Reborn as the Regent's Beloved

"Fengyi, you're finally back."

Late at night, in the Xiao family hall.

When Xiao Qishan's slightly imposing voice swept past, Xiao Fengyi, who was standing at the entrance of the hall, had a bad feeling.

The hurried footsteps of the Xiao family servants all around made Xiao Fengyi unconsciously take a few steps back.

The servants were holding the long sticks they had used to perform the ritual last night. The pain from the sticks striking her waist and causing her to stumble backward still lingered in her body and mind.

A moment later, Xiao Qishan coughed, and immediately a servant lit a fire with a tinderbox.

After the fire was successfully lit, the entire hall of the Xiao family mansion was brightly lit.

Xiao Fengyi could see everyone's face clearly, especially Xiao Qishan and Shen Shi, who were sitting at the head of the table. Their expressions as they looked at Xiao Fengyi could only be described as furious and menacing.

Seeing this, the woman calmly asked, "Father, Mother, are you both up so late waiting for your daughter?"

Shen didn't speak, but the expression on her face betrayed her; she looked at Xiao Fengyi with resentment.

Xiao Qishan was much more direct, saying fiercely, "Of course we're waiting for you, waiting to punish you!"

Xiao Fengyi already knew.

Xiao Qingyin, who returned home first, must have exaggerated her accusations to Xiao Qishan and Shen Shi, so that the two of them would be waiting to confront her.

Although she knew the reason, she did not intend to reveal it. Instead, she asked knowingly, "I have been in the palace for a while now. I don't know what crime I have committed that would make you want to punish me."

Shen finally spoke, "Xiao Fengyi, why are you putting on airs? You falsely accused your sister Qingyin of pushing you into Luoyan Lake and being flogged by His Majesty in the palace. Are you afraid to admit it?"

really……

But where is Xiao Qingyin?

"Father, you must stand up for me!"

Xiao Fengyi recognized the soft, aggrieved voice, like that of a kitten, as belonging to her dear younger sister, Xiao Qingyin.

My dear sister had been hiding behind the seats where Xiao Qishan and Madam Shen were sitting, which is why she didn't see them.

Xiao Fengyi looked down at the other party with disdain.

Xiao Qingyin's hair was disheveled, and although her clothes had been changed, they were loose and unkempt. Xiao Fengyi found her feigned weakness disgusting and couldn't help but think to herself.

Can you please stop playing the victim? If you hadn't framed someone else, would the Empress have punished you?

These were all Xiao Fengyi's own thoughts, but the two people seated there did not think so.

Shen immediately stood up, pulled Xiao Qingyin behind her and walked straight to Xiao Fengyi at the end of the hall.

Xiao Fengyi remained indifferent despite seeing her aggressive demeanor.

“Xiao Fengyi, we are sisters, how could you hate your sister so much that you framed her and pushed you into Luoyan Lake, and just watched her get beaten?” Madam Shen pointed at Xiao Fengyi and questioned her.

Why does this sound so familiar? It's like Feng Mingjing said something similar when he left the palace.

These two use the same rhetoric so perfectly; it's no wonder they'll become kindred spirits in the future.

Xiao Fengyi lowered her head to straighten her clothes, then looked at Madam Shen without changing her expression.

“Mother, Qingyin wasn’t beaten by me, but was punished on the orders of the Emperor and the Empress. If you feel indignant and resentful, you can go to the palace to settle accounts with the two Emperors. There’s really no need to come to me.”

These words left Shen speechless.

The Emperor and Empress were the ones who ordered Xiao Qingyin to be beaten. Even if Shen had a hundred thousand times the courage, she wouldn't dare to go to the palace to ask about it. She could only act arrogantly within the Xiao family and bully Xiao Fengyi.

Shen persisted, shouting, "Xiao Fengyi, stop trying to confuse the issue. Qingyin was beaten on the orders of His Majesty and the Empress, but wasn't her beating caused by you? Of course I have to ask you!"

Is this a case of them clinging to me?

Upon hearing Shen's words, Xiao Fengyi immediately burst into laughter.

The furious Shen Shi and the weeping Xiao Qingyin were instantly stung when they saw the other's indifferent smile.

Xiao Qingyin cried softly, "What are you laughing at, sister? Are you upset that I was punished in public? Will you continue to mock me when we get home?"

The tone of those words was so soft and pitiful that it instantly evoked a feeling of wanting to cherish them.

Xiao Fengyi really admired her ability to pretend to be innocent and pure, something she herself couldn't do.

Her performance caused not only Xiao Qishan and Madam Shen to look at Xiao Fengyi with resentment, but even the servants and maids of the Xiao family looked at her with a hint of hatred.

But Xiao Fengyi, reborn, didn't care about these grudges at all.

Seeing her nonchalant expression as she hurt her sister, Xiao Qishan was furious and roared, "You rebellious daughter, if I don't teach you a lesson, you won't know what sisterly love and respect are, will you?"

Upon hearing this, he immediately ordered the maids and servants to lift Xiao Fengyi up, pin her to the center of the hall, and prepare to punish her according to family law.

The servant wielded the board with great force, rubbing it repeatedly against the floor.

Xiao Fengyi had a bad feeling; she was probably going to be beaten again tonight, even though the pain had lessened since she came back.

Snapped--

After the family discipline was applied to her, it was as if old wounds had not yet healed and new ones were added.

During the execution of the family law, apart from the sounds of skin being torn and flesh being ripped open, Xiao Fengyi did not utter a single word of pleading or let out a single roar.

She could see Xiao Qingyin sneering beside her, as well as the look of Shen Shi's triumphant revenge and Xiao Qishan's feigned grief.

"This Xiao Fengyi is a tough nut to crack."

Xiao Fengyi was so exhausted from the beating that, in a world of dizziness and disorientation, she caught a glimpse of this sentence.

Although she was on her deathbed, she felt that what this person said was right.

I am indeed a tough and principled person.

But... why does this voice sound so familiar?

It seems to be... Windwalker...

Xiao Fengyi tried to turn her head, preparing to see who was speaking behind her.

Unfortunately, things didn't go as planned; when she turned around, she only saw the darkness behind the window frame.

The family discipline had not been fully enforced when the person fainted.

The servants enforcing family discipline saw that Xiao Fengyi had fainted, so they went to Xiao Qishan's side and asked, "Master, the eldest young lady has fainted, should we still..."

Xiao Qishan waved his hand, "Let's stop fighting for now..."

Seeing his eldest daughter faint, he felt compassion and didn't want to hit her anymore.

But Madam Shen wished Xiao Fengyi would be beaten to death on the spot.

She pulled Xiao Qingyin, who shared the same thought, and said to Xiao Qishan, "Master, Fengyi is so vicious, she has harmed Qingyin so badly, you can't let her off so easily."

We can't let her get away with this.

Upon hearing Shen's words, Feng Mingyu, who was standing outside the hall, clenched her fists.

Feng Mingyu is the eighth prince of the Dayun Dynasty.

He was unable to attend the palace banquet held at Wenqin Terrace because he had to pay official fees.