After finishing her speech, Chu Xinyue took a deep breath and said, "I take responsibility for my words, and I can provide any evidence needed. I won't admit to things I haven't done, and I won't let anyone take credit for what I have done."
Everyone was stunned, as the information was truly shocking.
It could be said that the good and bad impressions of the two sisters in their circle were due to the accumulation of those incidents. If they were all false, then the reputations of both would have to be swapped.
"But why did you do this? Don't you know how bad your reputation has become out there?" Someone in the crowd couldn't understand and couldn't help but ask.
Chu Xinyue smiled, but it was a very bitter smile. Indeed, she didn't know how she had come to this point either.
Perhaps the alluring image of a happy family of four was too tempting, or perhaps she was too lonely, losing herself in a series of concessions, playing the role of a tragic figure.
That wasn't who she was supposed to be.
To find herself again, she decided to cut ties.
"Who knows? Maybe I was just stupid," she said.
At this moment, the murmuring voices and mocking gazes of those around them all fell upon the family of three.
Mr. and Mrs. Chu seemed not to understand why everyone was looking at them like this.
Although those incidents were, strictly speaking, a bit unfair to Chu Xinyue, was it right for her to be so petty and reveal everything, not only ruining Chu Xueqi's reputation but also causing their entire Chu family to be ridiculed?
This was simply an unfilial daughter disregarding the interests of the whole family!
"We're all family, what... what are you doing?" Mr. Chu said through gritted teeth.
"Can't you see how upset your sister is? She didn't do those things on purpose. Are you dredging up old accounts now to complain to everyone about how unfair we were to you?" Mrs. Chu said, "In any family with multiple children, there's no such thing as absolute fairness."
"Is that so? In the past, I always deceived myself like this too," Chu Xinyue said mockingly.
[Ah, poor child, this must be what they call being blinded by family love! If the family hadn't been so excessive, exploiting her so heavily, Chu Xinyue would probably have continued like this for that bit of illusory familial affection. Fortunately, she's awakened.]
The Qin family nodded along. From the incidents that had just been revealed, it was clear that the young lady was truly excellent and kind-hearted. She couldn't be dragged down any further.
It was just a pity that they also had someone in their family who was blind to the truth, missing out on a good match.
The Qin family silently cast their gaze towards Qin Zhao.
At this moment, Qin Zhao was just staring blankly at Chu Xinyue. Seeing his soul-less appearance, he was indeed pitiful.
Qin's Father and Qin's Mother exchanged a glance, feeling that now was an appropriate time to say certain things.
So Qin's Mother spoke up, "Mrs. Chu, what you're saying isn't right. We have four children in our family, and even if we can't achieve absolute fairness, relative fairness is still possible. We've never seen anyone favor one child so completely like you do."
The Chu family panicked, not expecting the Qin family to suddenly speak up. They still had a marriage agreement to settle.
"No, it's just that this girl has always been too proud, so..."
Chu Xueqi also panicked, crying while looking towards Qin Zhao, "Brother Zhao, do you also think I'm a bad person? I'm not, I can explain all those things. I really didn't know my sister cared so much. I know it's all my fault, it's all because of me, but I didn't do it on purpose."
"Then let me ask you, was it really you who saved me back then?" Qin Zhao spoke up before Qin's Mother could continue.
With this question, the Chu family was momentarily stunned. How did the conversation suddenly turn to this incident?
The onlookers were amused, after all, the initial reason for changing the marriage agreement was because of this life-saving grace.
Chu Xinyue, who had been cold and indifferent until now, looked at the Chu family in shock.
This was something even she didn't know about.
Because of that life-saving grace, Chu Xinyue couldn't even defend her own engagement. She had never been someone afraid to face her own feelings, yet because of this, she found herself at an impasse.
Now they were telling her that once again, Chu Xueqi had stolen her accomplishment. How tragic.
"It was... you... you all?" Chu Xinyue finally felt heartache again, "I forgot because I had a fever at the time, so you lied to me? Just so your younger daughter could claim this act of kindness? You even did something like this!"
The Chu family's expressions changed rapidly. It was truly difficult to find an excuse when such a thing was exposed. Were they supposed to openly say that they wanted to give their elder daughter's fiancé to their younger daughter because they cared more for the younger one?
Even they felt it was unspeakable, which was why they had kept it from Chu Xinyue in the first place.
They no longer dared to quibble over the facts, as too many things had been revealed. If the Qin family decided to investigate, they couldn't say with certainty that the incident from years ago was foolproof. They had never imagined it would be investigated, so they hadn't even considered erasing the evidence.
So they didn't dare say a word.
