She was very pale, but there was a patch of crimson on her cheeks, clearly indicating that the fever had not entirely subsided. Only her eyes seemed to be burning with flames. She insisted on going home. Jin'er couldn't resist her, so she had to pull her hand away and said, "Alright, miss, if you want to go back, we'll go. Let go quickly; be careful not to scratch the palm with your fingernails."
After seeing the deep impression on Zheng Lingbo's palm, she couldn't help but cry, "Liu Sanzhi has been too heartless towards you, miss."
Zheng Lingbo, on hearing her mention Liu Sanzhi, unconsciously patted her chest, her heart filled with bitterness and helplessness.
Jin'er was still complaining about Liu Sanzhi's cold-heartedness, but Zheng Lingbo was trying to suppress her inner emotions. Her fingers convulsed unconsciously due to excessive force, suddenly interrupting her and saying, "Don't tell me about anything to do with Liu Sanzhi in the future."
Jin'er looked at Zheng Lingbo with a dazed expression, reaching out to touch her forehead again, suspecting that the miss might still have a fever, for why else would she address Liu Sanzi in such a way.
She used to call him Chengwang brother before.
Although Liu Chengwang was indeed Zheng Lingbo's cousin, because Zheng's mother died early, the Zheng and Liu families were not close. There was only Zheng Lingbo, who had a good time playing with Liu Chengwang when she was young and still loved to run to Liu's place as an adult.
Zheng Lingbo moved away from Jin'er's hand, knowing what she was thinking, and said, "I'm feeling much better now."
Jin'er blurted out, "How can a lady call Liu Sanzhi like that?"
Zheng Lingbo's eyes stung, but she said, "…I just realized."
Jin'er was puzzled: "Are you really over it, miss?"
Zheng Lingbo's gaze fell on the square courtyard outside: "Well, what else can I do?"
Now, every time she sees Liu Chengwang, she thinks of the one hundred and thirty-eight lives of the main and servant personnel at General's Manor, objectively knowing that Liu Chengwang is not the main culprit. However, his indifferent attitude of watching and celebrating at that time really frightened her. How could she not blame him?
Now, not only does she no longer feel affection, she just wants to stay far away from him.
However, it's not the time to break all ties just yet.
Jin'er was overjoyed: "That's wonderful!"
She spun around joyfully in place: "It's wonderful that miss has come to her senses!"
The two quickly packed their things and prepared to return home.
Originally, Zheng Lingbo could stay at Liu's place because her aunt casually left a sentence when she visited, and she wanted to see more of Liu Chengwang, so she shamelessly stayed there.
There was no one in the Liu family to welcome her, and the Zheng family didn't like her close relationship with the Liu family either, to the point where Zheng Lingbo didn't even need to arrange her etiquette for offering salutations.
She simply gathered her things, including the paintings and handkerchiefs she had prepared for Liu Chengwang. She put away what needed to be kept and burned what needed to be discarded, leaving everything spotless.
The fire made her tremble uncontrollably and her fingers clenched, but Zheng Lingbo gritted her teeth and held back, watching the ashes drift away slowly before she finally let out a breath.
Jin'er held her hands and asked, "Miss, are we leaving now?"
Zheng Lingbo turned her head back to look at the room.
Now she is only staying here for a short period of time. After that accident at the autumn hunting next year, her brother killed Xin'er and married her to Liu Chengwang, she has been living here for six years.
In this life, she will definitely not repeat the same mistakes again!
Remembering the six years of life when no one could help her, Zheng Lingbo's eyebrows and eyes flickered with determination. She raised her foot and headed towards the main courtyard.
On her way, she encountered Liu Chengwang's twin sister, who was also Zheng Lingbo's cousin, Liu Ningning.
Liu Ningning and Zheng Lingbo were not on good terms, and when she saw Zheng Lingbo, she gave her a sarcastic look and said, "Oh, didn't you say you couldn't get up because you were sick? How quickly can you recover? You're just pretending."
Zheng Lingbo pulled back the Jin'er who wanted to argue, looked at Liu Ningning, and new grudges mixed with old ones flooded her heart. She said coldly, "If you can't speak, close your mouth."
Liu Ningning opened her eyes wide, cursed, and took a step forward to slap Zheng Lingbo, but Zheng Lingbo was ready and caught her wrist with one hand. With the other, she exerted all her strength and slapped Liu Ningning right on the face.
She used all her strength, and Liu Ningning was sent flying in a circle, landing with a thud on the ground and kneeling down.
Liu Ningning was stunned. She covered her face in disbelief and looked at Zheng Lingbo, shrieking, "You dare to hit me?!"
——That Zheng Lingbo, who always obediently followed the orders of everyone in the Liu family, actually dared to hit her?!
Zheng Lingbo said coldly, "I hit you. Do I have to choose a date?"
From the moment she realized her rebirth, she had decided not to endure it anymore. What's nice-sounding is settling things amicably and valuing peace over conflict! It's always only herself who endures the wrongs!
Liu Ningning: "!!!"
Zheng Lingbo and her usual demeanor were too different, which shocked Liu Ningning into a momentary silence. She opened and closed her mouth, unable to utter a single word.
But there was a hurried sound of footsteps approaching. Liu Chengwang glanced at his sister's face, which was still hidden but visibly swollen, and his expression darkened for a moment. He instructed the servant to help her up and raised his hand to slap Zheng Lingbo, shouting at her, "Have you gone mad?"
The hand that was about to strike was stopped by another hand.
It wasn't Zheng Lingbo.
Zheng Lingbo looked somewhat surprised at the young man standing beside her.
The young man was dressed in scholar's attire, with moon-white pleated sleeves embroidered with lush green bamboo. He looked like a tall bamboo pole, standing straight and elegant, with long jade-like eyes and eyebrows. He looked the same age as Liu Chengwang, but taller, and was indeed a virtuous gentleman. His gaze was gentle and calm.
This gaze reminded Zheng Lingbo of the youth who had supported Liu Chengwang on that crazy night in her previous life. The man had looked at her in the same gentle manner, bringing her a sense of calm that she hadn't felt in a long time.
Liu Chengwang's face was not very pleasant, and he had just remembered that there were outsiders present. He forced a smile at the guest and said, "Forgive me for embarrassing you, Brother Rong. This cousin of mine is uncultured..."
The young man interrupted him, saying, "No harm done."
Zheng Lingbo lowered her eyelids, taking advantage of the opportunity created by the two of them talking to try to suppress the surging resentment in her heart and make a calm expression. She asked Liu Chengwang, "If she wants to hit me and I hit her back, is there anything wrong with that?"
Liu Chengwang frowned at Zheng Lingbo's calm attitude. Before he could say anything else, a voice full of smiles but firm and determined slowly chimed in: "There's no problem. It's very reasonable."
Zheng Lingbo couldn't help but glance at the young man again.
Zheng Lingbo had some impression of this person. He was a classmate and good friend of Liu Chengwang's, and she had also seen him a few times when following Liu Chengwang.
The name was unclear, but it didn't matter. Since he was friends with Liu Chengwang, he couldn't be a good person. Therefore, even if she accepted the favor, Zheng Lingbo merely nodded slightly at this man and turned her attention back to Liu Chengwang, saying: "I have something else to do. I won't disturb you any further."
She was about to leave.
When Liu Ningling was still noisy, prohibiting her from leaving, Zheng Lingbo ignored her. Liu Chengwang wanted to call her back, but was headache-stricken by his sister's noisy complaints. He couldn't help but scolded her loudly: "It was you who struck first. Now what are you screaming about?"
