Blossom In Adversity - Vol. 2

C352. Disgusting Matters.

Chapter 352: Disgusting Matters

Hua Zhi chuckled, "Do you think that entering the Feng family in this manner will be stress-free? Hua Yan, should I believe your words that you are naive, or should I tell you that I am not so easily deceived?"

"I didn’t lie to you!" Hua Yan’s voice rose in protest, but it lacked the conviction to cut through the air of disdain thickening between them.

“The Hua family may not be basking in the glory days of old, but since I took the reins, I don’t recall leaving any of you out in the cold. Every single legitimate daughter has been treated fairly, including you. Yet here you are, claiming you’re desperate for a place to stay. Pray tell, has the Hua family failed so miserably that you’re now homeless and destitute?”

Hua Yan pressed her lips together, a hint of rebellion sparking in her eyes. “I just want to marry, to have children of my own. Even if my entry isn’t respectable, as long as Feng Changyu is by my side, even as a mere concubine, so what? What’s wrong with that?”

Hua Zhi stared at her, incredulous. The sheer audacity of this delusion left her almost speechless. How Hua Yan managed to pin all her hopes on a man with a reputation as sordid as Feng Changyu’s—someone whose bed was practically a revolving door—was beyond her comprehension. But arguing was futile, so she settled for the truth.

“Are you even aware that the Feng family has been a sworn political adversary of the Hua family for years?” Her words were a blade wrapped in silk, cutting deep without effort.

Hua Yan dropped her gaze, her defiance dissolving under the weight of reality she’d chosen to ignore. This wasn’t news to her—everyone in the capital knew of the animosity between the two families. But knowing and caring were evidently two very different things.

She knew.

Hua Zhi leaned in, her voice laced with a deceptive calm that cut deeper than a blade. "Before you acted so... boldly, did it ever cross your mind that your choices would drag the Hua family name through the mud? Did you ever pause to think about the stain you'd leave on the reputation of the Hua family's daughters?"

Hua Yan knew the truth. She had meant for it to unfold this way. Malice had fueled her actions, and she wore her guilt like a silent armor. Bowing her head, she kept her lips sealed.

"Tell me," Hua Zhi continued, her tone a venomous sweetness, "has the Hua family ever treated you with disdain? Ever shown you anything less than respect?"

She didn’t wait for an answer, her words slicing through the silence like a whip. "Has the Hua family ever wronged you? Forced you into something distasteful or beneath your station?"

The room held its breath. Hua Zhi’s calm gaze bore down on her, waiting for an answer. Hua Yan could feel the pressure clawing at her, stripping her of her fragile resolve. Finally, she lifted her head and whispered, almost inaudibly, "Never."

There it was—an admission. But just as Hua Yan braced herself for the tirade she thought would come, Hua Zhi delivered a sentence that hung in the air, dripping with poison: "Then, the Hua family has no debts to you. If you’re so determined to sell yourself short, by all means, go ahead. Be a concubine."

The words should have brought relief, but instead, they tightened like a noose around Hua Yan’s heart. Something about Hua Zhi’s uncharacteristic leniency felt... wrong. This wasn’t the fierce, unyielding woman she knew. It was too quiet, too calm—a storm hiding behind still waters.

"Extend your right hand," Hua Zhi ordered, her tone deceptively light but firm enough to leave no room for question.

Hua Yan blinked in confusion but did as she was told, holding out her hand. Bao Xia stepped forward, her expression unreadable as she wordlessly rolled up Hua Yan’s sleeve. The crimson imprint on her skin—a mark of untouched virtue—was exposed to the room. The truth was undeniable now.