"No, it was me, not my sister. Brother Zhao, you have to believe me..." Chu Xueqi was truly panicking now, seeing the look in Qin Zhao's eyes, she knew he didn't believe her anymore. She could only say, "I... I don't remember, I was sick! And I asked you before, you said the one you liked was me, that it had nothing to do with the life-saving grace!"
A flash of crimson appeared in Qin Zhao's eyes, and when he spoke again, his tone was colder than Chu Xueqi had ever heard, "Then was the person I liked the real you? Or the you that you pretended to be?"
Chu Xueqi's face turned pale, tears falling endlessly as if they cost nothing.
But Qin Zhao would no longer be moved by her pitiful appearance. Instead, he turned to look at Chu Xinyue.
Chu Xinyue, however, averted her gaze.
It was all over now. Even knowing the truth about what happened back then meant nothing to Chu Xinyue. It only made her more disappointed in those three people.
Seeing Chu Xinyue avoid his gaze, Qin Zhao felt as if something had pierced his heart.
It seemed he had truly lost something very important.
"What exactly is going on now?! Can someone give me an answer? Who was the person who followed me for three months and got rid of my child?" Wu Tian's mind was exploding with anger as he pointed at the Chu family, "Your Chu family must give me an explanation. Whether it's the elder sister or the younger sister, I can't just be played like this!"
Before the Chu family could recover, Chu Xinyue looked at Wu Tian and said, "I've said so much already, can't you figure it out?"
Wu Tian's gaze shifted from Chu Xinyue to Chu Xueqi, and he suddenly raised his hand as if to grab Chu Xueqi, "Was it you? Was it?! It was from May to July this year, almost every night we were together. If it wasn't you, where were you on all those nights?"
Chu Xueqi was so frightened she immediately hid behind her parents, "It wasn't me, it definitely wasn't me! I was at home, I was always obediently at home!"
Mr. and Mrs. Chu's faces turned pale, their eyes constantly shifting. Finally, they exchanged a glance, then glanced at Chu Xinyue, secretly gritting their teeth.
"Let's not talk about past events. This matter definitely wasn't Xueqi's doing. She was at home during all those times, we can testify to that," Mr. Chu suddenly spoke up.
Mrs. Chu nodded, adding, "And during that period, Xinyue wasn't at home. We don't know where she went."
With these words, Wu Tian looked suspiciously at Chu Xinyue again.
Everyone else was confused too. After all, they could never have imagined that parents would go to such lengths to frame one daughter for the sake of another.
Chu Xinyue's gaze towards her parents was so cold it could almost freeze someone to death.
"For her sake, you're willing to give false testimony?" Chu Xinyue asked incredulously.
"What false testimony? If you have any complaints, direct them at us. Do you only feel satisfied if you ruin your sister's reputation?" Mr. Chu warned, "Your reputation is already bad, do you want to drag your sister down with you?"
"And whose fault is it that my reputation is bad?" Chu Xinyue laughed bitterly.
Mr. Chu was at a loss for words. But he still looked at Chu Xinyue with resentment, because in his view, if Chu Xinyue hadn't made a fuss and had just agreed to the engagement, the other party wouldn't have brought out such embarrassing evidence. She had truly disgraced their Chu family completely.
If they let Chu Xueqi admit to everything now, wouldn't that completely ruin Xueqi's reputation?
And all of this was caused by Chu Xinyue, so she should bear the consequences.
"We indeed handled those previous matters inappropriately, but your sister is innocent. We protected her too well, she really doesn't understand anything. Besides, your sister has been in poor health since childhood, and that's because you absorbed her nutrients before birth. You owe her in the first place," Mrs. Chu also hinted maliciously.
Chu Xinyue smiled and said, "I understand now. You knew I was in the mountains doing research during that time and couldn't prove my innocence, so you planned to provide a false alibi for Chu Xueqi. You thought this would pin her misdeeds on me? So you've already confirmed that it was her who was with Wu Tian."
"She did all these things using my name. Why she did it, you don't care. And after it all came to light, you want me to take the blame for her?"
Faced with Chu Xinyue's questioning, Mr. and Mrs. Chu's eyes flickered uneasily.
In the past, Chu Xinyue could find excuses to deceive herself, and the whole family could maintain a facade of peace.
But this time, her parents had given up all pretense. Without any disguise or excuses, they clearly chose to protect Chu Xueqi and betray her.
It was all too cruel.
Chu Xinyue felt like a person walking alone in a heavy snowstorm, isolated and helpless.
Meanwhile, Chu Xueqi was still well-protected by her parents, only revealing her resentful eyes and ungrateful face.
