, walked up to Tu Jiuying, and deftly tied Tu Jiuying's hands with a rope. He then said to Lu Yangyang, "Miss, leave the person to me."
Lu Yangyang released her grip, but did not let her guard down, still keeping a close eye on Tu Jiuying.
Sheng Junyao dismounted and walked to Lu Yangyang's side, looking down coldly at Tu Jiuying: "You, a heinous criminal, can actually utter the word 'despicable.' Two years ago in Dashi Village, Wushi Town, you set a trap to force me to show myself, slaughtering thirty-nine women and children, yet deliberately letting the village's able-bodied men go. Tell me why?"
Sheng Junyao pointed his blood-dripping sword at Tu Jiuying's throat. "It's just that you know people sympathize with the weak, and you guessed I would take the bait, so you wantonly slaughter them for your amusement. But listen to me, all the people of my Great Zhao, whether young or old, women or children, are under the protection of my army in the Northwest, and I will go to rescue them."
"You have no kindness or conscience in your heart, yet you use this to judge others; it's nothing but a cover for your own despicable and shameless behavior!"
Tu Jiuying's pupils constricted sharply, and in an instant, she completely lost her composure. She ground her teeth almost maniacally and retorted sharply, "Shut up! Shut up! Sheng Junyao! Shut up! You're a hypocrite too. What do you, a high-born nobleman, know?"
“I really don’t need to waste my breath on you,” Sheng Junyao said, looking at her coldly. “But if I’m going to kill you today, I should make sure you die knowing why. I will never wrong any innocent person.”
"Innocent?" Tu Jiuying's face showed a sneer, his words were disdainful, "You can stand here today to accuse me only because I lost. If I were the winner, if the vast rivers and mountains were under my feet, who would dare to say they are innocent? It's all about the victor and the vanquished. If you want to kill me, then kill me. There's no need for nonsense!"
"Win?" Sheng Junyao said calmly, "What makes you think you can win? Is it because of the thousand fine horses your caravan has stolen from all over the place, or because you, with only a few hundred men, think you can shake the throne of Da Zhao?"
"How laughable! The hard work and dedication of millions of people in the Great Zhao have built this vast land. Countless scholars have devoted themselves to the cause, countless soldiers have died on the battlefield, and countless ordinary people have toiled to make this country what it is today. How could a bandit like you, who relies on burning, killing, and looting, possibly take it away?"
"Thief?" Tu Jiuying laughed. "But I was born a thief. Do you think I wanted to be? Do you think I didn't want to be like you, born high and mighty? Does not having a good background mean I can't have everything I want? I won't!"
"But I did lose, and I have nothing to say."
Tu Jiuying's gaze swept over Lu Yangyang, "I originally thought you were naive and genuinely considered you a friend. But it turns out I was the one who got pecked in the eye while hunting geese all day. I have no reason to lose."
Lu Yangyang shook her head. "When I first met you, I almost thought that you might still have a shred of conscience. I was wrong. When I saw those girls locked in the dark room, I knew that you were indeed just a bandit, regardless of your gender."
"You people always love spouting this kind of pointless nonsense," Tu Jiuying said disdainfully, then turned her gaze to Sheng Junyao with a deep look.
"I admit defeat."
Tu Jiuying looked at Sheng Junyao, strained to raise her neck, and suddenly leaned forward. She couldn't muster much strength, but the long sword in Sheng Junyao's hand was sharp enough to pierce her skin, and blood flowed down the sword.
Tu Jiuying's eyes widened, her voice hoarse, "But Sheng Junyao, you have to remember me. Because of you, my life has been changed. I am a bad person, but even a bad person like me fell in love with you at first sight."
“If I give the impression of leading people to become cruel and inhumane, then I would be even less likely to deliberately remember this delusion of yours driven by selfish motives. In my eyes, you are no different from a traitor.” Sheng Junyao thrust his long sword forward without hesitation, watching the blood gush from Tu Jiuying’s neck. “You slaughtered thirty-nine innocent women and children in Dashi Village, robbed countless merchants of their property, condoned your subordinates’ abduction of innocent women, colluded with court officials to commit atrocities, causing the deaths and injuries of several people. Your crimes are unforgivable.”
"Is this what you wanted to say to me last?" Tu Jiuying heard her own voice, so weak it was almost fading away, yet she still stubbornly stared at Sheng Junyao.
