[The story of A-Yao's past life, recounting her first existence.]
The water dungeon was dark and cold. A small, thin girl was bound hand and foot with chains, her body submerged in the icy water. She was soaked through, her hair and clothes clinging to her skin. Her clothes were tattered, her wounds were white from being soaked, and she was trembling all over. Her lips were pale, and her teeth were chattering. The water was getting colder and colder, and the surroundings were freezing.
Ayao couldn't understand why her biological mother treated her this way, why none of her brothers believed her. She was clearly their blood relative, yet they preferred to believe Lu Xuening, their adopted daughter, rather than her. Why did they believe Lu Xuening without hesitation, no matter what she said? But no matter what she did, they all suspected her of harboring malicious intentions?
If they hate her so much, why did they bring her back?
Tears rolled down her cheeks and dripped into the water.
The water level in the icy pool was slowly rising, gradually submerging her waist, her chest, then her neck, and finally the top of her head. In the water, she circulated her spiritual energy, activated the water-avoidance spell, cried, endured the biting cold, and suffered the excruciating pain from her wounds. It was so painful, so painful. She wanted to just give up, to give up the resistance, and let herself die here.
If she dies, will her mother and older brothers be heartbroken? Will they shed tears for her?
No, they won't, they definitely won't.
More tears welled up in Ayao's eyes. She really wanted to give up and let the water drown her, but she was unwilling to die like this.
The entire water prison was submerged. She cried underwater, and every moment felt like a hundred years. As time passed, the water finally began to recede, reaching her head and then her mouth, and she could finally catch her breath.
The water slowly receded to her waist, and the electric torture began again. Golden sparks of electricity surged from the chains, piercing through A Yao's entire body in an instant. A Yao let out a piercing scream. After forty-nine electric shocks, she lost consciousness. When she awoke, she didn't know how much time had passed.
Just then, the entrance to the water prison flashed with a protective light, and then the door opened, and a figure walked in.
The tall, handsome man with a gentle demeanor looked at the disheveled A Yao with a mixture of pity and helplessness in his eyes.
As soon as Ayao saw the person who came in, tears welled up in her eyes. She called out, "Third Brother..."
Her voice was filled with grievance.
Of all her brothers, only her third brother truly cared for her; he treated her like a younger sister and was the best to her. However, in his heart, she could never compare to Lu Xuening.
Lu Yunshen sighed: "Xiao Qi, just admit your mistake. As long as you admit your mistake, I'll let you out immediately."
Large tears rolled down A Yao's cheeks as she looked at Lu Yun Shen and cried out hoarsely, "I did nothing wrong! I did nothing wrong! It's clearly Lu Xue Ning who was less skilled. Does she have to be reasonable just because she's weaker? I didn't mean to hurt her either. Why don't any of you believe me?"
"I don't admit I was wrong, I did nothing wrong!"
Ayao screamed hysterically, her voice hoarse.
Lu Yun Shen looked at her with deep disappointment in his eyes. He turned around and said, "If you're so stubborn and unwilling to back down, then stay a few more days."
Lu Yun Shen left. After he left, A Yao started crying, first silently, then her cries became heart-wrenching. But Lu Yun Shen couldn't hear her heart-wrenching cries, and neither could anyone else.
Ayao had been in the water dungeon for over two months. She was released because one of the stewards from the Punishment Hall glanced at her; after all, she was the head of the family's daughter, and they wouldn't be able to explain themselves if she were truly dead. When they went in, they found Ayao barely breathing. The people from the Punishment Hall were terrified and immediately performed a ritual to resuscitate her, releasing her before reporting back to the matriarch, Xu Lianxin.
Xu Lianxin had someone send Ayao back to her Yingxiu Peak.
————
When Ayao woke up, she saw the familiar bed curtains. She found herself lying in her own bed; this was her room. She felt pain all over her body, a terrible pain, and she wanted to sit up, but she didn't have the strength.
The voices came from behind the screen.
Ayao's room was separated by a screen. Through the gauze screen, one could see several maids sitting and talking in the outer room, unaware that Ayao had already woken up. Of course, even if they did know that Ayao was awake, they wouldn't care. They weren't afraid of Ayao, the unloved seventh young lady, at all.
"Damn it, she didn't die even after all that. If she had died, we would be free."
"What bad luck! I bribed the manager to get this job, and four years have passed, and I haven't gotten a single penny. That idiot can't even win over his own parents and brothers; he's dragged us down with him."
"Yes, how wonderful it would be if we were Miss Eight's maids."
Lying in bed listening to these words, Ayao felt as if knives were piercing her body. She didn't want to cry, but the tears welled up in her eyes uncontrollably. She sobbed silently.
The maids outside noticed she was awake, but instead of being discreet, they pretended not to notice and even raised their voices:
"Why doesn't she just die? She's useless and only drags us down with her. Nobody cares about her anyway. Even her own parents don't bother to look at her. She's almost dead, and neither the madam nor the young masters have come to see her. Why is she still alive? If I were her, I would have hanged myself long ago."
"What Seventh Miss? She's not even as good as Eighth Miss's dog."
"You're worse than a dog, just die already!"
Hearing these words, these humiliating and malicious remarks, all Ayao could do was cry.
After the maid finished her tirade, she went out, and no one came to look at her.
While she was unconscious, she had been given medication, and as it took effect, A-Yao slowly regained a little strength, finally able to sit up. She sat on the bed, looking outside, and did so all afternoon, but no one paid her any attention. In the evening, A-Yao's fourth brother, Lu Yunxing, sent a maid over. The maid said:
"Fourth Young Master, please allow me to return this storage bag to Seventh Miss."
The maid threw the storage bag at A Yao's feet and then flew away on her sword.
No one in the entire Lu family really treated her as the seventh young lady.
Ayao looked down at her soiled storage bag, picked it up, and dusted it off. She scanned it with her divine sense; nothing was missing. Of course, who cared about what was inside? Any servant in the Lu family possessed far more resources than she did.
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