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Chapter 464: Chapter 464: Zhou Jian

"Yes!" The messenger quickly left.

In the main hall, Zhong Shan looked at everyone and said, "You may all leave for now."

"Yes!" everyone responded and left promptly.

Soon, Mr. Shui Jing was brought in.

Mr. Shui Jing, dressed in his usual scholar\'s robe and holding a feather fan, still appeared as elegant and unrestrained as ever. The only difference was the shadow of worry that clouded his brow. Clearly, he was troubled by something.

"Mr. Shui Jing, it\'s been a long time!" Zhong Shan greeted with a smile.

"Greetings, Lord Dongfang!" Mr. Shui Jing immediately replied.

"Mr. Shui Jing, no need for such formalities. Back when Qi Tianhou wreaked havoc in the Ancient Holy City and falsely accused Princess Qianyou, if it weren\'t for your timely advice, I wouldn\'t have exposed Qi Tianhou\'s true colors, nor would he have faced such a miserable downfall. I owe much to you, Mr. Shui Jing. Please, just call me Zhong Shan," Zhong Shan said with a smile.

"Alas, I had no choice but to disturb you this time. Please don\'t blame me!" Mr. Shui Jing shook his head and sighed.

"Oh?"

"It\'s a long story!" Mr. Shui Jing sighed again.

"Please, Mr. Shui Jing, let\'s discuss this at length. This way, please."

Zhong Shan led Mr. Shui Jing to a small pavilion outside the Eastern Hall. The two sat down, and a servant brought tea.

"Mr. Shui Jing, just speak your mind. If there\'s anything I can help with, I will do my utmost," Zhong Shan said. Indeed, both were smart men, no need to beat around the bush.

"Thank you!" Mr. Shui Jing nodded.

"I came here this time to seek advice from you on matters of the heart!" Mr. Shui Jing said surprisingly.

Matters of the heart? Zhong Shan\'s eyes widened instantly. No way!

Seeing Zhong Shan\'s expression, Mr. Shui Jing smiled bitterly.

"Others wouldn\'t understand, so I had to turn to you, Mr. Zhong Shan. I have always admired your way with women, being entangled with princesses of two dynasties," Mr. Shui Jing said.

"Uh?" Zhong Shan felt slightly embarrassed. Was that a compliment or an insult?

But seeing Mr. Shui Jing\'s sincere eyes, Zhong Shan knew he was genuinely seeking help.

"Do you remember the ninth consort of King Daxuan?" Mr. Shui Jing asked with a hint of bitterness.

The ninth consort of King Daxuan, Princess Qianyou\'s senior sister, was the woman who had always been on Mr. Shui Jing\'s mind. It was said that before he even met her, Mr. Shui Jing was already searching for her. But when he found her, she had married King Daxuan. Since then, Mr. Shui Jing willingly served under King Daxuan, just to catch a glimpse of her occasionally.

"I remember," Zhong Shan nodded.

"I suppose Princess Qianyou has told you about my story," Mr. Shui Jing smiled bitterly.

"I\'ve heard a bit, and I know that Mr. Shui Jing has deep feelings for the ninth consort. It\'s a tragic tale," Zhong Shan shook his head and sighed.

"Yes, fate plays tricks on us!" Mr. Shui Jing reminisced, a look of pain crossing his face.

"Mr. Shui Jing, did you come to me because of her?" Zhong Shan asked.

"Yes."

"Why are you so obsessed with her? I noticed she has no feelings for you."

"Heh, it\'s because she hasn\'t remembered yet," Mr. Shui Jing smiled bitterly.

"Hasn\'t remembered? Do you mean her memories are sealed?" Zhong Shan asked in surprise. Could it be similar to Tian Ling\'er\'s situation?

"Yes and no," Mr. Shui Jing shook his head.

"Huh?" Zhong Shan was puzzled.

"She and I have a deep entanglement from our past lives. I regained my past life\'s memories due to a special circumstance, but she hasn\'t," Mr. Shui Jing explained.

"Huh?" Zhong Shan was stunned. Past life memories? That far back?

"In our past lives, I was named Zhou Jian, the only son of a wealthy family, the Zhou family. She was Miss Liu of the Liu family, Liu Yanyan," Mr. Shui Jing said.

"Hmm."

"But our families were mortal enemies. When I was young, my family, the Zhou family, massacred her entire family, the Liu family. My father led our servants in a bloodbath that wiped out the Liu family. Only two people escaped, a young master of the Liu family and her, who was just two years old at the time, taken away by her brother."

"The two surviving members of the Liu family bore a deep-seated grudge. The Liu family young master concealed his identity and raised her, accumulating power in secret. When she was eight, she disguised herself as a beggar to gain my pity and was taken into the Zhou household as my personal maid," Mr. Shui Jing continued.

Listening to Mr. Shui Jing\'s story, Zhong Shan was astonished. What a tragic entanglement!

"The brother and sister came to seek revenge on your Zhou family?" Zhong Shan asked.

Mr. Shui Jing nodded lightly.

"But by the time she was sixteen, I had fallen deeply in love with her, and she with me. However, she knew that one of our families was destined to be annihilated by the other, which made her very sad. I confessed my love to her several times, but she always refused. Though she was my maid, I never forced her. Until one night, after getting drunk, everything changed, and then I married her," Mr. Shui Jing recounted.

