Upon hearing Xie Qiqi’s words, a flash of cunning crossed Yue Yue’s eyes.
"Sister, is this the Lily-of-the-Valley Jade Bracelet you were talking about?"
Yue Yue pulled back Yue Huijuan’s sleeve with a look of feigned grievance. There, wrapped around Yue Huijuan’s wrist, which was as fair and flawless as white jade, was a bracelet of vibrant, emerald green. It was, indeed, the ancestral Lily-of-the-Valley Jade Bracelet.
Xie Qiqi stared at it in stunned silence, her rebuttal caught in her throat by this sudden turn of events.
"Sister, didn't you say you found this bracelet old-fashioned and disliked it, which is why you gave it to me?" Yue Yue asked, sounding wronged. "I thought, since Mother is more mature than us, this bracelet would suit her poise, so I re-gifted it to her!"
"Sister, I know you’ve been targeting me ever since you returned, but you shouldn't tell such lies to slander me..."
A trace of mockery flickered across the corners of Yue Yue's mouth. *You fool! You believe everything I say? This Lily-of-the-Valley Jade Bracelet is the Xie Family heirloom; how could I justify its value if I didn't put it to good use?*
Xie Qiqi’s heart sank. She had fallen for Yue Yue’s trap again. "Mother, Second Brother, it’s not like that! Yue Yue deliberately misled me..."
Yue Huijuan barked sharply, "Enough, Qiqi! You have disappointed me too much. You slandered Yue Yue back at the Jiangxue Pavilion, and I haven't even finished questioning you about that!"
"Since when did your heart become so vicious? Do you realize that by ruining the Crown Princess’s painting, you could have cost Yue Yue her life? Do you hate her that much?"
Yue Yue lowered her head, tears spilling down her cheeks. She choked out, "Mother, don't blame Sister. Perhaps she was just afraid of being punished by the Crown Princess..."
Yue Huijuan pulled out a handkerchief to wipe Yue Yue’s tears, her heart aching. "Yue Yue, don't speak up for her. I see it clearly now—she is just jealous because we treat you well, and that’s why she keeps targeting you!"
Xie Qiqi looked at her mother in shock. She opened her mouth, trying several times to speak before finally managing, with a voice full of tears, "Mother... do you not believe me either?"
Without even looking up, Yue Huijuan replied coldly, "Seeing is believing. With the way you act, how can you expect me to trust you?"
Yue Huijuan, still beautiful even past the age of forty, shared a sixty-percent resemblance with Yue Yue, their brows and eyes nearly identical. Xie Qiqi, thin and frail, felt like a stranger; compared to her, Yue Yue seemed much more like the mother’s true daughter.
Trembling, Xie Qiqi tried to defend herself. "Mother, I really didn't target Yue Yue. It’s always her targeting me. She even told me she hates me..."
Before Xie Qiqi could finish, Xie Wentao slapped her across the face. Not satisfied, he kicked her over, roaring, "Xie Qiqi, do you think we’re blind? Since the day you came back, hasn't it always been you targeting Yue Yue?"
"Take this bracelet, for instance. Weren't you just swearing up and down that Yue Yue broke it? Why is it still perfectly fine on Mother’s wrist?"
Kicked to the ground, Xie Qiqi could no longer hold it in; a mouthful of blood sprayed out. Seeing this, Xie Wentao pinned her head to the ground and sneered, "What’s this? Is your little scheme evolving? Biting your tongue to make it look like I beat you to the point of vomiting blood?"
The pain caused Xie Qiqi to curl into a ball, unable to even speak. Xie Wentao ground her face against the dirt. "Keep arguing. I want to see what other tricks you can come up with."
Looking at Xie Wentao’s sharply defined face, Xie Qiqi remembered the time she had begged him for help while trapped in the frozen lake, only for him to turn his head away in indifference. What was she still hoping for? If he could watch her die back then without lifting a finger, how could she expect him to regret anything now, even if she lay unconscious?
