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墨書 Inktalez
“Xie Yushi, you actually took advantage of my absence to send Firefly into the palace. How could you bear to do this, sending her into those walls from which she can never return?”
“...Xie Yushi, Ranran will not blame you; I will blame you for her. Ranran will not hate you; I will hate you for her. I regret it so much, so much…”
“I will find my Firefly, no matter where she is in this world. You will never see her again in this lifetime…”
Sang Qin could hardly believe that all of this was real. The rise of A Bead of Pearl had caused panic in the martial world, and so much had happened in just a few months since she left. She knew she had long decided to do this but told him nothing. This foolish girl had gone too far this time; her joke had gone too far.
No wonder when he left, she asked him, “Old Buddy, what if you come back and can’t find the original me? What should I do then?”
Since that was the case, he would keep his promise to her: “No matter where you are, I will find you.”
He still remembered how, back in the day, the flourishing Sang Qin stood before him like a noble Divine Son and said that since Ranran chose him, he would not take her away today. But he must treat her well. That would put his mind at ease.
Yet, Ranran tragically died while he was away, and there was no way to seek justice for her, simply because the hidden truth behind it was a dark family struggle. Ranran became a victim due to his well-known affection for her. Now, he had pushed her daughter into that endless whirlpool.
It wasn’t just Sang Qin who couldn’t forgive him; even he couldn’t forgive himself.
Was this heaven’s punishment for him?
Using two beloved women as the price.
“Miss, the swing is ready.”
“Is it?” I glanced over lightly, feeling somewhat disinterested. Sigh, I’m almost bored to death. What’s the point of swinging?
“Yun Ying, you can play by yourself. I’ll sleep a bit longer.” With that, I closed my eyes lazily and drifted off again. This cool mat was really comfortable.
It had been three months since entering the palace. Time flew by like an arrow, swiftly passing by. Everything that happened outside the palace seemed so far away, far enough that it felt like I could never return.
I recalled the day I first entered the palace; due to Head of the Family's influence, our whole family rarely gathered together with extraordinary enthusiasm to send me off. However, Brother Three was nowhere to be seen. I knew he must be very angry at having a sister who was so indifferent to her own fate. To me, it didn’t matter where I went. But how could he understand?
Looking at the somewhat insincere smile on the Head of the Family's face, I recalled the words he had said to me when he called me to his study.
"This time entering the palace, we have already arranged everything for you. You just need to pay attention to the young ladies entering the palace with you. If necessary, use some means to prevent them from gaining favor. In short, your only task is to assist your aunt in ascending to the Queen's throne. Although the Four Great Families have repeatedly petitioned the Emperor to confer a higher rank, he has dismissed our requests time and again for various reasons. No one knows what the Emperor is thinking; we subjects cannot presume to guess his intentions. Just do what you are supposed to do."
He looked at me seriously for the first time and said, "Firefly, you must understand that the Four Great Families are currently at odds in court, their powers evenly matched. Whichever family's daughter is conferred a higher rank will see that family surpass the others, truly becoming the sole ruler. This concerns the survival of our entire family."
I rolled my eyes internally; I couldn't care less about this family's survival. Damn it all. I was so annoyed that I couldn't help but let out some foul language.
I coldly replied, "I will do what you ask of me, but my only request is that no one steps foot into Curved Pavilion before I return." Deep down, I knew that once I entered those palace gates, any talk of returning would be nonsense, but I would rather let my beloved place fall into disrepair than allow anyone to taint it.
He gazed at me with a complicated expression for a long moment before nodding.
Before we young ladies moved into the Royal Storehouse, we had to undergo etiquette training in a hidden mansion. It was there that I encountered a little sister whom I had known since childhood—the only one among these noble ladies who caught my attention. Her name was Yuhua. She was the third daughter of Yue Family's Concubine and, like me, an unloved little daughter.
I remembered once accompanying the Head of the Family to visit Yue Family (don’t think I was valued; it was because all the children of the family were invited, and it would have been rude not to attend). The formal banquet was so dull that no one cared about my presence; I decided not to suffer through it and sneaked out of that hypocritical place to wander around the courtyard.
In fact, this courtyard was similar to Xie Manor—opulent and extravagant, looking quite fake, all built with a large sum of silver.
