Pei Shaohuai continued, “Now that the truth has been brought to light, this junior believes that this marriage should return to its proper course.”
He glanced at Xie Jinyi, his meaning already clear.
Xie Jinyi’s face turned slightly pale. “Heir, this matter need not be handled this way...”
“Jinyi.”
Pei Shaohuai looked at her, his voice softening considerably. “This was supposed to belong to you in the first place.”
Xie Zhaofan stood where she was. At this moment, she suddenly felt that the original host’s previous anger and resentment might not have been so incomprehensible.
Her parents were gone, her identity was gone, and even her fiancé was gone.
And all of it had been taken away in just over a month because of the appearance of another person.
Any fifteen-year-old girl would likely find this hard to accept.
But she wasn't the original host. She came from the modern era, and she wasn't about to act out some life-and-death drama for the sake of some random man.
Even less would she turn herself into a lunatic obsessed with petty inner-residence schemes for the sake of the title of the Prime Minister’s legitimate daughter.
Xie Zhaofan exhaled slowly. “If you want to annul the engagement, then let it be annulled.”
Everyone in the courtyard froze simultaneously.
Xie Chongshan frowned. “What did you say?”
“I said the marriage contract can be terminated immediately. I have no objections.”
Xie Zhaofan raised her head. “Since the Heir feels she is a better fit for the Marquisate, then return the engagement to her.”
Pei Shaohuai clearly hadn't expected her to be so blunt, and a look of stunned disbelief crossed his face for a moment.
Xie Zhaofan had no interest in dealing with him. She currently had only one thought: to leave this place.
As long as she could leave the Prime Minister’s residence, even living as a commoner would be better than staying in this cannibalistic place.
But just as she took a step, Xie Chongshan’s icy voice came from behind her.
“Stop right there.”
Xie Zhaofan halted.
“Does Father have something else to say?”
Xie Chongshan looked at her, the disappointment in his eyes having completely turned into indifference.
“Regarding today’s events, you nearly cost Jinyi her life.”
“Even if you are an adopted daughter, you are still the daughter I, Xie Chongshan, have raised for fifteen years. I originally didn't want to take things to the extreme.”
“But now, you won't even admit your fault. It seems that without giving you a lesson, you will never learn the meaning of rules.”
Xie Zhaofan suddenly had a bad premonition.
In the next moment, Xie Chongshan gave a deep command.
“Fetch the Family Discipline!”
The entire courtyard fell into a sudden silence.
Madam Shen’s expression changed. “Master, Zhaofan is...”
“No one is allowed to plead for mercy today.”
Xie Chongshan’s voice fell heavily.
“Take her to the Ancestral Hall to receive five strokes of the cane.”
Two stout mammies immediately walked over. One of them was Mammy Zhou, who was responsible for teaching the servants in the residence. She looked at Xie Zhaofan, and there was even a bit of schadenfreude in her eyes.
“Second Young Miss, excuse our offense.”
Xie Zhaofan instinctively took a step back.
“I can walk there myself.”
However, Mammy Zhou grabbed her wrist. That hand was rough and powerful, clearly not intending to leave her any dignity.
The fire in Xie Zhaofan’s heart finally began to surge up bit by bit.
She had been enduring. She had accepted that she was a fake, she accepted the annulment, and she had even prepared herself to leave the Prime Minister’s residence and start over.
But she hadn't done anything. On what grounds did she have to take a beating?
Just as Mammy Zhou was about to forcibly drag her away, a cold, mechanical voice suddenly rang out deep in Xie Zhaofan’s mind.
【Detection: Host is facing a threat to physical safety.】
【The Eternal System is officially activated.】
【Core Talent: Eternity.】
【Lifespan: ∞.】
【System Gift: 10 Free Attribute Points.】
Xie Zhaofan’s footsteps abruptly paused. Following that, a pale blue light screen appeared before her eyes.
