Fuzhu's Ballad

14

CHAPTER 14 The Light of the Firefly

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Shentu Rui waited for Lan Dan to tidy up before entering her room. She had just finished bathing and her hair was still wet. When she saw him coming in, she jumped up from the ground, not displaying any signs of her injury.

She grabbed his arm with a look of fear in her eyes and stared up at him. Shentu Rui initially assumed that she was still traumatized by Deng Chong’s actions, but then she burst into tears and said, “I can’t do what you asked me to do!”

She became agitated and took a step back, shouting so loudly that she bent over. “I can’t face him! Whenever he looks at me, I feel disgusted and scared! He’s too scary, even though he has a gentle gaze, he’s a monster that wants to devour people! It’s like he’s a demon living in a beautiful shell. He’s so fake!”

Until today, Lan Dan didn’t hold as much contempt for Shentu Cheng. He was an ambitious man who would use anyone he could to achieve his goals. But he also used that seductive look, which he pretended to be indifferent about, on her. He used it on Princess Danyang, seduced her heart, and caused her death. Then he used that same look on Fu Zhu, as if it were a routine. He didn’t put any effort into it at all, from beginning to end, just like eating breakfast and sleeping at night. As long as he followed the same pattern, he could achieve what he wanted.

She thought she was the only woman he had deceived, used and killed, but she was not even worthy of that title. The way he treated Danyang was the same as how he treated Fu Zhu and the former Third and Ninth Sisters-in-Law, who have been able to abandon their husbands without hesitation, even asking Shentu Cheng to kill them.

Lan Huang and Shentu Cheng may be considered equal and mutually beneficial, but what about the rest of the women?

All of them were regarded with cold eyes, whether they had been abandoned or not, they were just his playthings.

She could not cope with him, let alone have any kind of intimacy with him! She couldn’t even speak to him as if nothing had happened!

Shentu Rui looked at her coldly.

Laughing and crying, Lan Dan gave up on trying and lost control. She raised her head, waved her hand, and said, “Yes! Useless people should just die. If you want me to die, that’s fine! I’ve died before! I’d rather die than get close to Shentu Cheng again!”

Upon hearing this, Shentu Rui frowned with anger and disgust, turned around, and slammed the door heavily as he walked out.

After a day of exhaustion and a night of ups and downs, Lan Dan felt extremely relieved. She collapsed on the ground, too tired to move. She closed her eyes, not caring whether she would live to see tomorrow or not.

She just lay in a mess like this, dozing off and on, in a daze.

The sky outside gradually brightened. She opened her eyes for a moment and then closed them again. She didn’t care if the guards rushed in and dragged her out to be hanged or killed with a knife!

The door opened and the sound of light footsteps could be heard— it was the maidservants.

Lan Dan remained still and they didn’t call her, but they forcefully washed her face and rinsed her mouth. The two thin maids had quite a bit of strength, and when they changed her clothes, they pinched her shoulders until they hurt.

Yesterday she made their master unhappy, so although the maids still wore expressionless faces, their actions indicated that they were displeased as well.