Chapter 10

Chapter 10: Why Did You Push Jiaojiao? Father Jia's tone was indifferent, with not a trace of worry visible on his face. He looked at Jia Qingcheng's ugly face with utter disgust in his eyes. He truly could not understand—his and his wife's looks were among the finest in the capital, so how could the daughter they bore be so unbearably ugly? Jia Qingcheng did not answer. She simply lowered her head and silently stared at her bandaged fingers, wrapped up like pig trotters—so ugly words could not describe them. "Qingcheng, you have disappointed your father greatly. I am not scolding you, but you are an adult now. Why would you act without considering the consequences? How could you get into a quarrel with Pei Wuliang?" What? Listening to the reproach from the man beside her, she felt nothing but bone-chilling coldness in her heart. This was her own biological father. She had been wronged, and not only did he not stand up for her, he actually blamed her instead? "Father is blaming me?" "Is it wrong for this old man to blame you?" She slowly raised her eyes to look at the father before her, both familiar and strange. In her memory, her father was a stranger who was both distant and familiar. In her previous life, after she married Pei Wuliang, her father had taken another concubine. It seemed that in her father's heart, women were like clothes—they could be discarded at will and picked up again at will. Pei Wuliang had been carrying on with Song Jiaojiao behind her back, and her father had not cared. Now that she had been wronged, he actually blamed her for quarreling with Pei Wuliang? "He smashed the gift my mother gave me!" Father Jia's eyes paused for a moment, but the words he spoke were deeply hurtful. "Then you still shouldn't have quarreled with him. Your mother has been gone for a long time. You need to learn to forget the past." "Forget the past—is that how Father forgot Mother too?" Facing Jia Qingcheng's interrogation, Father Jia's eyes flickered, but soon he recovered his composure. He was a stern father—how could he be questioned by his daughter? "This old man does not wish to discuss your mother with you. She was the one who could not let things go. It is perfectly normal for a man to have three wives and four concubines." "So, Mother deserved to be angered to death by you?" "Enough! Today we are discussing your matters! Do not forget—the moment you marry over, you will be widowed for Prince Chu. If you offend Wuliang, who will look after you after the mourning period ends? Look at yourself—with that hideous appearance of yours, aside from Wuliang being willing to take you, what other man in this world could tolerate you? Do you want to spend your life guarding Prince Chu's spirit tablet, alone and widowed forever?" She was ugly? Jia Qingcheng laughed coldly in her heart. This father of hers had always only looked at people with his eyes, never feeling with his heart. If she washed the filth from her face, would her father still scold her for having no one who wanted her? "Even if I live alone for the rest of my life, I will guard Prince Chu." "Nonsense!" Father Jia coldly rebuked her, then immediately stood up with an expression of exasperation—a man disappointed that his child would not amount to anything. "These past years, haven't you been the one desperately chasing after Wuliang? Can you bear to see all your efforts go to waste? Qingcheng, I know what is in your heart. You helped him get into the Imperial Medical Academy and taught him your secret medicinal formulas—wasn't it all because you wanted to become his woman?" That was before she had discovered the truth. She had indeed wanted to become Pei Wuliang's woman. To help him, she had poured in vast amounts of wealth and connections. Her wish had been simple—to spend a lifetime with him, just the two of them. But having returned to this life, she had seen the ugliest side of her scumbag husband. His mask of hypocrisy had been torn away—how could she possibly still choose him? "Think it over carefully yourself. This father's words end here!" After Father Jia quickly left, Chunyan rushed in. "Miss, are you feeling any better?" "I am fine. Those fragments..." "Rest assured, they have all been collected. Once we find a skilled craftsman, they can be pieced back together." That was good, then! "Miss, you have been wronged." Chunyan threw herself into her arms and wept bitterly, but Jia Qingcheng did not feel wronged. She knew that only the weak shed tears, and she... Had never been weak! "Chunyan, do something for me." "Miss, what is your command?" Jia Qingcheng took a deep breath and looked