At this moment, Meng Wanzhi was sitting beneath the corridor teaching Xiao Muyan to recognize characters when the two stormed in with hostile expressions.
A trace of cold light flashed across her eyes, though her face remained calm.
The moment her aunt saw her, the anger she had been suppressing exploded. Remembering Meng Wanqing’s words—“As long as you slap her once, you can force her to reveal a flaw”—she immediately raised her hand,
swinging it toward Meng Wanzhi’s face with a sharp gust of wind.
“Smack!”
A crisp slap rang out—but the one struck was not Meng Wanzhi.
Prepared in advance, Meng Wanzhi slightly turned her body the instant the hand rose and, in return, delivered a fierce slap across her aunt’s face.
She used her full strength.
Her aunt staggered back several steps, half her face swelling red instantly, her hair falling loose.
“You… you dare to hit me?!”
Clutching her cheek, she stared at Meng Wanzhi in disbelief, her voice trembling.
In her memory, Meng Wanzhi had always been the timid girl who endured beatings and scolding without resistance.
Not to mention striking back—she had never even dared to raise her head.
But now, she had actually dared to hit her!
Meng Wanzhi slowly stood up, holding Xiao Muyan, her gaze cold as ice.
Her tone carried undisguised mockery. “So what if I hit you? Do you think I am still the same Meng Wanzhi who let you beat and curse her without even daring to breathe?”
Her aunt trembled with rage, pointing at her and screaming, “You wretch! It must be you! You stole my things, stole the Meng family’s things, and even Wanqing’s dowry! You just want Wanqing to fall out of favor so you can monopolize the Prince’s affection! Today I will discipline you on behalf of your parents!”
“Discipline me on behalf of my parents?” Meng Wanzhi laughed as if she had heard the greatest joke in the world, a trace of scarlet flashing in her eyes. “You dare mention my parents?”
She stepped closer, her voice icy and cutting. “Don’t think I don’t know. You are not my birth mother at all. You treated me as a free servant, made me kneel in the snow in the dead of winter, fed me leftovers when I was hungry, and yet told the outside world how well you treated me. I am not your biological daughter.”
That last sentence struck like thunder.
Her aunt’s face turned deathly pale, panic filling her eyes as she instinctively stepped back. “You… what nonsense are you talking about… I don’t understand…”
“Don’t understand?” Meng Wanzhi sneered, pressing forward. “Shall I recount what you did back then? You swapped me with Meng Wanqing. You let your biological daughter—your illegitimate child, Meng Wanqing—live in comfort, while I was reduced to a servant.”
Her aunt’s face drained of all color.
Her legs nearly gave out beneath her.
She had never imagined that Meng Wanzhi knew the truth—let alone dared to expose it publicly.
Meng Wanqing, standing to the side, was equally stunned.
Meng Wanzhi looked at her aunt’s panic without the slightest pity.
The debt of her previous life—today, she had reclaimed a small portion.
Holding Xiao Muyan, she turned toward Xiao Jingyuan, who had just arrived. Instantly, her eyes brimmed with tears, her voice trembling with grievance. “Your Highness, you see… Aunt not only struck me, she also accused me of theft. She even… even slandered me… What have I done wrong?”
Xiao Jingyuan had already been displeased by their intrusion into the courtyard.
Now, seeing Meng Wanzhi weeping like pear blossoms in the rain while her aunt stood pale-faced and evasive,
clearly guilty,
he frowned and said coldly, “Madam Meng, I show you respect for the sake of the Meng family, but do not cause trouble in my manor! If this matter is mentioned again, do not blame me for being merciless!”
Her aunt shuddered under his sharp gaze, not daring to utter another word.
She could only clutch her swollen cheek and stand there in humiliation, filled with fear and hatred yet utterly powerless.
Meanwhile, leaning against Xiao Jingyuan’s chest, Meng Wanzhi’s eyes flashed with a cold smile where he could not see.
This grand drama had only just begun.
After fleeing the Prince’s manor, her aunt rushed to the Meng residence.
She found the eldest, Meng Yunzhen, and grabbed his sleeve, her face pale as she recounted everything that had happened.
Especially Meng Wanzhi’s revelation about the child swap.
Tears streaming down her face, she cried, “Yunzhen, you must stand up for me! That Meng Wanzhi has gone completely mad. Not only did she dare to hit me, she fabricated such lies to slander Wanqing! She is just jealous and wants to steal everything from Wanqing!”
After listening, Meng Yunzhen frowned deeply, yet there was no surprise on his face.
Instead, he appeared impatient and dismissive. “It’s nothing but her nonsense. Why take it seriously?”
Seated calmly, he added coldly, “Our Meng family has only ever had one legitimate daughter—Wanqing. Meng Wanzhi is merely a lowly girl you adopted. How could she compare to Wanqing? She lost a few things and has gone mad, spouting nonsense. Ignore her.”
Second brother Meng Yunting nodded in agreement, disdain written across his face. “Elder Brother is right. A concubine-born nobody dares covet the identity of a legitimate daughter? A toad dreaming of eating swan meat! She sees us fallen now and wants to cling to the Prince, so she made up this lie for sympathy.”
“Exactly!” Third brother Meng Yunxi sneered, idly playing with the only jade pendant he had left. “In our hearts, we have only one sister—Wanqing. What is Meng Wanzhi? If Mother hadn’t been soft-hearted and let Aunt adopt her, she would have starved on the streets. Now she dares to bite us in return—a thankless wretch!”
The youngest, Meng Yunchong—the disciple of Imperial Preceptor Rong Jue—set down his alchemy furnace, arrogance in his eyes. “She’s nothing but a crude girl without refinement. How dare she question Wanqing’s identity? She must be desperate and trying to climb upward by such means.”
The brothers immediately voiced their agreement.
In their hearts, Meng Wanqing was the true pride of the Meng family.
The legitimate sister they must cherish and protect.
As for Meng Wanzhi, she was merely an insignificant outsider—perhaps even a lowly opportunist seeking power.
When speaking of Meng Wanqing, their eyes brimmed with tenderness and protectiveness, as if she had suffered immeasurable injustice.
They had long forgotten how they once bullied Meng Wanzhi alongside her.
How they had treated her as less than an ant.
In their eyes, Meng Wanqing was the one who brought honor to the family.
Meanwhile, Meng Wanzhi, through her vastly enhanced spiritual power, heard every word clearly.
Seated beneath the corridor, holding the sleeping Xiao Muyan, a cold, mocking smile flickered in her eyes.
As expected—no matter what she did, in their hearts Meng Wanqing would always be the noble legitimate daughter, while she would forever be the lowly girl to trample upon.
Very well. So be it.
Gently stroking her son’s soft hair, determination flashed in her eyes.
Since they remained so stubborn, so devoted to that counterfeit, she would not mind letting them lose even more completely.
Their salaries?
Their official posts?
Soon enough, those too would be stripped away.
When the four Meng brothers returned to their respective residences and saw their empty treasuries,
it felt as though they had been struck by lightning.
The color drained entirely from their faces.