It took the Zhao family only a few minutes to realize that Zhao Lian was no longer the quiet pushover of yesterday. Today, she had come prepared, her eyes burning with a sly gleam. It took Zhao Yue just as many minutes to understand that her perfect image—polished over the years—was about to be dragged straight into the mud.
So Yue, the flawless daughter, played her card.
"Elder Sister, you're back? We didn't expect you so soon. Otherwise—" Yue's lips curled in that sugary way, feigning concern.
"You would have bullied our youngest sister without restraint, right?" Zhao Mei interrupted, her voice sharp as the edge of an unsheathed blade.
The atmosphere shifted instantly. Yue's body stiffened, her perfect smile faltering for just a second before she caught herself. Shock ran through her like a chill. Never—never—had Mei spoken in defense of Lian.
Yue had to do something. Anything. She couldn't let Lian speak. She couldn't let Mei believe her.
"Bully? When did we ever bully her?" Yue's tone was honey-laced, soft and gentle, yet underneath it seethed a mockery. "We've always been kind. Always lovely since the day she was born. Elder Sister… are you truly one of us? Because you sound as though you don't belong in this household..."
Her words dripped like nectar, but everyone who lived in the Zhao household knew their taste: poison in disguise.
As for Lian, who had lived through this twice, she knew better than to fall for Yue's game. That wasn't kindness. That wasn't love. That was cruelty wrapped in silk ribbons.
A mock in disguise.
Perfect.
Brutally perfect.
Yue thought herself the maker of thoughts, spinning webs of deception. But Lian… Lian was the finisher of mischief.
In this grand play, Yue was the honored lead, humble only in front of their parents. But sometimes, even the perfect actress had to be forced to break character.
"Well," Mei's voice sliced the silence. Her expression was unreadable, but her tone was deadly calm. "If Father and Mother hadn't always sent me away to study with the scholars, I would have been here to protect my little sister. How insolent of you, Yue."
Her words weren't loud. Almost indifferent. But her eyes—her eyes held restraint, like a fire locked behind iron bars, as though she was suppressing the urge to strangle every member of her family, starting with Yue.
Yue flinched at her sister's calm fury. Her lips trembled, but she forced out, "I'm your sister too, Elder Sister..."
Lian nearly sighed. Here it is. The pity card. Yue was an expert at playing it.
For the first time, Mei's stoic mask cracked ever so slightly. She seemed moved, but her face betrayed nothing.
"Talk!" Mei's voice dropped into a whisper so cold and slow it silenced the hall. Her eyes gleamed like steel. "Tell the truth. Or I will make sure your stay in the Zhao family becomes a misery you will never recover from."
The command hung heavy in the air.
The effect was immediate. Madame Lin, their mother, shifted uncomfortably, stepping back as if she could melt into the shadows. Their father heaved, clearly displeased, but unwilling to intervene. Yue looked as though her very skin might combust under Mei's glare.
The silence broke with the trembling voice of the maid. She had been watching the entire exchange, and Mei's authority had finally torn away her fear.
With a deep bow, the maid confessed everything.
She reported how Yue had forced them to treat Lian like a servant.
How Yue had stolen her belongings, and destroyed others with a laugh, calling them "cheap" and "unworthy."
How Yue had instructed everyone to treat Lian as her shadow, her inferior, her maid.
And worst of all, how Father and Mother supported it, encouraging them to look down on their own daughter.
Gasps filled the banquet. Some guests frowned, others shifted uncomfortably, avoiding eye contact. The weight of shame pressed down like thunderclouds.
Yue sprang up, nearly bouncing off the floor, her hands trembling as she pointed frantically at both Lian and the maid.
"Elder Sister, she's lying! I could never—never—do such things! How could you believe a servant over me? She's nothing but a maid!"
"Because she is a maid," Mei replied coldly, "her words are irrelevant, isn't that right?"
Yue nodded eagerly, desperate for approval—until Mei's next words landed like a slap.
"That's why her words cut deeper than yours."
Yue froze. For the first time in her life, her tongue failed her.
"Are—"
But Lian wasn't having it. She had seen enough. And then, her eyes flickered toward the far corner of the room.
A man sat there.
A man—in a ladies' banquet.
His face was half-covered, his presence like a shadow no one dared to acknowledge. But to Lian, he was no ordinary person. Something about him screamed importance.
Her mind raced. This is a game, isn't it? Then he must be a key point character. A hidden boss, a secret quest-giver. He has to be! Well then…
A mischievous smile tugged at her lips.
"Sorry, Yue," she whispered under her breath, pinching her thigh hard to force tears into her eyes. "But I've got a victim to play."
And then, with all the drama of a dying heroine, she let out a piercing shriek and collapsed onto the floor.
"Father! Mother!" Lian wailed, thrashing as though struck. "Are you really going to let Second Sister drag me through the mud? You've always forced me to be her shadow! You've always told me not to outshine her! Isn't this unfair?"
Her arms flailed, knocking over cups. Her face twisted into the most exaggerated grief. Her mouth quivered, eyes glistened with tears that fell in streams down her cheeks. She pounded her chest with clenched fists, rolled on the ground, and howled as though the heavens themselves had betrayed her.
It was a performance so raw, so over-the-top, that even Yue stuttered, her confidence wavering.
"Junior Sister, what are you doing? Stop this nonsense! We never hurt you—"
But Lian clung to Mei's leg, clutching it like a lifeline, her voice rising to a fever pitch.
"Elder Sister, you saw it yourself! The smug smile! The maid's confession! Father and Mother always let her off the hook!"
She wailed louder, beating the floor with her palms. "I can't take it anymore! I want justice! JUSTICE!"
The hall rang with her cries. Some were horrified. Some amused. But no one dared laugh.
And then—
THUD!
The sound silenced everything. Even Lian stopped mid-wail.
"Insolent!"
The voice boomed.
Everyone turned to see two men striding forward. Their presence alone commanded silence.
Ren Cheng.
Ren Bo.
The sons of the Village Chief.
Their gazes were like whips, their words harsher than the lash itself.
"You call yourselves parents?" Ren Cheng snarled. "Beating down one daughter to raise another—do you think the heavens blind?"
"You dare," Ren Bo's voice was sharp, "you dare to call yourselves a family? You're worse than beggars in the streets. At least beggars don't devour their own blood!"
The guests shivered under the thunder of their judgment.
It wasn't long before the Village Chief himself arrived, his laughter cold, his verdict merciless.
By his decree, Zhao Father, Zhao Mother, and Yue were flogged publicly. Their titles and social status stripped for an entire year.
"Let it be known," he roared, "that the Zhao family's precious daughter is nothing but a disgrace. Let all three heavens hear this—including the Heaven of Chaos itself!"
The villagers gathered, watching as the once-proud Zhao family was dragged away, beaten and humiliated before hundreds.
And in the middle of it all, Zhao Lian grinned.
The familiar voice of the system whispered in her mind.
[Congratulations!
You have accomplished a quest on your own.
Reward: Fan of Disguise (to be summoned when needed).
Item obtained: Stolen Hairpin.]
The hairpin felt like an insult, but Lian still grinned wider, her eyes glittering.
"I'm mischievous," she murmured under her breath, "and I'm starting to feel proud of that."
Mei's gaze met hers. For once, her lips curved into the faintest smile. "You're bad," she said softly. "And I like that."
"Thanks, First Sister," Lian replied, her voice dripping with triumph.
Yue, bloodied and broken, shot her a look of pure hatred as she was dragged away.
And Lian only smirked back.
For the first time ever, she wasn't the shadow.
She was the storm.