CHAPTER 179: CHAPTER 179: CONSPIRACY EXPOSED

Lian Yingya found it hard to believe.

"Fu Bing and Qin Sheng?"

How could this be possible?

Li Qing nodded reluctantly. "At first, I couldn’t believe it either. But after what happened to my master and me, I had no choice but to believe it..."

Her face showed fear, and she dared not continue. Lian Yingya felt his heart ache for her.

He held her in his arms, soothing her. "It’s okay, it’s all in the past now."

Lian Yingya thought about how he had let her meet Qin Sheng alone last night, and he almost wished he could kill himself.

"Why didn’t you say something earlier? If I had known that both you and your master were harmed by Qin Sheng, I definitely would not have let you meet him alone."

Li Qing shook her head weakly. "It’s not Qin Sheng, it’s..."

"Fu Bing?" Lian Yingya finished her sentence.

"Before my master died, he mentioned that Fu Bing harbored secrets, secrets only he knew. She didn’t want the secrets exposed, so she had someone kill my master. I’ve been living incognito these years just to avoid Fu Bing’s retaliation."

Lian Yingya was puzzled. "Wasn’t Fu Bing in jail? During the three years she was imprisoned, couldn’t you have investigated the truth and made her pay a greater price?"

"Did you forget about Qin Jinhai?" Li Qing’s tense expression suddenly relaxed. "If Qin Jinhai hadn’t died, I would never have been able to avenge my master."

Li Qing looked at Lian Yingya earnestly. "Yingya, thank you for bringing me back to Jiangcheng. You’ve already done so much for me. I want to continue on my own; I can’t drag you down."

Li Qing’s frail yet firm demeanor stirred a strong protective instinct in Lian Yingya.

"I like you. Your responsibilities, your enemies—they are my enemies too. Even if it wasn’t for you, I would seek revenge for Master He. His painting skills amazed the world. And just because of an actor’s secrets, they were destroyed. No one could accept that calmly."

"It’s not just me; I will also unite Master He’s admirers to fight against Fu Bing."

"No, it’s too dangerous. Fu Bing is now more formidable than she was three years ago. She can’t be defeated."

"No matter her abilities, she’s still an actor, nothing significant in the eyes of the powerful," Lian Yingya said, seeing her pale face, his expression concerned.

Charming yet innocent.

Lian Yingya couldn’t suppress the desire in his heart and gently kissed her cheek.

Li Qing’s eyes widened, and she pushed him away in a panic.

"You..."

Lian Yingya displayed a broad smile. "You’re too cute; I couldn’t resist kissing you."

Li Qing blushed and nestled into his embrace.

"I like you too. Yingya, to me, you seem like a savior who descended from the heavens."

"If it weren’t for you, I’d still be wandering in fear."

Lian Yingya was extremely pleased.

He had always been carefree, loving his freedom. No one ever thought he could settle down and do something stable. The appearance of You Nie made him feel like he could do anything.

"Would you like to come home with me to meet my parents and my older brother and sister-in-law? They are my family, and they will become your family too."

Li Qing shook her head. "Before my revenge is complete, I don’t want to drag you down. If... I mean, if I don’t survive, no one else will know you had a girlfriend. It won’t affect your ability to marry later."

"What are you talking about? You aren’t going to die; we will be together forever."

"I hope so. But I’m not confident about defeating Fu Bing."

"I will have people expose her dealings with Qin Sheng and Qin Jinhai; that’ll solve everything. She will definitely be ostracized. No matter how capable she is, she’s still just a minor celebrity. What can she really do?"

"If handled well, we can even pin the death of Qin Jinhai on her, turning her against Qin Sheng."

Li Qing looked surprised. "Yingya, you’re amazing to think of such a great idea."

Lian Yingya swelled with pride. "I’m just low-key. If I had seriously studied management, our Lian Family would have become the richest in Jiangcheng long ago. The Su Family and the Qin Family wouldn’t have even had a chance."

