Zhu Weijin couldn’t remember anything after that slap, only that when the wet nurse applied a cold compress to her face, she asked:

“Did Sister get hit?”

The wet nurse shook her head.

Why wasn’t she hit?

“My arm was also pinched purple by her! Look, look…” She eagerly rolled up her sleeve.

The wet nurse’s face showed both heartache and helplessness as she sighed heavily.

“Second Miss, you must remember one thing: in the master’s heart, you’ll never surpass the Eldest Miss in this lifetime.”

“Zhu Weixi.”

Zhu Weijin bit out the words. “We were both born from Mother’s belly. I was only born three years after you—why do Father and Mother’s eyes only have you? Why?”

The hatred that had been pressed against her heart for over twenty years came pouring out like a flood breaking through a dam. By the time she finished roaring the last word, her legs went weak and she could no longer support herself, collapsing onto her seat.

Zhu Weixi didn’t know how to answer.

Father and Mother did dote on her—she’d always known this.

As a child, she was somewhat spoiled and willful. As the years passed and she matured, she understood that siblings were the closest people to her in this world besides parents.

The same blood flowed through their veins—blood is thicker than water.

So she restrained her temperament, kept a low profile, tried to consider her two younger sisters’ feelings, and never acted like an eldest sister with airs. How could she still be so hated?

“At your tenth birthday, the family set up over a dozen tables and hired a theater troupe that performed all day. And me?”

Zhu Weijin craned her neck and shouted, “What did I have?”

A small family banquet, and halfway through the meal, Father was summoned to the palace for business and left the table.

The siblings each gave birthday gifts. Mother carefully prepared a complete set of hair ornaments for her, saying this also represented Father’s thoughtfulness.

Bullshit.

It wasn’t at all.

Three years earlier at Eldest Sister’s birthday, Father had given her a shop, saying it would be part of her future dowry.

She not only had no shop, but the promised “grand celebration” never materialized either. Father seemed to have forgotten what he said that day.

Or perhaps he’d just spoken casually.

Ten-year-old Zhu Weijin finally understood one thing: people’s hearts are biased, and she herself was superfluous in this family.

After understanding this truth, Zhu Weijin changed again.

She became taciturn, her personality increasingly solitary. Later she couldn’t even be bothered to speak—after all, no one wanted to listen anyway.

She became less and less pleasing in Father and Mother’s eyes, and her siblings didn’t like her either.

Gradually, she became a transparent person in the Zhu family.

A transparent person didn’t need to speak. She only needed to quietly be an observer.

That slap made Zhu Weijin understand that what the ears hear isn’t necessarily true—those are just words spoken by people’s mouths, nothing more than upper and lower lips touching.

Once she covered her mouth and blocked her ears, her eyes became especially sharp.

Thus, she discovered many secrets others couldn’t discover.

Yan Sanhe, hearing this, abruptly interrupted Zhu Weijin.

“What did you discover?”

Zhu Weijin’s gaze moved from Zhu Yuanmo to Zhu Yuanzhao… looking at each one in turn. Everyone she looked at inexplicably felt a chill rise at the back of their heads.

Finally, her line of sight settled on Zhu Weixi.

Zhu Weijin slowly wiped away tears, then suddenly smiled sweetly. “Zhu Weixi, why don’t you guess what I discovered?”

Hearing this, Zhu Weixi’s face turned cold. “I won’t guess. You tell me.”

“Look, everyone!”

Zhu Weijin raised both eyebrows. “That tone when she speaks—so much like Father.”

The Zhu siblings were startled by these words. Thinking it over carefully, it was indeed somewhat similar.

Father usually spoke gently without any temper, but as soon as his face hardened, the authority of the family head would subtly show through. Even Mother didn’t dare to butt heads with him at such times.

“Not only does she speak like him—she looks like him too, and her temperament is like his as well.”

Zhu Weijin’s expression was full of melancholy. Some words had been hidden in her heart for too long.

“Among us six siblings, you look most like Father. Eldest Brother only resembles him outwardly, but you resemble him inside and out.”

Hearing her say this, Yan Sanhe’s gaze moved back and forth between Zhu Weixi and Zhu Yuanmo.

“I’m Father’s daughter, and he raised me. What’s wrong with resembling him?”

After a moment of silence, Zhu Weixi said slowly, “Could it be you’re jealous of even this?”

“That’s right—I am jealous.”

Zhu Weijin’s eyes showed a savage look. “Why do you and Eldest Brother look like Father—tall and thin—while I look like Mother—short and fat?”

Zhu Weixi laughed coldly. “You’ll have to ask Heaven about that. Blaming anyone is useless.”

Yes, blaming anyone was useless—she could only blame Heaven.

Zhu Weijin: “Zhu Weixi, do you know? It’s precisely because you resemble Father that Father dotes on you so much. If you resembled Mother, Father wouldn’t spare you a second glance.”

Zhu Weixi shouted, “What nonsense are you spouting?”

But Yan Sanhe’s eyes suddenly brightened.

Something was wrong.

The person Zhu Xuanjiu loved most in this life was Madam Mao.

Zhu Weijin greatly resembled Madam Mao—just looking at her, one could imagine what Madam Mao looked like when young.

How could Zhu Xuanjiu possibly feel aversion toward his second daughter because she resembled Madam Mao?

“Zhu Weixi, have you ever observed the look in Father’s eyes when he watches you?”

Zhu Weijin laughed twice, the sound making people’s scalps tingle.

“Wherever you go, Father’s eyes follow. When you smile happily, Father smiles with you. When your face shows distress, Father’s eyebrows droop down too. If you’re not at the dinner table, Father eats several bites less.”

“Zhu Weijin.”

Zhu Weixi was both ashamed and angry, her eyes reddening. “How can you say such deranged things?”

“Because I watched clearly from the side.”

When Eldest Sister was thirteen, she went with Mother to Mount Wutai to pray for blessings, along with several ladies on good terms with Mother.

With two people missing from the dinner table, Father clearly ate less, his expression bland. After eating, he took the three sons to the study.

A month later, only Mother returned. Eldest Sister, being well-liked, was taken home by another lady to stay for a few days.

When Mother returned, Father was very happy with a smile on his face.

But Zhu Weijin noticed that Father’s smile only floated on the surface. Moreover, he ate even less than the previous days—only a few bites of rice.

Three days later, when Eldest Sister returned, Father ate two full bowls of rice in one go and drank a full bowl of soup.

At the time, she just thought it very strange.

Later, as Eldest Sister’s social engagements with daughters of prominent families increased and she was frequently absent from the dinner table, she discovered that the person who truly made Father lose his appetite was actually Zhu Weixi.

When these words came out, everyone’s faces turned ugly.

Especially Zhu Yuanmo, who pointed at Zhu Weijin’s nose and cursed furiously.

“Zhu Weijin, have you gone mad? Food can be eaten carelessly, but words cannot be spoken carelessly. If this gets out, what face will the Zhu family have left to stand in the capital?”

Zhu the Second felt even worse—his chest aching with anger.

One was his most beloved younger sister, the other his most beloved father. This, this, this…

“Being careless when young was one thing, but at this age, you still can’t spit out ivory from a dog’s mouth.”

“Zhu Weijin!”

Zhu the Third slammed the table. “How can you speak such nonsense?”

“Second Sister, you’ve really gone too far.”

Zhu Weijun’s face was full of indignation.