Sheng Mingyi also stepped forward, shaking his head at Minmin with disappointment and even a hint of disgust.
“Minmin, you were truly wrong this time—”
As Sheng Mingyi spoke, Huang Yaning felt as if all the warmth had been sucked out of Minmin’s body.
Her entire frame turned icy cold, as though drowning in sorrow, grievance, and utter despair…
Huang Yaning couldn’t stop herself from roaring inwardly.
[Enough! Sheng Mingyi, you hypocritical fraud!]
[Stop deceiving Minmin!]
[And Sheng Mingbo, you blind fool—Minmin is your real sister!]
[Sheng Yong, you selfish, calculating bastard—you don’t even deserve to be called a father, you beast—]
But Huang Yaning’s furious screams were only heard by herself…
What was even more terrifying was that she caught a flash of murderous intent in Sheng Mingjian’s eyes as he snarled,
“Father, Sheng Minmin is so young yet already harming her own sister. If we don’t punish her severely to teach her a lesson, who knows what greater disasters she’ll bring in the future—”
Huang Yaning watched in horror as the father and his four sons ordered someone to fetch a whip. Desperation clawed at her heart as she screamed silently.
[Sheng Yong! Stop! You’re unworthy of being Minmin’s father!]
[Idiots, all of you!]
[You’ve all been fooled by Sheng Mingzhu! She’s the one who’s a lying, manipulative, selfish, and vicious impostor!]
[She stole everything from Minmin, took over her identity, and framed her—why can’t you all just think for once?!]
[Why… why are you all so… biased…]
Her internal ranting gradually weakened.
Because the pain was too much, too unbearable…
With every lash of the whip, she felt fresh skin splitting open, flesh tearing, blood splattering—
Huang Yaning had never endured such torment before. She never knew a whip could hurt this badly…
But the agony in Minmin’s heart was no less than the physical pain. It felt as though an invisible hand had ripped open her stomach, hollowing out her insides…
Twenty lashes in total. Minmin gritted her teeth, not uttering a single plea for mercy, not saying another word.
Huang Yaning’s heart shattered, consumed by regret and fury…
The overwhelming emotions became too much, and she jolted awake.
The moment she opened her eyes, Huang Yaning raised her hand and struck herself hard across the face.
Slap—
Slap—
Slap—
Three sharp blows in succession before Aunt Zhao rushed in and grabbed her wrist.
“Liuya, what are you doing—?”
“Did you have a nightmare?”
Aunt Zhao’s face was a mix of panic and fear. By sheer luck, she had managed to save the girl earlier.
Old Man Bai had said that if they’d been even a little later, Liuya might have already drowned. The incident had caused a stir in the village, but no one had seen how the girl had fallen into the water.
Before sending the couple to Taohua Village, the Madam had specifically instructed them: Feng Liuya can suffer, but she must not die.
The girl had come so close to death—Aunt Zhao was still trembling with lingering fear.
After Old Man Bai left with the medicine, Aunt Zhao changed into dry clothes, boiled water in the kitchen, and prepared the herbal brew…
Hearing movement from the room, she hurried inside.
The little girl didn’t speak, only cried—her large eyes brimming with tears, filled with indescribable regret and anguish…
What kind of nightmare could make someone so young look so utterly broken?
Aunt Zhao’s own eyes stung. She gently stroked the girl’s hair, murmuring soothingly,
“Liuya, it’s alright… You’ve been saved now. It’s alright—”
Huang Yaning clung to Aunt Zhao and burst into loud, heart-wrenching sobs.
She remembered what happened after that day.
She had been staying by Sheng Mingzhu’s side in the room when, suddenly, Sheng Mingzhu woke up, claiming she was worried about her sister and wanted to check on her.
Unable to dissuade her, Huang Yaning half-supported Sheng Mingzhu as they walked outside—only to see Minmin lying on the stone slab in the courtyard, covered in whip wounds, barely breathing…
At that moment, Huang Yaning froze.
She had expected Sheng Yong and Sheng Mingjian’s group to scold or punish Minmin—maybe make her kneel in the ancestral hall.
But she never imagined they would beat her within an inch of her life…
Because Minmin hadn’t made a single sound—no begging, no crying—Huang Yaning hadn’t even heard the commotion in time to stop it…
Later, Sheng Yong and Sheng Mingjian’s brothers claimed that Minmin was inherently vicious, that she had refused to admit her guilt, so they had “lost control” and punished her too harshly…
Remembering all this, Huang Yaning felt as though her heart was being torn apart.
She hated herself. What was I even doing in my past life?
My own daughter was nearly beaten to death—
And I was busy comforting the very person who framed her—
She had never realized that, behind her back, Sheng Yong and Sheng Mingjian’s brothers treated Minmin—their own flesh and blood—with such cruelty, as though she were an enemy…
If even they acted this way, how much worse must the servants have treated Minmin?
Huang Yaning couldn’t bear to imagine it…
Lately, she had begun to suspect that Minmin was also reborn from the past life.
Because if this were the present-day Minmin—just a six-year-old—she couldn’t possibly have managed the household so well without slipping up. Sheng Yong would have long since traced the clues back to Taohua Village.
The fact that no one had come looking yet meant Minmin had hidden her tracks flawlessly.
So, the one in her body now had to be Minmin from the past life…
Looking back, Minmin had been wronged time and time again in their previous life, suffering immensely each time.
Now, Huang Yaning was certain that Minmin’s forced marriage to a servant in their past life must have been orchestrated by Sheng Mingzhu—and even Minmin’s death…
Minmin’s entire life had been destroyed by Sheng Mingzhu, Taoniang, Sheng Mingjian’s brothers, Sheng Yong—and herself.
She had no idea how much suffering Minmin had endured in the shadows.
She had been blind. Deaf.
Huang Yaning, you really were a fool!
You died because of your own stupidity!
In their past life, her three ungrateful sons and that scum of a husband had watched her die without lifting a finger.
Huang Yaning had thought that in this life, she would take revenge—she wanted to break those three traitorous sons’ legs, she wanted Sheng Yong dead…
But Minmin, who also remembered the past life, would never let Taoniang and Sheng Mingzhu off the hook—and she would undoubtedly want to skin Sheng Yong and Sheng Mingjian’s brothers alive.
Because only after feeling the whip herself did Huang Yaning understand just how much it hurt.
That dream had shattered the last of her naive illusions.
She was certain—absolutely certain—that Minmin would never forgive the Sheng family.
The hatred between Minmin and the Shengs could never be reconciled…
Realizing this, Huang Yaning suddenly felt a wave of fear toward the capital…
She cried herself unconscious in Aunt Zhao’s arms. Uncle Zhao, who had just returned from delivering a letter, rushed to fetch Old Man Bai again.
That night, Huang Yaning burned with fever…
In her dreams, she kept weeping, murmuring, “I’m sorry…”
