Chapter 15 Active Exposure

"Qingqing, take a good look!" Old General Zhan threw a letter onto Qingqing's face.

Upon opening the letter, Qingqing felt numbness on her cheeks. It was a confession written by Qinglian, clearly describing how she bullied Zhan Lan.

Old General Zhan looked toward the ancestral tablets and said to Qingqing, "Qinglian is dead, and your accomplice, the maid Xiao He, has abetted tyranny. She will be executed by beating!"

The words 'executed by beating' made Qingqing shiver, even in spring, forgetting that her grandfather was a resolute and decisive general!

The imposing aura of Zhan Xinzhang instantly made one feel breathless, his gaze fixed on the bruises on Qingqing's body and face.

"Qingqing, you cannot escape ten lashes! Swear, if you ever bully Zhan Lan again, you will meet a bad end!" Each word of Zhan Xinzhang stabbed into Qingqing's heart like a knife.

Qingqing's body trembled, feeling the coldness in the room slowly creeping from her legs to her arms.

She understood that if she hadn't been injured, she could not have escaped the thirty lashes prescribed by family law!

"Yes, Grandfather, Qingqing admits her fault. If it happens again, may your granddaughter meet a dreadful fate!" Qingqing swore in front of the ancestors' tablets, then walked out of the ancestral hall, shaking.

Zhan Lan looked down at the floor within three inches of her feet, listened to Qingqing's meaningless words, and thought that the other party would surely take action against her again!

Could it be that next time, she would send an assassin to kill her? Things were getting interesting...

Old General Zhan's voice brought Zhan Lan's thoughts back.

"Zhan Lan, stay behind."

"Yes." Zhan Lan stood obediently.

Old General turned around and asked with concern towards Zhan Xuerou, "Rou'er, have you been well recently?"

Zhan Xuerou bowed slightly and said with a smile, "Thank you for your concern, Grandfather. Rou'er has been in good health recently."

Old General nodded with a loving face.

"Good, you and your mother can go back," the voice of Old General softened a bit.

Old General Zhan had always doted on this fragile legitimate granddaughter since she was young.

His tone lowered further, as if a louder voice might frighten her.

Seeing her own grandfather so affectionate towards his fake granddaughter, Zhan Lan felt a pang of sorrow in her heart...

Zhan Xuerou was the best at pretending to be innocent and loveworthy, which deceived everyone, blinding them from seeing that she was the most malevolent in the entire General Mansion.

The very same Zhan Xuerou cared for by her grandfather turned cold the moment she left the ancestral hall.

Because Zhan Lan was kept behind by their grandfather.

Since her childhood, the grandfather always narrated to Zhan Lan stories of armies clashing and serving the country through warfare.

He always secretly taught Zhan Lan some military strategies and spear techniques.

Zhan Xuerou clenched her teeth in resentment, all because of her frail body, her grandfather was so biased!

Especially at this Book Forest Conference, where Zhan Lan became a disciple of the Great Scholar, Zhan Xuerou felt a burning rage inside her.

All of that should have been hers!

Why should Zhan Lan, something so worthless, receive such an opportunity?

She began to suspect that the magnificent "Chu Sailing" must have been told to Zhan Lan by their grandfather!

Hatred grew in her heart, a thought spontaneously forming.

She lowered her head, her eyes darkening — how wonderful it would be if Zhan Lan died!

That way, no one would compete with her for the love of her parents and grandfather!

...

In the ancestral hall, Old General Zhan gently patted Zhan Lan on the shoulder and said, "Fourth daughter, you've lost weight recently. As a martial artist, you need to eat well to have strength."

Since discovering she was actually Old General Zhan's biological granddaughter, Zhan Lan felt even closer to her kind-hearted grandfather.

In her previous life, her grandfather, due to the Zhan Family's rebellion, went around begging for assistance, ultimately dying from desperation and abandonment.

In this life, she was determined to safeguard the General Mansion thoroughly and let her grandfather enjoy his old age in peace.

Regarding the fact that Zhan Xuerou was the daughter of the Li family, Zhan Lan currently had no evidence.

