Chapter 10: Third Sister
His whip was still adorned with sharp barbs, a sight that sent chills down the spine.
The Jiang family stood beside the Grand Tutor, their insincere posturing utterly repulsive.
Sheng Xiayi, pale-faced, grasped the Grand Tutor’s arm, sobbing as she shook him. “Father, please don’t be angry. Sister didn’t mean it. I’ll apologize to you on her behalf!”
“You, girl, are far too considerate. If only she were half as thoughtful as you, I’d have far less to worry about. This time, don’t interfere. I must teach her a proper lesson—to make her understand what rules are, what filial piety means above all, and what etiquette and shame truly are!”
Sheng Xiayan was caught off guard by his words and couldn’t help but laugh bitterly, tilting her head back.
“Father, you actually have the nerve to lecture me on how to behave? Then tell me, do you truly understand what rules are, or what etiquette, righteousness, and shame mean?”
Her gaze suddenly turned icy, causing the Grand Tutor to instinctively withdraw his fingers.
That gaze was piercing, so intense that a mere glance made him step back a pace.
Though Sheng Xiayan was not his biological daughter, he had raised her for many years and knew her nature well. How had she become so different now?
If not for the identical face, he would have sworn she was a completely different person from the Sheng Xiayan he once knew.
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Sheng Xiayan paid no heed to his expression, whether it was surprise or disbelief.
Her tone sharp as a blade, she confronted him: “It is said that if a son is unruly, the fault lies with the father. If you think I’m unruly and unlearned, then what crime does that make you as a father? I was betrothed to the Crown Prince first, yet the Third Sister meddled and tangled herself with him. Is that not promiscuity? You raised such a daughter—do you even know what propriety and shame are?”
“All your children are daughters, yet you are so unfair, allowing others to bully me. Do you even have a place for me in your heart? How many times over the years have you cared for me? Do you even know when my birthday is?”
“If you can name even one, I’m willing to kneel and apologize immediately. A father who truly loves his daughter cannot fail to remember her birthday!”
Her words grew fiercer, but ended with a cunning smile.
In the original memories, this so-called father had never once remembered her birthday.
This was her preemptive strike.
As expected, the Grand Tutor trembled with rage but found himself silenced by Sheng Xiayan’s retort.
For he truly did not know when her birthday was.
Not only him, but no one except Liu Zheng had any idea.
This time, Sheng Xiayan stood firmly on the moral high ground and sighed with disappointment.
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“It seems I was not wrong. Father truly does not remember my birthday. If I recall correctly, you celebrate the birthdays of the other siblings each year. All children are your offspring; why can’t you remember mine? It only proves that my place in your heart is insignificant. You, the esteemed Grand Tutor, can even neglect your own daughter...”
She left the last words unsaid, but the implication was sharp and stinging, more humiliating than if voiced aloud.
The Grand Tutor’s face flushed crimson, the whip in his hand uncertain whether to strike or fall.
If he did not punish, he would lose all face; if he did, his reputation would be further tarnished.
Neither option was viable; he was utterly trapped.
Seeing the Grand Tutor’s sullen expression, Sheng Xiayan’s smile turned disdainful.
She loathed nothing more than beasts in human skin. To have such a father was the original’s misfortune for eight generations.
Perhaps in her past life, she had offended the Buddha himself, and thus was condemned to suffer this torment in this lifetime.