Return of the 13th Zodiac

18: Desire for Vengeance

"Are you still blaming yourself?" Wu Lanqi asked as she picked up the plum blossom hairpin.

Shu Yue blinked. "Mother?"

"I told you I'm your mother," Wu Lanqi said with a smile. "You might not speak of your troubles, but I sense them. I know that you still feel guilty about what happened." She put the hairpin into Shu Yue's hair and then touched her cheek, her eyes burning with motherly warmth. "I never blamed you for her death, so you shouldn't either."

Shu Yue lowered her eyes and blinked to hold back tears.

Wu Lanqi patted her cheek before withdrawing her hand. "Do you still remember the box I asked you to keep?"

The guilt Shu Yue was feeling melted away as anger stirred within her. Of course, she remembered. Wu Lanqi received a box from the Crown Prince the day after Chen Xue's death, containing money and valuable items as compensation. What was even worse was that neither the Crown Prince nor the hunters involved in the tragedy offered an apology.

Wu Lanqi was right. Shu Yue shouldn't blame herself. If anyone was to blame, it was the Crown Prince. Not only was he the cause of Chen Xue's death, but also the suffering of most demi-humans.

He was also the reason Shu Yue never met her biological mother.

"The Crown Prince..." Shu Yue's face darkened into a scowl.

They never used a single item from the box because Shu Yue would throw them back in his face. They didn't want his money or expensive jewelry. What they wanted--what Shu Yue wanted, was his head.

Wu Lanqi stroked her head and said with a smile, "You're just like your mother. Jinghua used to blame herself for things she couldn't control. But what I admired most about her is that she never loses sight of her goals. Just like you."

A genuine smile graced Shu Yue's mouth as she thought about a mother she had never seen. Although she never met her, it felt like she did because Wu Lanqi told her many things about her mother. Jinghua and Wu Lanqi were good friends who treated each other like sisters, just like Shu Yue and Chen Xue.

"You might not remember it," Wu Lanqi continued, "but you actually met your mother already."

Shu Yue Yue looked at her, surprised.

"You were still too young at the time, but she came to see you often," Wu Lanqi comforted. "She loved you so much."

Jinghua was a demi-human and servant to the clan leader, Shu Liang. But a romantic relationship with a demi-human was forbidden in the empire, especially if the human involved was of high status. It was also a disgrace. Which was why they hid their relationship. Shu Liang's involvement with Jinghua prompted him to abolish demi-human slavery in the Ophiuchus Clan, and this was around the time Jinghua became pregnant with Shu Yue.

However, due to their complicated relationship and the current state of the Ophiuchus Clan, they were forced to hand Shu Yue over to Wu Lanqi and change her identity to hide the existence of the clan's heir.

But everything changed when the young Crown Prince took an interest in Jinghua and took her to his court for the simple reason that he'd never had a serpent demi-human slave before. Shu Yue was three years old at that time. Not long after that, Jinghua was accused of harming the young Crown Prince and killed as a punishment.

He took my mother and Xue from me. I will not rest until I get my revenge.

"All right," Wu Lanqi said. "Now go and let Xiao Ran know that you're okay now. I'm sure that man is still worried sick about you."