Chapter 52: Sibling Rivalry 2
Li Jun thought that she was just throwing a tantrum, so he didn’t take it seriously. That was until she began to insult his mother. He called his mother a whore and a beast. Where would a child hear these things? It obviously came from her mother. That was the first time they fought.
The next time they squabbled, Li Yu accused his mother of stealing all of their father’s affection. She went as far as saying what was good about a dead whore. That fight had them separated from each other. Li Yu couldn’t come looking for trouble with him anymore, but she still would find ways.
In truth, Li Jun didn’t know that it wasn’t Xiu Ying making her daughter think this way. It was a thing that came to her as a child, calling itself the system. It showed her how horrible her mother was being treated and how bad it would get if things continued down this path.
It was all that dead woman and her son’s fault. Her father would never love her, and she would be thrown in the trash with her mother. Influenced by this entity, she began to see through her brother’s kind mask.
Each time she saw how differently their father treated him, she grew even more resentful. What followed next was predictable. Having achieved its goal, the system never spoke to her again. The reason she never told her mother was because, as it said, her mother would think she was crazy and feed her pills. At that age, she believed it, thus, she never spoke of it.
Li Yu crawled further away from him, her nose dripping with blood. Her voice brittle, she said, "You used to love me... You said you would protect me, but you... You broke your word." The more she spoke, the more she choked, a hot stream of tears flowing down her face.
He sat down, and with a cold expression, he said, "Stop with the pretense. You expect me to protect you after everything you did? Tsk, you are even more delusional than I thought."
"You had everything. You had the throne, you had father’s love and attention. He hit me for you and scarred me," she said, her lips trembling as she showed him the scar.
Li Yu remembered that. He remembered how she got that scar very well. He chuckled softly before saying, "You don’t remember why he hit you in the first place? You-"
She cut him off, yelling, "He hit me for touching your things. For you, he beat me within an inch of my life!"
His laughter tore through the room. When it abruptly died, he said, "Touched my things? You really don’t remember, do you? You tore and broke the things my mother left me. I valued everything that you destroyed, but father... father was obsessed with my mother. If you so much as looked at her things, he would go berserk. Of course, he was enraged. Till this day, I have nothing of hers left because of you."
He caught his breath before continuing, "And he didn’t beat you within an inch of your life. He slapped you once, and I stopped him. You fell into the porcelain figurine you broke and cut yourself."
Her eyes glazed, she said, "No, no you are lying. It was my mother who stopped him."
"She begged him to forgive you, but I stopped him and got the cut on my temple because of it," he said, but she shook her head, refusing to believe him.
She wiped the blood from his face with the back of her hand and said, "So what if you saved me. That’s a small price considering that he gave you all his love."
Li Jun’s response was swift. He said, "Love?... Love?" Pulling up his shirt, he exposed the deep scars on his back and abdomen. Li Yu’s eyes twitched, looking at those grotesque-looking scars. "If this is love, then I don’t want it. I would rather you have it. I would rather he ignored me and loved you instead."
Li Yu swallowed, looking at them. She couldn’t believe it. Li Mingze would always hug Li Jun and not her. He would always call her to sit next to him, and he even single-handedly raised him. He called him Little Jun affectionately and always bragged about him proudly. Their father even had Li Jun’s name tattooed on him, so how could he be the one who caused those wounds? She didn’t believe it.
"Li Yu, you and your mother got what you wanted. Soon she will execute me, and you will be free to be with Yu Wen. So, stop wasting your time on a dead man and go and prepare for your future together."
Hearing that, she could no longer care about the scars or the past. She thought Li Jun was right. Why did she even bother coming here? He was going to die soon anyway, so why bother with him? She could no longer think of anything else but Yu Wen. She got up and straightened her clothes.
"When he sees what you did to me, he will realize what a monster you are," she said, walking out with a limp. She was going to look for Yu Wen while the bruises were still fresh and grotesque.
He smiled and said, "I am sure he will, and you two can live happily ever after." She snorted and left in a hurry. As soon as she was gone, Li Jun groaned from the pain. He pulled up his shirt and saw the wound on his abdomen. It wasn’t serious, but it wasn’t small either. The cell doors opened again. It was Luca and a medical doctor.
The doctor instantly began treating his injuries while Luca stood by, his posture flawless. But if one looked closely, he was clenching his fist. That’s because he was forced to stand down and not intervene in their conflict.
Li Jun had told him that no matter what happens, he shouldn’t interfere, but it was incredibly hard. He had wanted to rush in and stop Li Yu, but in the end, he had to hold back, otherwise they would replace him from his post and assign someone else, ruining the entire plan.
"Lord commander," he called out, and the man snapped out of his trance.
He bowed and answered, "Yes, your highness."
"I have one request for you. If General Yu comes here to see me, stop him by any means necessary," he said, his voice calm. What they had had come to an end, and he didn’t want it to drag on unnecessarily. It was best he cut the cord now and end it.
Luca didn’t know why, nor did he ask. He just accepted the order. How hard was it to stop one man? If he knew he was about to have the fight of his life, he wouldn’t have taken it lightly.