Watching Xie Qiqi being beaten, Yue Yue felt a surge of triumph. *Xie Qiqi, I can leave you speechless with just a small bracelet—do you really think you can fight me?*
Yue Huijuan felt a flicker of hesitation and reprimanded him, "Wentao, you are being too brutal! After all, Qiqi is your sister; how can you treat her like this?"
Xie Wentao replied dismissively, "Mother, jade must be carved to become something useful. You are just too indulgent with her, which is why she’s become so lawless! If she isn't disciplined properly, she will only continue to shame our Xie Family!"
Yue Huijuan rubbed her temples, looking at Xie Qiqi with a headache. This child had been so well-behaved and sensible when she was young; how had she become a different person since returning? So twisted, full of lies, and obsessed with schemes—she didn't know where the girl had learned such things. Wentao was right; if she wasn't disciplined, she would be ruined.
She said sternly, "Qiqi, I didn't take your previous slanders against Yue Yue seriously, but my leniency has only made you worse. If I don't discipline you now, you will only sink deeper into your mistakes!"
"Go and kneel in the ancestral hall. Copy the *Lessons for Women* one hundred times. You are not to come out until you have finished!"
Xie Wentao looked at Xie Qiqi, his eyes rolling as he said, "Mother, the ancestral hall is too cold. Qiqi might not be able to handle it. Let’s change the punishment!"
Yue Yue frowned, watching him. *Is Second Brother feeling bad for her? Is he pleading on her behalf?*
Instead, Xie Wentao pointed to the snowy courtyard and said with a mocking laugh, "Mother, punish her by having her kneel here for two hours! There are people coming and going; any tricks she tries to pull will be clear to everyone. In the ancestral hall, there’s no one to watch her, and she’ll probably just pretend to faint again!"
Yue Yue couldn't help but almost laugh out loud. *How angry must Second Brother be with her to come up with such an idea?* This was much more interesting than the ancestral hall—letting the entire Xie household watch Xie Qiqi humiliate herself!
Yue Huijuan saw nothing wrong with his suggestion and nodded. "Qiqi, since your brother is pleading for you... you will kneel here for two hours. Only after you have finished are you to return to your quarters to copy the *Lessons for Women*."
Xie Qiqi watched helplessly as her mother walked back inside, leaning on Yue Yue for support. She could handle the coldness of her elder brother or the second brother, but Mother was different! She was the one who had brought her into this world! She was the one who had taught her to speak her first words! And she was the one who had stayed up through the night to care for her when she was sick!
Through those eight years as a slave, she had never hated her mother. She had told herself over and over that Mother loved her and that she was only forced by circumstance! But now, Xie Qiqi wasn't so sure anymore.
"Not kneeling yet? Do you need me to force you?"
Seeing her still lying on the ground, Xie Wentao gripped her collar and forced her down onto her knees. Xie Qiqi stared at him blankly; the snow was cold, but it was nothing compared to the chill in her heart. *This cold-hearted brother—I don't want him anymore!*
*Mother is just being deceived by Yue Yue. Once I finish these two hours, I will explain everything to her.*
The snow had not yet melted, and the cold soon began to pierce her bones. Xie Qiqi pinched her severed finger from time to time, using the pain to keep herself awake. Even if she fainted, her second brother wouldn't care; he would only claim she was using another trick. She would never give him the chance to smear her name again.
People passed by, and Xie Qiqi, kneeling in the snow, could feel the maids pointing at her. She could even hear them whispering.
"The Mistress is too kind, only making her kneel for two hours. A person like that deserves to kneel for days and nights!"
"Yan’er used to be so well-behaved. If she hadn't had the bad luck of following the wrong master and learning these bad habits, she wouldn't have been beaten so severely..."
*Yan’er!*
At the mention of that name, Xie Qiqi’s groggy mind snapped back to clarity. Yan’er had been struck twenty times by her elder brother; she didn't even know if she was alive or dead!