Ling Muzhu scolded angrily, her hands clenched into fists within her sleeves, her furrowed brows suppressing the surging anger in her heart.
"I warned you long ago to be well-behaved, but you insisted on doing all sorts of evil, not even sparing a child in swaddling. Now that you've met such an end, what right do you have to resent others? This is all your own doing, and no one can be blamed!"
Ling Muzhu's words, like pearls of wisdom, struck Ling Yan's heart, leaving her speechless.
"You always blame others and never reflect on your own faults. Someone like you is not worth saving. Coming to see you today was a mistake. From now on, you will fend for yourself here. Neither Father nor I will visit you again."
Hearing this, Ling Yan panicked. If she couldn't get out of here, her only hope was her father and Ling Muzhu.
Her maternal grandmother, her uncle, and her own mother were all unreliable.
If they no longer cared for her, wouldn't she be left to die?
"Father, you can't abandon me! I am your own daughter. You can't just watch me die. Father... Father, save me... save me!"
Ling Yan scrambled on her hands and knees, grabbing onto Ling Erye's衣角 (yījiǎo - corner of his robe) as if it were a life-saving straw, refusing to let go.
Ling Erye glanced at Ling Yan, his hand hovering in the air as he intended to push her away. Ultimately, she was his biological daughter, and he couldn't bring himself to be heartless.
Ling Muzhu had already seen Ling Yan's true colors, and the tiny shred of familial affection she had left for her had completely vanished due to Ling Yan's actions.
"From now on, the Ling family has no connection to you. Whether you live or die, the Ling family will not interfere. I hope you will take care of yourself!"
With that, Ling Muzhu shoved Ling Yan to the ground.
Ling Yan, unresigned, crawled to Ling Erye's feet and hugged his leg, her previous arrogance completely gone.
"Father, save me, save me... I will die if I stay here. I will truly die."
She didn't want to stay here; this place was gloomy and terrifying. Even before nightfall, countless rats and cockroaches scurried past her feet. If she continued to stay here, even if she didn't die, she would be driven mad.
"Now you remember Father? Your previous arrogance and haughtiness – you yourself said your greatest misfortune was caused by Father. In less than fifteen minutes, you've completely forgotten what you said. Ling Yan, have you no shame?"
"Father, I was foolish just now. I was talking nonsense. I was just babbling. Please don't take it to heart. Save me, save me!"
Ling Yan was filled with regret. If she had known she would end up like this, she would never have said those words.
If her father also abandoned her, could she ever get out of this prison alive?
"Your remorse is false; your true intention is to get Father to save you. Haven't you already attached yourself to the Zhao family? To please your maternal grandmother, you stole Father's token, impersonated Father, and allowed your eldest cousin to mine the Jingping Mountain iron ore. You are so loyal to the Zhao family; why aren't they saving you now that you are in trouble?"
Ling Muzhu gazed down at Ling Yan with cold eyes, her gaze filled with frost. If her elder brother had not been patrolling Jingping Mountain iron ore today and discovered something amiss, investigating carefully, they would not have known about this matter.
Fortunately, her elder brother discovered it early, dealt with the Zhao family promptly, and retrieved their father's token. Thankfully, it had not escalated into a major disaster.
In order to absolve himself, Zhao family cousin pushed all the blame onto Ling Yan.
When Ling Erye heard this, he couldn't help but be startled. He quickly reached for the token at his waist, took it down, and examined it carefully, only then realizing the discrepancy.
His token was made of pure copper, with only a layer of gold wrapped around the outside, which made the token heavier.
The token he held now was made of pure gold and was much lighter than the original.
He always kept this token in a box and rarely wore it. This forged token was very similar to the real one, and he never imagined the token would be stolen.
He had not checked it thoroughly, which allowed Ling Yan to take advantage of the situation and steal the token.
"You are truly blinded by greed! The iron ore concerns national affairs. How could you dare to act so recklessly? Don't you know that if something went wrong, not only would your life be forfeit, but our entire Ling family would be ruined by your hands!"
Ling Erye shouted angrily. At this moment, there was no trace of reluctance in his eyes as he looked at Ling Yan.
"Father... I... I didn't know..."
Ling Yan shivered all over, her face filled with terror. She truly did not know about this matter. Her maternal grandmother had only told her to take the token so her cousin could be promoted, and she really didn't know it would be used for such things.
If she had known, even if she had ten times the courage, she would never have done such a thing.
"Father, it was my maternal grandmother who said to use your token, so I... I gave it to her... I really didn't know... I didn't know my maternal grandmother was going to do something. If I had known, I absolutely wouldn't have done this!"
"You don't know? Are you truly foolish or pretending to be? Or have the Zhao family given you some kind of enchantment potion? You dared to steal Father's token. If the Zhao family truly wanted Father's help, why didn't they say it to Father directly? Instead, they had you go through all sorts of trouble to steal the token. Anyone with a brain would have sensed something was wrong!"
Ling Muzhu was utterly exasperated by Ling Yan's idiotic behavior. Anyone with a brain wouldn't have done such a thing.
His maternal grandmother taking Ling Yan to raise her was precisely for this purpose. He finally understood why their grandfather had been so anxious to marry off Ling Yan – it was to prevent such incidents that could implicate the entire family.
"Father... I..."
"The situation has come to this, and there's no need to say more. You have been wronged by being the daughter of such a useless person like me. I will grant your wish. From today onwards, our father-daughter relationship is severed. Take care of yourself!"
Ling Erye uttered his words, then turned and left without looking back, not showing the slightest hint of sentiment.
"Father... Father, I truly know I was wrong... Father!" Ling Yan was trapped behind the iron bars, her heart-wrenching cries filling the entire dungeon.
Ling Muzhu watched Ling Yan coldly and sighed, "If you knew today, why did you do it in the first place?"
Hearing this, Ling Yan turned her head to look at Ling Muzhu and staggered forward, grabbing Ling Muzhu's hand.
"For the sake of me being your sister, and because I took care of you when you were sick, help me one more time. Muzhu, you... find a way to save me."