Tang family, at the stairway entrance.
Seeing Tang Rou slowly wake up, Tang Chuan finally felt somewhat relieved.
But when the corner of his eye caught Chu Ling standing stupidly on the stairs watching them, his anger instantly flared and he called her name directly.
"......."
"Chu Ling!!! Are you really that unable to tolerate Tang Rou?!"
"You're actually so vicious and heartless you pushed her down the stairs???"
"If Tang Rou weren't blessed by heaven, the consequences right now... would be simply unimaginable!!!"
"What you did is attempted murder; I could totally call the police and have you thrown in jail, do you understand? You murderer!!!"
"What are you still standing there for? |_?) Hurry up and get down here and beg Tang Rou for forgiveness!"
"....."
Tang Chuan was truly furious, and he poured a storm of curses over Chu Ling's head.
He couldn't even imagine, if Tang Rou's luck had been a little worse and she'd hit the back of her head or some vital spot, how could she still be alive now???
Off to the side.
Tang Guo'an and his wife wore dark faces and didn't say a word; they didn't speak up for Chu Ling, this daughter they'd just brought home, and just let her be scolded bloody by Tang Chuan.
Having personally witnessed Tang Rou's brush with danger, their fear afterward had clearly turned into resentment as well.
After all, no matter what, Tang Rou was still the child they'd raised from small; how could they not feel sorry for her?!
"......."
"Wu wu wu... Honored Brother, don't be fierce with Sister Chu Ling. She just came home, don't scare her!"
"Even though it really did feel like someone pushed me just now... I think that must've been my illusion; Sister Chu Ling is such a good person, how could she possibly do something like that?"
"Even if she really did, you still can't blame her completely. I can understand her hatred toward me—who told me to steal eighteen years of her life?"
"Sister Chu Ling has suffered so much all these years; I more or less bear some joint responsibility......"
"So, no matter what she does to me, I will absolutely never blame her; it's all retribution I deserve."
"Honored Father, Honored Mother, please don't stay mad at Sister Chu Ling. Tang Rou will kneel to you in her place, I beg you! I hope our family can live together in harmony and happiness forever......"
"......."
Tang Rou endured the pain and let the blood run freely down her face, looking utterly tragic.
She trembled as she knelt in front of the three members of the Tang family, pleading through tears that they must not vent their anger on Chu Ling because of her.
Such a selfless and kind posture moved all three of the Tang family deeply.
Look, everyone in the family, just look.....
What a pure and flawless angel daughter (little sister) she is.....
???( ˊ?ˋ )???*
Faced with the very culprit who had tried to harm her, this victim actually, for the sake of family harmony, ignored the monstrous injustice and pain all over her body and easily forgave the mastermind?!!
She even willingly knelt in the other's place to beg them not to pursue Chu Ling's responsibility......
?(????) Oh my God?!
o(╥﹏╥)o Was Tang Rou some peerless great philanthropist in her last life or something?!
Otherwise, how could she be so pure and kind, so innocent and spotless, like an angel fallen to the mortal world.
Even the Leshan Giant Buddha would probably feel ashamed before her, scrambling to give up his seat and let her sit instead.....
At this moment.
The entire Tang family seemed to see holy light shining from behind Tang Rou, dazzling!!!
At the same time, they sincerely thanked the heavens for sending such a gentle and kind angel daughter (little sister) to their side.....
"......."
"Chu Ling! Seeing all this, can you really feel nothing at all? Don't you even have the slightest impulse to kneel and beg forgiveness?"
"Tang Rou has gone so far to protect you; if you still have any conscience, at least you should say something to her, right?!"
"Considering that this is your first offense and Tang Rou holds you in such love and regard as her big sister..."
"As long as you sincerely apologize to her and write a 'letter of guarantee' swearing to truly repent, we'll pretend nothing ever happened...."
"In the future you'll still be our good daughter; I hope you cherish this chance and don't let us down again."
"......."
Hearing that his father actually planned to let Chu Ling, this 'would-be murderer,' off so easily,
Tang Chuan instantly frowned, his fists clenching in rage.
Especially when his eyes fell on Tang Rou's blood-covered, pitiful appearance, he felt even more furious; the little bit of goodwill toward Chu Ling he'd finally built up before vanished completely.
