The maid outside the door continued tremblingly, "Master said that if Miss doesn't go... then..."
"So what?" Xia Yuwei demanded in a shrill voice.
"He said she should be punished according to family rules, and that Miss should apologize properly to Miss Xia Qingdai..."
Xia Yuwei's pupils contracted sharply, and her fingertips trembled uncontrollably. She grabbed the maid's wrist with such force that she almost crushed bones: "What did you say? Apologize!"
The maidservant's face turned pale with pain, but she dared not struggle: "Master said that your attitude must be extremely sincere so that Miss Qingdai will forgive you!"
Xia Yuwei's nails dug deeply into her palms, but the excruciating pain paled in comparison to the surging hatred in her heart.
"That bitch!"
She stared intently at her reflection in the bronze mirror, then suddenly let out a cold laugh.
"Good...good timing..." She slowly slipped the poison into her personal sachet, then picked up rouge from her dressing table and gently touched up her tear-smeared makeup. "That saves me the trouble of looking for you..."
When she pushed open the door, a perfect smile was already on her face. But her eyes remained as cold as poisoned knives.
"Lead the way." She raised her chin, her posture as elegant as if she were going to a grand banquet.
As Xia Yuwei walked through the corridor, she caught a glimpse of the servants in the mansion hurriedly preparing a room for Xia Qingdai, with several maids frantically carrying precious furnishings into the main hall.
Her heart ached as if it were being gnawed by a venomous snake—these were things she had asked her father for before, but he wouldn't give them to her! And now he was going to give them to that bitch Xia Qingdai!
From afar, she could already hear the sounds of laughter and conversation coming from the main hall. Xia Mingde's fawning voice was particularly grating: "Qingdai, I knew you were the most promising..."
Just before stepping into the hall, Xia Yuwei secretly touched the poison hidden in her sleeve. She took a deep breath, put on her sweetest smile, and stepped over the threshold.
"Sister is finally back. I know I was wrong before, please forgive me..." Xia Yuwei's voice was as soft as a spring breeze, but beneath her lowered eyelashes, the killing intent was like a poisoned blade, chilling and piercing.
Xia Yuwei thought she had concealed it well, but she had no idea that someone as powerful as Bai Ying could sense even the slightest bit of killing intent.
The moment Xia Yuwei opened the powder, Bai Ying immediately sensed its presence and rushed to the Xia family home.
The powder had a very faint smell, almost undetectable, but it still couldn't escape Bai Ying's perception.
Bai Ying had been searching for this scent for a long time...
This is precisely the smell that lingers on the real Xia Qingdai's remains.
Xia Qingdai's death was also caused by this powder!
Bai Ying had previously said she wanted to avenge Xia Qingdai, and now it seems she knows who her enemy is!
Bai Ying's fingertips tightened slightly, and a flash of cold light appeared in her eyes.
Xia Yuwei, it really is her.
"Sister, it was my fault before. I hope you can forgive me. From now on, we are family. I will give back everything that should have been mine to you."
At Xia Mingde's prompting, Xia Yuwei accepted the tea offered by the maid and presented it to Bai Ying with both hands. She lowered her head, her posture humble, but her slightly trembling fingertips betrayed her inner turmoil.
Bai Ying stared at the cup of tea, a cold smile slowly curving her lips.
Do you know where you went wrong?
Xia Yuwei's face turned deathly pale instantly.
She glanced at Xia Mingde instinctively, only to see her father's gloomy gaze, which held a hidden warning.
Xia Yuwei gritted her teeth and finally whispered:
"It was...it was me who framed my sister..."
"My sister never pushed me into the water; I jumped in myself. And then she blamed my sister in front of everyone..."
"My sister didn't steal my jade pendant; I deliberately hid it in her room."
"And that time... I tore up the famous painting in Father's study and framed my sister for it. I knew Father liked that painting, and I wanted him to punish my sister severely..."
With each word she spoke, Madam Xia's face grew paler, until finally she could barely stand and trembled as she grabbed the corner of the table for support.
"Yuwei...you...you're telling the truth?"
Xia Yuwei cried and said, "I'm sorry, Mother. I just love you and Father too much. I don't want anyone to take away your love."
Sister, I'm sorry, I'll never do anything like that again. It's all my fault, I was so wrong...
Madam Xia shook her head fiercely, "How could you do such a thing, child?"
Xia Mingde merely snorted coldly, his tone impatient:
"It's good that you know you were wrong! Don't resort to such underhanded tactics again!"
His reaction made Bai Ying's eyes darken even more.
Although Madam Xia was unaware of the situation, her blind favoritism and unconditional trust in Xia Yuwei over the years had long become a knife aimed at Xia Qingdai.
And Xia Mingde...
There was no shock on his face.
This shows that he already knew about Xia Yuwei's actions.
But he didn't care.
In his eyes, Xia Qingdai and Xia Yuwei were nothing more than pawns in maintaining the family's interests. Whoever was more useful would receive his "favoritism".
As for whether her biological daughter is alive or dead?
He didn't care at all.
Bai Ying's fingers tightened slightly, and the teacup made a soft, crisp sound in her hand.
"Is that all?"
Her voice was soft, yet it instantly silenced the entire hall.
Xia Mingde frowned and looked over.
Bai Ying raised her eyes, her gaze sharp and cold.
She remembered what Xiao Tao had told her about Xia Qingdai's ordeal. That poor girl, she wondered how much suffering she had endured in the Xia family.
I remember back then—
"Xia Yuwei said I pushed her into the water, but my father ordered me to be whipped thirty times on the spot."
"She accused me of stealing her jade pendant, and I was punished by kneeling in the ancestral hall for three days and three nights."
"As for that painting, my father locked me in the woodshed for a whole month."
"Now she has personally admitted that these were all fabrications..."
She slowly stood up, and the teacup clicked as she placed it on the table.
"What are Father's plans to do?"
The air froze instantly.
Xia Yuwei's face turned deathly pale, and she gripped her sleeve tightly with her fingers.
Xia Mingde's expression shifted between light and dark. After a long pause, he suddenly shouted:
"Guards! Bring the family punishment!"
"Father!" Xia Yuwei screamed in terror.
Madam Xia staggered forward: "Master! Yuwei is frail—"
"Shut up!" Xia Mingde shot her a glare. "She deserved it!"
The whip was quickly presented.
Bai Ying coldly watched as Xia Yuwei was pressed onto the bench, and then watched as the whip lashed down hard.
"Smack!"
With the first lash, Xia Yuwei's scream tore through the roof.
Looking at this scene, Bai Ying could only think that Xia Qingdai must have been beaten in the same way back then...
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