"These are your crimes," Sheng Junyao replied calmly.
A tear of blood slid down Tu Jiuying's cheek, blood kept spilling from the corner of her lips, and she smiled as she looked at Sheng Junyao.
Time seemed to stretch out endlessly before her eyes, so long that she felt as if, in that instant, she was looking back on her entire life.
Her mother was an official's daughter who was taken back by her father. She always had a haughty and aloof demeanor. She knew from a very young age that her mother disliked her.
When she was still young and didn't understand things, she always tried every means to get her mother's attention. She would cry and make a fuss, break her jewelry and rouge, and pull out her hair, but her mother was never angry. She just disliked her, disliked her so much that she wouldn't give her any extra attention.
But she clearly saw that her mother would smile at the flowers and plants, at the birds flying by the window, at the wild rabbits, and at the clumsy little puppy, but she would never smile at her.
When she was five years old, she killed the dog her mother had raised for three years. Her mother was heartbroken and cried. Without saying a word, she went to the yard to dig a hole to bury the dog. But she shouted that she wanted someone to stew the dog. Then her mother looked at her with a look that she would never forget in her life. It was a look as if she were looking at something dirty.
She was furious and cried out, asking her mother if the dog was more important to her than she was.
Mother said that the dog was more important than her, the birds outside the window were more important than her, the flowers and plants were more important than her, and even a stone on the roadside was more important than her.
She ran crying to her father and told him that she didn't want her mother anymore, that she hated her mother, and that she wanted her to die.
Her father hugged her and laughed heartily, casually saying that it was no big deal and that it was nothing to make her so sad. He told her that if she didn't want it, she didn't have to and that someone else could take care of it.
She secretly followed the men who were dealing with her. She remembered them; they were all brothers from the gang. They went to her mother's room, dragged her out, and put her in the yard. They originally intended to smother her, but they were attracted by her beauty and had evil intentions. They took turns forcing themselves on her.
It was night, and the moonlight shone down. She stood behind the fence in the yard, looking at the dirty scene inside. She saw her mother see her, and in the moment their eyes met, she saw her mother show a relieved expression and then smile. It was a beautiful smile, but the smile froze on her face.
My mother is dead.
She rushed in frantically, pushing those people aside, but her mother was already dead.
She didn't understand, she didn't understand how she could suddenly die while smiling?
How could someone die so quickly?
The dog struggled for a long time when she killed it.
But why did my mother die so quickly?
She cried and screamed until her voice was hoarse, but her mother never opened her eyes again.
From that time on, she never shed another tear.
As she grew older, she finally understood that this was her mother's fate. Not just her mother, but all the women in the gang who were abducted—they all had the same fate. Some men would marry them with great fanfare, have them have several children, but if they got tired of them one day, they would kill them and take another one back.
She asked her father why, and he said there was no why. Women are just like that; they're not even worth as much as livestock. For their caravan, the most important thing is the horses. There are plenty of women in the world; if they run out, they can just steal more.
She asked, "What if they get all of them?" Her father replied nonchalantly, "Then just have one. Isn't it the same if you raise them?"
Are they the same? What about me?
She asked her father this question.
Her father held her and made her drink a bowl of wine. He then handed her a knife and said, "You're different. You can kill them all."
She took the knife, and from then on, she became the young leader of the caravan, and later, the leader of the caravan.
In the eyes of men, women are not even as good as livestock. She always thought that this was the rule of the world. Until that day, she hid in a group of beggars and saw that handsome young man gently holding a dirty little beggar girl in his arms, speaking softly and carefully protecting her. His warm gaze was just like the warm sun in spring.
She tried to expose his hypocrisy, but in the end, she was the one who fled in a sorry state.
If snow from the sky splashes onto mud, it will become very, very dirty.
She felt that person was like a handful of snow, and she wanted to turn him into mud.
Despite her elaborate schemes, she suffered an easy and absurd defeat.
Her vision had completely blurred, so much so that she couldn't see his shadow anymore.
She tried to reach out to him, but her hands were tied and she couldn't move. She could only strain her neck to try and get a better look.
She wanted to ask him what kind of woman he would like.
I want to ask, she was once as pitiful and weak as that little beggar girl, why didn't he smile at her and hug her?
Why can't we remember her?