Chapter 91: 091. Confrontation (Second Update)
Translator: 549690339
The cold moonlight filtered through the window lattice, only illuminating Ning Jing’s perfect jawline.
He seemed like a merciless specter, descending from the heavens, encircled by an eerie and terrifying aura.
“Xiaoqin, is it really you?” Ning Yao suddenly raised his voice after a brief moment of panic, his feigned surprise so false that it shattered.
Ning Jing retorted, “Aren’t you happy to see me?”
Ning Yao shook his head repeatedly. His hands, hidden behind his back, clenched the dagger hidden in his sleeve, but his face showed a forced smile. “I’m just so shocked. I thought you didn’t want to come back, and I never expected you to suddenly return!”
“Why would I not want to return?” Ning Jing pressed.
Ning Yao sighed deeply. “We have deep misunderstandings between us. I’ve always wanted to explain them to you, but haven’t had the opportunity.” “Explain.” Ning Jing’s voice was devoid of any emotion.
Ning Yao closed his eyes, “It’s too dark in here. Let me light a lamp, prepare some food and drink, and we can have a proper chat.”
“There’s no need.” Ning Jing refused.
Ning Yao sighed repeatedly, “Xiaoqin, you’ve truly changed from before. You must have suffered a lot outside.”
“Enough of this nonsense.” Ning Jing said coldly.
Ning Yao forced a bitter smile, “Fine. Let’s get to the point. When Father married into the Ning Family, Mother was kind and tolerant, accepting us. I’ve always been grateful for that. When Mother suddenly fell ill, you rushed back from Pingbei City, tending to her day and night, seeking famed doctors around the world. However, it was all in vain, and she passed away last year. You were devastated during that time. I tried to console you, from persuading you not to drown your sorrows in alcohol, to eventually drinking with you, just to let you Imow that I was there for you, that we were real brothers, and that you could trust me at any time.”
“That night, both of us were drunk and later, the warehouse caught fire. By the time I sobered up from the binge, the damage was already done. Father wanted to drive you out of the house to resolve the issue. No matter how much I pleaded, even offering to take the blame for you, Father was unmoved.”
“I never expected that shortly after you left, I overheard Father telling my stepmother that he could only regain his dignity and truly be the master of the Ning Family by driving you away…”
Ning Yao sighed deeply. The stepmother he spoke of was the current Madam Ning, his birth mother. Before Ning Jing’s mother passed away, she was the Ning Family’s second wife and became the principal wife last year.
An oppressive silence filled the air, and Ning Jing seemed like a statue, unmoving, and speechless, even his breath seemed to have stopped.
Ning Yao spoke again, “Don’t say you didn’t see it coming, even I didn’t know that Father had such intentions. It was then that I began to suspect that the incident of the warehouse fire and the damaged tribute tea was Father’s plot to frame you, so he could catch you at an advantage and drive you out. With you gone, he could pretend not to be a mere son-in-law, but the rightful head of the Ning Family.”
“When I confronted Father, he shamelessly admitted it!”
“I wanted to find you, but Father said there was no need, as you wouldn’t live for much longer. Even if I found you, it would only be your corpse.”
“Upon further questioning, he said that he had been slowly poisoning your food for years, and after Mother’s death, he had increased the dosage. To avoid criticism for poisoning his own child and seizing the family fortune, he had plotted to make you commit a grave mistake and drive you out with apparent justification.”
“Hearing those words and seeing Father’s crazed form, everything I believed in crumbled.”
“In a frenzy, I searched everywhere for you but found no trace. For a long time, I truly believed you were no longer among the living.”
“I hated Father so much. Even a mother tiger would not devour her own cubs, but he was so cruel to you. To avenge you, I began to retaliate in kind, poisoning Father’s food to make him suffer and die in despair, just like you.”
“If it weren’t for suddenly getting news of you, Father would have died from poisoning three months ago. In order to give you the chance to exact your own revenge, I allowed him to live until now.”
“However, no one in the family cares about you, except for me. Stepmother even wanted to sever our mother-son connection, and my younger siblings thought I was out of my mind. They all sided with Father, believing I was in the wrong, that I was insane.”
“When my sixth brother went out and ended up missing for a long time, I found out from my questioning that Stepmother had secretly overheard me talking to my retainer about you being alive and staying in Bei’an County. She ordered my brothers to get rid of you as soon as possible. Not only did they hire the most formidable assassin from Yanyun Building, but Sixth Brother even personally went to Bei’an County to eliminate you.”
“After all, they are my birth mother and siblings born of the same mother. I’ve been trying to persuade them not to be obstinate and continue to sin, but unfortunately, they only pretend to comply.”
“I never sent anyone to Pingbei City to invite you back, fearing it might be another plot by Stepmother. I was more than happy knowing you were lucky enough to participate in the imperial examination elsewhere, hoping you would achieve your aspirations. I believed you would succeed!”
“Xiaoqin, as your eldest brother, I promised to protect you but failed to do so. It’s only right for you to resent and hate me. But you must believe that I never have, nor will I ever, betray you or our brotherly bond! I swear!”
