Chapter 1: One Year After Being Tortured and Insulted
In a windowless dark room where you can't see your face at all hours.
Yu Shengsheng was dressed in rags and huddled in a corner.
In this corner, the various terrifying sounds that can be heard are a little smaller than in other places - this is what she found out after nearly three hundred days and nights of exploration and comparison.
With a "creak", a ray of sunlight slashed into the darkness like a knife.
She subconsciously tried to raise her arms to cover them, but quickly put them down halfway.
He huddled down and knelt in the corner, his back straight, his hands folded, his forehead resting on the backs of his hands.
In the knife-like sunlight, the gorgeous palace maid swept her skirt lightly, and her footsteps were full of rebellion.
The voice was cold and contemptuous, like the sound of a knife being flicked.
"Look up."
Yu Shengsheng looked up, her pale face was as flawless as jade, showing no sign of concealing her stunning beauty.
Disgust flashed in the maid's eyes, and she pinched her chin with her fingers: "Yu Shengsheng, although you are the daughter of the general's mansion, you grew up in the countryside since childhood, and you are already a lowly person. It is your blessing that the queen is willing to spend time and effort to teach you."
"After you leave the villa and return to the general's residence today, remember to follow the rules and don't let anyone say that you learned the rules for a year in vain. It doesn't matter if you lose face, but the reputation of the queen cannot tolerate even the slightest stain."
"Do you understand?"
Yu Shengsheng opened her pale lips and said, "I understand."
The maid tightened her grip and said, "Say it again."
"Madam Song, I understand."
The maid sneered and flicked her finger: "Come here, drag him out and clean him up!"
Several burly old women rushed in and dragged Yu Shengsheng out of the darkroom.
Half an hour later, Yu Shengsheng was escorted out of the villa by several palace maids and nannies. The sunlight was so bright that it hurt her eyes.
She held back her tears and looked at Madam Su who was walking towards her.
Her biological mother.
She lived like a weed in the countryside. Her parents often beat and abused her. She struggled to live until she was thirteen years old. However, she was told by the general's mansion three years ago that she was originally a lady of the general's mansion. The maid who served the general's wife at that time became jealous because she was punished, so she replaced her with a baby girl bought from outside and threw her to her hometown in the countryside to abuse her.
The one who exchanged lives with her was Su Zhiyi, the daughter of the general's mansion. She was raised with pampered care and treated like a treasure. She also went into battle with her biological father, General Su, and served as a pioneer. She was praised by the emperor as the daughter of a general and was given the title of Princess Rongyang.
The emperor's decree and the empress's personal conferring ceremony could not be changed.
Therefore, Yu Shengsheng, the real legitimate daughter of the general's mansion, could only claim to be Mrs. Su's niece and become the cousin of the general's mansion.
Even so, Yu Shengsheng was happy in her heart. She now had her biological parents and two brothers. This was the first time she had seen her blood relatives in thirteen years.
She tried her best to be well-behaved and sensible. In the two years since she returned home, she has used all her abilities to integrate into this family and make up for her previous deficiencies.
Her mother, two brothers, and even Princess Rongyang, except for not being able to give her a real status, were all very nice to her, making her think that she had completely become a member of the family.
However, during the spring hunt a year ago, a stray arrow startled Su Zhiyi's horse, causing her to fall off the horse and injure her leg. When she was unconscious, the female guard beside Su Zhiyi snatched an arrow from Yu Shengsheng's quiver without saying a word, claiming that it was her arrow that failed to hurt anyone and therefore scared the horse.
So, even though she hadn't had time to shoot an arrow, even though she asked for help and explanation, the Su family said nothing, and without any evidence, she was immediately identified as the murderer of Su Zhiyi. Her eldest brother personally broke her right hand, which could draw a bow and heal injuries, so that she could "feel the same pain";
The second brother personally whipped her, drawing blood, so that she would remember this mistake;
Mother… Mother bowed deeply to express her gratitude when the Queen offered to teach her daughter the rules in person.
