The story of a bullied daughter's rise to power

Hearing him swear, Situ Yaorao smiled with satisfaction: "That's about right."

"You finally smiled." Tantai Wuyue breathed a sigh of relief and kissed her lightly: "As long as you are happy, I will be willing to make any more vows."

"How come I didn't know when you became so good at talking?" Situ Yaorao rolled her eyes at him and pushed him away. Tantai Wuyue just smiled and said, "I'm just telling the truth. As long as it's what you want, I will always give it to you. Maybe you don't believe it, but time will prove everything."

"Maybe." It's not that I don't want to believe it, I just don't dare to believe it.

She was like a hedgehog, unwilling to give her heart completely to anyone at any time. She only wanted to keep to herself. If she didn't trust, she wouldn't be hurt. If she didn't expect, she wouldn't be disappointed.

As the night deepened, the incident involving Madam Situ cast a shadow over the entire Situ Mansion. Madam Situ was the daughter of the Gu family. Now that she had committed suicide, the Gu family would likely not let this go.

Perhaps this night was the last peaceful day for the Situ family.

General Situ sat in his study, fiddling with the jade pendant his wife had given him. It was a token of their love, a gift from their youthful marriage. Back then, he was at the height of his fame, having married the woman everyone in the capital admired as perfect, a woman he envied and envied. His fame and success were at their peak, and he was full of energy and ambition.

When she got married, she gave him the jade pendant. She said it was her heartfelt gesture and her resolve. He was deeply moved. But it only lasted a few days. The young lady of the Gu family was perfect, but precisely because she was too perfect, he always felt unworthy. That's how people are. Because of inferiority, there's distance, and with distance comes suspicion.

Over the years, he had constantly humiliated her, perhaps hoping to see her finally give in. But she stubbornly refused to admit defeat. As a result, there was no longer any possibility of reconciliation between them.

Gradually, he grew older. His daughter also grew up. Situ Yaorao was born with exquisite beauty, just like the exquisite beauties in the scroll. If it weren't for her notoriety, the title of the most beautiful woman in the capital would have fallen on her long ago. This child was good in every way, but there was one thing that was fatal: she was not like him.

Not much like his wife either.

Situ Yaorao was like a thorn stuck in his heart. He couldn't pull it out, and it was painful. It seemed to remind him of his failure at every moment.

He married the woman of the Situ family in a formal ceremony, but the one she had in her heart was not him. And his legitimate daughter might not be his biological daughter. What a ridiculous fact!

Even though that woman kept saying that Situ Yaorao was his biological daughter, he still couldn't believe it. Once the seeds of doubt were planted, they could never be removed.

Later, he sided with Hong Lei and her mother. He considered them his own family. Even when Situ Yaorao left the capital, facing the ridicule of the entire city, he took out his anger on her. He watched her suffer with indifference, blocking all news, leaving her to suffer alone and exhaustion. He never considered that even he could get tired.

Over the years, she also wanted to give up.

"Who is wrong between us? Miss Gu, can you still tell me?"

The man's voice was hoarse, now in middle age, but it was even deeper and carried a hint of sadness that he himself didn't understand. Perhaps he was lamenting a love that had never even begun?

"General, there's someone outside asking to see you. He... claims to be the young master of our Situ family. He's your younger brother." The butler's voice rang out, causing General Situ, who was still immersed in sadness, to tremble. "Please let him in."

After putting the jade pendant away, General Situ's face lost its previous complex expression, replaced by indifference. He sat there, intimidating without anger.

The man slowly walked in. General Situ looked at the handsome young man who walked in, a trace of surprise flashed in his eyes: "You haven't changed at all in these years."

The man smiled upon hearing this, "Brother, that's true. I'm in the back mountains, no one disturbs me, and I don't have to worry about anything, so of course I won't get old. But you, brother, are so busy with your work that you've aged quite a bit."

"Are you laughing at me?" General Situ looked at him coldly.

"Laugh at me? I dare not. I'm just disappointed. The once prosperous Situ family has now become so depressed." The man sat opposite General Situ and said lightly.

"The elders of the clan are dead, and there are not many people in the younger generation. Naturally, my Situ family has no chance of prosperity. Maybe this is retribution." General Situ said.

"Maybe that's the case. Brother, have you ever regretted it?" The man looked at General Situ and asked.

"Regret? Are you talking about back then, or now?" General Situ looked at his nominal brother, a sneer in his heart. For all these years, he had never left the mountain, yet when she died, he came from the back of the mountain. He had long forgotten his promise to never return in this lifetime. He would no longer compete with him for the Situ family!

"Both. I thought you and my sister-in-law would grow old together, but now it seems I was overthinking it. You're not a gentle person, so how could you accommodate my sister-in-law?" Young Master Situ looked at General Situ, his eyes clear. His handsome face wore a faint smile. If it weren't for his half-black and half-white hair, anyone would have thought he was just a teenager in his twenties.

Rather than someone who has been locked up in the mountains for a long time.

"People like you always rely on your cleverness to make random guesses. Living together till old age? That woman looks down on me, so how can we live together till old age?" General Situ said dissatisfiedly, waving his sleeves.

The man was not angry, but said: "One day, you will regret it."

"Then let's wait until that day comes." General Situ said impatiently.

"So, my agreement with you should have ended by now. I made a mistake back then, and I know I failed my sister-in-law and Yaorao. Now, my sister-in-law has passed away, and Yaorao is married. I owe no one anything. The Situ family is no longer my home." The man's tone was calm, as he recounted a fact. And this fact left General Situ with no reason to refute.

Back then, he was the one who took advantage of everyone.

"Actually, I've always been curious. Why would you, brother, kill your own daughters? Why did you plot against them? Was it just to lock me up in the back mountains and prevent me from competing with you for the Situ family? What is your heart made of? Or is it that only that low-class mother and daughter are your true relatives?"

The man's mocking words were no less taunting than Situ Yaorao's. General Situ's face darkened. "Situ Lu, shut up!"

"Brother, you rarely call me by this name. It feels so familiar." The man, no, it should be Situ Lu, laughed, a laugh that was mocking: "Are you angry out of shame?"

"You are nothing but a bastard. You have been in my Situ family for so many years, and I have been very good not to kick you out. But after all these years, not only do you not know how to be grateful, but you even speak to your benefactor like this? Where are your manners?" General Situ glared at his younger brother. The unbearable past in his heart was revealed, and he could no longer remain calm.

"My manners were gone after you designed those plans. I feel guilty towards Yaorao and my sister-in-law, but I have never let you down. Over the years, I have been behaving well in the Situ family, just for fear that I might have blocked your way, brother. Now, everything is over. Please let me stay and pay my respects to my sister-in-law, and then leave. As for you? What you owe me, I will take back sooner or later. No need to refute, I don't accept any explanation!" The man's attitude was overbearing.

At this moment, General Situ finally understood that it wasn't that his brother didn't hate him, but he had suppressed his hatred out of guilt. Yes, he had lost his beloved woman and his bright future, how could he not hate her?

But... he had ruined the life of a child who hadn't yet grasped the truth, and destroyed a woman's compassion. That was why he chose to stay and atone for his sins in the mountains behind. Now, everything was over.