Xia Mingde was struck dumb, his eyes wide with disbelief: "You remember perfectly well that Yuwei loves fine silks and jewelry, and you throw lavish parties for her birthday every year. But Qingdai is your own daughter! How can you not even know what she likes?"
Madam Xia was stunned for a moment. She really knew nothing about this biological daughter.
"I...I also wanted to be good to her..." Madam Xia murmured to herself, her voice so soft it was almost inaudible.
In the initial period, she did indeed instruct the servants to prepare new clothes and arrange accommodations for Xia Qingdai.
But every time, Xia Yuwei would run to her crying and complaining that her sister had stolen her things and bullied her. Over time, she completely lost patience with her biological daughter.
"It's all because that girl is so ignorant..." Madam Xia subconsciously defended herself, but suddenly realized that she seemed to have never taken the initiative to understand this daughter.
"How dare you say that!" Xia Mingde slammed his fist on the table in a rage. "You don't even know what your own daughter likes? Do you even deserve to be called a mother?"
Startled awake by the angry shout, Madam Xia immediately retorted, "You have the nerve to criticize me? You yourself know nothing! Besides, what abilities could that girl possibly have? What Xuan Tian Sect elder? Have you lost your mind?"
She simply couldn't believe that Xia Qingdai, who was weak and mediocre in the mansion, would suddenly become such an extraordinary person.
"Absolutely true!" Xia Mingde's voice trembled with excitement. "If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn't have believed it either. That girl had been playing dumb all along! Today at the sect competition, she personally killed a late-stage Nascent Soul immortal! You can ask Yuwei if you don't believe me."
"Wh...what?" Madam Xia's legs went weak, and she nearly collapsed to the ground. She mechanically turned to look at Xia Yuwei, desperately trying to deny this absurd news: "Yuwei, is your father talking nonsense...?"
"It's true." Xia Yuwei bit her lip, tears welling in her eyes. "I never imagined my sister was so capable, but why did she pretend to be so weak in the manor..."
Xia Yuwei wanted to tell Madam Xia, both openly and secretly, that Xia Qingdai was a scheming woman. She was always pretending and wasn't sincere at all towards her relatives.
She thought her mother would scold Xia Qingdai as usual and comfort her, but she didn't expect that Madam Xia would not pay attention to her words at all. Suddenly, she seemed to have become a different person and hurriedly summoned all the servants.
"Quickly! Summon everyone in the manor!" Madam Xia's voice was full of urgency. "I need to know what Xia Qingdai likes most? What she likes to eat, what she likes to wear, and what she does on a daily basis!"
She then turned to the housekeeper: "Immediately prepare the east wing—no, clear out the main courtyard! Use the best furniture for everything!"
Xia Yuwei's face turned deathly pale instantly. She gripped the hem of her skirt tightly, her nails almost piercing the silk: "Mother, what are you doing?"
"Of course, it's to bring your sister home!" Madam Xia's eyes gleamed with shrewdness, as if she could already see the bustling crowds at the Xia family's gate. "With Qingdai around, our Xia family is destined for great success! You'll be able to ride on her coattails and reap countless benefits..."
Xia Yuwei looked at her mother in disbelief.
At that moment, Xia Yuwei felt dizzy and disoriented.
She had painstakingly worked for many years, finally managing to convince her parents to choose her and to make everyone despise that bitch.
But now, just because that bitch suddenly has some ability, her parents want to treat her like royalty?
Absolutely not!
What right does that bitch have to come back! She should have died at the bottom of the cliff long ago!
A ruthless glint flashed in Xia Yuwei's eyes. She would never allow Xia Qingdai to set foot in the Xia family again.
Xia Yuwei staggered back to her boudoir, slamming the door shut and shutting out the maids' panicked questions. Trembling, she took out a brocade pouch embroidered with gold thread from a hidden compartment at the bottom of her dressing case. Inside was a small packet of dark red powder.
"This is the beast-attracting powder she obtained from the black market at great expense..." She stared at the poison in her palm, a twisted smile playing on her lips. "Even a Nascent Soul cultivator would die if they encountered a beast like that..."
A sudden gust of cold wind swept in from outside the window, causing the candlelight to flicker violently. In the dim light, Xia Yuwei's beautiful face appeared particularly ferocious. She clutched the packet of powder tightly, her nails digging deep into her palms, yet she felt no pain.
"Why... why is that bitch suddenly so powerful..." she muttered through gritted teeth, her mind flashing back to the scenes from the competition earlier that day—those young men who had once fawned over her were now all looking at Xia Qingdai with admiring eyes.
"Miss..." Her personal maid, Cui'er, knocked cautiously on the door, "Master wants you to go to the front hall..."
"Get out!" Xia Yuwei slammed the teacup against the door, sending shards of porcelain flying.
She was breathing heavily when she suddenly laughed maniacally: "Isn't she supposed to be powerful? Then how come she almost died last time? But I didn't give her enough of the beast-attracting powder last time, so even though she was severely injured, she still came back alive! Luckily, she's lost her memory. This time, I'm definitely going to kill her!"
Her hands trembled as she clutched the packet of medicine tightly. Her bloodshot eyes were reflected in the bronze mirror; where was the dignified bearing of a well-bred young lady?
"Xia Qingdai..." she said to the mirror, each word deliberate, her voice like a demon crawling out of hell, "I'll make you understand that the Xia family will always belong to me, Xia Yuwei! You'll never set foot in here!"
Unexpectedly, at that moment, there was another urgent knocking on the door.
Xia Yuwei angrily retorted, "Didn't I say get lost?"
"Please forgive me, Miss!" The maid outside the door cried out in alarm, "It's Master... Master said Miss Qingdai has arrived in the front hall and needs you to go there immediately..."
These words were like a bucket of ice water poured over her head. Xia Yuwei froze on the spot, all color draining from her face instantly.
She mechanically lowered her head, looking at her狰狞 (zhengning - ferocious/hideous) face in the bronze mirror, and suddenly let out a chilling chuckle.
She actually came back so eagerly?
Is this bitch trying to show off to me?
"Great...you've come at the perfect time..."
She slowly rose to her feet, her eyes as cold as a poisoned knife.
"Sister..." She practiced her sweetest smile in front of the bronze mirror, her voice so gentle it could melt water, "Your little sister is coming... to properly entertain you..."
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