A Star Reborn: The Queen’s Return

The mother-daughter pair cried for a long time before finally managing to stop their tears.

Xia Ling wiped her tears away with the back of her hand and said to Madam Xia, “Mum, don’t be sad. I’m back here safe and sound, aren’t I? We can live happily as a family in the future, never to be apart again.”

“Yes!” Madam Xia almost started to cry again.

Madam Xia might look elegant and regal, but she was sensitive and weak like Xia Ling at the core. She would easily dissolve into tears when something tugged at her heartstrings. Hence, Xia Moyan had always felt that his sister’s artistic talent came from his mother, and they were almost identical in some ways.

Thankfully, his sister had inherited his mother’s character.

If she inherited his father’s character… Xia Moyan glanced over at his father, who had a stern expression plastered on his face. However, he could see his father observed the mother-daughter pair from the corner of his eye, looking like he was longing to step forward to give both of them a warm embrace, but controlling this urge given that it was inappropriate for someone of his status.

Oh, Dad… stop trying to fake it.

Seeing his father’s internal struggle, Xia Moyan knew that he couldn’t count on him to call the shots. He stepped forward and looked down at Xia Yu, who was still crumpled on the floor. “I was under the impression that you only attempted murder on the Phoenix’s son… but in fact, you’ve harmed Xiao Ling time and time again in her past life? Do you know the seriousness of your offenses?”

Xia Yu hadn’t recovered from the shock of learning the truth about Xia Ling, and she looked up blankly at Xia Moyan with her lips pale and quivering.

“She needs to be punished for harming the Phoenix as well.” One of the elders spoke up. “The Preceptor, even though the Phoenix’s life is said to be fraught with trials and tribulations, we can’t just let Xia Yu off like that. Killing her might affect the Phoenix’s destiny, but we should still mete out a harsh punishment.”

Xia Moyan agreed. “There’s an empty room by this hall. Xia Yu, you’ll spend your days copying out scripture in that room, and praying blessings over the Phoenix. Without special permission, you are not to come out of that room.”

This was basically life imprisonment.

However, not being able to exit the small enclosed room was much worse than not being able to leave the Xia Family premises.

Xia Yu was to spend the rest of her days in this small room.

This was a severe punishment. But at the same time, a way to save her from all her sins. She could try to redeem herself bit by bit, through the copying of scripture and prayer, amassing good karma for her next life.

Several elders nodded their agreement at this punishment.

Xia Yu was still in a daze and seemed to not have heard a word that Xia Moyan said. She continued to murmur, “Ye Xingling, are you really my sister? You’re… you’re not dead?”

Xia Ling had just finished consoling her mother, and her attention was back on the proceedings in the hall. She heard Xia Yu’s question and almost lost her temper again. “I told you… you have no right to call me Sister! You’ll get a slap from me every time I hear you call me that, do you understand?!” Slapping her was dirtying her hands!

Even if she could forgive Xia Yu for everything else, there was no way that she would forgive her for what she did to Shaohui!

Some matters could not be forgiven!

Xia Yu shrunk back a little, a surprising change from her usual fake acts and retorts. Her expression was still lost as she shook her head, smiling suddenly before tears started to fall from her eyes.

Had this girl lost her mind?

Many elders frowned and thought.

Xia Moyan commanded unflinchingly. “Bring in the rods.”

The villagers responsible for the flogging punishment came forward. The leader asked Xia Yu as a matter of formality with a straight face, “You will be flogged thirty times, and whether you die from the flogging is a matter of fate. Do you have anything to say? It might be your final words.”

Xia Yu remained crumpled on the ground as if his words were like wind past her ears.

The leader turned and asked Xia Yu’s biological parents, “Xia Qiushan, Xia Shujuan, do you have anything to say to your daughter? If you don’t speak now, you might never get the chance.”

Xia Yu’s biological parents had been standing in the hall for a long time now, witnessing the entire proceeding. As they watched, they became more and more shocked. Oh my God, their daughter had not only tried to kill the Phoenix’s son but had also harmed the Phoenix herself! Why was she such a troublemaker? If they recognized her as their daughter, wouldn’t it be courting trouble for themselves? Wouldn’t they be looked down on by the entire village?! Maybe they might even have to be punished along with her!

“You’re such an embarrassment!” Xia Shujuan pointed at Xia Yu and scolded. “Why didn’t you just piss on yourself? How did you dare treat Miss Ling with such disrespect? You should be flogged to death! Pfft!” She genuinely wanted to see Xia Yu dead. She never felt any closeness to this daughter given that she never played any part in nurturing her. If this daughter died, they wouldn’t be embroiled in this matter any longer. What’s more, they would inherit all that Xia Yu had earned over the years, wouldn’t they? After all, they only wanted her money… they didn’t care at all if she was dead or alive!

Xia Ling glanced at Xia Shujuan. What a cold-blooded woman…

However, that wasn’t her problem. She remembered her brother telling her once that she was once taken in by this woman, and she had been abused and abandoned. Xia Ling didn’t want anything to do with this woman.

Xia Yu lifted her head with great difficulty and looked straight at her birth mother.

Xia Shujuan felt a shudder go down her back at Xia Yu’s empty eyes and took a fearful step back. “What are you looking at?!” After a moment, she regained her courage and scolded. “You b*tch! Just die!” It was as if she thought that the harsher the words she said to Xia Yu, the greater the distance she could draw between them, such that she wouldn’t have to suffer any repercussions from this matter.

Xia Yu lowered her eyes wordlessly to the ground, feeling a piercing pain in her heart.

She was not sad… why should she feel sad? All these years, she had dreamt of meeting her birth parents and had thought that they would treat her like the most precious gem when they found her. She had thought that they would praise her, and wouldn’t overlook her on account of her sister’s amazing aura. She always thought that her parents would love her very, very much.

If not for these thoughts…

She wouldn’t have been able to live through all the lonely nights …

Yet, her dream was shattered today.

Her birth parents were a far cry from Xia Ling’s parents in terms of their status. Even their love for her couldn’t match up. She just saw how Madam Xia hugged Xia Ling in tears, whereas her own mother had merely told her to die!

Maybe some people were just born to be cherished, whereas others were just meant to be treated like dirt.

Xia Yu stood up shakily and walked over to the wooden bench set up for the flogging by herself. Fine, they could flog her all they wanted. So what if she died? There was no one in the world that cared anyway.

The few villagers that were to carry out the flogging looked at each other.

The leader glanced at Xia Moyan and lifted his rod high in the air after receiving Xia Moyan’s signal to start.

The first rod came down with a loud thud, closely followed by Xia Yu’s scream. However, she stopped making a sound mid-way through her first scream, as if someone had suddenly gagged her. She had lost all motivation to live and didn’t even have the energy to scream. Her expression was blank like she had already died inside.