Green Mountain
Chapter 230 - 178, Murder_3

Chapter 230: 178, Murder_3

Chen Ji froze; he had intended to deceive Consort Yun, but he never imagined the real truth that would emerge.

Consort Yun walked into the room and sat down, her gaze cold and fixed upon Chen Ji: "I gave birth to Bai Li just to anger him, and yet, to my surprise, he was not the slightest bit angry. Instead, he loved Bai Li as his own. The most terrifying gaze in this world is not one that looks down upon you, it’s one that refuses to look at you at all."

Chen Ji fell silent, without a word.

Consort Yun spoke icily: "All these years, people have said that Prince Jing is a good prince, but what do they know? Their ’good prince’ is nothing more than Emperor Ning’s loyal enforcer. He married me for the sake of the Luotian Sect behind me, and now that he’s dying, he wants to take the Liu family and the Luotian Sect with him to the grave. Why should he?"

Chen Ji softly asked: "Is the prince truly dying?"

Consort Yun covered her mouth, laughing: "It seems you only know a little. Three years ago, Feng Daban brought back the Life Feather Pill from the Imperial Capital, the very one bestowed to Emperor Ning by the Huangshan Dao Court. Now that three years have passed, his time is almost up."

Chen Ji suddenly understood; no wonder Prince Jing hadn’t even glanced at the Life Feather Pill brought back by Princess Consort Jing—the latter had already taken one and taking another would be useless.

So Prince Jing really was going to die... But what about the Princely Heir and Bai Li?

Consort Yun said unhurriedly: "For many years, my only wish was to have a son. I did so much for him, coordinated the efforts of the Luotian Sect, gathered food and supplies, raised military funds—but even facing death, he wouldn’t grant me this one opportunity."

Chen Ji asked: "So, did you deliberately refrain from informing the Princely Heir and the Commandery Princess about the ambush at Hongyi Lane Gold Workshop, tricking them into a death trap and cutting off Prince Jing’s line?"

Surprised, Consort Yun sized him up: "No wonder Zhu Yunxi and Bai Li came back unscathed. It turned out you were the one sabotaging the plan."

Chen Ji, puzzled, said: "But Bai Li is your daughter."

Consort Yun laughed lightly: "In the prince’s eyes, there is only Bai Li. Now even in Han Tong’s eyes, there is only Bai Li. But their retribution has come. The prince believed that Emperor Ning would spare his offspring, but he did not anticipate that from the start, Emperor Ning intended to eradicate them completely."

"What has Bai Li done to deserve this?"

Consort Yun stood up, hysterical: "What have I done to deserve this?"

Chen Ji looked at Consort Yun and said softly: "My lady, I’ve always been uncertain about what kind of person I want to be. I asked my master, and my master said that one’s heart can be warm, but one’s blood must be cold; I went to ask Mr. Wang, and he said that one must act according to one’s conscience, otherwise, there would always be a piece missing in one’s heart."

Chen Ji continued: "Today, I’ve been thinking about what they said, both teachers made sense. But Lord Jin Zhu said something even more sensible. The things he needs to get done cannot be accomplished by good people; one has to be bad. It’s the same for me."

He went on: "Prince Jing is not a good person, sacrificing so many for their schemes. But the Commandery Princess shouldn’t have to die for your plots. The moment she closed the door today, I thought, I must keep her alive."

Consort Yun furrowed her brow: "Do you intend to kill me? I’ve already written down your identity as a traitor of the Jing Dynasty; if you kill me, someone will surely deliver that paper to the Spy Department."

"It’s unlikely to be delivered."

As he spoke, Wu Yun, carrying a piece of paper in its mouth, leapt onto Chen Ji’s shoulder. It let go, and the paper fell into Chen Ji’s hand.

Chen Ji walked into the room and, before Consort Yun’s eyes, placed the paper atop the flame of a candle: "Is this the paper my lady referred to?"

Consort Yun watched the paper slowly ignite, the flames illuminating her face before fading to darkness.

She suddenly looked up at Chen Ji: "I am Bai Li’s birth mother. If you kill me, how will you face her later? Even if she never finds out, every day when you see her face, you’ll remember that you personally killed her mother!"

Chen Ji let go, allowing the paper to burn to ash and scatter, the light in his eyes dimming as well: "I know, as long as she’s alive, that’s enough."

Having said that, he drew a short knife from his sleeve: "I apologize, my lady."

A moment later, Chen Ji pushed the door open and stepped out, walking out of the dim alleyway step by step.

Wu Yun jumped into his arms, looking up at him: "Are you alright?"

Chen Ji headed towards Anxi Street, then suddenly stopped and looked back.

The East Market, which should have been brightly lit, was now dark as night. The long stretch of blue brick street extended to the end of the world, as if reaching into the abyss.

"Wu Yun."

"Hmm?"

"I guess I won’t be able to be a good person."