He felt his father's decision was truly biased and far too unfair to Tang Rou.
After all, Chu Ling had almost killed his precious little sister.
And now his father was ready to brush it off with just a light apology? That was way too ridiculous and laughable......
Don't forget, if an apology were enough, what need would there be for the police?!!
Thinking of this, Tang Chuan was about to stand up and object, to stand up for his precious sister and demand justice when......
"Honored Brother, o(＞﹏＜)o don't~~~"
"Tang Rou begs you; I don't want you and your real sister to fall out."
"......."
The moment Tang Chuan moved, his wrist was grabbed by a force. Startled, he turned back and saw Tang Rou looking at him pitiably, her eyes full of pleading.
Even now, Tang Rou was still thinking about him.....
(╥╯^╰╥) My little sister... she really is too kind......
Tang Chuan was deeply moved; in the end he couldn't resist Tang Rou's pleading gaze and could only agree to let it go for now.
But in his heart, he felt even more heartache for Tang Rou and decided he would cherish and protect her even more in the future. As for that so-called sister, Chu Ling...
╭(╯^╰)╮ Hmph.
A woman this vicious and heartless is absolutely not worthy of being the younger sister of Tang Third Young Master!!!!!
On the other side.
Tang Guo'an folded his arms across his chest, his face cold, waiting for Chu Ling's apology.
Honestly, he was a little disappointed; he hadn't expected his biological daughter's jealousy to be so strong.
Just to monopolize the family's love, she actually dared to push Tang Rou down the stairs right in front of them.
If they hadn't been home, then?
Wouldn't Tang Rou be in danger of losing her life at any time.....
Sigh, ever since he'd learned that Chu Ling was raised by that vicious couple, he'd had a faint worry in his heart.
Now it seemed... his worries had come true.....
As the saying goes: "From barren hills and evil waters come treacherous folk."
It was only natural that a daughter who grew up in such a vile environment would be crooked by what she saw and heard; it was understandable her character would be flawed.
Unlike Tang Rou....
Only because she'd had their personal example and positive, full-of-energy upbringing could she be raised into someone so simple and kind, with such upright values.
Still, Tang Guo'an also knew that the reason Chu Ling had become so 'vicious' wasn't really her fault.
If you really wanted to talk about right and wrong.....
He and his wife as biological parents couldn't shirk the blame either; they at least had to bear half the responsibility.
That was why he decided to give Chu Ling a chance to turn over a new leaf.
As long as she sincerely repented, this biological daughter who carried his blood and 'good gene' would certainly soon correct herself and become a gentle, kind young lady like Tang Rou.
Just as Tang Guo'an was lost in this fantasy.....
He noticed that Chu Ling was still standing in place the whole time, completely treating his words like a passing breeze, and he immediately felt unhappy.
You had to know, Tang Rou always listened to him, never needed him to worry, and had always been absolutely obedient to him as her father; ignoring him was never an issue.
But this biological daughter? Hmph, comparing them side by side, there was no contest.
Tang Guo'an couldn't help but shake his head inwardly, feeling that the daughter he'd raised from small was still the more sensible one.
This biological daughter was clearly spoiled wild; she didn't have even a shred of gratitude toward her parents and would be hard to teach...
So, Tang Guo'an could only take out the authority of a strict father, hoping to use his own kingly aura to guide Chu Ling back onto the right path.
"........"
"Chu Ling!!! Didn't you hear what Dad said? Hurry up and come apologize to your sister!"
"If you keep ignoring your elders like this, Dad is going to get angry!"
"Dad can understand your jealousy toward your sister, but she really is innocent; you shouldn't be so overwhelmingly jealous."
"Because whatever your sister has, you will have in the future too; you won't be missing a single thing......"
"Mom and Dad will treat you equally. So, there's no need for you to keep targeting Tang Rou so maliciously. Today Dad will teach you a principle of how to conduct yourself......"
"In life, taking a loss is a blessing. Those who are willing to take a loss will eventually be richly rewarded...."
"As people, we should be magnanimous, not always hung up on the past and nitpicking over everything. Only that way is it easy and happy to live, understand?"
