Jinghong Tower

Chapter 393: Flowers in Bloom
After seeing He Jiang off, He Shuting sat by the window, looking at the flowers and plants wilting in the yard under the scorching sun, and suddenly felt infinite sadness in her heart.

These flowers are in their prime, but they are born at the wrong time. They bloom in the hot summer, but before they have a chance to show their gorgeous beauty, they wither and die in the sun.

Just like the women in this troubled times.

Also like her.

He Shuting laughed at herself. She never thought that she was inferior to others, but she had to be inferior to others since she was a child.

When she was a child, she couldn't understand why she was her mother's biological daughter, but her mother didn't see her?
As the younger sister of twins, she has been inferior to her eldest brother He Shuming since she was born. Because of the difference between men and women, parents will favor their sons. Although she is unwilling, she can do nothing about it.

But He Shuyuan kept pressing down on her head. As long as He Shuyuan was there, she was invisible.

She didn't understand why her mother treated her stepdaughter better than her own daughter. She didn't understand.

Even though He Shuyuan's identity was later revealed and she was not a daughter of the He family, in her mother's heart, He Shuyuan was her most beloved daughter.

Until that day, the corpse lifters came to collect the debt. Her parents hid in the study to discuss the matter, and her maid was under the back window of the study at the time and heard their conversation. Her mother said that she gave birth to four children for her father, and her father was so scared that he covered her mouth. He Shuyuan was indeed not the daughter of Lao. She was the daughter born out of wedlock between her mother and her father before they got married.

The reason why her maid stood under the back window of her father's study that day was to confirm one thing: there was originally a wall under the shade of the green trees behind her father's study, but the wall was demolished at some point, and there was a path leading directly to the side door.

Go out from the side door and walk a short distance to your father's outer residence.

As a lady from a wealthy family, it was not easy for her to find out about this matter. Before she could verify it, her mother ordered her to accompany He Shuyuan to her mother's house. She was worried about her mother's house, so she found an excuse to ask the maid to come back, just to find out the truth and tell her mother.

How silly she was, until then she was still thinking about her mother, just to get that insignificant maternal love.

When she returned home, the maid secretly told her the news she had heard.

At that moment, she heard the laughter coming from the bottom of her heart. It was her own laughter, and she was laughing at herself!
The one she could never compare to was not the stepdaughter born to the original wife, but a daughter born out of wedlock!

why?
It was because He Shuyuan was born when her parents were most loving, and because of her, her mother was able to defeat the original wife and marry into the He family. And because of He Shuming, her mother was able to gain a firm foothold in the He family.

And she, the daughter of twins, the second daughter of the He family, was nothing to her mother. She was just a helper when her eldest son was born.

Of course, she was not as good as her youngest brother He Shuqiao, because he was the youngest child in the family at that time, so her mother naturally doted on him more.

Only she, He Shuting, is nothing!

Later, He Ran came back.

The person who is hated by the He family.

Her mother told everyone that He Ran grew up in a drama troupe, and privately said that He Ran was a fake. Even the maids spoke of He Ran with contempt.

She couldn't wait to meet He Ran, not only out of curiosity, but also out of secret joy.

She was secretly happy that there was finally someone more miserable than her, and secretly happy that among her father's children, she was finally not the least favored one.

But she was disappointed.

Although He Ran was abandoned since childhood, she had Jinghong Tower, and she easily got her father to take her to the capital, alone.

Her father's pretended doting, her mother's forced smile, and her aunts' flattery and contempt, all let He Shuting know that He Ran was different from her.

She couldn't figure it out, she really couldn't figure it out.

Later, something bad happened to the He family. Their mother was divorced, their father's whereabouts were unknown, and their grandmother took the third branch south. The three brothers and sisters lived a miserable life in the care of their second uncle and second aunt.

At that time, He Ran was already the head of the He clan and the leader of the Ran Army, and Zhending was still the world of King Jin.

The He family was trembling with fear, fearing that they would be purged by King Jin, and they wanted everyone to know that they had a bad relationship with He Ran.

The He family became notorious in Zhending because of the closure of Jinghong Tower.

Fortunately, because of these bad reputations, even the King of Jin was too lazy to bother them. As He Ran's family had offended her to the core, it would be in line with He Ran's wishes for the King of Jin to kill them.

But Second Uncle and Second Aunt were still afraid. Second Aunt hated He Ran for bringing trouble to the He family, and she also hated Yan, the sister-in-law who had been fighting with her for more than ten years. Therefore, Second Aunt vented all her hatred for He Ran and Yan on them.