expressionlessly toward the outdoors. "Arrange for me to meet with Old Master Hu." Old Master Hu? "Miss, you're fine all of a sudden—why do you want to meet Lord Hu?" "Don't ask questions. Just go!" "Sister, are you feeling better?" Suddenly, Song Jiaojiao's sweet, coquettish voice came from outside. Seeing that Song Jiaojiao had arrived, Chunyan worried that her mistress would be humiliated. "Miss, this servant should stay here and guard you." "It's fine. This is the Jia residence. She is an outsider—she wouldn't dare do anything to me." Outside, Song Jiaojiao approached slowly, supported by her maid. When she entered and saw that Jia Qingcheng's fingers were all bandaged, she hurried forward and bowed to her. "Sister, are you alright? It's all Jiaojiao's fault—I failed to persuade Wuliang-gege, letting him smash the porcelain vase you loved most. I truly feel terrible about it. Do your fingers still hurt? I have some golden wound medicine that Wuliang-gege just sent over. You should apply some." Song Jiaojiao had come to flaunt her superiority. She wanted to tell Jia Qingcheng that with that ugly face of hers, no one would truly like her, and that she should stop throwing her young miss tantrums. Otherwise, Wuliang truly would not bother with her anymore. "No need!" Jia Qingcheng refused coldly, while Song Jiaojiao smiled brilliantly. "It's all my fault for being too foolish and not helping sister in time. The situation just now was urgent—could it be that sister is angry because Wuliang gege saved me first?" "No, I'm not. If there's nothing else, please leave. I want to rest." Jia Qingcheng didn't want to listen to Song Jiaojiao showing off her presence any longer, but Song Jiaojiao felt this wasn't enough to provoke her. She wanted to tell Jia Qingcheng exactly who was the jewel in Pei Wuliang's heart. Suddenly, she leaned close to Jia Qingcheng and whispered with a smile, "Sister, do you know when Wuliang gege and I got together?" At these words, Jia Qingcheng drew in a sharp breath and looked at her with a complicated expression. When Song Jiaojiao saw her eyes widen with utter shock staring back at her, she knew—she still cared deeply. "It was at your twelfth birthday banquet. Do you remember that night, sister? It was your birthday, and also the death anniversary of your mother, yet Wuliang gege didn't come to keep you company." What? Song Jiaojiao had come to the Jia residence when she was ten, and at that time Jia Qingcheng was only twelve. Could it be... They had already been sneaking around together back then! How despicable—this pair of adulterers had deceived her for an entire lifetime! She had wondered when they had gotten together. She had thought of many reasons and occasions, but never imagined that before she had even reached marriageable age, these two had already been entangled! Ridiculous! They had been carrying on behind her back for years, and she had been completely oblivious. Should she call herself too stupid, or were these two simply too skilled at disguise? "That night, Wuliang gege didn't come to keep you company. When you were at your most vulnerable and in need of comfort, he was by my side, watching the fireworks by the lake with me!" Fireworks by the lake—she remembered that year. It was when the daughter of Squire Wang from the east of the city celebrated her first birthday. That night, the fireworks illuminated the entire eastern sky... So it turned out that Pei Wuliang hadn't been unable to come because his mother had a high fever—he had been watching fireworks with Song Jiaojiao. It was simply that she wasn't worthy! "Sister, are you sad?" "Get out!" "Don't be angry now. I've only told you a tiny bit about what happened between us, and you're already flying into a rage. Fine, let me pour you a cup of tea as an apology." With that, Song Jiaojiao poured a cup of tea and handed it to her. She was about to refuse when suddenly, Song Jiaojiao hurled the tea viciously into her face. "Drink it! Drink it and you'll stop making a fuss!" Instantly, Jia Qingcheng felt as if her face were being scorched by fire—the scalding hot tea burned her skin with a searing pain. "Get out!" Jia Qingcheng shoved her hard, and in an instant, Song Jiaojiao tumbled to the ground, looking utterly wronged. "Sister, why did you push me?" "Jia Qingcheng, have you lost your mind!" A figure rushed in from outside and helped Song Jiaojiao up from the ground. Pei Wuliang was about to berate Jia Qingcheng when, suddenly, he saw something on her darkened face that seemed to be peeling off... This made him freeze instantly, and he gasped in shock, "Qingcheng, your face..."