Hongyue pretended to struggle getting up from her ugly position on the ground. Lan'er hid her seething anger while walking briskly over to her sister and tried to assist her up.

All the while, Chunhua watched from afar, her eyes held contempt. How did this dirty rat even become her older sister? She took in Hongyue's dirty face and messy hair covered in leaves. A smirk slowly made its way on her face distorting her features, she slowly bent down and picked up the dirty bun.

Pacing her way over to Hongyue, she fixed a sickly sugary smile on her face and tilted her head questioningly.

"Hongyue, are you hungry?"

Hongyue peered at Chunhua before a dumb smile took over on her face.

"Hungry!"

Chunhua's smile widened even more. She held out the bun and waved in Hongyue's face. As Hongyue attempted to grab the food, Lan'er slapped the bread away hastily. Hongyue pretended to struggle for it, and Lan'er felt panicked. She quickly held her sister back.

Lan'er raised her head sharply and met Chunhua's eyes straight on with a harsh light.

"How dare you! She is your eldest sister!" Lan'er gripped Hongyue's arms tightly, her blood gradually soaked into Hongyue's clothing. Hongyue's eyes dilated, following the trail of blood that smeared about on her dress.

Her mind flashed, and she pretended to be tired. Her body slumped onto Lan'er. The third miss felt her heart drop at her sister's condition and hugged the eldest miss.

Chunhua composed herself and snorted.

"She's not my sister. She's trash. We both know she won't live long anyway," Chunhua leaned in closer and mockingly sang out, "Little trash, you're not ill like everyone tells you. You~ are~ poisoned. You're going to die. You should thank me for telling you the truth."

"Die?" Hongyue asked, pretending to be frightened. Her hands trembled, and she hid closer to Lan'er.

"Die~ Dead~ Gone. Just like your pathetic mother," Chunhua giggled happily, entertained by Hongyue's expression.

Hearing those words brought her great anger created from guilt. Lan'er snapped. Flicking drops of her blood onto the surface of the ground, Lan'er didn't hold back.

<Mother Earth, this child has great grievances at heart/ Guide my anger and lend me your arms>

After the short spell, the earth growled as if it was greatly angered. Dark vines surged up, digging up the soil and sprung straight towards Chunhua.

Chunhua's eyes widened, and she stumbled back.

"Are you crazy?! You would go that far for that trash? What word did I speak wrong?"

Hongyue peeked out and admired the fluid magic techniques.

Not bad, using this sort of power drained the elements around you instead of burdening the user herself.

Hongyue swiftly condensed a small string of air and tried to use it to slice through a stalk of a dark vine. The air faded to mist when it came in contact with the dark energy of the vine.

She glanced back up at Lan'er.

It looks like the higher grade you are considered, the stronger the connection you possess with your destined element. The stronger the bonds, the more valued you are with the element itself.

However, Hongyue couldn't help but shift her attention onto a dark aura that surrounded the vines. She stared at the dark energy.

Did Lan'er have two powers?

Hongyue thought about it before firmly shaking her head. This sort of power has too many drawbacks. She liked her sirenic abilities better.

Chunhua quickly chanted a spell as well. The earth around her feet floated up and formed a protective shield in front of her. From the front, three dark vines sped towards her and slammed into her protective cover. The impact forced the second miss back a few feet. The vines retreated before attacking again.

Chunhua cursed inwardly as her shield began to collapse apart. She quickly braced herself for the next impact, but a wisp of black smoke appeared and surrounded her. The sudden appearance of the smoke seemed to forcefully stop the fight.

"Father!" Chunhua yelled hoarsely as she ran towards the general.

Lan'er stiffened before dismissing her attack with a wave of her hand. Hongyue peeked over and saw the General trying to calm Chunhua down. General Wei glanced over at Lan'er, his eyes couldn't conceal his shock.

Hongyue!

How was she here?

How is that wretch still alive after everything?!

His intense gaze shifted to suspicion.

"Hongyue, why are you out here? Shouldn't you be resting?"

Hongyue stumbled out of her sister's arms and ran over to the general. She didn't seem to care for her image as she tugged at his clothes.

"I was hungry."

General Wei felt his cheeks redden. He had attempted to tell a good story to the third prince in the carriage ride home. Didn't her statement imply he was lying when he said Hongyue was well-taken care of?

He looked swiftly at the Third Prince to see no expression on his face.

He needed to redirect the topic somewhere else quickly. He looked back at Hongyue and tried to smooth out her unkempt locks.

"Why are you so dirty? What were you doing?" General Wei questioned gently.

"Looking for food."

The general's hand froze. He almost found it hard to breathe. Was she doing this on purpose? She was throwing mud all over his name. He choked before trying to answer Hongyue in a way to belittle her response.

"Silly child. Why didn't you call on the servants? You need to take care of your body, you're ill."

Hongyue squinted up, frowning.

"No."

"What?"

"I'm not ill. I'm poisoned. I'm going to die."

General Wei chuckled hoarsely. His eyes flickered toward Chunhua. Did his second daughter tell her this?

"When did you hear this?"

"When I was looking for food."

General Wei almost fainted from anger.

Why did the topic never stray far from food?!!