Quick Transmigration: Drama Queen's Daily Life-Chapter 763 - 752: The Substitute Younger Sister

"What did you say? What do you mean Ye Qiu is dead?" Duan Huaijin looked at Qi Feng with disbelief on his face.

Qi Feng knelt on the ground, his eyes revealing deep sorrow: "Prince, Miss Ye Qiu has indeed departed."

"You are lying to me, you must be lying to me!" Duan Huaijin grabbed Qi Feng’s collar, his eyes bloodshot, as he bellowed heart-wrenchingly.

Qi Feng’s voice was heavy with grief: "Prince, would you like to see Miss Ye Qiu? I heard she was calling your name until her last breath."

Duan Huaijin dashed out of the courtyard and even collided with Ye Xia who was coming to find him.

"Sss..." Ye Xia was heavily knocked to the ground, cried out in pain, and quickly asked, seeing Duan Huaijin showed no signs of stopping, "Prince, where are you going at this time?"

Duan Huaijin ignored her, so she grabbed Qi Feng who was a step behind: "Guard Qi, what happened to the Prince?"

Qi Feng’s face looked grim, and he didn’t want to explain further, so he said: "The Prince has urgent matters. Princess Consort, please wait for the Prince’s return for any matters. I have other urgent duties now, I shall take my leave."

Duan Huaijin rode his horse swiftly towards the residence where Ye Qiu lived, the closer he got, the deeper his eyebrows furrowed.

He didn’t expect the place she lived to be so desolate. Upon seeing the dilapidated courtyard overrun with weeds again, his heart sank even deeper, intense sadness and guilt sweeping through him like a hurricane.

"Miss, my miss..." He hurriedly dismounted his horse, and then he heard the weeping coming from inside the house. Still holding onto a sliver of hope, he froze in place.

"Ye Qiu, have you really gone?" After a long while, when Qi Feng caught up, he then walked in dazedly and stood at the door, staring blankly at Ye Qiu’s body.

"Leave, who allowed you to come here? You all caused the miss’s death, all of you leave!" Shao Yao tried to close the door forcefully, but Duan Huaijin pushed it open with a palm.

The wet nurse and Furong stood protectively in front of Ye Qiu’s body, both looking at him vigilantly.

"Get out!" Duan Huaijin suppressed his rage and ordered.

Neither of them yielded, although their legs were already trembling, they did not move.

"Leave, don’t make me say it a second time." His voice was sinisterly cold. 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

Qi Feng hurriedly pulled the two blocking his path aside, whispering: "Don’t provoke the Prince now and make him angry, think of your Miss, would she wish to see you innocently meet your deaths?"

"This old servant would rather die..."

"Shut up." Qi Feng hissed at her, "Don’t let your Miss rest in peace even in death."

The wet nurse then reluctantly held back her unsaid words.

"Qiu’er..." Duan Huaijin called her the name he never used while Ye Qiu was alive, his trembling hands touching her ice-cold cheeks.

"Why? Why so suddenly?" He murmured, "I was still waiting, waiting for you to beg me to take you back to Prince Wang Mansion, why didn’t you tell me? Why wouldn’t you let me see you one last time?"

Hearing him say this, Furong and Shao Yao wept softly, feeling wronged for their Miss.

"I don’t believe it, get up, get up and talk to me! Even if it’s to hit or scold me, as long as you can come back, I won’t blame you, open your eyes and look at me!" Duan Huaijin cried heartbreakingly, shaking Ye Qiu’s body, then suddenly hugging her head."

The few people inside the room watched this scene, all with red eyes. Qi Feng couldn’t bear it, while the wet nurse and two maidens felt hatred.

What use was it to come and confess at this time? Clearly, their mistress could have lived longer. Could remorse cancel out his sins? Yet, the mistress was still calling his name before she passed away; they truly felt it was not worth it for her.

It was unknown how much time had passed until the sky turned dark, Duan Huaijin finally loosened his grip on Ye Qiu’s corpse, and then he took out a letter from beside the pillow.

"Where did this come from?" he asked the two maidens.

"The mistress left it for the prince," Furong said reluctantly.

Duan Huaijin’s hand tightened on the envelope: "Did she say anything before she died?"

"Is there any point in asking these questions now, Prince? The mistress is dead, she was killed by you all!" Furong snapped back.

Duan Huaijin’s eyes, red with rage, stared intensely at her: "Don’t make me ask again."

Both maidens, Furong and Shao Yao, remained silent. Finally, the wet nurse sighed, not willing to see the two maidens become the victims of Duan Huaijin’s wrath, and said, "The mistress asked that if you came, to hand this letter to you. She was gazing outside and constantly calling your name until she died."

"Is that so?" Duan Huaijin crumpled the envelope, then trembled as he opened it.

"Huaijin, please allow me to call you this,"

Looking at the graceful handwriting on the letter, Duan Huaijin was dazzled, as if he could see the frail woman coughing while enduring pain as she wrote this letter to him at the table.

"I am leaving, leaving this world. Although I have known since I had memory that I would not live long, I still feel reluctant when this day has come – reluctant to leave this beautiful world, reluctant to leave the wet nurse and the others, and reluctant to leave you."

Duan Huaijin noticed that the word "you" was written with heavier strokes, as if showing the letter writer’s agitated emotions at that time.

His heart ached suddenly; he had not realized that Ye Qiu actually liked him.

"I’m leaving, now you will no longer have any burden, no need to worry that I will expose the fact that my elder sister made me substitute her marriage, no need to worry she will be punished. Although I am reluctant, since you two truly love each other, I still wish you happiness and well-being in the future."

No, I don’t love her!

Duan Huaijin internally argued, knowing she could no longer hear his explanation, nor would ever know the truth.

"Huaijin, although I have deceived you, we were husband and wife for a year, can you promise me three things? I don’t know if you will agree, but I will assume you do now. First, do not blame the wet nurse and Shao Yao Furong, set them free; second, I have eight thousand taels of silver here, help me build a Charity Hall to shelter those homeless children; third, I love the deep blue sky of the Northwest, if possible, after I die, could you cremate me and scatter my ashes under that deep blue sky?"

You actually leave no thoughts of me? Just like that, to be dispersed with the wind?

The pain in Duan Huaijin’s heart deepened, almost unable to breathe.

"I no longer have the strength to continue writing, Huaijin, although the days I was married to you were happy, I still hope not to see you in the next life, if possible, I do not want to meet you again, perhaps by then I will not make the same foolish mistake!"

The handwriting twisted towards the end, with ink spots visible, showing the extremity of endurance of the person writing this letter.

Never to meet again, you even deny me in the next life, do you really hate me so much?

Duan Huaijin clenched the letter so hard that the veins on the back of his hand showed, and his face turned pale.