“Elder Sister, what are you saying?”

Ye Qingqing froze, caught off guard. She had always known Ye Qingge as meek, submissive, and easily bullied — not someone who could strike back with sharp words.

But Ye Qingge only narrowed her eyes slightly and said coldly:

“Take off your outer robe.”

Ye Qingqing blinked, confusion flickering across her face.

“Am I not your legitimate elder sister?” Ye Qingge’s tone was icy, her gaze piercing straight through Ye Qingqing.

The hatred in Ye Qingqing’s eyes flashed for an instant before she forced a respectful nod.

“Yes.”

“Then take it off.”

The hierarchy between legitimate and illegitimate daughters in the Northern Moon Kingdom was strict. The daughter of the main wife was legitimate; the rest, no matter how favored, were bastards. For a concubine’s daughter to defy her legitimate sister was a grave offense.

Cold sweat trickled down Ye Qingqing’s back. She stared at the calm and poised girl before her — so unfamiliar, so utterly different from before. After a moment’s hesitation, she gritted her teeth and slipped off her outer robe.

So what if she takes it off? Ye Qingqing sneered inwardly. Ye Qingge’s reputation is already ruined.

Lowering her eyes, her expression darkened.

Ye Qingge took the robe from her hands, draped it over her own shoulders, and patted Ye Qingqing’s trembling arm lightly.

“Good girl. You really are my dear sister.”

With her robe properly fastened, she turned and walked away.

The crowd that had been blocking the alley instinctively parted, forming a path for her as she passed.

When she was gone, the onlookers exchanged puzzled glances.

What just happened?

Ye Qingqing still stood there, her robe gone, her underclothes faintly visible through the thin fabric — a picture of humiliation.

Her face twisted with fury, eyes burning red.

Ye Qingge should have been the one disgraced… So why am I the one everyone’s laughing at?

—

Following the fragments of memory in her mind, Ye Qingge made her way back to the Ye residence.

At the gate, she happened to encounter Steward Lin — a young man of twenty or so, with gentle manners and clean, handsome features. His refined air and early promotion to chief steward of the Ye family spoke to his remarkable talent.

When he saw her, awkwardness flashed across his face. He quickly turned his head away, pretending not to notice.

As they passed each other, Ye Qingge suddenly spoke:

“Steward Lin… People who do wicked things go to hell, you know.”

His footsteps faltered. He turned, staring in surprise at Ye Qingge’s retreating back.

The Third Miss… seems different somehow.

Moments later, Ye Qingqing appeared, walking toward him — still without her outer robe. Seeing her disheveled, Steward Lin’s face filled with concern.

“Miss Qingqing, what happened to you?”

Ye Qingqing glared at him.

“Who else but that wretched Ye Qingge? She humiliated me in front of everyone! This time, I won’t let her go!”

Steward Lin hesitated, his lips parting but no words coming out.

“Brother Lin, didn’t you say you’d help me no matter what?” Ye Qingqing’s voice softened as she clung to his arm. Whether intentionally or not, her movements pressed her chest against him, her tone dripping with sweetness.

“You’ll help me again this time… won’t you?”

Steward Lin’s cheeks flushed crimson. He swallowed hard and nodded stiffly.

—

Back in her quarters, Ye Qingge finally collapsed to the floor, her limbs trembling, every inch of her body screaming with pain.

She had held herself together in front of others — but now, she could barely move.

In this world, whether in the Northern Moon Kingdom or the entire Four-Star Continent, only the strong survived.

With her crippled body, she’d die the moment she stepped outside. Staying in the Ye household, at least, gave her a sliver of hope.

Because even if everyone despised her, there was still one person who would never abandon her — her grandfather, Ye Qingtian, the Ye family’s Great Elder.