"Ming Zheng, you truly are the useless waste raised in the countryside, with such malicious thoughts!"
"Don't think that just because we brought you back, you're truly a part of the Ming family. Let me tell you, the only true daughter of the Ming family is Rou'er!"
"Rou'er is a genius rarely seen in Xia Capital for a hundred years! She is the glory of our Ming family. What can you, a good-for-nothing, compare to Rou'er?"
"Ming Zheng, go to hell! We don't have a sister like you."
The noisy, sharp voices echoed repeatedly in Ming Zheng's mind, as if a repeat button had been pressed.
It felt like ten thousand needles were constantly piercing her head.
She furrowed her brows, her long, raven-feather eyelashes trembling slightly.
"Sister, you're finally awake."
A sweet, soft voice, laced with a hint of triumphant laughter, reached Ming Zheng's ears.
Following that, a hand with a faint scent of blood landed on the wound on her head, pressing down forcefully.
Pain.
So much pain.
The sharp sting of the needles felt as if it were about to pierce through her skull.
Ming Zheng instinctively grabbed the hand in front of her forehead.
As her eyes slowly opened, a clear, chilling stream of light flowed from their depths.
The girl's delicate, jade-like knuckles, seemingly gentle, landed with extreme precision.
The person by the bed let out a pained groan.
The voice was nothing like the sweetness from before.
Ming Zheng's gaze was calm as she slowly raised her eyes.
Before her stood a girl in a high-society white dress, her makeup subtle yet exquisitely done.
She, who was usually sweet and soft, now had tears in her eyes, her face contorted in pain and horror.
Yes, this was… this was the true face of the little princess who was doted upon and cherished by the entire Ming family.
Ming Zhi Rou, the person who had usurped her place and been the Ming family's daughter for eighteen years.
She had stolen her identity.
She had snatched away the love of her parents and brothers.
Back then, Ming Zheng's parents—her biological parents—had appeared before her and brought her home.
To integrate into this family that belonged to her,
Ming Zheng had been cautious, endured everything, and constantly tried to please.
She had even treated this imposter, who would swing on her arm and affectionately call her "Sister," as her own sister.
Because, when her parents brought her back, they had told her—
They had raised Ming Zhi Rou for eighteen years and had been her family for eighteen years. Although the blood relation was fake, the feelings were real.
Ming Zhi Rou had cried for three days and three nights after learning she wasn't the Ming family's biological daughter and had fallen gravely ill.
She needed to treat Ming Zhi Rou well and not let Ming Zhi Rou feel that her presence had affected Ming Zhi Rou's status.
She was the older sister and needed to take good care of her sister's feelings.
But who would take care of her feelings?
What had her caution, her endurance, and her attempts to please earned her?
It had earned her Ming Zhi Rou's various low-level and obvious schemes and frame-ups, while the Ming family seemed blind and deaf, only believing Ming Zhi Rou and berating her for her "jealousy" and "shamelessness."
It had earned her their favoritism towards Ming Zhi Rou and their disgust and disdain for her.
She was constantly humbled, yet she was less than a dog in the Ming family!
Even when Ming Zhi Rou had framed her and tied her up, sending her to what was known as the hellish abyss of sin in Xia Country.
She was tortured, slice by slice, with a knife.
Because she detested the face that so closely resembled their mother's, Ming Zhi Rou had disfigured her face.
Because she carried the Ming family's blood, even though she was just an ordinary person and had not condensed a Saint Yuan Heart Pill, Ming Zhi Rou, who had already reached the realm of a congenital expert, had used that knife to shatter her dantian.
Blood gushed out.
She was soon soaked in her own blood.
At this moment, her six brothers and her parents rushed over.
But their eyes held no trace of her.
They surrounded Ming Zhi Rou, looking at the blood staining her clothes, their hearts aching as if they were ready to kill everyone in the world for Ming Zhi Rou.
And indeed, they did.
Ming Zheng lay bleeding profusely in a pool of blood,
Yet the Ming family insisted that she had attempted to harm Ming Zhi Rou.
So…
Eldest Brother picked up the blood-stained knife from the ground and pierced her palm.
Second and Third Brothers stepped on her arms, as if stepping on trash, forcefully breaking her bones.
Fourth and Fifth Brothers supported Ming Zhi Rou, their gazes filled with disgust, torturing her with their eyes.
Sixth Brother walked slowly towards her. His face, which was as gentle as a spring breeze, spoke words that were sharp blades with every syllable.
"Didn't you want us to look at you more by framing Rou'er and even harming yourself? Then bleed more, scream more tragically, perhaps… we will take pity and bestow a glance upon you."
In the chaos, Ming Zhi Rou kicked her into the abyss of sin ten thousand feet deep.
Falling rapidly, facing death,
Ming Zheng vaguely heard the cold, heartless words of her parents: "She's dead, good riddance. Such a malicious little beast is not worthy of being my daughter. I shouldn't have brought her back in the first place!"
Yes.
She was dead.
Having fallen into the abyss of sin, even in her prime, she might not have survived.
Let alone… someone with broken limbs and a shattered Saint Yuan Heart Pill.
Perhaps heaven thought her death was too pathetic.
Now, it had given her a chance to start anew.
She had been reborn.
Reborn to a year after she was first brought back by the Ming family.
"Ming Zheng, let go of me!" Ming Zhi Rou's voice, filled with teeth-grinding hatred and a hint of pain, rang out.
Fire seemed to blaze in her eyes.
When did this slut gain so much strength?
She couldn't break free!
Ming Zheng's gaze slowly fell upon Ming Zhi Rou's wrist, which was held in a reverse grip.
Ming Zhi Rou's slender wrist was wrapped in white gauze, which was now stained with droplets of blood.
She remembered…
To appease this little princess of the Ming family, she had woken up early, made breakfast herself, and delivered it to Ming Zhi Rou's room, inviting her to school together.
After knocking for a long time with no response.
The door was unlocked.
She pushed the door open and saw Ming Zhi Rou, dressed in a snow-white nightgown, collapsed on the floor.
A few drops of blood stained a section of her skirt.
Startled, she dropped the breakfast and rushed over. Just as she was about to help Ming Zhi Rou up, Fifth Brother, having heard the commotion, arrived and shoved her away.
She lost her balance and her forehead hit the corner of a table.
She had split her head open.
Ming Zhi Rou cried rivers of tears.
The entire family rushed Ming Zhi Rou to the hospital.
No one paid any attention to her, who had fainted from excessive blood loss.
It was a servant from the house who found her and took her to the hospital.
From beginning to end, apart from Ming Zhi Rou, no one from the Ming family had come.
In her previous life,
She was full of gratitude towards this beautiful and kind-hearted "sister."
But now…
Ming Zheng's pale, bloodless lips gradually curved into a clear, cold arc.
Under Ming Zhi Rou's shocked gaze,
With a "bang,"
She was slammed onto the pristine white hospital bed.
Ming Zheng's pale eyes were calm and undisturbed. Her slender, ivory fingers tightened on Ming Zhi Rou's bandaged wrist, gradually… increasing the pressure.
The wound, which had not been large and was almost healed, tore open under the force.
Blood gushed out.
Instantly dyeing the white gauze a vibrant color.
"I just wanted to see if your blood, Sister, is also as dirty and murky as you are."
"Hmm, it seems… even though you're so dirty, Sister, your blood is still red."