Having said that, Ning Yao’s eyes glistened with unshed tears. He looked at Ning Jing intently, “I received news that you passed the preliminary examination and was overjoyed! I couldn’t wait to find you and celebrate together! Now that you’re back, I can return all your rightful inheritance of the Ning Family to you. However, since you will have to continue your examination in the capital city, if you need me to, as your eldest brother, I can help manage it for you!”
Ning Jing nodded, “So that’s how it is. I misunderstood you.”
Ning Yao’s expression changed, “Xiaoai, vou must have had a hard time outside for more than a year, right?”
Ning Jing shook her head, “Not as hard as you. Caught between me and those heartless bastards, you must have suffered a lot.”
Ning Yao shook his head, “I’m fine. As long as you’re alive, nothing else matters.”
“You’ve done so much for me, I can’t bear to see you struggle anymore.” Ning Jing said emotionlessly, “Since it was your father who harmed me, and your mother, brother, and sister who have always wanted to kill me, let them all die. To alleviate your suffering for more than a year, you can do it yourself. Kill them all in front of me, alright?”
Ning Yao’s face stiffened, “Xiaoqi, I can send my father off for you, but my aunt and siblings, they are after all…”
“They have nothing to do with me.” Ning Jing said coldly, “If you want to save them, you can commit suicide to atone for their sins. After you die, I will only drive them out of the Ning Family at most, not take their lives. Even if they become beggars, they can still survive.”
“Xiaoqi, are you really so cruel? They may harbor evil thoughts towards you, but aren’t you alright now?” Ning Yao asked in a deep voice.
Ning Jing nodded, “If you put it that way, fine. All of you get out of the Ning Family, without taking a single needle, thread, or copper coin. I wanted to kill you, but you are still alive, it’s as if I hadn’t done anything.”
Ning Yao forced a bitter smile, “Xiaoqi, you never believed me, and won’t forgive me…”
“If you die to prove your loyalty, I’ll forgive you and spare your flesh and blood. Isn’t that a good deal?” Ning Jing said coldly.
Ning Yao lowered his head, his voice low, “Xiaoqi, are you really so heartless?”
Ning Jing replied, “I don’t think it’s necessary to have feelings for beasts.”
Upon hearing this, Ning Yao suddenly looked up at Ning Jing. His previously pained and struggling face instantly turned sinister, “Ning Jing, you don’t listen to reason, you’re seeking your own death! Yan Shiqi, kill him!”
As Ning Yao’s words fell, a cold smile appeared at the corner of his lips, as if in the next moment, he would see Ning Jing’s head severed by his secret guard!
Ning Jing remained calm.
The atmosphere in the room was silent. After Ning Yao issued his order with confidence, no third person appeared.
As time passed, Ning Jing remained still, but cold sweat broke out on Ning Yao’s forehead. He shouted again, “Yan Shiqi! Come out! Hu Wei! Come out!” Only the wind outside the window answered Ning Yao.
At this moment, Ning Yao’s face finally revealed a look of panic and fear, a stark contrast to his heartfelt performance as a grieving brother earlier and his proud demeanor as a king ready to deal a fatal blow.
“Yan Shiqi?” Ning Jing spoke, breaking the silence, “You must have paid a huge amount of money to hire him as your guard. But it seems he never told you why, as an assassin from the Yanyun Building, he was free to take on private jobs.”
Clutching the dagger in his sleeve, Ning Yao’s hand trembled uncontrollably,
‘What do you mean?”
“Yan Shiqi had the chance to swindle your money because the owner of Yanyun
Building, Yan Sui, is dead.” Ning Jing’s voice remained calm, “I killed him.” Ning Yao’s eyes widened in disbelief, “Impossible!”
“So, I think Yan Shiqi must have been here not long ago, but when he learned that I was coming, he took your money and ran. I don’t know who Hu Wei is.
Since he’s not here, maybe Yan Shiqi killed him and took his money as well.
You’re very courageous to do business with an assassin.” Ning Jing said slowly, “Although money can do a lot, they are greedy and treasure their lives even more.”
Ning Yao’s face turned pale, “In just one year, how could you possibly have such advanced martial arts…”
“I originally wanted to let you live until next year, but you couldn’t wait to die.
It’s a pity that I haven’t been able to eat well or visit Zhenzzhenz these past few
days.”
Suddenly, Ning Yao turned and ran towards the door!
Ning Jing’s wooden sword grazed Ning Yao’s face and flew past, pinning against the door, leaving a deep bloody mark on Ning Yao’s cheek!
His body went limp, and he collapsed onto the ground!
“It’s just that you were so useless, I can only blame ‘my’ previous blindness for failing to recognize people properly and being forced to the end of the road.” Ning Jing’s eyes were icy cold, “You have already confessed the sins of your parents, brother, and sister. I will invite them here, and you as a family can discuss who will go first on the road to the netherworld. I promised someone that I would make you all die in a spectacular fashion..”
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