“Bah! What a phony. Goddess, my a*s! I should’ve seen that she was a madwoman.”
“What a hypocrite! She may act like a kind little sister on the surface, but in truth, she has no qualms about stabbing her sibling in the back!”
“Perhaps she saw how Feng Tianlan turned the tides and threatened her position as the genius maiden. I bet she couldn’t hold back any longer. What a phony, indeed.”
“When she was being punished, she pretended to be feeble even though the blows weren’t that hard. Looking at her disgusts me.”
Hearing these hostile comments about Feng Xiupei, Xu Jiayi flared. She was about to retort, but Feng Xiupei stopped her. “Pei’er, they―”
The corporal punishment she had received in the courtroom was genuine. Even though her skin was left unscratched, the flesh beneath was mangled beyond recognition. The blows had been inflicted masterfully ― not a single bruise could be seen on her body.
“We have no control of the words that come out of their mouths.” Feng Xiupei frowned slightly as if unbothered by her criticisms.
“But…” Xu Jiayi felt disgruntled. Her talented daughter had finally returned home, yet she was thrown in jail before she could step through the doorway. Now, the crowd was disparaging her precious daughter. How could she turn a blind eye to such slander?
Feng Xiupei seemed impatient. “Right now, we should try to restore our image, not destroy it further through reckless actions.”
Engaging in a fight would reinforce this imperfect image. Only a fool would do it.
“Listen to her. Let’s go home,” declared Feng Xiang, who was eaten up with remorse deep inside. Had he put too much pressure on Feng Tianlan this time? What if she refused to give him the treasure because of this? He had to find a way to salvage the situation.
Faced with two voices in agreement, Xu Jiayi had no choice but to give up in spite of her resentment.
Feng Xiupei sat in the carriage that came to fetch them and listened to the commotion on the streets. Her delicate hands clenched together forcefully, so much so that the veins bulged out. She squeezed so hard that her palms were bleeding, but she could not feel any pain. Her malicious expression laid bare her extreme loathing for Feng Tianlan.
Ever since childhood, Feng Xiupei had been an exalted genius and a goddess. People at the Flying Frost Pavilion had initially pushed her, but she’d quickly managed to reclaim her position as a goddess out of reach.
However, her decade-long legend and reign were ruined by Feng Tianlan. Because of Feng Tianlan, she’d fallen from the highest clouds into a bottomless mire. This would be the first and last time Feng Xiupei went easy on her.
She swore to make Feng Tianlan suffer a fate that was a thousand times worse!
When she learned that Feng Xiupei had been released after only three days, Feng Tianlan was not the least surprised. After all, she had the support of the Flying Frost Pavilion, the Guiyuan continent’s most influential sect. They couldn’t afford to lose face.
However, she hadn’t expected that, on her way back to the mansion, she would chance upon Feng Xiupei and her parents, who had just returned home.
The old saying, “enemies are bound to cross paths,” was right!
“I heard that your engagement was broken off, Sister.” Inside the mansion, Feng Xiupei reverted to her role of caring little sister, as if nothing had happened. “Don’t worry. There are plenty of promising young men at the Flying Frost Pavilion. What kind of boy do you like? I can help you choose!”
“No need, I was the one who called off our engagement. It’s not that simple.” Feng Tianlan scanned Feng Xiupei from head to toe and saw her covered in stains and stinking to high heaven. She continued with a smirk: “Second Sister, you must be quite warm-hearted to play the matchmaker right after your release. And for me, no less, who sent you to jail in the first place.”
She’d listed the five reasons for divorcing her fiancé loud and clear, yet the people around her acted as if they were blind and deaf. To this day, they were still saying that her fiancé had deserted her. What a joke!
