Chapter 1: Perishing with Resentment

In the depths of winter, the rain has been falling for over a month, but today it finally clears up. However, despite this change in weather, the scenery that meets the eye in the capital is still bleak. The hazy mist gradually dissipates, revealing only white walls, black tiles, and barren branches with withered leaves.

In the courtyard of the Jing'an Marquis Manor, a young man dressed in a plain gray cloak knelt at the doorstep. His face was pale, and his delicate features lacked any vitality. Even his lips had turned blue from the cold. The lingering moisture in the air condensed on his forehead, following a strand of hair and dripping into his eyes, which were as deep and black as a dark abyss.

He blinked his eyes and looked up at the high and distant sky.

The sky was hazy, just like his eyes. It had been raining for a long time, and it seemed like it would never clear up again.

The sky is so high and vast, and the world is so wide and expansive, yet there is not a single place for him to seek refuge.

He laughed at himself, who could he blame for all of this?

I don't know how long I've been kneeling, until my knees and legs become numb and lose all feeling. Only then did I hear a woman's delicate laughter and a man's gentle soothing voice coming from the courtyard.

He slowly let his gaze fall upon the courtyard, where a man and a woman were slowly walking towards the entrance, surrounded by many servants. They were slowly approaching him.

The man was dressed in a brand new and extravagant brocade garment. He draped a dark black cape over his shoulders, which was intricately embroidered with golden threads and silver lines depicting a qilin and auspicious clouds, appearing lifelike. His aura exuded an air of nobility, and his handsome face with starry eyes and sharp eyebrows revealed his presence as he glanced at the people kneeling at the entrance. His initially gentle expression immediately turned cold and stern, like the chilling winter wind and a dagger that could frighten anyone.

He looked down at him with a condescending gaze and said, "Yuli, do you now realize your mistake?"

The voice was cold, mixed with disdain and disgust, piercing to the bone.

Yuli's body had stiffened, but she tightly clenched her fists, trying hard to straighten her posture. Upon hearing the man in front of her questioning her, a cold smile appeared at the corner of his lips as he said, "Naturally, I am at fault."

"Oh?" The man lowered his eyelids and looked at him. "Where did you go wrong?"

Yuli's gaze moved inch by inch from his shoes to his face. The smile at the corner of his lips grew colder: "I shouldn't have mistaken my stepfather and stepmother, who are less worthy than pigs and dogs, for my own parents. I shouldn't have mistaken my hypocritical and malicious half-siblings for my real siblings. I shouldn't have mistaken the heartless and faithless person for a loving partner. These were all my mistakes. I was blind and clouded by foolishness, unaware of the existence of such wicked people in this world!"

In the end, his emotions became intense and his eyes turned a blood-red color due to the overwhelming hatred he felt.

"Outrageous!" Xiao Jinyan, the handsome face of Duke Jing'an, was filled with anger as his sharp eyes stared fiercely at Yu Li.

The woman behind him took a step forward and stood beside him. Her face, as charming and graceful as a goddess, showed a look of anger: "Yuli, why are you so stubborn! It was clearly you who poisoned me first, yet you refuse to repent and insult Lord Hou! I know you are jealous of me, but I am at least your sister. How could you bear to act this way?!"

Xiao Jinyan heard her defending him and couldn't help but reach out, pulling her into his embrace. He said, "Wan'er, you haven't fully recovered yet. Why get angry over this despicable scum?"

Yu Li watched the couple in front of him singing and dancing together like a performance. He couldn't help but let out a long, icy laugh. He wasn't laughing at others, but at himself, for being so foolish and ignorant!

Xiao Jinyan is clear, ungrateful and unfeeling, with a heart as cold as ice. Yet I have always regarded him as my beloved. Yudan is clearly hypocritical and malicious, and yet I have never doubted her. I am willing to share a husband with her! I treated him as a husband, and her as a sister, but when have they ever treated me as a wife or an elder sister?!

In their eyes, I am nothing more than a lowly concubine's bastard, as insignificant as dust and as worthless as a dog!

From the age of fourteen when I joined the Yu family, to now at nineteen, I haven't made any progress at all. I am so foolish that it's simply laughable!

"What are you laughing at?" When Xiao Jinyan looked at him, his eyes turned icy cold. Seeing that he did not answer, Xiao Jinyan unexpectedly kicked him in the chest. "I asked you, what are you laughing at?"

Yuli was kicked unexpectedly and fell to the ground like a clay doll. None of his clothes were dry or warm, and he had already frozen stiff. Fortunately, it was incredibly cold, so although he was kicked, he didn't feel much pain.

Xiao Jinyan looked at him in anger and said, "I thought I treated you well, why would you do so many malicious things? Wanyi is your own younger sister, and yet you could actually lay a hand on her?! Could it be that you are truly born from a lowly concubine, incapable of being respectable in any way?!"

Yuli lay prostrate on the ground, his clothes disheveled. His black hair covered half of his face, giving his pale and bluish complexion an eerie look. He burst into a cold, bitter laughter, tears streaming down his face. Finally, with a tone full of heartache, he questioned, "Xiao Jinyan, how dare you claim that you have treated me well!"

He looked up and stared fiercely at the delicate and beautiful Yu Xuan in front of him. She was dressed in Shu brocade, and the cuffs and collar were lined with valuable sable fur. Her makeup was exquisite, and her hair accessories were exquisite. He glared at her, his eyes almost popping out of their sockets: "You said that when she marries into the marquis's mansion, she will be treated the same as me, and will never show favoritism to anyone else. But look at her now, what does she eat? What does she wear? What does she use? And what do Li Er and I eat? What do we wear?!" You spend your nights with her, even when I was sick, you used the excuse of having matters to attend to in the court and didn't bother to see me. She ordered someone to kill my Li Er, and yet you defend her countless times. And now, she just says she has a stomachache, and you conclude that I poisoned her. How dare you say that I'm not being treated well!"

