Chapter 60 The Strong Make Rules—The Weak Follow Them

Chapter 60: The Strong Make the Rules, and the Weak Follow Them

Family affection is precious when one cares about it, but worthless as roadside weeds when one does not.

Trying to use such worthless things to force me to apologize? Ji Qingqing, this fake, must still be dreaming.

When patience runs out, there’s no need to endure any longer.

Ji Yuntang raised her foot and, with a swift kick, sent the approaching Ji Qingqing flying three meters back.

“If you’re sick in the head, get treatment. Stay away from me, you filthy thing, this Princess, or I’ll hit you every time I see you.”

Ji Qingqing’s body crashed into the crowd, the impact mostly absorbed, leaving her unharmed. She rolled her eyes, feigned weakness, and fell to the ground, tears streaming pitifully.

Her brows furrowed, her voice choked with sobs: “Sister, if hitting me can calm your anger, then Qing Qing willingly takes the beating, as long as you apologize to Second Brother.”

After her tearful plea, she lowered her head to hide the smirk on her lips.

Ji Yuntang, oh Ji Yuntang, you really can’t hold your temper. With just a little provocation from me, you actually lashed out.

With such a simple mind and brute strength, how can you compete with me?

Ji Qingfeng fully witnessed Ji Qingqing’s fall. His pupils contracted sharply as he rushed over and pulled her into his arms.

“Qing Qing, are you alright? Did you hurt anywhere? Tell Second Brother.”

Ji Qingqing buried her head in Ji Qingfeng’s chest, sobbing without a word.

A beauty in tears, pitiful and endearing, easily reignited Ji Qingfeng’s protective instincts.

He couldn’t understand why, among the daughters of the Marquis Yongning’s mansion, Ji Qingqing was gentle, generous, and understanding, while Ji Yuntang was so crude, violent, and rude. Ji Qingqing had repeatedly looked out for her, yet Ji Yuntang was so selfish. Couldn’t she learn even a little something from Ji Qingqing?

“Ji Yuntang, you vicious woman, how cruel! Beating your brother in front of three princes is bad enough, but now you hit your own sister too. Qing Qing is so delicate, not like you with your thick skin. If you don’t give me and Qing Qing an explanation this time around, don’t blame me for cutting ties and dragging you to the authorities. I’ll let all of Beijing see the ugly face of Princess Ye, biting the hand that feeds her.”

As he spoke, the sound of applause rang out.

“Clap! Clap! Clap!” Ji Yuntang clapped, a faint sneer on her face. “What a grand display of cutting ties and biting the hand that feeds! You people of the Marquis Yongning’s mansion are truly noble and ridiculous.”

With that, she rolled up her wide sleeves and raised her arm for all to see.

On her slender, fair wrist were shocking whip marks and knife scars—the flesh had healed but the scars hadn’t fully faded, with bruises still pooling under the skin. Two-thirds of her arm bore a mix of new and old wounds.

The physicians present, sharp-eyed, could tell at a glance that some of these wounds had been there for five or six years, and some knife scars for over a decade.

She must have been only four or five years old then. What had she endured to end up with such scars?

If what was visible was so horrific, what about what was hidden?

Ji Yuntang’s eyes were mocking, her voice icy: “She’s delicate and pitiful, so your whole family dotes on her. I’m thick-skinned, so I deserve to suffer. I learned early on that poor children have no rights, and those not born into the family have even fewer. The strong make the rules, and the weak follow them. Do you know how I’ve survived these fifteen years?”

“When I, also a daughter of the Marquis Yongning’s mansion, was beaten, kicked, and whipped in the countryside, what was the mansion doing? And what was Ji Qingqing doing? Where were my father, mother, and three brothers back then? Now you talk about biting the hand that feeds—where is the kindness you’ve ever shown me? Is it those hundred thousand taels of silver you’re talking about?”

Xie Liuzheng, never one to miss a spectacle, stepped forward and blinked in confusion. “Hey, that’s not right!”

“As I recall, those hundred thousand taels were compensation given by Second Miss Ji when she showed up with a coffin to collect Princess Ye’s body. After Princess Ye confronted her, the Marquis Yongning’s mansion, admitting fault, willingly paid it as recompense, right?”

“Compensation is compensation, and damages are damages. Second Miss Ji can’t tell the difference between them, can she?”

Xie Liuzheng dragged out Ji Qingqing’s misdeeds again. Frustrated, she closed her eyes and pretended to faint in Ji Qingfeng’s arms.

She thought he would take her home and get her out of this place.

Instead, he set her down on the ground and stared intently at the wounds on Ji Yuntang’s arm.

Ji Qingfeng knew Ji Yuntang had suffered in the countryside. When she was first brought back, she was so thin she looked younger than ten, yet her eyes always sparkled at them without complaint.

Whenever she had time, she would braid ropes or embroider handkerchiefs for them. But the young masters of the mansion, accustomed to luxury, would throw her gifts on the ground.

And they would lecture her arrogantly.

“Now that you’re in the mansion, you’re a young lady. Stop doing such lowly things. Spend your time learning from Qing Qing—see the difference between you. Most importantly, don’t let anyone know you’re my sister.”

Ji Qingfeng had only ever despised Ji Yuntang, thinking she was unworthy to be his sister, never knowing she carried so many wounds.

Compared to the two slaps on his face, he suddenly felt they were nothing.

“Go ahead and report me to the authorities. I’ll see it through!”

Ji Yuntang ignored Ji Qingfeng, lowered her sleeve, and returned to the center of the square.

Looking at the man in the wheelchair, she said apologetically, “Sorry for the delay. I’ll treat you now.”

The man in black had witnessed everything. He looked up at her with pity.

It seemed this woman was also a pitiable soul.

A mansion’s daughter swapped at birth, her sister doted on in the capital while she suffered in the countryside. After fifteen years of abuse, she still lived on. Why shouldn’t he?

“Alright, I’ll trouble you, miss.”

The man agreed. With this commotion, Luo Jingshen and Luo Feizhou could say no more. They ordered a clean room prepared for Ji Yuntang and gathered the items she needed.

The drama ended, but the treatment continued. They were all eager to see how Ji Yuntang would make this legless man stand again.

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