At last, just as Lin Yue-er began to suspect something was amiss, beside her, Gu Rong surged forward towards Bi Lingcan with his dominating presence.

"Bastard! Is what Xiao Tao saying true?" Although he was asking a question, Gu Rong already knew the answer to it.

Since Bi Lingcan was only a Martial Teacher, he could not withstand Gu Rong's menacing aura and fell to his knees. A trail of blood dribbled from the corner of his mouth.

"Dear husband, please calm down. Lingcan is the only offspring of the Bi family!" Lin Yue-er cried out and jumped in front of Bi Lingcan as she saw Gu Rong moving as if to hit him.

"This situation is still unconfirmed, you cannot damage the relationship we have with the Bi Family because of some mere words from a servant!"

Gu Rong hesitated. Although his eyes filled with fiery anger, he stopped himself.

Gu Lingzhi grew slightly disappointed. In her previous lifetime, Lin Yue-er used this same sentence to hold Gu Rong back. It resulted in Bi Lingcan only receiving about ten strokes of the cane while damning her for life. In this lifetime, this sentence was still useful. It certainly suited this father of hers to be a leader - no matter what, he always considered the bigger picture first.

As things seemed to be approaching the end, Gu Lingzhi did something unexpected and fell to the ground with a plop. On her face, the familiar timid look appeared. However, her eyes held a determination never seen before.

"Father, Xiao Tao has suffered in my stead. She has taken such good care of me for so many years. And yet because of me, she has suffered like this. I feel very troubled because of this matter. Father, please uphold justice for Xiao Tao and do not neglect the servants of our Gu Family."

Gu Lingzhi’s actions not only shocked Gu Rong but everyone else. Everyone's impression of Gu Lingzhi was that she was very submissive as she agreed to everything. When did the First Mistress become so brave all of a sudden? She actually dared to speak up in front of her angry father!

"Shut up, Lingzhi! Don't you know that your father is still too angry to discuss this now? A mere servant like Xiao Tao should be more than happy to even receive any pity at all! What is there to complain about?"

"Mother, your words are simply too harsh. Being a virgin is the most important thing to a girl, now that was stolen from her, how can Xiao Tao face anyone in the future? I hope Father will take pity on her and to prevent outsiders from gossiping!"

Gu Rong looked at Gu Lingzhi as if he was seeing his daughter for the first time. In the past, he had neglected this daughter because of her birth mother. As she grew up, her submissive personality was not to his liking, and he never once thought she had a fiery side to her. Suddenly, he wanted to know how she thought he should handle this situation.

"Oh? Then you tell me, how would you handle this matter?"

Gu Lingzhi was flabbergasted by Gu Rong’s question. In her memory, Gu Rong had never once asked her what she thought. Previously, the only interactions they had were when he gave her orders.

"I believe… since Xiao Tao is already cousin Bi's woman, it would be difficult to marry her off to anyone else. How about giving Xiao Tao to Bi Lingcan as a concubine? To outsiders, both of them seem to already have affection for each other and this would also help account for Xiao Tao’s current state."

Bi Lingcan rejected the proposal, "Who does she think she is? She is not worthy of entering my family!"

Gu Lingzhi glanced at him, "Xiao Tao has suffered in my place. If I was the one that had endured this, would you still think the same?"

"I…"

"I shall handle this matter as Lingzhi has suggested." Bi Lingcan's mouth opened as if he wanted to say more but was quickly cut off by Gu Rong. His eyes swept over him coldly.

"The Bi Family is a reputable family. Tomorrow, I will go to the Bi Family’s residence to explain the situation."

Bi Lingcan could do nothing but to accept it as he looked at Xiao Tao with a malicious gaze. Similar to Lin Yue-er, he also felt that the whole situation that happened today was set up by Xiao Tao. After all, Xiao Tao's affection for him was no secret. If not for her affection, Lin Yue-er would also not have thought of using Xiao Tao to plot against Gu Lingzhi. However, he had never thought that Xiao Tao would have such guts to pay lip service but do the exact opposite of what she was told. This made his heart unable to accept her.

Feeling Bi Lingcan's malicious gaze on her, Xiao Tao shrank even more as she started to doubt whether or not it was a mistake to have feelings for him.

The chaotic situation ended there.

No one noticed a luxuriously dressed man hiding in the corner of Gu Lingzhi’s garden. Amusement was written all over his face as he stood half-leaning against the wall.  

Who would have thought the First Mistress of the Gu Family, who was rumored to be weak and timid and a wastrel, had such a depth to her. He had a feeling that this trip would be interesting.

Once everybody had left, Gu Lingzhi frowned sinisterly and ordered Xiao Tao to clean up her messy bed tomorrow. Then, she went to the adjoining study room.

Although it was the middle of the night, Gu Lingzhi had no intention of sleeping.

The incident today may seem like it had been handled easily but it was not without risks. Since everything happened so suddenly, no one had time to properly analyze the situation. But once things settled down, Lin Yue-er might start to suspect her.

It will soon be the day of the Clan Festival. Once she gets tested for her aptitude, she will no longer be so easily bullied.

The Gu Family was one of the five major families in the Xia Kingdom. On the fifth of August each year, a Clan Festival will be held. On this day, any child above the age of ten would be eligible to join.

The whole of Tianyuan Continent held its military force in high esteem and the Gu Family was not one to break the customs. Thus, every year, the day of the Clan Festival has also become a day to test for the aptitude among the clan's disciples.

Gu Lingzhi had always been weak and struck with illness since young, resulting in her always having to consume medicine. When she was ten, she was deemed a wastrel when not an ounce of spiritual power could be tested from her. In the past, this had created an uproar among the clan members as it was said that her late mother was once an extremely talented Martial Artist.

From that day onwards, Gu Lingzhi became increasingly neglected.

But was she really a wastrel?

Gu Lingzhi laughed coldly, in her past life when she came to the Bi family, she no longer had to consume her daily dose of medicine to nurse her body and finally realised that the medicine she had been taking daily was actually a poison to suppress the spiritual power in her. Once she had realised this, Gu Lingzhi began to practice in secret, hoping to have some form of protective power before she left the Bi Family. But who would have known that just as she was leaving, she would accidentally overhear the conversation between Lin Yue-er and cousin Bi Lingcan.

It turned out that her birth mother was not the fickle person that she was rumored to be. On the contrary, she was actually set up by Lin Yue-er to commit adultery. Following that, her birth mother then committed suicide out of shame. What she had used was, in fact, the exact same medicine that caused Gu Lingzhi to be unconscious. Who would have thought that after her mother, Gu Lingzhi would fall for the exact same evil plot?

At the time, she was too bewildered and forgot to remain in hiding, resulting in her being caught. From then on, she had completely lost her freedom. Once Bi Lingcan lost interest in her, he crippled her four limbs, and then gave her to the servants to play with. Not long after that, filled with indignance and hatred, she used a wooden thorn to end her own life.

Thinking back on her tragic past, Gu Lingzhi closed her eyes in pain.

She will no longer tolerate the feeling of being played in the palms of others in her past life. In this life, she was going to change her destiny and decide her own fate!

And what she would rely on was the Inheritance Space that had now appeared in her mind.