"......."
Tang Guo'an stressed his tone again and repeated his demand that Chu Ling come apologize, completely oblivious to his biological daughter's increasingly icy expression.
"I didn't push her, so why should I apologize?!"
Finally, Chu Ling spoke up in her own defense.
Even though she knew the hope was slim, she still couldn't swallow this injustice.
Hearing this, Tang Guo'an's brows wrinkled so tightly they almost formed the character "川."
He hadn't expected this daughter of his to be so stubborn and unrepentant; obviously there were three sets of eyes here that had seen clearly, yet she was still telling bare-faced lies and fooling herself.
This disappointed Tang Guo'an extremely; he shook his head over and over with a sigh.
At his side, before he could even open his mouth, Tang Chuan had already exploded first:
"What a joke. You didn't push Tang Rou, so are you saying she fell down herself? Just to frame you on purpose?"
"Mhm mhm, so you saw that?"
Chu Ling's eyes lit up and she nodded rapidly.
She thought Dumb Bro had finally stopped being blind for once.
Tang Chuan: "........"
"Mhm what??? Mhm my ass! Do you take us all for blind people?"
"The second I turned around I saw you pushing Tang Rou, then I rushed over."
"Now we've got both physical evidence and eyewitnesses—how long exactly do you plan to keep denying it?!"
"Hmph! You even dare to slander Tang Rou?! Do you realize she almost smashed her face and got disfigured?!"
"I'm telling you! No girl would be willing to use her own face as a weapon to frame someone else....."
"......"
Because Tang Rou had blocked their line of sight from the side and acted so convincingly, what others saw was just that she'd been pushed down the stairs by Chu Ling, and there was no way to clear that up.
So, when he heard that Chu Ling was still 'arguing' at this point and stubbornly refused to bow her head and admit fault, Tang Chuan's stare at her grew even more displeased.
Alright then~~~
Looks like this Third Brother of mine isn't just dumb, he's blind.
No!
It should be said that everyone here except herself was blind; not only were their eyes blind, their hearts were blind too....
Right now, Chu Ling was completely despairing and gave up trying to argue with reason.
Because she knew that once people had a preconceived notion, no matter what she said afterward would be treated as 'quibbling'.....
From the moment Tang Rou had ruthlessly made a move on herself, she'd already fallen into a situation where jumping into the Yellow River couldn't wash her clean.
But what she hadn't done was what she hadn't done; she absolutely would not apologize for something she hadn't done—and apologize to that green-tea bitch who'd framed her? No way!!!!
Seeing the conflict escalate, the always-silent Xu Shuyun finally stepped forward to break it up.
"......"
"Enough, that's it! Take Tang Rou to the hospital first; her injuries can't be delayed. If she's left with a scar on her face, that'd be bad."
"As for everything else... everyone calm down first; we'll talk after we deal with the wound on Tang Rou's forehead!"
"Butler, take Chu Ling to her room to rest first! Come, Tang Rou! Mom will take you to the hospital!"
"......."
As she spoke, Xu Shuyun never once looked at her biological daughter again.
After giving a few orders to the servants, she and Tang Chuan and Tang Guo'an, one on each side, helped Tang Rou away quickly, leaving Chu Ling only a cold, receding back.
Just like that....
On her very first day back with the Tang family, Chu Ling watched with her own eyes as her biological parents and brother clustered around another girl, fussing over her as they moved farther and farther away.....
As she watched and watched...
Her vision turned into nothing but a blur; she squatted down helplessly on the spot and let her tears fall in silence.....
The moment she heard Xu Shuyun stop calling her "Chu Ling" and instead call her "Chu Ling" directly.....
She knew that just like the others, Xu Shuyun didn't believe her at all and only listened to Tang Rou's one-sided story.
Perhaps in Xu Shuyun's heart, compared to this biological daughter she'd only just recognized, the foster daughter she'd lived with for eighteen years was the one more worthy of trust....
Thinking of this, Chu Ling couldn't help clutching her chest, feeling a heart-rending pain.
Not long ago she had just felt a warmth called motherly love from Xu Shuyun and had been full of expectation for the future.
But now it was that very warmth that hurt her the most, cut the deepest....