At that time, He Shuming had already grown up, but he did not protect his younger brothers and sisters. He watched them being bullied, starving and beaten, while he himself was worried all day long.

He Shuting knew that there was no hope for this family. If she stayed here, all that was waiting for her was to exchange the dowry for supplementary income for the family.

But in such a chaotic time, where could a teenage girl like her go?
She thought of He Ran.

At that time, He Ran was the only straw she wanted to grasp.

She took He Shuqiao away, not because she couldn't bear to leave her younger brother, but because she was afraid. She had never been far away before and was afraid to go to a faraway place alone.

What a journey it was! Even many years later, He Shuting would still wake up from her dreams, shocked by the corpses scattered all over the ground, the ferocious soldiers, and the pairs of malicious eyes in the refugee group.

In this way, she and He Shuqiao trudged all the way to Jinyang on foot.

She lived in Jinyang for less than two years, but from beginning to end, she never saw He Ran.

Despite this, she was grateful to He Ran at first.

For a person who has to dig for food from the dead, it is such a wonderful thing to be able to eat, wear warm clothes and have a roof over your head with his own hands.

Looking at her hair that had become black and shiny again, and looking at He Shuqiao who was gradually growing taller, she felt content at that moment.

Since when did she become dissatisfied with all this?

He Shuting narrowed her eyes slightly, searching deep in her memory for the past that had long since turned yellow.

She remembered that it was the girl named Wang Baocun.

Wang Baocun's father was just a minor official under He Ran, but Wang Baocun was able to use He Ran's power to insult her in public, calling her a beggar who relied on people's charity.

The cause of this incident was Lu Zhen.

Thinking of Lu Zhen, He Shuting's heart was deeply ached, and she shed tears in pain.

Did that man know that she had used up all her life's strength to walk up to him and tell him her name, but he only used one sentence to throw her into the abyss.

Wang Baocun’s insult did not make her retreat, but Lu Zhen made her fall into irretrievable destruction!
He Shuting put her hand on her lower abdomen. This was her child, the result of her painstaking planning.

Now, she finally understood her mother. The child in her belly, like He Shuyuan, was a tool to please men.

As a beneficiary, of course you have to cherish this tool, just like a general cherishes his sword and a farmer cherishes his hoe.

She doesn't love Wu Ji and never has.

If He Ran was the first straw she wanted to grasp, then Wu Ji was the rope she could grab. When she killed He Shuming, she knew that she could not even go back to the charity hall where she lived.

Someone saw her following He Shuming out. The government would find her sooner or later. By then, she wouldn't even be able to face He Shuqiao.

And He Ran would not protect her.

Wu Ji took her out of Jinyang. She did not cling to him because she knew that would only make Wu Ji suspicious of her, so she chose to leave. The tearful farewell was the next beginning.

At that time, she heard that Wu Ji went to Xi'an, so she thought of looking for another encounter in Xi'an. Unexpectedly, her wish came true. Before she arrived in Xi'an, she met Mrs. He who was in trouble.

But for an orphan like her, even if she helped Mrs. He, she could only be sent away with a few taels of silver.

So she brought up He Ran, and she saw shock and solemnity in the eyes of He Jiang and his wife.

Human nature is greedy, everyone is greedy, but some people's greed is just for a good meal, while some people's greed is for wealth.

What Mr. and Mrs. He Jiang want is wealth, great wealth.

With their help, she reunited with Wu Ji openly. With the help of the opportunities they created, she made Wu Ji see her strengths and made Wu Ji believe that she was the best woman in the world and the destined person carefully created for him by God.

He Shuting wiped the tears from her face with a handkerchief and a smile appeared at the corner of her mouth.

Even she didn't expect that Wu Ji, a seemingly steady man, was actually like a young boy in love. He even believed in being together for life.

Hahahaha, how ridiculous.

Even the He family’s dog wouldn’t believe such a ridiculous thing.

He Shuting admitted that she was not a good woman.

Well, with a mother like Yan, how good can she be as a daughter?

It is said that He Shuyuan had an affair with a man before getting married, and later had to become a concubine.

Look, she was at least better than He Shuyuan. At least she was not a concubine. In order to make Wu Ji believe that she was the purest and most genuine woman in the world, she did not become Wu Ji's wife until their wedding night.

Just with this, she surpassed her mother and sister.

He Shuting covered her mouth with a handkerchief and giggled.

It's really ridiculous. After comparing herself to others, she is only slightly better than those two bitches.

She was unwilling to accept this. Of course she was unwilling to accept this. She had heard many people say that after He Ran recovered Jiangnan, she would probably marry King Zhao.