【Strength: 3】
【Agility: 4】
【Constitution: 4】
【Spirit: 6】
【Free Attribute Points: 10】
【Reminder: The average single attribute for an adult male is 5.】
Xie Zhaofan’s heart rate suddenly quickened. She stared fixedly at those ten attribute points.
If this was real... then couldn't she...
“System,” she said softly in her mind. “Add points.”
【Host, please allocate your free attributes.】
“Ten points to Strength.”
【Allocation complete.】
Boom! A terrifying heatwave suddenly erupted from deep within Xie Zhaofan’s heart.
In that instant, she felt as if her very bones were vibrating.
Her originally weak body felt as if it had been instantly infused with infinite power. Her muscles, bones, blood, and even her internal organs seemed to have been washed by some mysterious power.
Mammy Zhou was still pulling at her.
“Second Young Miss, don't make things difficult for this old servant.”
“Let go.”
Xie Zhaofan slowly raised her head.
Mammy Zhou was stunned. For some reason, she suddenly felt that the Second Young Miss before her seemed to have changed. Those eyes, which had been panicked, were now terrifyingly calm.
“What did you say?”
“I said...”
Xie Zhaofan looked at the hand gripping her wrist. “Let go!”
Mammy Zhou gave a cold laugh. “Second Young Miss, you'd better stop making a scene. This old servant is only following orders.”
She applied force with her hand again.
In the next moment, Xie Zhaofan gripped her back, and the smile on Mammy Zhou’s face instantly froze.
She felt as if her wrist were being squeezed by iron pincers. The intense pain caused her face to go deathly pale in an instant.
“It hurts...”
Xie Zhaofan herself was startled. She had only gripped lightly, yet there was this much power?
But a second later, she thought of the attributes the system had given her. Thirteen points in Strength—nearly three times that of an average adult male.
So that was it. Xie Zhaofan’s eyes moved slightly. In that case... she didn't need to endure anymore.
“Where were you about to take me?”
Mammy Zhou was sweating from the pain, but she still gritted her teeth and said, “The... the Ancestral Hall...”
“To receive the Family Discipline?”
“Yes...”
Xie Zhaofan chuckled softly. “Then there’s no need for that.”
As the words fell, she suddenly exerted force with her arm.
“Ah—!”
Mammy Zhou was actually thrown directly by her.
Her obese body drew an arc through the air, crashing heavily onto the bluestone ground ten feet away. She was in so much pain that she couldn't climb up for a long time.
The entire courtyard fell into a dead silence as everyone stared blankly at this scene.
Xie Chongshan was stunned.
Madam Shen was stunned.
Pei Shaohuai was stunned.
Xie Jinyi also gazed at her in a daze.
No one had expected it.
This girl, whom they had just considered weak, willful, and in need of a lesson, had actually used only one hand to throw the strongest mammy in the residence flying.
Xie Zhaofan was equally surprised herself. She looked down at her hand, then slowly looked up.
For the first time, she did not lower her head. “Father.”
She looked at Xie Chongshan. Her voice wasn't loud, yet it clearly reached every corner of the courtyard.
“I am willing to admit a mistake because I respect you, but I am not your slave.”
“You can dislike me, you can annul the engagement, and you can return everything that belongs to Xie Jinyi to her.”
“But if you want to use the Family Discipline...”
Xie Zhaofan took a slow step forward, causing the bluestone slab beneath her feet to let out a light crack. She looked at her father calmly.
“Then ask me first if I agree!”
At this moment, everyone in the Prime Minister’s residence realized for the first time that the Xie Zhaofan they had known for fifteen years had become terrifyingly foreign to them.
Xie Zhaofan slowly clenched her fist.
She gazed at this Prime Minister’s residence that had trapped the original host for fifteen years. For the first time, a light that truly belonged to her appeared in the depths of her eyes.
Since the Heavens had allowed her to live again and had given her a system that allowed for infinite growth...
Then starting today—her life should no longer be decided by anyone else.
Rate on N.U.
