"You wretch, you wretch!" Feng Yuanping, enraged, slapped Sun Shi heavily across the face.
Sun Shi's face instantly swelled, and a trickle of blood seeped from a cut on her lip. "I'm a wretch, and what good are you? Didn't you also covet my beauty back then? You were already married yet still sought affairs!"
"You deserve to raise someone else's child, you deserve to have been a cuckold all these years!"
With the truth exposed, Sun Shi no longer held back, unleashing all her pent-up grievances from over the years.
"Feng Yuanping, let me tell you, I've tolerated you every moment of these years. If it weren't for Yan'er, I would never have endured you for so long. I wished you dead every day. Now, this is liberation for me!"
Sun Shi glared at Feng Yuanping with utter hatred in her eyes. If it weren't for her plans for Yan'er, she would never have tolerated Feng Yuanping for over a decade.
"For over a decade, have you ever shown me even a shred of sincerity?" Feng Yuanping asked the question that had weighed on his heart for so long, unable to let go.
"Sincerity... Hmph..." Sun Shi let out a cold snort, then laughed heartily. "Feng Yuanping, don't you find your words utterly ridiculous? I was a spy. You talking about feelings with a spy, how utterly foolish. Let me tell you the truth, our meeting back then was all my design, and it was I who designed the death of He Miaoqing. Back then, I also wanted to kill that little wretch Feng Jin to cut off all ties, but she was lucky and managed to escape."
If she had been a little more ruthless back then, if she had put in more effort to kill Feng Jin, none of these misfortunes would have occurred. Thinking back now, she regretted it more than ever.
"You... you wretch, you poisonous woman... It's all because of you that Miaoqing was harmed. I'll kill you to atone to Miaoqing!"
"Enough, Feng Yuanping, you are also complicit in He Miaoqing's death. If you hadn't been so suspicious and distrustful of her, how could she have died? In the final analysis, you are the prime culprit for He Miaoqing's death. Don't put on such a fake show of crocodile tears here."
If Feng Yuanping had shown even a shred of trust towards He Miaoqing, she would never have succeeded. In the end, it was Feng Yuanping's own suspicions that had already sown discord with He Miaoqing, making it easy for her to take He Miaoqing's life by merely fanning the flames.
The one who should truly go and atone to He Miaoqing was Feng Yuanping himself, not her.
"I will atone to Miaoqing, but first, you must pay with your life. After you die, I will erect your grave seven inches below Miaoqing's grave, and I will have your kneecaps shattered before burial. I want you to kneel before Miaoqing and beg for forgiveness even in the underworld. After your death, you will be forever trampled under Miaoqing's feet, unable to rise again!"
She did not consider herself superior to Miaoqing. Since she had not been her match in life, he would ensure that Sun Shi would be trampled under Miaoqing's feet even in death, forced to kneel and beg for forgiveness.
"Feng Yuanping, you bastard, you want me to beg that wretch He Miaoqing for forgiveness? Impossible... I tell you, it will never happen!"
She was merely her defeated opponent. Not her match in life, and certainly not in death!
"That's not for you to decide. I will let you suffer immense torture before you slowly die!"
"You dare..." Sun Shi trembled slightly at Feng Yuanping's sinister expression and instinctively shrunk back. She knew how cruel Feng Yuanping's methods were and began to fear her own impending fate.
The immense hatred in Feng Yuanping's eyes subsided significantly, replaced by an unfathomable calm. She looked at Sun Shi as if she were a stranger, devoid of any emotion.
The more serene she became, the more terrified Sun Shi felt. If even hatred disappeared, Feng Yuanping's actions would only become more brutal.
"That is not something you can decide. After you have endured all the torture, only then will I let you die!"
After delivering this pronouncement, Feng Yuanping, ignoring Sun Shi's cries, strode out of the dungeon.
Subsequently, Sun Shi's agonizing screams filled the entire dungeon, continuing for a full three days before finally ceasing.
After emerging from the dungeon, Feng Jin did not leave but waited outside for Feng Yuanping.
"How does it feel to hear the truth with your own ears?"
Feng Jin's faint voice sounded from behind Feng Yuanping. She had stayed there, enduring the cold for so long, precisely because she wanted to ask him this question personally.
"Jin'er... you..."
"Stop... Prime Minister Feng, please don't call me that. When you do, I get goosebumps all over. It's quite awkward!"
Such a direct address was truly unsettling. Now, having suffered a blow and betrayal, discovering that the cherished Feng Ruoyan was not his biological daughter, he remembered her whom he had previously discarded like worn-out shoes.
Did he truly consider her a pet? Discarded carelessly when unhappy or unwanted, and eagerly sought when pleased, hoping to win her back with a few kind words and treats.
Such a good deal did not exist anywhere in the world, and even if it did, it would never happen to her. She was not the type to repay malice with kindness, and she would certainly never do something so foolish.
"What happened before was my fault, but I was also deceived by Sun Shi. I wronged you, and I wronged Miaoqing. Your mother is no longer here. From now on, let me compensate you properly, can I?"
After living for so many years, this was the first time he had spoken so submissively to anyone, and this person was his own daughter.
After experiencing all this, he finally realized how utterly wrong he had been, abandoning his own home and personally bringing about its ruin by inviting wolves into the fold.
Now, it was too late to mend things. He did not expect Feng Jin to forgive or accept him again, but only hoped to compensate Feng Jin well in the future, which would bring him some peace of mind.
"Compensate? How do you plan to compensate me? My mother died because of you. I was deprived of my mother's love for over ten years. Can you compensate for that? I was abandoned in the countryside and endured humiliation for over ten years, nearly dying countless times. All of this happened because of your indulgence towards Sun Shi. How can you compensate for all this!"
Moreover, your true biological daughter, the real Feng Jin, was already killed by Sun Shi. She would never be able to hear your apologies or receive your compensation.
Feng Jin's heart ached fiercely. A tear fell from her left eye. Suppressing the pain in her chest, she looked at Feng Yuanping and said in a low voice, "Since you ignored me before, there's no need to pretend to compensate me now. I no longer need it!"
"Prime Minister Feng, you are still my father after all. I will naturally support you until you are old. But from now on, you don't need to think about compensating me, and I don't need it. From now on, let's remain as we were. Indifference is better for both of us."
Making her intentions clear, Feng Jin put away the hatred in her eyes and calmly walked away.