Yu Li propped himself up with his hand and slowly sat up. His face was filled with a smile, resembling a tortured ghost in hell. He spoke slowly, "You deceived my youthful innocence and tricked me into marrying you, but that was only because I could protect you from harm! Later on, I truly protected you from danger. The poisoned wine delivered by your elder brother still lingers in my body till this day! I regarded you as the benefactor who rescued me from the Left Minister's Manor, I saw you as my world. From the age of fifteen, I married you and worked hard for four years to secure the position of a marquis, never once doing anything to betray you. I could confront my conscience with every action. Have I ever poisoned or harmed anyone? And what about you? You trampled upon my sincerity as if it were dust, treated me as lowly as a speck of grass. You never truly cared for me, and yet, you dare to claim that you treated me well! Xiao Jin Yan, save these words to deceive my dear sister!"

He finished speaking hoarsely and with all his strength, followed by a burst of laughter.

Xiao Jinyan was so irritated that the veins on his forehead bulged, as if he had already harbored murderous intent. Naturally, he had never truly regarded Yuli with sincere feelings. If it weren't for his father, Marquis Xia, insisting that he marry Yuli because of some doomed prophecy, and also the fact that Yuli was moderately pretty, how could he possibly marry a man, let alone a lowly bastard born to a concubine? Over the years, having a man as a wife had caused him to be ridiculed and looked down upon by many noble sons in the capital. Furthermore, after gazing at Yuli's face for four years, he had grown tired of it. It was already benevolent enough for him to be allowed to preserve his status in the Marquis's residence. Yet, he still couldn't settle down and had produced these foolish and delusional thoughts!

He stared coldly at Yu Li and said slowly, "Yu Li, you are seeking a death wish."

Yuyan, who was standing nearby, could tell that Xiaojin's anger had reached its peak. She felt pleased and glanced at him contemptuously, saying, "You are truly ignorant and arrogant. Clearly, you are the offspring of a lowly concubine. Mr. Yuan has said that your features indicate both the downfall of your parents and hinder the prosperity of the Yufu. It's clear that you are an inauspicious person. Marquis Hou took pity on you and married you, but you actually deluded yourself into thinking that you could have him all to yourself, even going so far as to bring an illegitimate child, thinking that it would become the Marquis's eldest son... You are nothing but a insignificant existence with aspirations as high as the sky. In the end, you brought this upon yourself and yet you still have the audacity to blame others. If this were to be known, it would truly be laughable!"

Speaking, she turned around and said to Xiao Jinyan, "Marquis, a lowly creature will always be a lowly creature. You don't need to get angry for him and risk harming yourself. Despite his disgraceful words and actions, he is still my brother after all. It would be better for you to spare his wretched life and send him to Guangde Temple in accordance with the rules, letting him fend for himself and save the Marquis's residence from further chaos."

Xiao Jinyan's eyes flickered, as if he had thought of something. He said, "Hmm, Wanyan, you are kind-hearted. Let's do it your way."

Guangde Temple is a place where female members of aristocratic families who have made mistakes are detained. Almost all of them are insane, and once they arrive, they will not live for much longer even if they were not insane to begin with.

Yuli's teeth clenched tightly as he stared at the calm and composed Xiao Jinyan in front of him. He said, "Since you want to send me there, it means you want to sever our ties and end our friendship."

Xiao Jinyan was already about to leave when he heard those words. He turned around and looked down on him from a higher position, saying coldly, "When you were poisoning people, our bond as husband and wife had long since been broken. There is no longer any affection between us."

"Alright, I just have one more question for you."

"What are you talking about?"

Yu Li looked up at him, with a calm expression on her face. "Come closer, I only want to ask you something."

Xiao Jinyan hesitated for a moment upon hearing those words. However, since he needed to present a tolerant and compassionate attitude in front of everyone, he took a step forward. Yuran, who was standing by his side, held him back, not wanting him to have any further entanglement with Yuli, and said,

"Houye! Why do you keep spoiling him?"

Xiao Jinyan patted her hand, as if gesturing for her to endure a little longer. He walked forward, just as Yu Li slowly stood up from the ground, bringing the two of them closer together.

Yu Li looked at him, a hint of inexplicable light flashing in his black eyes. A calm and undisturbed smile appeared on his face as he slowly said, "Jin Yan, to be honest, I really wanted to grow old with you. But now, things have come to this point, I'm afraid it's no longer possible... So, I guess we can only become a pair of ghost mandarin ducks!"

His eyes flickered with madness. Xiao Jinyan widened his eyes in shock, but just as he realized what was happening, he felt a coldness in his abdomen as if something vicious had drilled into it. He lowered his head for a closer look and saw a dagger embedded in his own stomach, the tip of which belonged to Yu Li's hand.

The hand was fair and slender, yet splattered with a vibrant crimson blood.

Yu Li sneered at him sinisterly and said, "Jin Yan, this is my repayment to you for everything I've done..." As she spoke, she suddenly pulled out a dagger.

Xiao Jinyan immediately covered his abdomen, shouting angrily, "Someone! Call someone! Kill him! Kill him for me!"

Immediately, various sounds echoed all around. Yu Yan's high-pitched scream, the guards' responsive voices, the sound of blades being unsheathed...

Yuli no longer had the capacity to care about these things, because he had already pointed the dagger at his own chest. With his thin and pale fingertips, just a little exertion of force would be enough to end everything...

He slowly fell down and looked up at the vast sky. In his heart, he thought, "Finally, it's over. This humiliating and ridiculous life, it's finally over."

In the next life, may we never repeat our mistakes.

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