"You slut, slut!" Feng Yuanping, enraged, slapped Sun Shi heavily across the face.
Half of Sun Shi's face instantly swelled, and a trickle of blood seeped from a torn lip. "If I'm a slut, what good are you? Weren't you also after my beauty back then? You were already married, yet you still went out and strayed!"
"You deserve to raise another man's child, you deserve to have been a cuckold all these years!"
With her scheme exposed, Sun Shi no longer held back, unleashing all her pent-up grievances from years past.
"Feng Yuanping, let me tell you, I've endured you every single moment of these years. If it weren't for Yan'er, I wouldn't have tolerated you for so long. I wished you dead every day. Now, this is a release for me!"
Sun Shi's eyes blazed with hatred as she glared fiercely at Feng Yuanping. If it weren't for her plans for Yan'er, she would never have endured Feng Yuanping for over a decade.
"For over a decade, did you ever show me a shred of sincerity?" Feng Yuanping asked, his voice filled with a question he had long suppressed.
"Sincerity... Hmph..." Sun Shi scoffed, then burst into laughter. "Feng Yuanping, don't you find your words utterly ridiculous? I'm a spy. You talk of feelings with a spy, how utterly foolish. I'll tell you the truth: meeting you back then was all my design. It was I who designed the way to force He Miaoqing to her death. Back then, I also wanted to kill Feng Jin, that little slut, to cut off all loose ends, but she was lucky enough to escape."
If she had been more ruthless back then, if she had put in more effort to kill Feng Jin, there would be no disaster today. Thinking back, she regretted it immensely.
"You... you slut, you poisonous woman... It's all because of you that Miaoqing suffered. I'll kill you to atone for Miaoqing!"
"Enough, Feng Yuanping. You played a part in He Miaoqing's death too. If you hadn't been so suspicious and distrustful of her, how could she have died? At the end of the day, you are the prime culprit in He Miaoqing's death. Don't put on this act of feigned sympathy."
If Feng Yuanping had shown even a sliver of trust in He Miaoqing, she wouldn't have succeeded. Ultimately, it was Feng Yuanping's growing distrust of He Miaoqing that made it so easy for her to claim He Miaoqing's life.
The one who should truly atone to He Miaoqing was Feng Yuanping, not her.
"I will atone to Miaoqing, but first, you must pay with your life. After you die, I will place your tomb seven inches below Miaoqing's grave, and I will shatter your kneecaps before interring you. I want you to kneel before Miaoqing in the underworld to beg for forgiveness. After you die, you will be forever trampled under Miaoqing's feet, never to rise again!"
She didn't claim to have triumphed over Miaoqing? Then he would ensure Sun Shi was trampled by Miaoqing and knelt to atone even in death.
"Feng Yuanping, you bastard! You want me to atone to that slut He Miaoqing? Impossible... I tell you, it's absolutely impossible!"
She was merely the defeated opponent of her. She was no match for her in life, and she would be no match for her in death!
"That's not for you to decide. I will make you suffer all sorts of torture before letting you die slowly!"
"You dare..." Sun Shi trembled slightly at Feng Yuanping's sinister expression and instinctively shrank back. She knew how terrible Feng Yuanping's methods were and couldn't help but fear her own impending end.
The overwhelming hatred in Feng Yuanping's eyes subsided considerably, replaced by an immense calmness. He looked at Sun Shi as if she were a stranger, devoid of any emotion.
The calmer he became, the more terrified Sun Shi grew. If even hatred had vanished, Feng Yuanping's actions would be even more ruthless.
"That's not for you to decide. After enduring all the punishments, I will then let you die!"
With those words, Feng Yuanping left the dungeon without paying any heed to Sun Shi's screams.
Following that, Sun Shi's agonizing cries echoed throughout the entire dungeon, continuing for three full days before finally ceasing.
After leaving the dungeon, Feng Jin did not depart. Instead, she waited outside for Feng Yuanping to emerge.
"How does it feel to hear the truth with your own ears?"
Feng Jin's calm voice sounded behind Feng Yuanping. She had stayed there, freezing for so long, precisely because she wanted to ask him this question directly.
"Jin'er... you..."
"Stop... Prime Minister Feng, please don't call me that. It gives me goosebumps and feels so awkward!"
Such a direct address was truly unsettling. Now, after suffering a blow and betrayal, and discovering that Feng Ruoyan, whom he had doted on, was not his own daughter, he remembered her, whom he had previously discarded like worn-out shoes.
Did he truly regard her as a pet? When he was unhappy and didn't need her, he casually discarded her. When he was pleased and had a use for her, he quickly sought her out, offering a few kind words and a bit of food, expecting to win her back.
Was there such a thing in the world? Even if there were, it certainly wouldn't happen to her. She was not someone who repaid grievances with kindness. Such a foolish act was something she would naturally not do.
"It was my fault before, but I was also deceived by Sun Shi. I wronged you, and I wronged Miaoqing. Your mother is no more. Let me compensate you properly from now on, alright?"
In all his years, this was the first time he had spoken so humbly to someone, and that person was his own daughter.
After experiencing these events, he finally understood how utterly wrong he had been. He had abandoned his own home, invited a wolf into his own house, and personally brought about the ruin of his family.
It was too late to salvage anything now. He didn't seek Feng Jin's forgiveness or acceptance, he only hoped to compensate Feng Jin well in the days to come, which would make him feel better.
"Compensation? How do you plan to compensate me? My mother died because of you. I lost my mother's love for over a decade. Can you compensate for that? I was abandoned in the countryside and suffered humiliation for over a decade, narrowly escaping death countless times. All of this was caused by your indulgence towards Sun Shi. How can you compensate for all that!"
Furthermore, your biological daughter, the true Feng Jin, was already killed by Sun Shi. She will never hear your apologies or receive your compensation.
A sharp pain suddenly pierced Feng Jin's heart. A tear fell from her left eye. Suppressing the pain in her chest, she looked at Feng Yuanping and said calmly, "Since you paid no attention before, don't pretend to want to compensate me now. I no longer need it!"
"Prime Minister Feng, you are still my father, and I will naturally support you until you are old. However, you no longer need to think of compensating me, and I don't need it. From now on, let us remain as we were. This distance is better for both of us."
Having made her stance clear, Feng Jin withdrew the resentment in her eyes and departed with a calm demeanor.