"And then?" Zhong Shan asked.

"After marrying her, I noticed that when she looked at my family, there was a hatred in her eyes that I didn\'t understand. It wasn\'t until her brother amassed enough power, and she provided a large amount of information about the Zhou household to him, that they attacked and killed my parents. Only then did I realize the depth of her hatred," Mr. Shui Jing said, his voice filled with pain.

What a tragic entanglement! Zhong Shan sighed internally.

"What happened then?" Zhong Shan asked.

"It seemed my father had long noticed her hatred and perhaps even her identity, but he never said a word. On the eve of the Zhou household\'s downfall, he called me to his bedside and told me not to carry the grudges of the past, not to hate Liu Yanyan, and to live well. I didn\'t understand then, but the next day, when our household was engulfed in blood, I finally did. That night, my father even spoke to her alone. I\'m sure he begged her not to kill me."

"The next day, everyone died. A vast Zhou household, everyone was dead, except for me. I had been sent to a shop in the neighboring village. It wasn\'t until a servant, mortally wounded, came to inform me of the tragedy that I knew everything."

"At that moment, I grabbed a sword and rushed to the backyard. She was there, holding a sword as well."

Zhou Jian\'s eyes were bloodshot, his sword pointed at Liu Yanyan. Tears streamed down his face uncontrollably.

"Yanyan, tell me this isn\'t true. None of this is true," Zhou Jian pleaded, his eyes red and the tip of his sword trembling. He couldn\'t believe that the woman he loved most, the woman he loved with all his heart, had killed his entire family.

Liu Yanyan gave a sorrowful smile, "It\'s all true! I am a descendant of the Liu family! My parents\' blood feud is irreconcilable!"

"No, this isn\'t true!" Zhou Jian roared at the sky, tears pouring down his face.

Why is this happening? Oh heavens, what did I do wrong? Why is this happening? The woman I love the most killed my entire family?

Zhou Jian completely forgot his father\'s advice from the previous day: not to carry the grudges of the past, not to hate Liu Yanyan.

Seeing Liu Yanyan standing there with her sword, he lost his mind and lunged at her with his sword. Liu Yanyan also thrust her sword forward. At that moment, Zhou Jian\'s heart was a turmoil of emotions, filled with despair. He thought that if he could kill her, they could both end this tormenting love together.

With a sound of piercing flesh, his sword went through her heart. But at the last moment, Liu Yanyan deliberately let go of her sword, wearing a sorrowful yet serene smile, willingly dying by his hand.

Zhou Jian was suddenly numb, frozen in place. It wasn\'t until Liu Yanyan fell that he rushed forward to hold her, tears streaming down his face like a river.

"Why did it have to be like this? Why?" Zhou Jian muttered in a daze.

Liu Yanyan, though pierced through the heart, didn\'t die immediately. She fell into Zhou Jian\'s arms with a sorrowful smile.

"Master..." Liu Yanyan smiled bitterly.

"Yanyan, why? Why did it have to be like this?" Zhou Jian shouted.

"I\'m sorry, Master. I\'m going first. You must live well. I told my brother, no matter what, he must let you go. He promised. The enmity between our families ends here," Liu Yanyan said weakly.

"No, why did it have to be like this?" Zhou Jian still couldn\'t accept the reality.

Gently caressing Zhou Jian\'s face, Liu Yanyan spoke with reluctance, "I have always been your maid, watching you practice calligraphy every day was the happiest time for me. I bore the family grudge and had to seek revenge. Entering the Zhou household was just for revenge, but I fell in love with you. It shouldn\'t have happened, but I don\'t regret it. Being able to be your woman while alive was enough for me. I\'m sorry, Master. I\'m sorry. I thought of this death long ago. I just wanted to die by your hand to ease your anger. As long as you live well, it doesn\'t matter how I die."

"No...no..." Zhou Jian cried, holding Liu Yanyan.

"Master, I\'m sorry I can no longer serve you. I am a bad woman, I\'m sorry," Liu Yanyan said with difficulty.

Zhou Jian laughed painfully, "Hehehe..."

The sky seemed to turn black and white. His hatred for Liu Yanyan had long disappeared, replaced only by infinite tenderness and love.

"Master, in the next life, I will be your maid again, grinding ink for you every day, okay?" Liu Yanyan said with difficulty.

"Okay, okay!" Zhou Jian\'s tears had dried, replaced by streaks of blood tears running down his cheeks.

Liu Yanyan\'s eyes closed weakly, not seeing the blood tears, but she spoke softly, "In the next life, you\'ll write our names before me. You\'ll say you need \'Sanyang Spring\' ink, and I\'ll say we ran out and add more for you. That\'s when I\'ll remember you."

With that, Liu Yanyan spoke no more.

Mr. Shui Jing recalled the past, his heart filled with emotion, and two lines of tears flowed down his face. Though a lifetime had passed, washing away all causes and effects, and the hatred was gone, this love had broken through the shackles of reincarnation. It refused to be buried by the cycle of life and death. For eternity, it could not be forgotten.