[As the saying goes, when parents lack virtue, siblings don't get along. No wonder Chu Xueqi can hurt others so righteously; it's all because of these bizarre parents.]
[They really want to save all the good things for their younger daughter, even if it means snatching them from their elder daughter! Is it because they didn't raise her that they have no feelings for her, so they can take from her freely without fear of hurting her? Do they think Chu Xinyue is so strong that it doesn't matter how they treat her? Why do parents like Mr. and Mrs. Chu exist, who are so biased and partial beyond reason?]
Hearing Ji Fei's confusion, Qin Xian wasn't particularly surprised.
From an economic perspective, this was a sunk cost problem.
Mr. and Mrs. Chu had invested too much time and energy in Chu Xueqi, while Chu Xinyue was like a distant relative to them. Naturally, there was a difference in their affection.
Perhaps at the very beginning, they were aware that they had wronged Chu Xinyue, but human nature instinctively avoids acknowledging one's own mistakes.
They were unwilling to face the fact that they had shortchanged Chu Xinyue, so they increasingly mistreated her to prove themselves right, even finding faults in Chu Xinyue to cover up their own guilt.
This led to a pathological situation where they turned a blind eye to Chu Xinyue's grievances while magnifying Chu Xueqi's discontent.
At this point, it was even more impossible for them to turn back. If they did, wouldn't it mean admitting they had failed as parents?
Sure enough, the next moment, Mr. Chu said, "Xinyue, stop making trouble. You've been disrespectful to your parents and hurt your sister at home. Have we said anything about it? We've let it slide as you throwing tantrums before, but that's enough now."
Mrs. Chu stepped forward and grabbed Chu Xinyue's wrist, her tone becoming more severe, "This time, you can't act willfully anymore, or we really won't forgive you! Be a good girl and listen. If you have any complaints, we'll discuss them when we get home. We'll compensate you for whatever you deserve."
They were well aware of how much Chu Xinyue cared about them. They thought that after saying this much, Chu Xinyue would surely know her place.
But Chu Xinyue suddenly mumbled, repeating, "Disrespectful to parents?"
Ji Fei couldn't help but think sarcastically, [Yes, yes, she was disrespectful to her parents because when her sister falsely accused her, she dared to argue back once, and that's disrespecting them.]
"Hurt my sister?"
[Oh yes, indeed, she hurt her sister because she didn't give everything she owned to her sister. When her sister cried, wasn't that hurting her delicate feelings?]
The Qin family listened with amusement.
Qin Zhao, however, kept recalling past events, his heart pierced again and again.
"Acting willfully?" Chu Xinyue looked deeply at Mr. and Mrs. Chu and said, "I don't want your forgiveness or compensation. I just want to clear my name."
Mr. and Mrs. Chu were stunned, looking anxiously at Chu Xinyue, about to find a way to silence her again.
Then they heard Chu Xinyue say to Wu Tian, "I'm willing to go to any hospital with you for an examination to see if I've ever been pregnant!"
With these words, the whole scene exploded.
To be honest, it would take immense courage to withstand such shame. After all, she was the eldest daughter of the prestigious Chu family. How could she prove her innocence like this? How would she face people in the future? Would anyone in their circle dare to marry such a sharp-tongued girl?
However, it was indeed irrefutable evidence.
[Of course it's irrefutable evidence. She's still a pure and innocent maiden.]
The Qin family had also thought that as long as she was willing to go this far, no matter how the Chu family tried to quibble, everything would fall apart on its own. It could only be said that the Chu family was too foolish; they never imagined that Chu Xinyue would go to such lengths to prove her innocence. But for someone pushed to the edge of a cliff, how could she care about this bit of face?
She only wanted to clear her name.
"I dare to do it. Do you?" Chu Xinyue had already turned to look at Chu Xueqi.
Chu Xueqi was completely dumbfounded. She never thought Chu Xinyue would go this far.
Wu Tian was now staring at Chu Xueqi like a venomous snake, because Chu Xinyue's willingness to do this had thoroughly proven her innocence.
"You've gone mad! You've gone mad! Do you know what you're saying? We won't allow you to degrade yourself like this!" Mr. Chu was frantic.
Mrs. Chu was crying, "Daughter, how did you become like this? You... you're simply..."
If they had to choose to protect one, they would protect Chu Xueqi no matter what! So Chu Xinyue had no lingering attachment to them either.
Seeing their expressions becoming increasingly disgusted, unable to suppress the hatred welling up, she finally spoke.
"Since I'm so despicable in your eyes, from this moment on, I declare that I'm severing ties with you three. From now on, I'm leaving the Chu family! I'll have no more connection with you!"