“Master, I beg you, please spare the young lady this time. Her body is weak—she cannot endure such beatings!”
“Ugh…”
So painful, her back hurts so much.
Jun Ning groaned heavily, forcing her eyes open in agony. What she saw was the familiar stone-paved path, the simple and elegant courtyard, and by the high wall, the little peach tree she had once planted together with Xiao Yunjie.
Two bamboo chairs stood under the eaves. Upon them sat her father, Earl Pingkang, Jun Daoyuan, and his second wife, Madam Lou. Behind Lou stood Jun Qingnian, her half-sister, watching with smug delight.
It was midday in the blazing summer sun.
A servant swung down a heavy board without mercy. Jun Ning’s clothes were already torn apart, her back soaked in blood, the sight unbearable. She clenched her teeth. Aside from her first groan, she never cried out in pain. Even if she did, her “good father” would not care.
The memory of Xiao Yunjie’s arrow piercing her heart was still vivid. Her face was deathly pale, but her eyes shone with unusual brightness. This scene, this pain—it was all too familiar.
Jun Ning bit down hard, suddenly exerting her strength. In the next instant, the rope binding her wrists snapped. Ignoring the agony tearing through her back, she rose from the punishment bench, stunning the servants.
It was the 43rd year of Yongchu in the State of Bei. She had returned to the past. Everyone was still alive. Everything could still be changed.
“Yu Zhu, get up.”
The young girl, pale and tender-faced, still carried traces of childishness. Yet her voice held a commanding authority far beyond her years.
Yu Zhu turned in shock. Seeing her mistress awake and freed, she scrambled to Jun Ning’s side, shielding her with her own body.
“Master, Madam, punish me instead! It’s all my fault!”
Her forehead was already bleeding from kowtows. Desperate to protect Jun Ning, she knocked her head against the ground again and again. Jun Ning’s eyes reddened, and she quickly stopped her maid.
In her previous life, when she went to rescue Xiao Yunjie from the Third Prince outside the city, dawn had come only to reveal Yu Zhu hanging lifeless in her room.
But now, Yuzhu was alive.
“Yu Zhu, rise. What kind of Madam is she?” Jun Ning pulled Yu Zhu up and shielded her behind her.
This time, I will protect you to live a long life.
She lifted her gaze, enduring the tearing pain in her back, and coldly confronted the three under the eaves.
Jun Daoyuan suddenly stood, furious: “Jun Ning, she is your stepmother!”
“Stepmother?” Jun Ning sneered, retorting: “Father, do you dare go to the ancestral hall, stand before my mother’s memorial tablet, and say those words again?”
“You!” Jun Daoyuan was furious, his brows drawn tight as he cursed: “Jun Ning, not only did you dare to drug your stepmother’s tea, now you even dare to defy me!”
“Relying on the favor of that useless prince—do you think you can overturn the heavens?”
“Men! Seize her! Today I will beat this unfilial daughter to death!”
Having lived once already, Jun Ning no longer held any expectations for this so‑called father. After her mother’s death, her father and Madam Lou, with her daughter, became the true family. She, though the legitimate daughter, was nothing more than a burden.
In her past life, she endured again and again, hoping one day her father would turn back and see her. But in the end, she was always the one abandoned.
She lost her cousin, lost Yu Zhu, caused the deaths of thirty thousand soldiers of the Zhennan Army, and finally lost her own life.
This time, she would not endure.
“I dare anyone to try!” Her sharp cry rang out. The aura that suddenly surged from Jun Ning made the servants hesitate, none daring to step forward. Somehow, in that moment, everyone felt the blood and authority of a true commander of armies emanating from her.
The sun blazed overhead, sweat dripping down the faces of the servants.
Madam Lou had not expected that the timid Jun Ning of moments ago would now defy her father, her entire bearing transformed.
Madam Lou’s eyes flickered. She bowed slightly and said to Jun Daoyuan: “Master, the second young lady is still young. She has learned her lesson today. Why not let this matter rest?”
Her words made Jun Daoyuan, already wavering, flare up again. “Absurd! I am the Earl—how can anyone stop me from disciplining my daughter—”
“Father, do you dare kill me?” Jun Ning interrupted, her gaze calm and steady upon him.
Jun Daoyuan was struck dumb. Indeed, he did not dare, and could not.
Beyond her connection to the Fifth Prince Xiao Yunjie, Jun Ning was the only legitimate daughter of the late first wife of the Pingkang household. Her mother was the only daughter of General Wu’an. Though the title of General Wu’an now held little power, his men still served in the army.
For the sake of his reputation and to avoid being killed by General Wu’an, Jun Daoyuan would never truly kill Jun Ning.
“Since Father does not dare, let us end this farce here. I am tired. Father, may you leave now?” Jun Ning issued a dismissal to her nominal father.
After weighing the matter, Jun Daoyuan left with only a punishment of docking three months’ allowance.
Jun Ning stepped aside to clear a path, but as he passed, she moved forward to block Madam Lou and Jun Qingnian.
“Jun Ning, what are you doing?” Jun Qingnian lifted her skirt, her face twisted with anger.
What madness was this? It was one thing to defy Father, but now Jun Ning dared to block her and her mother in front of everyone. Was she insane?
*Smack!*
The sharp crack of the slap made everyone turn their heads. They saw Jun Qingnian’s face twisted to one side, while the culprit, Jun Ning, calmly shook her hand.
“You dare hit me?” Jun Qingnian was utterly stunned.
“What? Do I need to consult the almanac before hitting you?” Jun Ning sneered. In her previous life, she had spared Madam Lou and her daughter out of consideration for shared blood. But now she realized how foolish she had been—those two were as venomous as vipers. This time, she would show no mercy.
As long as she lived, Madam Lou would remain a concubine, and Jun Qingnian would forever be a mere illegitimate daughter.
“You!” Jun Qingnian raised her hand to strike back, but Madam Lou quickly seized her wrist.
“Mother, why are you stopping me?!”
Madam Lou, ever calculating, knew that with so many eyes watching, it was time to play the role of the virtuous and magnanimous woman.
“Qingnian, your sister is already injured. Do not quarrel with her further. Besides, she is the legitimate daughter. Even if she strikes you, you cannot retaliate against her. Do you understand?”
Her words made it sound as though Jun Ning was abusing her status.
Jun Ning’s cold voice cut through: “It’s good that Madam Lou recognizes her place. So, Jun Qingnian, remember this well—whether I slap you or even sell you off, you have no right to utter a single word of protest.”
Such arrogant and domineering words, spoken by Jun Ning, did not inspire disgust. Instead, they seemed perfectly fitting for her.
At those words, the Earl Pingkang’s gaze toward Jun Ning subtly shifted.