allonlinenovel Chapter 185 "Matching Chapters"
Chapter 185 "Matching Chapters"
Inside the palace
In the Imperial Garden, Chen Xianlin sat leisurely on a stone bench by the lake, taking a rest.
She gently held a handful of fish feed in her hands, her gaze intently fixed on the fish swimming happily in the lake.
As she scattered handfuls of fish food into the lake, the fish seemed to be summoned, scrambling forward to grab the food.
Chen Xianlin watched all this quietly, but her eyes gradually became empty and lifeless, as if her soul had already left her body.
She murmured to herself involuntarily, "Even fish know how to fight for food to survive, let alone humans? What's wrong with pursuing one's own interests?"
Her thoughts surged like a tidal wave, instantly pulling her back to that day—the day she went to the dungeon to visit Wen Nanwan.
The dungeon that day was filled with a damp and gloomy atmosphere, but Wen Nanwan's laughter pierced the air like a sharp arrow, hurting Chen Xianlin's eardrums.
"What are you laughing at?" Chen Xianlin frowned, asking in confusion.
"Haha... I laugh at my own utter stupidity, and I laugh even more at your utter hypocrisy!" Wen Nanwan made no attempt to hide the contempt and disdain in her eyes as she stared intently at Chen Xianlin's seemingly gentle and kind but actually scheming face.
"Why? Why did you lie to me? I thought we could really go back?" Chen Xianlin asked incredulously, her eyes wide.
"Hmph, how dare you ask? It's utterly ridiculous! Who's lying to whom? That's the question I should be asking you!" Wen Nanwan retorted angrily.
"You don't naively think that just because you didn't personally kill anyone from the Wen family, you can rest easy and deceive yourself into believing that you haven't stained your hands with a single drop of the Wen family's blood, do you? Hahahaha, what a ridiculous joke!" Wen Nanwan's voice was filled with endless sarcasm and resentment.
"When did you start planning this? Or was it all a lie from the beginning? Perhaps it started when your Chen family decided to side with Xue Huaiyu, right?" Wen Nanwan stared intently at Chen Xianlin, her eyes flashing with a mixture of anger and disappointment, and mocked her mercilessly.
"Back then, my meeting with Ji Beichen was probably arranged by you, wasn't it? Even after so many things happened, I never wanted to suspect you. I preferred to deceive myself and tell myself that I was just unlucky."
"But I never expected that you, whom I once regarded as a close friend and treated with utmost sincerity, would scheme against me like this behind my back!"
"And what about you? How have you repaid my trust and affection?" At this point, Wen Nanwan's voice choked up, and her eyes gradually welled up with tears, but she still held back her tears and continued to question her.
"That's enough! Do you really like that position that much? You people are all too much! Father is like that, and so are you!"
"My happiness and the rest of my life have been used by you as a means to fight for power. Being born into the Wen family, no, being born into this era, is a mistake. No one will ask me if I am willing. From the beginning, you have treated me like an object, keeping me when I am useful and throwing me away when I am not."
"From the very beginning, you've been scheming and plotting against me, yet you still feign pity and sympathy. You watched me wander aimlessly in your trap like a headless fly, completely manipulated by you. Don't you feel even a shred of guilt deep down?"
"That's right, why would you feel guilty? You're probably basking in your so-called victory right now, feeling smug!" Wen Nanwan roared angrily, her eyes filled with rage and disappointment as she stared intently at Chen Xianlin.
"The moment the Wen family was wiped out, I was ready to die, but you saved me. You don't think I'll be grateful to you just because you took it upon yourself to save me, do you?"
"You locked me in your yard, surrounded by your people. Every move I make is being watched. I'm like a pet you keep. Don't you feel a sense of accomplishment?" Wen Nanwan said resentfully.
"What's wrong with doing it for yourself? Water flows downhill, and people strive for higher positions. Why can't you understand such a simple principle?" Chen Xianlin changed her previous aggrieved expression and looked at Wen Nanwan expressionlessly.
"I'm after power, and so is your father. If you hadn't been born into the Wen family, do you think you would have had such a good life for the past ten years or so? You're just used to being a pampered young lady and think that your life is already good enough and you don't need to fight for anything more, right?"
"Honestly, you are even more ridiculous than me! Everything you have now, including all the respect you receive from others, is all because of your father, Wen Taiwei."
"It is precisely because of your father's power and status that you have the right to act so arrogantly. You don't even understand such a simple and easy-to-understand principle, so what right do you have to criticize others?"
"I yearn for a better life and aspire to be second only to the emperor. Is that a mistake? I want to be the mistress of the six palaces and become the empress. Is that a sin? I strive tirelessly to achieve my desires. What wrong have I done? And what right do you have to criticize me?"
"Yes, I did take advantage of you, but so what? You were just stupid and couldn't see reality. You only knew how to blame others. You can't blame anyone else!"
"Don't you know that the Imperial Power Party and the Grand Commandant's faction have always been irreconcilable enemies, political adversaries who cannot be tolerated? Do you really think that the friendship between us alone is enough to completely disregard the interests of our respective families?" Chen Xianlin's face was as cold as frost, and her words were extremely sharp.
"You say I'm using you, and you think it's ridiculous that we'd do anything for power? What ridiculous things are you saying? If people don't strive for advancement, are they going to fall? Even if you don't want to fight for it, someone else will. As the eldest daughter of the Wen family, how can you have such a ridiculous idea? The Wen family's downfall will inevitably involve you and your brother!" Chen Xianlin said sarcastically.
"What right do you have to talk about my brother? My brother loves you so much! He even abandoned the things our father entrusted to him and rushed to the palace to save you! What gives you the right to talk about him?" Wen Nanwan looked at Chen Xianlin angrily.
"Hahahaha, what a joke! Did I beg him? It's all just wishful thinking on his part. He's just stupid. He actually abandoned his father and cousin's safety for a woman. If I were to actually be with him, that would be truly stupid."
"Your brother's death was entirely his own doing. Sometimes I really doubt whether you are even Wen Taiwei's biological children. Why can't you learn even a fraction of Wen Taiwei's courage and shrewdness?" Chen Xianlin continued to mock Wen Nanwan, disregarding her feelings.