Once he said that sentence, the entire atmosphere became stiff.
Chu Liuyue then recovered her senses as quickly as the blink of an eye. She asked weirdly, "Father, what are you talking about?" Her confused expression did not allow others to suspect her.
However… Chu Ning was very conflicted, and he kept replaying his memories of the past two days.
Everything seemed to be very different ever since Yue'er went missing when she was picking herbs the day before and came back very late. The previously cowardly Yue'er was missing and was replaced by a calm and composed young lady.
When she stood up against First Elder and Chu Xianmin, he thought she was wronged and could not hold it back in, but the incidents that happened later were way overboard.
"In the past, Yue'er always thought of Chu Xianmin as her good sister and trusted her very much. Why would she go against her today? Besides, Yue'er is very timid and doesn't even dare to talk loudly. It's impossible that she will cut off someone's arm… Also, about the herbs from Zhen Bao Pavilion… I've never given you silver taels. How did you buy them?" The more Chu Ning spoke, the guiltier he felt; his voice was even trembling.
Initially, he felt that something was not quite right, but everything was questionable upon deeper thought.
Chu Liuyue quietly waited for him to finish talking, before asking softly, "Is there anything else? Other than all of these, do you have any other queries?"
Chu Ning shook his head. Weren't these suspicions enough?
"I know that I look like I've changed into someone else in the past two days, but it's all with good reason. I don't care about other people, but I'll explain it to you clearly since you're suspicious." Chu Liuyue held his hands warmly and determinedly. "Come in; I'll explain it to you in detail."
Chu Ning subconsciously followed her in.
After Chu Ning sat down, Chu Liuyue closed the door and went to check on the boiling herbs before adding two new ingredients in.
Watching her every move, Chu Ning was more certain of his suspicions. The past Yue'er did not know any of this. It probably has to be…
"I think you've roughly guessed that I did meet with some trouble the day I came back late. Chu Xianmin had secretly sent an assassin to kill me." The moment Chu Liuyue opened her mouth, it shocked Chu Ning so much that he stood up from his seat.
"What?!" He had guessed a tiny bit about what happened, but he did not expect Chu Xianmin to be so cold-blooded to hire an assassin directly.
Chu Liuyue looked at him and nodded seriously. She then explained the incidents that happened after that to him in detail. Of course, she cleverly hid the fact that the original Chu Liuyue had already died and she was a replacement.
She had the original Chu Liuyue's memories; by mixing in her lies with the truth, there would be no loopholes.
To Chu Ning, he realized that Chu Xianmin had tried to kill Yue'er because of her selfish intentions.
"… So from then on, I saw her true intentions and finally understood that repeated tolerance can never be exchanged for peaceful days. Only when I become stronger will others not bully me."
Chu Ning did not utter a word for a long time. Oh, right! I know this logic too. It was just that I'm severely ill and can't continue cultivating. What else could I do?
"It's all my fault for being useless…" mumbled Chu Ning as he lowered his head defeatedly.
Chu Liuyue shook her head and said, "Father, do you remember the time when I went to the Crown Prince's birthday party and was bullied by everyone? I came home crying, and you insisted on meeting the Emperor. You stood up for me by getting all of those people to apologize to me. Without you, I would've been bullied to no end."
At that time, Chu Ning's status was already no longer like before; one could just tell how hard it had been for him to get everyone to apologize.
Even if those people's attitudes were fake, it was enough to prove that Chu Ning could sacrifice everything for his daughter.
Chu Ning was touched; he raised his head slowly as if in slight disbelief.
Chu Liuyue gave him one last assurance. "Didn't you tell me that you'll do your best to protect me if I'm ever bullied, no matter in the past or future? Right?"
Chu Ning's eyes immediately turned red. He did indeed tell Yue'er that in the past. His voice started to crack. "Yue'er… My Yue'er!" The person in front of him was still his daughter!
Chu Liuyue's eyes started to water. What does it feel like for a father to lose his own daughter? When I died back then, perhaps Father…
She always thought of her own father when she looked at Chu Ning. Since she was going to live as Chu Liuyue, she would naturally treat Chu Ning nicely and not let the world have another devastated father.
Her personality was vastly different from the original Chu Liuyue's; thus, it became much easier for her to complete her tasks in the future now that everything was out in the open.
Wasn't it normal to have a drastic change in personality after having a brush with death?
A moment later, Chu Ning clenched his fists and gritted his teeth. "Chu Xianmin is outrageous! I must think of a way for her to pay!"
Chu Liuyue's eyes flashed, and she took the chance to say, "Father, actually her actions helped me instead. I found a chance in Lin Zhong unknowingly… I picked up a medical book."
Chu Ning was very surprised. "Medical book? Do you understand it?"
One had to know that it was very hard to understand medical books; it was impossible for an average person to self-learn medicine. Even with a specialized teacher aiding them, one might not be able to understand anything.
However, Yue'er…
Chu Liuyue nodded. "I can only understand a little, so I wanted to try the remedy in the book. It seemed pretty simple." Chu Liuyue did not even bat an eye when she told her lie.
In actual fact, most medical books were pretty simple to her.
Chu Ning slowly looked at the pot of boiling herbs and suddenly walked over.
The color of the soup was accurate, and the strong smell in the air was clean.
Although he didn't know much about medicine, he had seen quite a lot of things in life and knew that it was not easy to cook such a perfect bowl of herbs.
The order of the herbs that were put in, the quantity of the herbs, and the method of removing the residues… All of these things were equally important.
It was only Yue'er's first time trying, yet she could easily boil such a soup…
A thought flashed across his mind, which made him excited. He looked at Chu Liuyue anxiously. "Yue'er, is this really your first time trying?"
Chu Liuyue blinked. "Yeah. Why, Father? Is there anything wrong?"
Of course, there's something wrong! This is unbelievable! This proves that Yue'er possibly has the gift to become a heavenly doctor. Her Yuan meridian is blocked, and she can't cultivate. However, if she can become a heavenly doctor… No, if she has the slightest bit of talent, things will be very different.
Chu Ning had literally risen from hell to heaven, and he was extremely excited and emotional. If this was true, then nobody would dare to bully Chu Liuyue any longer.
"Yue'er, follow me to visit a person tomorrow."
There were very few heavenly doctors in Country Yao Chen; he was on good terms with one of them. He should let that person check if Yue'er really had the talent in this area.
Chu Liuyue naturally knew what he was thinking. After considering for a while, she said, "Father, why don't we calm down first? This might attract too much attention."
Chu Ning was dazed.
That was true. If they went over now, someone would definitely come and cause trouble.
"Let's wait for a while." He could also see if the herbs Yue'er tried to boil really were useful.
He felt much more secure after he thought of this.
"Oh, right. Yue'er, how did you escape from those people that day?"
Chu Liuyue was taken aback. She could not say that she was too capable in her previous life, and that stage three warriors weren't her match even without force. Her eyes turned, and the image of a muscular man appeared in her brain.
The seemingly visible lines painted a mesmerizing picture.
She opened a jade box and said casually, "Oh, I met the Seventh Prince coincidentally that day, and he helped me."
Chu Ning was stunned. "Seventh Prince? Is he not recuperating at Mingyue Tianshan? When did he return to the Imperial City?"
Chu Liuyue froze.