"Mmm, I believe you!"

Li Qing looked at him with bright eyes.

Lian Yingya helped her up. "You sleep a little longer; I’ll go arrange things."

"Mmm, I’ll rest for a while, and when I wake up, I’ll cook for you myself."

"Okay." Lian Yingya smiled, his eyes crinkling.

Fu Bing saw that the matters at Wu Shipyard wouldn’t be settled any time soon. So, she had Mu He send Xiaomei, Aunt Ning, and Uncle He back to Jiangcheng.

As long as she wasn’t with them, they would video call her at least three times a day, interrogating her.

She was afraid that if she took too long to answer her phone, they would imagine a whole TV drama.

As soon as they got out of the car, Aunt Ning and Uncle He examined Fu Bing very carefully. They only relaxed when they confirmed she hadn’t lost weight and had even gained a little.

Fu Bing saw that Aunt Ning and Uncle He were smiling, albeit somewhat distractedly.

"Are you hiding something from me?"

"We’ve gotten word that someone is out there impersonating an apprentice of Uncle He, swindling people," Aunt Ning said, unable to hide her anger.

Uncle He, also unusually angry, said, "Very few people know I took Xiaobing as my apprentice, and yet someone has the audacity to steal Xiaobing’s identity!"

Xiaomei blinked innocently. "Uncle He, what apprentice? Since when did Sister become your apprentice?"

Wu Shi raised an eyebrow, his voice calm. "The Uncle He in front of you is the top master of traditional Chinese painting of our time."

"What?" Xiaomei’s mouth gaped open in an ’O’. "Uncle He, you’re so awesome and you never mentioned it, you..."

Xiaomei, recalling Uncle He’s severed right hand, swallowed the rest of her words.

Fu Bing feigned anger. "Why didn’t you tell me sooner? Am I so unimportant in your hearts?"

"We didn’t want to worry you," Uncle He said, glancing at Wu Shi.

Wu Shi, with his arms crossed, calmly met Fu Bing’s glare.

His tone carried a hint of amusement. "You have been sidelined. The people close to you don’t want to tell you the truth."

Fu Bing forced out a couple of tears. "I’m so sad, nobody loves me anymore, BOO HOO HOO."

Not wanting Fu Bing to dwell on it, Aunt Ning explained carefully, "You’ve been expending a lot of energy dealing with Wu Shipyard and Qin Sheng. Uncle He and I didn’t want you to worry about other things. Moreover, many people see you as a thorn in their side, just waiting to trip you up. I didn’t want you to also worry about these minor issues."

Of course, Fu Bing understood their good intentions. It was nothing for her to be a little wronged. But if those around her were wronged, she would definitely not let the offenders off lightly.

"Do you have any idea who might be impersonating me?"

"A woman named You Nie," Uncle He said. "Wu Shi knows more about the specifics."

"Lian Yingya has already brought her back to Jiangcheng. Currently, she is residing in a house he owns. Interestingly, as soon as they returned to Jiangcheng, they went to see Qin Sheng."

A fierce light flashed in Wu Shi’s eyes.

"To see Qin Sheng? Did Qin Sheng orchestrate this?" Fu Bing was puzzled.

"Qin Sheng wouldn’t do something this roundabout," Wu Shi said, unlocking his phone and opening an audio file.

"At the time, there was a man and a woman in the car, looking very much like Qin Sheng and..."

"And who?"

"I dare not say. Saying it could put you in danger too. I don’t want you to be harmed."

"I have the Lian Family behind me; we can protect you."

"The woman looked like Fu Bing."

"Before my master died, he said that Fu Bing had a secret only he knew. She didn’t want the secret to be exposed, so she had someone kill my master. These past few years, I have been hiding under a false name just to avoid Fu Bing’s retaliation."

"If Qin Jinhai hadn’t died, I would never have been able to avenge my master."