Having received the gentleman’s indication, Xiaxia continued:

"At first it was okay because the third young Miss always gave in to the eldest Miss, who didn’t have much reason to act out. But after the eldest Miss fell head over heels for Mr. Nie, the frequency of her assaults on the third young Miss increased. Later on, after the eldest Miss stole Mr. Nie away, she became even more arrogant, often humiliating the third young Miss. Even..."

"Even what!" Chu Yanhan’s features twisted slightly, having thought his eldest daughter only liked to mock Jiayi, but never imagined that she would treat Jiayi like this behind his back.

He was about to explode with rage.

He had never expected Xuanyu and her daughters to be overly kind to Jiayi, but he also didn’t expect her to live through abuse!

She was only fifteen or sixteen when she came to the Chu Family, an age when one needs care and love, yet she lived every day under physical and mental abuse.

Xiaxia continued: "...Even before the eldest Miss formally got together with Mr. Nie, there was a time when she was intimate with Mr. Nie at home and was caught by the third young Miss. Instead of feeling remorse, the eldest Miss beat the third young Miss, saying it was a debt owed by the mother that the daughter had to repay, and she deserved it."

"Enough!" Chu Yanhan could not bear to listen any longer, his face steely as he grabbed Chu Xinyu’s arm, which was already trembling, and flung her to the ground!

Chu Xinyu fell onto the cement floor, screaming, "Daddy—"

"Take the eldest Miss into the house, I will teach you a good lesson when I come back!" Chu Yanhan shouted angrily.

"Daddy, does that mean you won’t let me go to the Ya Family’s evening banquet?" Chu Xinyu was dolled up prettily, decked out in her outfit, prepared to show off at the banquet.

"You still want to go to the banquet? With your vicious and narrow-minded temperament, I’m afraid you’ll disgrace our Chu Family! I don’t have time to deal with you now, go to your room to reflect on your actions! Without my permission, you are not allowed to step out the door."

Xuan Yu, knowing her husband was truly angry, helped her daughter, "Go upstairs, don’t anger your daddy any further."

Chu Xinyu watched as everyone else dressed up glamorously to attend the party, yet she had to stay home under house arrest, feeling both angry and regretful.

And thinking about how Daddy might punish her when he returned, her heart turned cold.

In the end, she stamped her foot and ran upstairs.

"Yanhan, let it be, we can discipline the girl when we return, it’s getting late." Xuanyu tried to smooth things over.

How could Xuanyu not know about everything Chu Xinyu had done? She was merely protecting her daughter and helping to cover up the truth.

Chu Yanhan gave Xuanyu a fierce stare.

Xuanyu shivered, her husband’s gaze filled with coldness, disgust, and contempt.

This was something she had never seen before.

She knew that although her husband did not love her, and their marriage had been obtained through her own scheming, he had still treated her with a certain respect all these years.

But now, Chu Yanhan looked at her as if he was looking at a witch, a vile woman!

She felt a chill in her heart, perhaps from this day forward, her husband’s respect for her was gone.

In the end, Chu Yanhan didn’t say much more. Xuanyu was still the lady of the Chu Family and needed to be given some face.

However, his impression of Xuanyu had completely changed after this incident.

Before, Xuanyu in his eyes was virtuous and gracious.

If she had openly said she didn’t like Jiayi, that would have been one thing, but now she presented one front openly and another in secret. Abusing an innocent child like this and also concealing the truth about Tingxuan’s life and death for so long, Chu Yanhan’s gaze towards his wife changed.

It was getting late, and not wanting to delay the banquet, Chu Yanhan said no more. Subconsciously, he didn’t take Xuanyu’s arm; his body covered in a cold frost, he walked alone towards the sedan ahead.

Xuanyu could only take a sharp breath and hurry after him.

The car had been ready for a while.

Chu Yanhan and Xuanyu sat in the first car.

As a young lady of the Chu Family, Jiayi sat in the back of the white limousine with Chu Xinyu and Chu Xinyue.

But since Chu Xinyu was confined to the house as punishment, only Jiayi and Chu Xinyue shared a car.

The space inside the car seemed empty and desolate.

Once the air conditioning was turned on, it felt even chillier.

Jiayi and Chu Xinyue sat facing each other, their gazes occasionally and unintentionally colliding.

Perhaps it was because of her poor health and the fact that she rarely went out, but the girl opposite her, with her gaunt palm-sized face, delicate nose, thin, pale lips, and skin so translucent that the veins were visible, was frighteningly cold in every aspect.

Even her rare smiles carried a hint of chill.

Could this girl, who would become breathless after just a few steps, really be the same one who tore her own dress yesterday?

And could she truly be someone who wanted to kill her?

If it were true, why...?

How much must one person hate another to personally kill their own blood-related sister?

"You’ve become bolder, huh, daring to expose your older sister in front of Daddy," Chu Xinyue suddenly said, breaking the silence in the car.

Jiayi was startled, while Chu Xinyue stared out the car window; the remark seemed unintentional, mere jest.

"Are you blaming me for getting her punished?" Jiayi ventured.

Chu Xinyue turned around abruptly, her petite face revealing a rare sneer:

"She bullied you but was too stupid to cover it up. I knew this day would come, it’s not surprising at all. Besides, it’s good for her character to be disciplined, to learn a lesson,"

Jiayi gasped in shock.

In this moment, Chu Xinyue seemed nothing like her usual self, nor did she resemble the sickly, quiet young girl she was in front of Chu Yanhan and Xuan Yu.

Just then, the car stopped at the destination.

The car door slid open smoothly, and someone reached in: "Ladies, we’ve arrived, please exit the car."

The ghostly expression Chu Xinyue had in the car had disappeared completely, and she once again looked like a delicate beauty suffering from illness as she placed her hand on the helper’s and stepped out of the car.

----

On a small hill directly in front of the car stood a luxurious mansion, the castle where the Royal Family of S Country, the Ya Family, had resided for generations.

Although many countries in the world still had castles, Jiayi had never had the chance to witness one in person.

The golden rooftops shone brilliantly, the castle walls were covered in creeping vines, and it stood four stories tall, each floor peppered with numerous windows, each representing a room.

Atop the castle’s highest balcony, sentry posts were manned by soldiers on night watch, wearing the uniforms of S Country’s constabulary and patrolling the grounds.

In S Country, the Prime Minister held the highest authority, and the Ya Family was more of a figurehead with little actual power.

But in the eyes of the public, having survived for hundreds of years, the Ya Family was still a noble existence.

The Ya Family now living in the castle was much like a wealthy family of high social standing.

Jiayi couldn’t help but feel a slight stir inside, thinking this was S Country’s premier family.

Back in G City, she would occasionally see news on TV about the Queen of the United Kingdom embarking on visits, the British prince adding a princess to the family, the Crown Prince of Denmark marrying a commoner, and so forth.

Never did she imagine that one day she herself would be stepping into the home of a modern royal family.