She feared that even if she told Old General Zhan about the switch of the daughters by the Li family, he wouldn't believe her.

Now that she hasn't fully grown her wings and established connections, the worst outcome would likely be condemned by the world for her wild ambitions and ingratitude, even daring to covet the position of the legitimate daughter. The consequences were obvious.

Even if she forced Li's family to tell the truth now, who would believe Li's words?

It would only make people think that the Li family was scheming for their own daughter, Zhan Lan's happiness, driven by greed for wealth and status.

Moreover, with Zhan Xuerou's cunning methods, she feared that as soon as she spoke out, the other party would definitely find someone to kill her to silence her.

One wrong step, and everything would be lost; not only would she fail to save the Zhan family, but she might also endanger herself.

Zhan Lan looked at Old General Zhan in front of her, a relative she could not acknowledge, and felt a tightness in her chest.

She took a deep breath and tried to speak casually, "Grandfather, then I will eat more these days."

"Fourth daughter, have you been to the old mansion's Martial Arts Arena recently?" Zhan Xinzhang asked.

Zhan Lan casually scratched her head with her right hand, "I haven't been there in the past few days, I've been to the academy more. I will go in the next couple of days."

"Mm." Old General Zhan suddenly noticed the injury on Zhan Lan's hand, his brows slightly furrowed, "Fourth daughter, Qinglian's death has something to do with you, right?"

Zhan Lan did not deny it. She met Old General Zhan's clear eyes and said frankly, "It was me!"

Old General Zhan's eyes darkened slightly; he nodded, "Keeping such a treacherous maid by your side, you never know when she might poison you, leading you straight to your demise!"

He looked towards the gate and said, "I was thinking of finding a couple of death row prisoners for you to practice on, but now it seems unnecessary."

Zhan Lan's eyes brightened; her grandfather's words meant he wanted her to kill!

Only by killing someone would she not tremble, faint from the sight of blood, or be unable to wield a weapon during her first time on the battlefield.

Her grandfather actually wanted her to join the military!

This was not revealed so quickly in her previous life.

When she was sixteen, eager to showcase her capabilities in front of Si Jun, she pleaded with the old man for over a month before he allowed her to go to the battlefield.

"However, fourth daughter, you are ultimately a girl and will eventually have to marry. Just learn some martial arts to protect yourself when others bully you."

Zhan Lan understood, okay, she had misunderstood!

Her grandfather did not want her to join the military in her previous life.

This life was the same old attitude.

Getting her to practice killing death row prisoners was just to prevent her from hesitating when facing danger.

Old General Zhan's gaze fell on Zhan Lan's hand and he waved dismissively, "Right, you've injured your right hand, so don't practice with the spear recently, and take good care of your injury."

"Grandfather, I can use my left hand," Zhan Lan said naively.

The Old General shook his head and chuckled, but his eyes held a trace of admiration, "Heh, you're quite bold for your age. Normally, people couldn't even lift the battle spear with their left hand."

"Grandfather, I'm not bragging, my left hand is very strong, and if I succeed, you'll have to reluctantly part with that bottle of Nu'er Hong for me!" Zhan Lan's eyes shone like dark grapes as she walked over to the rack and took down a battle spear with her left hand.

Old General Zhan snorted, "You cheeky girl, always thinking about my wine!"

Zhan Lan picked up the battle spear and turned around, her red outfit making her appear gallant and spirited.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Zhan Lan wielded the spear, creating a buzzing sound with the silver spear body as she performed her techniques.

Old General Zhan, who was still smiling, now had his smile disappear, his pupils dilated.

Witnessing Zhan Lan's fluid spear techniques, he felt a surge of excitement spread from his chest.

The battle spear in Zhan Lan's hand weighed ten jin; picking it up wasn't the problem, but wielding it effortlessly was another matter.

Considering, she was just a fourteen-year-old girl using her left hand.

Zhan Xinzhang watched Zhan Lan skeptically, a certain thought emerging in his mind, then immediately shook his head.

It couldn't be possible!

That thought was too terrifying!