"Is the implication that I killed Mingxia?" Tian Lianxue sobbed, her fair skin like jade, tears like pear blossoms falling. Any man would feel pity.
But Lu Wuxie did not offer the words of comfort she had expected. Instead, he gazed at her with a faint, unreadable smile.
Tian Lianxue's heart tightened. She reached out to grasp the sleeve of the man beside her, but dared not act too presumptuously.
She wiped away her tears and asked, "Is the young lord still the young lord you were before?"
Lu Wuxie replied, "Lianxue, we've known each other for some years now. Our relationship has been one of affection, stopping at propriety. You know my temperament, and you know what I detest most..."
"Young lord!" Tian Lianxue, hearing this, fell to her knees with a thud. "Does the young lord think I am trying to deceive you?"
Lu Wuxie remained silent.
Tian Lianxue took a deep breath and said, "If I truly intended to deceive you, why would I have given my personal item to the young prince in front of all the sisters at Flower Manor?"
Lu Wuxie still said nothing.
Tian Lianxue bit her lip and stammered, "Although I am a courtesan, I am the top courtesan of this Flower Manor. The young lord also knows I have guarded my virtue for many years. Can I be the superficial person you imagine?"
Finally, Lu Wuxie moved. He turned to look at Tian Lianxue, his eyes devoid of their earlier coldness, replaced by a touch of affection and reluctance.
"Then tell me, did you give Mingxia the hairpin?" he asked.
Tian Lianxue nodded, her eyes as clear as water. "Yes... did that hairpin have anything to do with Mingxia's death..."
"Do you know about Peng Yong's case from ten years ago?" Lu Wuxie reminded her.
Tian Lianxue's hand flew to her mouth in fright. "How could that be? Did Dali Temple not clarify that the hairpin had nothing to do with the case back then?"
When the Peng Yong case occurred, she was merely a child. But the case was so cruel and had caused such a stir that it was difficult not to know about it.
Ten years had passed, and she never imagined that Mingxia's death would be related to that case.
"Wasn't the murderer apprehended back then?" Tian Lianxue asked, puzzled.
Lu Wuxie replied, "If the murderer was apprehended, how did Mingxia die?"
Tian Lianxue faltered, as if understanding something. Her body slumped to the ground like a frostbitten eggplant. "Mingxia... my dear Mingxia, it was your sister, your sister who harmed you."
The woman's sobs echoed through the room.
After an unknown amount of time, Tian Lianxue finally spoke, "That red coral lotus hairpin was indeed given to Mingxia by me..."
She sobbed, tears streaming down her face, "I never imagined it would harm her."
"Where did you get that hairpin?" Lu Wuxie asked, as only Mingxia's hairpin was genuine among the three.
"Since things have come to this, I no longer wish to hide anything from the young lord," Tian Lianxue said. "The young lord must know that as the top courtesan of Flower Manor, I've never lacked admirers."
Lu Wuxie remained silent.
"About a month ago, I was entertaining a guest who was a poor scholar."
A poor scholar?
Lu Wuxie raised an eyebrow but was not surprised. After all, Tian Lianxue's beauty and fame could draw wealthy men to spend a fortune, and also draw the poor to sell their possessions just to see her.
"The scholar was initially just listening to my music. Who knows, as I played, the poor scholar seemed to have gotten drunk and attempted to molest me," Tian Lianxue said, her body trembling as if from fear.
She stole a glance at Lu Wuxie, and seeing his expressionless face, felt a pang of disappointment. She continued, "Fortunately, the wet nurse rushed in to handle the scholar. The scholar, realizing his fault, gave me his only possession, a red coral lotus hairpin, as compensation."
"Then why did you give it to Mingxia?" Lu Wuxie asked.
"I truly didn't know this item would cost Mingxia her life," Tian Lianxue began to weep again at the mention of Mingxia.
"The young lord, being knowledgeable about antiques, must know this hairpin is an outdated item. I would never wear such a thing, yet it was quite valuable. So, I gave it to Mingxia on impulse. If I had known that this item would bring about Mingxia's demise, I would never have given it to her."
"Do you know who that scholar is?" Lu Wuxie pressed.
Tian Lianxue dared not delay and quickly revealed the scholar's name: "Young Master Xiao from the north of the city."
"You may rise," Lu Wuxie said, waving his hand.
"Oh!" Tian Lianxue seemed to have knelt for too long, her legs giving way. She stumbled and fell towards Lu Wuxie, who was sitting upright.
"Are you alright?" Lu Wuxie quickly caught her wrist and skillfully pushed her body, which was about to fall into his embrace, away.
Although Tian Lianxue gained nothing, it was rare to hear Lu Wuxie's voice so unusually gentle. Her lips quivered, and tears welled up in her eyes again.
"Does the young lord finally believe me?"
Lu Wuxie nodded.
Upon receiving his answer, Tian Lianxue's tears began to fall in earnest. "I entered Flower Manor as a child, and it has been more than ten years. I believe I have seen many men, but I am also a woman, with emotions and desires. Now, besides the young lord, there is no one else in my heart. Otherwise..."
Her cheeks flushed, and she added, "I wouldn't have given the young prince such intimate items."
Lu Wuxie looked at Tian Lianxue, who was trying to approach him again. He casually picked up a cup of warm tea from the table and brought it to her lips. "I misunderstood you today, Lianxue. Drink some water to moisten your throat."
Tian Lianxue gazed at the cup before her, her expression appearing serene, but inwardly, her thoughts were a stampede of horses.
Indeed, since she officially started her profession five years ago, Lu Wuxie had been her regular guest. However, this man was always unfathomable. He spent lavishly, listened to her music, but always kept her at arm's length, indifferent.
To say he liked beauties, he had patronized most of the matchmakers at Flower Manor. To say he was debauched, none of the courtesans had ever spent a night with him.
When Lu Wuxie came to see her today, she was convinced that the item she had given him had received a response, otherwise, he wouldn't have reciprocated with this mutton-fat jade. Therefore, tonight, she had to seize the opportunity.
"I knew the young lord cared about me," Tian Lianxue took the cup Lu Wuxie offered and, without a second thought, gulped down all the tea.
"Is the young lord leaving today?" she asked the man opposite her, wiping the corner of her mouth with a silk handkerchief.
Lu Wuxie glanced at Tian Lianxue. His peach blossom eyes casually swept past the screen opposite. "I'm not leaving."
"Really?" Tian Lianxue seemed surprised, excitement in her eyes making her lose her composure.
But she could not spare a moment for anything else now. She got up, poured a cup of clear wine, and walked towards Lu Wuxie.
"After I sent that personal item, I was worried the young lord wouldn't come," she said with a gentle smile. Her once clear eyes now held a layer of bewilderment. "Now I'm not worried. I..."
"Thump."
Before she could finish her sentence, a dull thud echoed from the floor of the Fragrant Pavilion.
At the same time, a person emerged from behind the screen.
It was Zhong Li.