Zi Jinling was furious.
She hadn't done anything?
She hadn't done anything and yet her tendons had been severed. If she had done something more, wouldn't her life have been forfeit?
"Bitch, how dare you injure me!"
But other than roaring, she could do nothing.
"Lin'er, you are too vicious! Jin'er is your cousin, how could you sever her tendons?"
Zi Wenchang's angry voice echoed across the training grounds.
Zi Jinling was his biological daughter, after all. No matter how angry he was with her, he couldn't stand by and watch her be harmed without a word.
"Vicious? Uncle, you know this word too?"
Zi Linling scoffed, then continued, "For all these years, Uncle banished me to Luoyu Pavilion, allowing my aunt to torment me at will. Wasn't that vicious?"
Zi Wenchang's old face flushed red, and he reprimanded with insufficient confidence, "What nonsense are you spouting? Your aunt has always doted on you. Don't slander her reputation here."
Zi Linling sneered, "Doted on you? That was indeed 'doted on'! All the dirty and arduous work, only I was allowed to do it, not even the servants! This can indeed be considered 'doted on'!"
"No more than ten grains of rice in my food, just enough not to starve. If I didn't finish my chores, I had to kneel on pebbles, and if I ate too much, I'd be whipped. If it rained and she was displeased, I had to stand in the rain to please her; if it was hot and she was unhappy, I had to stand in the sun to make her comfortable… This can also be considered 'doted on'!"
"And my second elder sister, she'd come to Luoyu Pavilion with a whip every other day to cause trouble. When Ye Yuanhao treated her well, she'd whip me to show off. When that scumbag didn't treat her well, she'd whip me to vent her anger. This can indeed be considered 'doted on'!"
"Second Uncle, you say, can you handle this 'doted on'?"
"Second Uncle, their viciousness isn't called vicious, but my actions are called vicious, right?"
As Zi Linling spoke, tears welled up in her eyes, and her voice carried a hint of anger.
The reason she said these things was not to gain sympathy, but to speak up for the original owner of this body.
That poor woman had lived her life in constant trepidation, and had not received a single ray of salvation until her death.
Were people not born of mothers and nurtured by fathers?
Why should that kind woman silently endure and silently die?
One remark stirred up a thousand waves!
Zi Linling's barrage of accusations successfully stirred the indignation of the onlookers.
"How can people be so cruel?"
"Yes! Even if she's a waste, she's still the daughter of the former family head. Even if you don't treat her well, you shouldn't abuse her like this!"
"I never expected that in such a grand mansion like the Zi family, such dirty deeds would be hidden."
"Children without parents are truly unfortunate. Madam Wang seemed quite kind to this girl in front of outsiders, so how could she be so wicked behind their backs?"
"That's what they call being two-faced. Who knows what kind of dirty thoughts she harbors?"
"Zi Second Master, as her uncle, you couldn't possibly not know that your niece was living such a miserable life, could you?"
"Who can say for sure? Perhaps you tacitly agreed to it!"
Zi Wenchang's face turned from green to purple, then from purple to black.
Zi Linling's words had undoubtedly ripped off the dirty fig leaf, exposing the sins of their second branch nakedly to the world.
As for what Madam Wang had done behind the scenes, how could Zi Wenchang, as the head of the family, be unaware?
In fact, everything Madam Wang had done was indeed with his tacit approval.
If it weren't for the desire to obtain the Family Head Token, he might have even tacitly allowed Madam Wang to take Zi Linling's life.
A chilling aura began to spread from Ye Lingyuan.
Although he knew that his Lin'er had not lived well in the past, he had never imagined that it would be so tragic.
At this moment, his killing intent rapidly surged, directed towards Zi Wenchang.
Zi Wenchang, already the target of public criticism, felt a sudden surge of killing intent engulfing him.
Xiong Tai, Li Luo, and Fu Liuyun, after hearing this speech, found that their previous unease had completely vanished.
Indeed, behind every genius, there were always untold hardships.
They even admired this resilient woman, who had managed to be reborn and emerge like a butterfly from its chrysalis, despite such a tragic life!
However, what they didn't know was that the price of this rebirth and transformation would be the life of the original owner, that poor woman.
Zi Wenchang was so cornered that he couldn't speak. But as one of the executioners, he had to defend himself.
Therefore, he took a deep breath and said with feigned grief, "Lin'er, I'm sorry. Second Uncle has been busy with external affairs all these years and was unaware that you had suffered so much. Second Uncle is ashamed of your parents, and ashamed of you!"
Zi Linling's mocking smile grew wider.
Pretending to be sad?
Did he really think she was still the original owner?
How could she believe someone who would betray their own father?
However, she might as well use this opportunity to set a trap.
"Ashamed? Are you ashamed of me and my parents, or are you ashamed of the Family Head Token left by my parents?"
"I..."
Zi Wenchang was stunned, then plastered a hypocritical smile on his face and said, "Lin'er, you jest! How can the Family Head Token be more precious than our close blood ties?"
A glint of slyness flashed in Zi Linling's eyes, "Then does Second Uncle mean that the Family Head Token is not as precious as I am?"
Although Zi Wenchang was extremely unwilling to admit it, he still nodded and said, "Indeed!"
First, he had to appease Zi Linling and stabilize the current situation. Only then could he safely ascend to the position of Family Head.
Zi Linling smiled, "Then if I had to choose between myself and the Family Head Token, Second Uncle would definitely choose me, right?"
Zi Wenchang nodded again, "Naturally!"
"Naturally, I would choose to kill you!" This was his true thought.
Zi Linling, pretending not to see through Zi Wenchang's intentions, asked with feigned delight, "Then, if the Family Head Token is truly in my hand, and I want to keep it as a memento, will Second Uncle grant my wish?"
A flicker of surprise flashed in Zi Wenchang's eyes, but he quickly hid it.
He nodded, "I will grant your wish! I will grant your wish!"
"Grant you a wish to go see your parents!"
Of course, Zi Wenchang did not say the latter part aloud.
The Family Head Token, how could he give it up?
Without the Family Head Token, his position as Family Head would be illegitimate. Without it, he couldn't account for it to Zi Donglai, let alone the fact that he also wanted to explore the back mountain.
A coldness washed over Zi Linling.
She pretended to sigh, "With your words, Second Uncle, I can finally rest easy. But it's a pity that my parents have been missing for so long and left no last words. I hope they can send me a dream and tell me the whereabouts of the Family Head Token."