That day she was covered in wounds and did not even have time to return to the Su Mansion. She was taken directly from the enclosure and locked up in the Queen's villa outside the city for a whole year.
For a whole year, her broken bones dislocated and healed, and her back was bloody, scabbed, and scarred by the whipping...but no one from the Su family, her blood relative, came to see her.
More than three hundred days and nights of "learning the rules" had long made her realize that she was still Yu Shengsheng, who had no parents and no brother.
“Shengsheng!” Madam Su stepped forward with tears in her eyes and held her hand. “Mother is here to take you home. Come with me and get in the car!”
Yu Shengsheng's injured arm was grabbed tightly, causing unbearable pain. He couldn't help but frown and pulled his hand back, letting it drop weakly.
The pain in my hands is not as great as the pain in my heart from twisting it.
How could it not hurt? After all, this was the mother she had waited for thirteen years, the mother she had loved with all her heart and passion!
But she no longer had the energy to love, just like this hand, she couldn’t lift it up even though she wanted to hug.
Her cold eyes also lowered, her long dark blue eyelashes hiding the coldness in her eyes, and she took two steps back and saluted respectfully.
"I don't want to trouble you, Aunt. I can just walk back."
Mrs. Su was stunned - in order to have the best of both worlds, she told others that Yu Shengsheng was a cousin and asked her to call her "Aunt" when there were outsiders in front of her.
But right now, there are no outsiders.
Madam Su's tears welled up even more fiercely: "Shengsheng, are you... still blaming mother?"
The maid who was supporting Madam Su whispered, "Young lady, please don't blame Madam for your temper. Madam got up before dawn and asked the maids to line up to buy your favorite fruit. Madam cried all the way in the car, and her eyes really can't stand the wind."
Madam Su cried out of breath: "Shengsheng, look up at mother..."
Yu Shengsheng couldn't raise her head. She was locked in a dark room without a trace of light. When she came out and saw the sunlight, her eyes were stinging with unbearable pain.
And she didn't want to cry in front of the Su family, no matter what the reason.
Standing in the light, her heart was like a black hole, tattered and broken. All the eagerness to return home and the heartfelt love she had given to her relatives for two years had now passed through the hole, leaving no light or air.
"I can just walk," Yu Shengsheng repeated in a low voice, turned around and walked forward.
“Shengsheng…” Madam Su called out in a trembling voice, but was unable to stop her.
Yu Shengsheng took every step with great difficulty, and her legs under her skirt were shaking uncontrollably due to the pain.
The shoes on her feet were made of Shu brocade, inlaid with oriental pearls, with thick hollow soles, and were extremely exquisite.
Only she knew that there were several thin needles in her shoes, with the sharp tips pointing upwards, piercing into her flesh with every step she took.
Let her suffer pain with every step, but without losing too much blood.
Before leaving the palace, Lady Song told her with a smile in her voice: "You were dragged here a year ago. This time you will walk back. Count your steps carefully so that you can report to the queen when you return."
So, she had to walk back.
She walked in front, and Madam Su was helped onto the carriage by a maid, and followed slowly behind, crying all the way.
Yu Shengsheng took every step with difficulty. She was dressed in gorgeous clothes, and everyone who passed by would take a few glances at her. Soon, someone recognized her as the vicious cousin who had failed to shoot Princess Rongyang in the paddock and caused her to fall off her horse and be injured.
Passersby pointed and talked, disturbing a carriage parked not far away.
The carriage is made of precious ebony, riveted with copper round nails, and has black curtains, which makes it look calm and mysterious.
Only a corner of the carriage curtain was lifted, revealing a piece of embroidered red sleeves.
"What happened?" The voice was low and cold.
"Reporting to the commander," the man in black outside the car window bowed his head, "It's the cousin of the general's mansion who is returning home."
"Oh," the voice was long and playful and indifferent, "It's the scapegoat in the paddock."
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