Chapter 1

Chapter 1

“Ah!”

Drops of blood splattered across my elder brother’s face.

A scream tore through the courtyard.

It had all happened far too suddenly.

No one had expected me to simply strike.

And so Xu Yaoyao clutched her mouth and rolled across the ground.

All that earlier coy prettiness was gone.

So was her smugness.

Like a fish struggling for its life, she reached toward my stunned elder brother. Only through the agony did she manage to force out a few garbled words.

“My tongue… my tongue!”

“B-Brother… save… save me!”

Then she fainted dead away.

Only then did my elder brother finally come back to himself.

He rushed forward, gathered her into his arms, and roared at the servants, “Fetch a doctor! Hurry, fetch a doctor!”

Then he looked at me in disbelief.

“Just because Yaoyao used a piece of your handkerchief as the upper of her shoe, you would be this ruthless?! Ye Rongshu, have you gone mad?!”

My elder brother, Ye Rongfeng, had once been one of the blood relatives closest to me.

Now his eyes were bloodshot as he glared at me like I was his enemy.

All for the sake of some so-called sister of dubious origin.

Pain stabbed through my heart, and at last I understood the desolation in my little sister’s eyes when she saw me.

All that remained on my face was a cold smile. I slowly wiped the blood from the blade and said, “What is Brother talking about? I merely disciplined a servant. Why make such a fuss?”

“Insolent!”

He flew into a rage.

“Yaoyao is your sister. What servant? Ye Rongshu, do you even still regard me as your elder brother? You injured someone at will, and with such cruelty. Now, this instant, kneel to Yaoyao and apologize!”

He said it so smoothly. It likely wasn’t his first time.

Then before this, had he treated my little sister the same way?

For the sake of some ridiculous stray sister?

I considered it.

“Then how would Brother like me to make amends? Shall I give her the tip of my tongue in return?”

My question stunned him. At the end of the day, I was his sister too.

For a moment, hesitation flickered in his eyes, as if he were wondering whether that method was feasible, or whether he should instead invoke family punishment and have me beaten half to death…

But before he could finish thinking, he saw me move.

I lifted my foot and stepped onto Xu Yaoyao’s hand, grinding down again and again. Under the sharp pain, the unconscious girl woke from the agony.

But she could not struggle free.

She could only listen clearly as I said, word by word, “Is she worthy?”

“A lowly maid dares to speak to me without respect. I merely cut off half her tongue to feed to the dogs. That is already a great mercy. How dare she sleep so soundly? Why has she not risen to thank me for my grace?”

Xu Yaoyao, whose tongue had just been cut and who had now been stepped awake: “!”

Ye Rongfeng, who had just been shouting for me to kneel and apologize: “Let go!”

His heart ached terribly for her, and he lunged at me.

“Still unrepentant! Did three years away make you think you can ignore all law and order?! Today, I will teach you what rules are!”

Everything around us descended into chaos.

My little sister’s originally bitter expression went blank. Then, when she saw our elder brother rise sharply and stride toward me, she stepped in front of me without hesitation.

“Brother, what are you doing?!”

Ye Rongfeng’s face was terrifying. He was tall and broad-shouldered.

Once, both my little sister and I had seen him as a harbor from the storm.

Now, he had become a blade pointed at us.

He raised his hand to shove my little sister aside, aiming a slap at me.

“Move! You have always looked down on Yaoyao, and today you even incited her to cut off half of Yaoyao’s tongue. Just wait. After I deal with her, I will deal with you!”

That slap carried every ounce of his strength.

If it landed on my face, it would most likely ruin it.

Yet he did not hesitate at all.

So he could not blame me for lifting the dagger in my hand.

With a soft squelch,

I pierced straight through his palm.