The red mark is exactly where Qingying slapped me yesterday.
"No matter what, Shushu is still your elder sister. I never thought you could be so cruel!" Madam Pan cursed.
Qingying carefully examined Liu Shushu's face, marveling inwardly. How important was a woman's appearance? To be selected for the palace, even a noticeable scar was unacceptable.
It's quite unexpected that Liu Shushu would be willing to sacrifice herself to this extent just to harm her.
She knew she was doomed to suffer at the hands of the mother and daughter in front of her today.
So, taking advantage of the moment she knelt down, she secretly made a hand gesture to Tongxia behind her. Tongxia immediately understood, and when no one was paying attention, she secretly slipped out, took Qingying's handwritten letter, and went to call for help.
Qingying knelt down straight, tilted her head back, and tears welled up in her eyes instantly. She said pitifully, "I did not harm my elder sister. Please, Mother, see the truth!"
"The evidence is irrefutable, and you still want to deny it?!"
"May I ask, Mother, what conclusive evidence do you have?"
"Shushu's face is the evidence. So many servants witnessed what you did to Shushu yesterday. They are all witnesses. What excuse do you have?"
"I did hit my sister, I admit that, but I absolutely refuse to admit to the disfigurement!" She stubbornly raised her chin.
"You..." Pan was furious. She pointed at her for a long time but couldn't say a word. She was so angry that she couldn't breathe and her vision went black. She almost fainted.
Qingying was just feeling a bit pleased when she suddenly caught sight of Liu Shushu's ambiguous smile. Her heart skipped a beat, and she knew something was wrong.
Sure enough, Pan fainted the next second.
Just then, Liu Yu and Liu Chengfeng stepped in and, seeing this scene, hurriedly went forward to help Pan Shi.
Now things are really messed up. They were already in the wrong, and now even if they were right, they can't explain themselves.
Liu Chengfeng and Liu Shushu helped Madam Pan into the inner room to rest, while Liu Yu stayed behind.
Without giving Qingying any chance to explain, he ordered with a stern face, "Guards! Drag this unfilial daughter out, remove her outer robe, and make her kneel in the courtyard!"
"Father..." Qingying was dragged out by two rough maids, one on each side, staring blankly at him, something in her eyes seemed to be slowly extinguishing.
I thought she hadn't had much hope to begin with, so she wouldn't be too disappointed now, but why... even though I had expected this outcome, does it still sting my heart?
Qingying took off her outer robe and knelt in the snow wearing only a single garment. Fortunately, the snow was thick, so she wouldn't feel uncomfortable on the ground. However, she was already physically weak and very sensitive to cold, and she couldn't help but shiver as soon as she was exposed to the wind.
Yu Yue had no right to plead for her, so she could only kneel silently behind her and keep her company.
Whether it was God deliberately working against her or not, she had only been kneeling for less than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn when snowflakes began to fall.
Liu Yu sat quietly in the room, sipping his hot tea. Beside him sat Liu Chengfeng and Liu Shushu, a brother and sister.
They watched her kneeling in the snow and ice, watched her skin turn from white to red and then back to white, watched her body gradually covered with frost and snow.
They punished her wickedness in the name of justice, without even giving her a chance to defend herself.
In their eyes, she was a lowly concubine's daughter, and the Liu family had already done more than enough by raising her with the proper etiquette and manners expected of a legitimate daughter for so many years; she should be grateful. She had occupied Liu Shushu's position for so many years, and it was only right that the legitimate daughter relinquish it upon her return. It was she who failed to recognize her place, who harbored malicious intentions to harm her elder sister, and who repaid kindness with ingratitude by defying her stepmother. Her current predicament was entirely her own fault!
Qingying shivered from the cold, her lips were white and chapped, her fingers curled up on her knees and had lost all feeling, her long eyelashes were frosted, and her eyelids drooped down.
She couldn't help but curse inwardly: Has Tong Xia gotten lost? Why hasn't she come back yet after so long!
Yu Yue wasn't much better off, but her constitution was much better than Qing Ying's. Looking at Qing Ying's thin, shivering back, tears welled up in her eyes. The cold wind almost froze the tears, making her close her eyes immediately.
He couldn't help but curse inwardly: What's wrong with Tong Xia?! If she doesn't come back soon, she'll be collecting our corpses!
"Shushu, my little girl..."
The sudden shouts snapped the two drowsy people back to reality.
Qingying was a beat slow to react. By the time she looked up, a warm fox fur cloak had already been draped over her, wrapping her slender body tightly.
A pair of warm arms wrapped around Qingying, holding her tightly, and a hoarse, weathered voice came from above: "What are you doing? Are you trying to force her to her death?!"
“Grandmother…” Qingying raised her head in a daze, and upon seeing that familiar old face, tears of grievance instantly streamed down her face.
“Child, don’t cry. Grandma was wrong. Grandma shouldn’t have turned a blind eye and let them torment you like this. Grandma was wrong…” Madam Wang raised her wrinkled hand and gently wiped away the tears on her face. When she touched the coldness of her cheek, her fingertips trembled slightly. She was filled with heartache and her voice choked with sobs: “My little girl, you have really suffered.”
Liu Yu came out of the house, frowning, and said coldly, "This is all she deserves. Mother, you didn't see her..."
"What did you see!" Wang interrupted him coldly, saying, "What I saw when I came in was her kneeling in the snow. It's freezing cold, and she's already weak. How could she endure that? Are you trying to force her to her death?"
Liu Chengfeng said, "Grandmother, she hit Shushu first and took the opportunity to ruin Shushu's appearance. She is utterly vicious!"
"Have you asked her? Did she admit that she ruined Shushu's appearance?"
"How could she admit to doing something wrong?"
“Not necessarily.” Madam Wang stood up, leaning on her cane, and stood in front of Qingying. She said coldly, “I watched Ying’er grow up. I know her best. If she did it, she will admit it. If she didn’t do it, she would rather be beaten to death than accept being wronged.”
Liu Chengfeng paused for a moment, then looked down at Qingying's snow-covered head, lost in thought.
Liu Yu stepped forward and took her arm, gently advising, "Mother, it's still snowing outside. Why don't you come inside and talk?"
Wang Shi did not move, and said, "I can go in, but Ying'er must also come in. We can't let her kneel like this anymore."
Liu Yu glanced back at Qingying, frowned, but reluctantly gave in and ordered, "Help the Third Miss into the house."
Then the same two old women came over and helped Qingying up, one on each side.
Her legs were stiff from kneeling and almost numb. The two men were rough, and she couldn't help but cry out in pain the moment they lifted her up.
"Be quiet!" Wang shouted angrily.
"Let me do it." Liu Chengfeng stepped forward, bent down, picked up Qingying, and quickly walked into the house.
Qingying felt a bit disgusted, but she didn't have the strength to resist at the moment, so she let him hug her.
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