Chapter 10 — Sacrificed by the Heir: Reborn as Yue Zhaoyue to Avenge Sixteen Years of Injustice

I looked at my older sister.

"I am not sulking. I simply find you repulsive."

The moment those words left my lips, the expression on Xie Linchu's face twisted completely. He raised his hand, intent on striking me. Before his palm could descend, however, a guard standing behind the governess intercepted his arm with lightning speed. The governess’s voice dropped to a cold, menacing register.

"Young Master, Her Highness has made it clear: anyone who dares to lay a hand on the Second Young Lady treats the Grand Princess's estate with utter contempt."

Xie Linchu wrenched his arm free, his eyes flashing with indignation. "She is insulting me."

I stepped forward, my gaze steady. "When you offered my purity as a reward to others, did you not think you were insulting me? When you shielded the very person who sought to destroy me, did you not think you were insulting me? I merely speak the truth about feeling repulsed, and yet you find it intolerable."

He was rendered speechless by my retort. Suddenly, my father spoke up, his voice trembling with forced authority. "Shen Zhaoyue, I have raised you for sixteen years. Is this how you repay me?"

I looked at him, feeling nothing but a hollow chill. "Father raised me only to one day push me into a pit of fire with his own hands?"

My father drew his sword, the cold steel point directed straight at my heart. "Say that again."

The governess stood firmly in front of me, a barrier against his blade. The guards from the Princely Estate drew their swords in unison, the steel ringing out sharply in the night air. The servants of the Shen household scrambled backward, terror etched onto their faces. My mother let out a shrill scream. "Husband, do not commit such a deed!"

My father stared at me, then let out a harsh, jagged laugh. "Very well. Fine. Shen Zhaoyue, from this day forward, you are no longer a daughter of the Shen family. If you want to lodge a complaint, go ahead. The moment you step past this threshold, all ties between the Shen family and you are severed forever."

My mother collapsed to the floor in a fit of wailing. Shen Yuntang covered her mouth with her handkerchief, but the gloating light in her eyes could not be masked. Xie Linchu stepped forward, his voice softening into a patronizing tone. "Shen Zhaoyue, it is not too late to turn back."

I helped Qing Xing to her feet and began walking toward the gate. "Father, do remember to draft the letter of disownment."

My father roared in fury, "In your dreams!"

I turned back one last time. "If you do not write it, that is fine as well. By tomorrow, the entire capital shall know that the Honorable Secretary Shen could not bear to let his daughter go, not out of love, but because he still intends for me to shoulder the guilt for the family's sins."

My father was so overcome with rage that he nearly collapsed. The governess whispered softly beside me, "Second Young Lady, the carriage is waiting outside."

I stepped out of the courtyard. The biting cold of the winter wind lashed against my face, a stinging pain that made my mind sharper than ever. Xie Linchu chased after me, standing on the threshold. His voice lost its previous edge, turning into something desperate. "Shen Zhaoyue, stop making a scene. Be soft with me just this once, and I can ask my mother to grant you the status of a concubine."

I froze in my tracks. Qing Xing was so incensed she started to rush forward, but I held her back. I looked at him and asked, "A concubine?"

Xie Linchu clearly believed he had swayed me. "Shen Yuntang is frail and cannot endure any grievances. If you are willing to be sensible and stay in your place, I will not treat you poorly."

I looked at him, and suddenly, I felt a strange, detached curiosity. I wanted to ask why, in that recurring nightmare of mine, I had ever loved a creature like him. But I held my tongue. Instead, I said, "Xie Linchu, you are not worthy of me."

His face darkened, his mask of composure fracturing. "You will regret this."

I climbed into the carriage belonging to the Grand Princess. Before the curtain fell, I saw Shen Yuntang standing in the gate, smiling at me silently. It was exactly like the vision on the city walls in my dream—her nestled in Xie Linchu’s arms, watching as an arrow pierced my heart, wearing that very same smile.

As the carriage pulled away from the Shen alleyway, the governess sat opposite me and asked, "Second Young Lady, are you not afraid?"

I answered simply, "I am."

"If you are afraid, why dare to walk away?"

I traced the cold, hard texture of the bronze token hidden in my sleeve. "I have already died once. Even if I am afraid, I must continue."

The Princely Estate was ablaze with light when we arrived. The Grand Princess sat in the main hall, the small packet containing the incense ash sitting on the table. Zi Su was forced to her knees in the center of the hall, and Shen Fu, my father's servant, had been bound and dragged before her. When my father stepped through the doors, he offered a stiff, cold bow. "Your Highness, you summoned me late at night. May I ask what this is about?"

The Grand Princess looked at him, her eyes sharp. "Secretary Shen, where did this prohibited incense come from?"

My father replied flatly, "I have no knowledge of it."

The Grand Princess pushed a brocade box toward him. "This is the registry of gifts from the Princely treasury. Three days ago, I bestowed upon you a box of Tranquility Incense. It is an item gifted from the palace, meant only for room-scenting; it is strictly forbidden to be mixed into wine. Did you subsequently pass this on to the Eldest Daughter of the Shen house?"

My father cast only a fleeting glance at the box. "I gave the incense to my daughter to help her sleep. What is wrong with that?"

The Grand Princess continued, "A piece is missing from that box. That missing piece appeared in the wine served to Xie Linchu."

My father remained unmoved. "Perhaps a servant stole it."

Zi Su wept, pointing a trembling finger at the house. "Master, it was the Eldest Young Lady who ordered me to grind it into the wine!"

My father barked, his voice cold as ice, "This lowly wretch is trying to shift the blame."

The Grand Princess turned her gaze to Shen Fu. "You speak."

Shen Fu was a trusted confidant who had served my father for twenty years. He knelt on the floor, his head bowed, refusing to look up. My father glared at him, a silent warning. "Shen Fu, think carefully before you speak."

Shen Fu pressed his forehead to the cold stone floor. "Your Highness, I was only responsible for taking Chun Tao out of the city. As for other matters, I know nothing."

The Grand Princess asked, "Where did you take her?"