Karmic Retribution

"Then let me make sure you remember me—so deeply, you’ll never forget." Evan Xiao lifted her chin with a devilish smile.

"I—mmph..." Evan Xiao silenced her with a kiss. Grace struggled at first, but soon melted into his embrace, her resistance swept away...

...

The next day, Colin Gu’s fate was sealed.

He was handed a cup of poisoned wine—his last, bitter toast to this world.

His lifeless body was strung up on the city gate, a grim warning for all to see, seven days and seven nights.

The Gu Family was stripped of its titles, cast down to commoner status, and forbidden from entering court for three centuries.

Grace received word: Colin Gu, facing death, had named her as the one he wished to see.

After a moment’s thought, Grace decided to face him one last time.

In the cell, he wore filthy, tattered prison clothes, his body reeking, his former elegance lost to misery and decay.

Grace stood at the cell door, her voice cool: "Colin Gu, you wanted to see me. What could you possibly have to say?"

Colin Gu locked eyes with her, his voice trembling: "That day, when Henry Tuoba snatched you away at our wedding—was it all your plan?"

At last, he understood.

Grace answered, "Yes! I just asked him for one favor—to pull me out of your grasp!"

"Ha! Ha!" Colin Gu laughed, bitter and broken. "Absurd. Absolutely absurd! Hahaha!"

Still laughing, Colin Gu lunged at the bars: "Chloe Zhu, I swear I never wronged you! Everything I did was for you! Why would you betray me like this? Why?"

Grace was silent for a moment, then replied softly, "It's karma. Cause and effect."

"Karma? Then tell me—what seeds did I sow to reap this fate? What did I do to deserve this? Tell me!" Colin Gu’s voice was raw, nearly broken.

"If you truly can't see it, then think of your brother Ray Gu, and the hundred thousand soldiers you burned alive. Your life alone can't balance the scales," Grace said, her face cold and unreadable.

Colin Gu’s face twisted. "I have no idea what you’re talking about!"

"My grandfather survived."

Colin Gu went deathly pale. "What? No... That’s impossible..."

"Your crimes have been reported to Emperor Henry Vermilion by my grandfather, and the world knows your name," Grace said. "The Gu Family has erased you from the family registry, cast you out forever. They’ve been forgiven—the burden of every sin now falls on you alone."

"So that’s why you stopped loving me? Even joined hands with Henry Tuoba to destroy me?"

Grace didn’t answer. She simply turned and walked away, her silence more cutting than any words.

"Grace!" Colin Gu called out.

Grace stopped walking.

"Did you ever love me?" His voice cracked, weak and desperate, as if every last drop of life had left him.

I loved you for nearly thirty years—

But in the end, I loved the wrong man.

Grace said this only in her heart.

She gave him no answer, no glance back—just walked away, her heart cold and resolute.

Afterwards, Colin Gu’s corpse hung on the city gate for seven days, a grim spectacle.

Henry Tuoba returned every pain, every injustice Colin Gu had inflicted on him in his past life.

Just as Grace said—this was karma, cause and effect, playing out to the bitter end...

...

On the seventh day, Grace and Jason Zhuo stood outside the city gate, watching as Princess Olivia Gu led her people to collect the body.

She buried Colin Gu on a lonely, windswept mountain.

After the burial, Jason Zhuo walked over and called out, "Olivia."

Princess Olivia Gu shot him a look of pure hatred. "Why are you here? To mock me? To gloat? Do you think my misery is funny?"

"Olivia, Colin Gu’s death was justice! His crimes have been exposed for all to see—you know that, don’t you?" Jason Zhuo said, his voice gentle but firm.

"Ha! Crimes!" Princess Olivia Gu spat, her laughter cold. "History belongs to the victors. I know how this game works!"

"It’s not a story—it’s the brutal truth. He killed your brother, and to hide it, he burned a hundred thousand soldiers alive," Jason Zhuo replied, voice heavy with sorrow.