With his patience stretched to the limit, Old Master Lin raised his hand, and “Slap—” a loud, crisp sound echoed as he struck Qingqing’s face. Yafu felt an immediate surge of satisfaction. Qingqing nearly fainted; although she had been beaten and scolded since childhood, how could the strength of the Third Lady compare to Old Master Lin’s? The Third Lady’s beatings were merely to vent her frustrations, but this time Old Master Lin struck out of sheer anger, causing stars to dance before Qingqing’s eyes and a trace of blood to trickle from the corner of her mouth. Old Master Lin, realizing he had acted out of anger, regretted it but did not show it. Qingqing, however, did not cry or make a scene; instead, she was eerily calm. She wiped the blood from her lips with a fierce motion and slowly uttered three words, “I hate you!” With that, she turned and walked away with an air of defiance. It was only at this moment that Old Master Lin began to notice this daughter of his—her defiant aura was unmistakably his own.
Qingqing walked a long distance before her legs started to feel weak from exhaustion. She was afraid of Old Master Lin, very afraid. The defiance she showed earlier was just her stubbornness acting up. Covering her face, she hurried back to the east wing with her head lowered. On the way, servants and maids looked at her with curiosity and whispered among themselves. The Third Lady, seeing Qingqing return from afar, called out joyfully, “Qingqing, you’re back.” Only then did Qingqing feel some comfort. Approaching her mother, she managed a faint smile, “Mother…” The Third Lady, seeing her daughter’s red eyes and swollen cheek, showed concern for the first time: “What happened to you?” Because although she had often beaten and scolded Qingqing since she was young, she had never seen her look so distressed. Qingqing, after her earlier defiance, now lacked the courage to speak out. She recounted everything from meeting the emperor to the slap she had just received. She braced herself for a scolding from her mother, but after waiting with her eyes closed, she only heard a sigh from the Third Lady: “Your father isn’t that kind of person; he just wants to temper your aggressive nature. Too much sharpness isn’t good for anyone…”
