Jun Ning’s eyes sharpened. Amid the cries of alarm from those around, she swiftly dodged Jun Qingnian’s hand that had lunged for her hair.
Failing in her first attempt, Jun Qingnian abandoned all decorum, clawing and thrashing like a madwoman as she rushed at Jun Ning.
“Jun Ning! Go to hell!”
Her fingertips were sharp, every strike aimed with the intent to ruin Jun Ning’s face.
Earl Pingkang was present, and Madam Lou still retained a shred of reason. Though she hated Jun Ning just as much, she clutched Jun Qingnian tightly around the waist, trying desperately to restrain her.
“Nian’er, Nian’er, she is your legitimate sister! Calm yourself. Whatever grievance you have, speak to your father, Nian’er!”
Madam Lou knew full well that Jun Qingnian could never defeat Jun Ning, who had trained in martial arts. So she clung to her daughter’s waist, terrified something terrible might happen.
“Jun Ning! You framed me! It’s all your fault! Why don’t you just die!”
Jun Qingnian, crazed, broke free from Madam Lou’s grasp. Her fingers spread like claws, poised to slash across Jun Ning’s face.
Jun Ning suddenly lifted her head, staring straight into Jun Qingnian’s eyes. The cold, mocking gaze made Jun Qingnian’s eyes nearly burst with rage.
Jun Ning moved with lightning speed. The onlookers could not even see how she acted—by the time they realized, she was already at Jun Qingnian’s side. In Madam Lou’s horrified gaze, Jun Ning seized Jun Qingnian’s arm and wrenched it outward with brutal force.
The sound of bones snapping was chilling. Jun Qingnian’s scream, like that of a slaughtered pig, shook everyone to the core. Instinctively, they clutched their own arms.
“Jun Ning, Jun Ning, let go! Quickly let go—Qingnian is in agony!”
Madam Lou lunged to grab Jun Ning’s arm, but Jun Ning slipped away with ease. Before Madam Lou could react, Jun Ning had already vanished from her sight.
Accompanied by Jun Qingnian’s wails, Madam Lou lost her balance and fell forward with a heavy thud onto the floor.
“Madam Lou, why such a grand courtesy? I hardly know how to respond,” Jun Ning teased her with deliberate amusement.
“You—!”
“Enough! All of you, stop this at once!” Earl Pingkang roared, veins bulging on his forehead, his temples throbbing violently.
Jun Ning sneered inwardly. She tightened her grip on Jun Qingnian’s arm just slightly, then suddenly released it. Everyone’s eyes followed Jun Qingnian as she was flung aside like a rag, crashing heavily onto Madam Lou, who had just been helped up.
“Jun Ning!” Earl Pingkang could bear no more.
Outrageous! Utterly outrageous! Did she no longer regard him as her father at all?
He raised his hand, ready to strike Jun Ning.
Jun Ning did not flinch or retreat. She lifted her face to meet the descending palm, her eyes filled with disappointment and icy resolve, but not a trace of fear or submission.
“Father already had me flogged once because of those two. And now you mean to strike me yourself?” Jun Ning sighed, closing her eyes as if resigned. “Go ahead, Father. After this slap, whatever bond of father and daughter we had will be completely severed.”
Earl Pingkang’s face twitched violently. His hand stopped just an inch from her cheek, unable to move closer, no matter how he tried.
The burning pain she had braced for never came. Jun Ning opened her eyes—and when she saw the newcomer, her heart trembled, her eyes nearly welling with tears.
“Earl Pingkang, such a great temper you have! I’ve been away drilling troops for days, leaving my precious Ning’er in your care. And this is how you’ve cared for her?”
The newcomer wore black scale armor, with golden lions baring fangs on each shoulder, bronze heart-shields front and back, tassels hanging from the armor. Though his hair was white, his spirit remained vigorous, his presence commanding and majestic.
Seeing her maternal grandfather again, Jun Ning could not hold back the redness in her eyes.
In her previous life, Jun Ning’s maternal grandfather and his entire family had all perished on the battlefield—even her grandfather, though already aged, was no exception. Before his death, her grandfather had still been wiping away her tears, smiling as he told her not to cry. He said he was going to find his daughter and that she should not be sad.
Now, Old General Tao held his crested helmet in one hand, while with the other, he restrained Earl Pingkang’s raised hand.
The scene felt so achingly familiar.
Earl Pingkang trembled all over, nearly collapsing to his knees.
So it was true—one thing always overcomes another. To Earl Pingkang, seeing Old General Tao was like a mouse seeing a cat: sheer terror.
“Old General Tao, why have you come here so suddenly, without sending word ahead?”
After all, Earl Pingkang had once been bedridden for half a month from a single lash of Old General Tao’s whip. Now he forced a bitter smile, all the domineering arrogance he had shown toward Jun Ning moments ago completely gone.
“Hmph!” Old General Tao snorted coldly, utterly disdainful of Earl Pingkang’s sycophantic manner. If not for this beast—polished on the surface but vile at heart—who had bewitched his daughter, she would not have died so young.
“Send word? If word had been sent, how would I have witnessed such a scene today!”
“Jun Daoyuan, you scoundrel! What did you promise me?”
“I am not dead yet, and already you dare treat my granddaughter this way? If one day I truly were gone, would you kill Ning’er for the sake of that disgraceful mother and daughter pair?”
Old General Tao glared fiercely, not sparing him a shred of face.
Jun Daoyuan was overstepping, thinking that because he held a hereditary title of Earl, he could act as though he were truly noble. A fool with no substance—he should have been whipped to death long ago!
Earl Pingkang lowered his head under the barrage of insults, his long triangular eyes filled with venomous malice. Old man, just you wait. One day, I’ll make your entire General Wu’an’s household kneel at my feet.
“Grandfather…” Jun Ning choked out, her voice trembling.
That single word pierced Old General Tao’s heart. Forgetting his quarrel with Jun Daoyuan, he pushed him aside and strode quickly to Jun Ning’s side.
Old General Tao was a rough man. His children were either married off or stationed at the borders; now, only Tao Yanzhen remained at home as the sole son.
From childhood, Tao Yanzhen had been impossibly mischievous—truly the sort to drive people to fury.
Ever since Tao Yanzhen could remember, as long as the two of them were under the same roof, the General’s household had never known a day of peace.
Whenever Tao Yanzhen was up to mischief, Old General Tao’s roaring could practically shake the rafters. By contrast, Jun Ning, his granddaughter, was very much like her mother in temperament—methodical in her actions, kind and humble in her dealings. To Old General Tao, seeing Jun Ning was like beholding a precious treasure. He poured all the love he had once given his son and daughter, and even the affection he withheld from Tao Yanzhen, entirely onto Jun Ning.
“My little darling, let Grandfather take a look—how is it you’ve grown so thin?”
A man who had spent half his life on horseback and the battlefield, Old General Tao now brought forth all the tenderness and patience he had, facing the only living bloodline left by his daughter.
Earl Pingkang clasped his hands together, the corners of his mouth twitching. *Thin? Where on earth does he see that she’s thin?*
He grumbled inwardly, only to find himself scolded yet again.