Chapter 5

Chapter 5

The porcelain vase shattered with a sharp, crashing sound that echoed through the room.

My Imperial Mother was incensed. “Nanping, have you no sense of propriety?”

“It is precisely because I followed the rules too well that I have ended up in this state. Imperial Mother, from tomorrow onward, I will no longer abide by your rules.”

I turned to leave in a fit of rage, my mother’s roar following behind me: “You wretched child! Stand still!”

I ignored her, stumbling away in a daze. My steps were unsteady, and I felt as if I might collapse at any moment.

“Aunt, I will go and persuade Sister. Please calm your anger; do not let this harm your health.” Zhao Duanhua chased after me, calling out, “Sister Nanping, wait for me! I didn’t mean for this to happen. Neither Brother Luo Chen nor I ever imagined things would escalate to this point. But matters of the heart cannot simply be yielded. Even if I were to step aside today, could you and Brother Luo Chen truly grow old together hand-in-hand?”

I reached my breaking point. With a sharp *slap*, I struck her across the face.

She clutched her cheek, staring at me in shock. Her eyes quickly welled up, and tears began to fall.

“Sister…”

“Do not call me sister. It makes me sick!”

“Li Nanping, do not push things too far!”

*Slap!* A loud strike landed squarely on my own cheek.

I staggered back, fighting through the dizziness to see who had arrived. It was the Crown Prince, Li Chengze, and Li Cheng’en.

Perhaps the hatred in my gaze was too intense.

Li Chengze flinched for a moment, but he quickly regained his composure, putting on the air of an elder brother to lecture me.

“You have disappointed me deeply. How could you treat Duanhua like this? Apologize to her!”

I spat out a mouthful of blood.

My teeth had been smashed, and the metallic taste of blood filled my mouth.

The sharp physical pain suppressed the madness swirling in my heart.

I swept my gaze over them. Li Chengze and Li Cheng’en were once my closest kin; Zhao Duanhua was once someone I wanted to cherish.

But now, in my eyes, they were all strangers.

“She does not deserve my apology,” I said coldly. “And you two do not deserve to be my brothers. As of today, all ties between us are severed. Li Chengze, I have no such brother. I hope that one day, when someone comes to seize your position as Crown Prince, you can be just as magnanimous and hand it over freely. When that time comes, I will hold your head down and force you to apologize to them, to admit you were mediocre and incompetent, and that you occupied the seat of the Crown Prince for years in vain. I hope you will still be calm and generous then, without a hint of hatred in your heart.”

Li Chengze swayed, taking a step back.

I turned to leave.

My blood was slowly turning cold.

The fire in my heart was also dying out.

All that remained was an endless sorrow, a suffocating sense of grievance that coiled around my heart, growing until it was uncontrollable.

Li Cheng’en chased after me and grabbed my arm. “What kind of madness is this? Apologize to Brother and Sister!”

I flung his hand off and said chillingly, “Li Cheng’en, when you were small, I was the one who taught you how to walk. I was the one who taught you how to solve your first nine-linked rings puzzle. I was the one who taught you to recognize your first words. When you couldn’t finish your lessons, I was the one who stayed up late copying books for you. Where exactly have I failed you that you must hate me so much?”

“I… I don’t hate you… It’s clearly… clearly you who is in the wrong. You shouldn’t have hit her.”

He was still making excuses.

I slapped him across the face.

“I hit you. So what?”

He covered his face, and hatred finally flickered in his eyes.

“I just don’t like you! Do you really think you’re that likable? When you were born, Mother almost lost her position as Empress, and she nearly died from a difficult labor. When I couldn’t solve those nine-linked rings and you did, I was the one who looked like a fool. When you helped me copy my books, the Grand Tutor recognized the handwriting, and I was the one who got beaten anyway. When you do things for me, can’t you use your brain? You’ve done so much, but you’ve done it all wrong. I haven’t gained a single benefit from you, so why should I have to like you? Just because you’re my sister?”