“Child—”
Old Man Feng finally spoke up.
At first, when Huang Yaning saw Old Man Feng’s expression, she thought he’d made up his mind to just wait out his final days in silence and wasn’t going to say a word. But it turned out he couldn’t hold back either.
She noticed a deeply guilty look spreading across Old Man Feng’s face.
“Old man, I’ve wronged you in the past. Back then, when I watched you get beaten and scolded, my heart ached too…
“It’s just that the younger generation in the family was all managed by Old Lady Li, so it wasn’t easy for me to step in… Old man, I made you suffer so much—
“I am guilty. In my next life, I’ll serve you as a beast of burden to repay my debt.
“But I’m already this old, my body is paralyzed, and I might die at any moment now…
“Could I beg you to let Dongkui come see me one last time?”
Old Man Feng looked ancient and frail, wearing an expression full of guilt and remorse. If any ordinary villagers who didn’t know the full story were watching, they might have even spoken up on his behalf.
But the truth was, the real power in the Feng family didn’t lie with Old Lady Li—it was Old Man Feng.
Every time the Feng family bullied and oppressed Minmin, Old Man Feng would stand by and watch coldly, never lifting a finger.
If he’d shown even a shred of humanity and helped Minmin even once, her life wouldn’t have been nearly so hard…
Now, this wretched old man had the audacity to shamelessly shift all the blame onto Old Lady Li, trying to wash his own hands clean of it.
And cunningly, he specifically asked for Dongkui—the easiest one to manipulate among the four—to come see him…
If Dongkui actually showed up, there was a real chance Old Man Feng could talk her around.
A faint smile curved at the corner of Huang Yaning’s mouth.
“Old Man Feng, during those years I lived in Peach Blossom Village—
“Every time I was hit, scolded, or mistreated, did you ever speak a single word in my defense, from the bottom of your heart?
“Did you ever punish anyone who bullied me?”
The skin on Old Man Feng’s right cheek twitched. He paused for a moment, then said,
“Little Mrs. Li would hit you, and I told her to stop more than once…”
“Oh?
“Wasn’t that because you were afraid she’d beat me to death and tarnish your reputation? Tarnish the Feng family name?
“You did that for yourself, not for me.”
Huang Yaning’s voice was calm, but there was a power behind it that cut straight through to the soul.
She turned to Feng Lao’er next.
“And you?
“From childhood to now, when I was hungry, freezing, locked in the woodshed—did you ever care about me even once?
“Did you ever bring me so much as a single meal?”
Feng Lao’er froze, unable to utter a single word for a long while.
Huang Yaning smiled faintly. “If any of you had ever treated me with sincerity, even just once, I would have helped you too.
“Ah—what a pity—”
She let out a deep, mocking sigh, her gaze sweeping over the Feng family with scorn.
She watched as the light in their eyes dimmed bit by bit.
Some grew dull and vacant. Others turned frantic and unhinged. Still others filled with venom and hatred.
“Old Man Feng, Old Lady Li, Feng Lao’er, Taoniang—may you all die a miserable death!
“Why couldn’t you have just been decent parents—
“You refused to act like human beings, and you made my life a living hell—
“You destroyed me! I must have had eight lifetimes of bad luck to marry into your Feng family—”
Little Mrs. Li wailed in despair.
Feng Dabo and Feng Erbao were cursing too—cursing everyone except themselves.
Then Feng Lao’er joined in…
They blamed each other, hurled insults…
The suffering of her enemies was Huang Yaning’s joy.
She continued, as if talking to herself.
“You should still remember the village head of Peach Blossom Village, and the He and Li families, right?
“They helped me back then. I’m someone who repays kindness, and over the years I’ve been repaying them—
“I knew Li Xiucai’s son was set on the imperial exams, so I copied two chests of rare books from my family’s library and gave them to him. And now, Li Xiucai’s son has become a xiucai himself—
“As for the village head’s youngest son, Wan Duofu, and the men of the He family—they’re managing my estate for me.”
Last time, in order to trick Huang Yaning into leaving the mansion, Sheng Mingjian had the estate steward deliberately stir up trouble.
After that, Huang Yaning kicked out that batch of disloyal people and replaced them with Wang Duofu and the He family.
She’d also tried to find Uncle Zhao and Auntie Zhao—after all, the Zhao couple had helped her the most. But no matter how she searched, she couldn’t locate them, so she had to let it go.
And when the Feng family learned that the people in Peach Blossom Village who had helped the woman before them were doing so well,
Their expressions shifted from disbelief to confusion, to jealousy, to hatred, and finally to regret…
At that moment, except for Taoniang, everyone else was filled with remorse…
They realized, with piercing clarity, that if they had ever shown even a shred of sincerity to the woman before them,
They would surely be living a prosperous and comfortable life now.
Why had they been so blind, so cruel as to torment a little girl?
Heaven had sent a lucky star to their home, and they had squandered that fortune with their own hands…
Regret practically took on physical form, spilling out from them.
Huang Yaning felt immensely satisfied—today had not been a wasted trip.
She turned to Taoniang with a smile.
“I have some good news for you too!
“Those good-for-nothing daughters of yours who don’t care whether you live or die—one day, I’ll make sure they end up in a state even worse than yours!”
She gave a playful wink and asked,
“How about that? Satisfying, isn’t it?”
Taoniang had stopped crying. She had no tears left.
“A family should stay together, all in one piece. Put them all in the same room.”
Before leaving, feeling thoroughly content, Huang Yaning said this to Jiaojiao, who naturally agreed.
The Feng family were left with hearts as dead as ash. And then, to make matters worse, they had to watch a bunch of servants eating and drinking to their hearts’ content right in front of them.
The tantalizing aroma of food drove them mad with hunger—it clawed at their hearts and gnawed at their livers, pushing them to the brink of insanity.
They were filled with nothing but hatred for each other, trading insults back and forth.
Especially toward Old Lady Li and Old Man Feng—they hurled every kind of foul language imaginable, with not a shred of respect left…
Old Lady Li let out frantic, inhuman “ah-ah-ah” sounds, as if she’d lost her mind.
And Old Man Feng, having suffered a massive shock, foamed at the mouth and passed out.
From this day forward, every single one of them would live in endless pain, hatred, and regret.
There would be no love left in their lives, no hope at all—just an existence worse than death.
A month later, the imperial exam results were released. As expected, Sheng Mingjian failed.
During this time, he’d practically locked himself in his room.
He couldn’t understand why the exam questions didn’t match what he’d seen in his dream!
He felt like something had gone wrong—
But he just couldn’t figure it out…
After wallowing in dejection for a while, Sheng Mingjian finally managed to muster up some strength and confidence again.
He believed that in the next round of exams, he would definitely make the list.
He believed the questions wouldn’t change next time.
And even if they did, in his dream, he’d earned his place through his own ability—
Sheng Mingjian convinced himself that if he just worked a little harder over the next three years, he would surely pass with flying colors. He was certain of it!