As I turned around a fake mountain, I saw several children around my age throwing stones at a slightly younger girl while chanting: "Pig... Yuhua is a pig..." Honestly, their loud taunts made me want to ignore them even more, but those disgraceful words pierced through my ears uncontrollably.
I walked over and shot them a cold glance. My small stature posed no threat whatsoever; they couldn’t even see the cold smirk on my lips.
"Who’s a pig?" I casually remarked. When they all turned to look at me in surprise, I fixed my gaze on the older girl who seemed to be their leader and asked, "Are you saying you're a pig?"
She glared at me fiercely and retorted angrily, "Are you blind? I'm not a pig!"
I scoffed inwardly at her arrogance; she was just another spoiled child from a prestigious household bullying a Concubine's child. Seriously, can’t we have some different plotlines?
With wide innocent eyes, I muttered to myself, "Oh, so your name is 'Not a Pig'."
"You—" she stammered in anger, "I'm not a pig!"
I pretended to dig in my ears and laughed, "Sorry, could you speak a little louder? I can't hear you."
Her face turned red as she shouted, "I'm not a pig! I'm not a pig!..."
Nearby, several other children from the Concubine group couldn't hold back their laughter. However, fearing her wrath, they stifled it. Their faces flushed, resembling ripe tomatoes trembling in the wind. I knew they were holding back their laughter.
With an expression of helplessness, I rubbed my forehead and said, "So after all that, you really are a pig! Sigh, it's astonishing that there are people in this world who admit to being pigs. I must be too narrow-minded. Impressive."
"You—" she looked at me with red-rimmed eyes and then burst into tears, running off to find help. The other opportunistic children quickly followed suit.
I knew that this spoiled girl had never faced such humiliation before; this small lesson would be enough to keep her quiet for a while. Sigh, why do the struggles of adults always have to affect the next generation?
However, if I had known what would happen to Yuqiang—the fate of this little girl—I wouldn't have given her any lesson today.
"Hey, are you okay?"
I gently kicked the little girl still sitting on the ground with my toe, signaling her to get up. To my surprise—
"Mind your own business!" she shouted like a prickly animal.
I cursed myself three times for meddling and steadied my breath to calm my rising emotions.
Smiling, I said, "You ungrateful little girl, since you don't want me to care, I'm going to do just that." I unceremoniously grabbed her arm and pulled her up, scoffing, "Look at you all dirty; you look like a Calico Cat thrown out in the alley behind my house. Get up!"
She raised her dirty little face, seemingly frightened by my fierce demeanor, looking at me like a scared kitten. Her eyes were filled with tears, yet she stubbornly held them back. Yes, a determined little child.
I lifted her pointed chin with my finger and asked, "What? Do you have any objections?"
Her eyes were filled with fury, but in an instant, she suppressed it, transforming into a humble and obedient demeanor. Hmph, the little girl thinks she can compete with me. What a good disguise.
I pushed her down to the ground and sneered, "The Concubine's Bastard is nothing but useless."
She suddenly lifted her head, humiliation and unwillingness evident in her gaze. After a long pause, she gritted her teeth and said, "Don't call me the Concubine's Bastard."
Heh, I chuckled softly; it seems she couldn't hold back any longer.
"What about the Concubine? My mother is also a Concubine, yet I've managed to live well until now. Does this identity make you feel insulted? You little girl, your mother did well to give birth to you in such difficult circumstances, and yet you still want to pick and choose. Instead of working hard to become stronger and being grateful to your mother, you're here complaining about everything. Are you looking for a fight?"
She stared at me, momentarily speechless. Her expression was dazed, as if she hadn't yet come to her senses.
Seeing her foolish look made me chuckle. "People live for themselves. You're not living for anyone else; why care about what others say? If someone bullies you in the future, come find me secretly, and I'll teach you how to protect yourself."
Noticing that she seemed lost in thought, I walked over and poked her forehead. "Oh dear, have I really made you dumbfounded? I'm Xie Weiying, the Fourth Young Lady of Xie Manor. If you need anything, just let me know."
I waved my hand at her and turned to leave.
Suddenly, she called out from behind, "Sister, my name is Yuhua."
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