Prince Zhao has grown up and is ready to get married, so He Ran will let him ascend the throne as emperor, and then he will be placed on the dragon throne like a decoration, and He Ran will be the ruling queen.

Those people also said that even if King Zhao didn't want to be a decoration, he had to do so because the army belonged to He Ran and those officials were also He Ran's people. If King Zhao wanted to survive, he could only be a decoration honestly. Otherwise, He Ran would kill him and then promote herself to the position of queen mother.

Whoever He Ran wants to be emperor will become the emperor.

why?
Because He Ran is at the top of power, she has thousands of troops under her command ready to take her orders at any time.

That night, He Shuting couldn't sleep all night because during the day, Madam Wu sent someone to deliver a letter. In the letter, Madam Wu scolded her for having an affair without a matchmaker and violating moral standards. She also said that the Wu family would not recognize her as a daughter-in-law, her name would not appear in the family tree, and the child she gave birth to would be worse than a bastard's son, but just a child born out of adultery.

Both are daughters of the He family, so why are she and He Ran so different?
The Wu family is He Ran's ally. The Wu father and son always mention He Ran with great respect, fearing that if they do something wrong, He Ran will be dissatisfied and no longer protect them.

He Shuting thought that when Madam Wu saw He Ran, she must have been very humble and servile, and she must have kowtowed to him three times and nine times.

But facing her, she had clearly already married Wu Ji, but her mother-in-law, Mrs. Wu, spoke ill of her without even meeting her.

Why?
He Shuting recalled the days and nights in the charity hall. Every day, the people in the charity hall praised He Ran, but ordered her around.

The change in people is really scary. In the past, He Shuting didn't think there was anything wrong with being ordered around. The managers and maids in the charity hall all had loud voices, shouting everyone's name, asking them to come over to work, to eat, and to get clothes donated by believers.

But now, when He Shuting thinks back on it, those calls that once made her feel so cordial have all turned into contempt and bullying towards her.

And these people are nothing more than lackeys who cannot even see He Ran.

The person who truly despised and bullied her was He Ran.

Although they are not born from the same mother, He Ran is still a daughter of the He family. She is the daughter of Mr. He and a half-sister of He Shuting.

But what did this sister do to her?
She was forced to live in a charity house, doing needlework day and night in exchange for three meals a day and an uncomfortable place to live, and she also had to endure insults from ladies from wealthy families like Wang Baocun.

He Ran ignored her!

And there is Lu Zhen.

He Ran will not marry Lu Zhen. She wants to marry King Zhao. She wants to be the queen and later the queen mother.

She clearly would not marry Lu Zhen, but she still wanted to occupy Lu Zhen, making Lu Zhen only have eyes for her and no one else.

He Shuting heard the sound of her own heart breaking.

She knew she couldn't go back. The moment she decided to kill He Shuming, she couldn't go back.

No matter where the road goes in the future, Lu Zhen will not be there.

But what does it matter? In her heart, Lu Zhen is the only bright spot she sees in her dark life.

He Shuting sat quietly in front of the window. She didn't know when the most beautiful flower outside the window drooped its head and withered under the scorching sun of midsummer.

The flowers have reached their twilight stage and the season of flowers is over.

He Shuting laughed again. This time, she didn't know why she laughed. Perhaps, it had become a habit of hers. Or perhaps it was because she always had tears in her eyes in front of Wu Ji. When Wu Ji was not around, she would often laugh.

If you cry too much, smiling is the best way to repair your emotions.

He Jiang came over and said a lot today. He Jiang is a villain, but now he is on the same page with her.

He Shuting was grateful to him.

After all, from childhood to adulthood, she has only felt fatherly love from He Jiang, even though this fatherly love was full of utilitarianism.

But so what?

Her biological father, Mr. He, never gave her even this utilitarian fatherly love.

　I saw many comments that people couldn't understand He Shuting's darkening, so I added an extra chapter. In fact, there was a description of He Shuting from the beginning, and later there were independent chapters belonging to He Shuting. She has always lived in depression. She is a people-pleasing personality. Later, in the peaceful environment of Jinyang, her people-pleasing personality did not make her feel relaxed. Then the Wang Baocun incident and Lu Zhen's stern rejection made her gradually turn to darkness. Later, she killed her own brother and embarked on a road of no return. For a person who embarks on a road of no return, it is only a matter of time before she turns to the dark.

　　Sometimes it's like this. If you describe the supporting characters too much, they will be said to be water writing. If you don't describe them, it will seem abrupt. It's a dilemma. You must eat hot pot to solve it. If one meal doesn't work, then two meals will do. It's so hot.
　　(End of this chapter)