Chapter 23

Chapter 23

She gripped the bed curtains so tightly that she tore a hole in the thick fabric.

It was clear she was consumed by hatred. Her expression was so contorted that she no longer looked like a young lady of noble birth, but rather like a common butcher from the street corner.

But it was all for nothing. Restoring one’s former glory required more than just empty boasts.

“It is better to rely on yourself than to depend on others.”

Cui Zishu finally calmed down. “And what about you? Why don’t you rely on yourself? You let people decide your fate as if you were an object. Why don’t you change that?”

I set down my chopsticks. I didn’t let it show on my face, but I was annoyed. We were having a perfectly fine conversation; why did she have to bring this up?

She truly had no idea what it meant to suffer in the real world!

“Because I want to live. Whether I am in the Chen Family or the Cui Family, my goal is simply to survive. The only change I seek is how to make my life a little bit better. By relying on myself, I have achieved that. But you? What have you achieved?

“Living in the illusory memories of past glory? Claiming to be the legitimate daughter of the Cui Family every chance you get? While living in utter destitution?”

Cui Zishu cried for a long time that night-so long that my younger brother and I finished all the mutton and the pot nearly boiled dry.

Only then did she stop her weeping. “You two have no conscience! You didn’t even think to save some mutton for me!”

Someone who hadn’t eaten for days couldn’t just jump into eating mutton. I had simmered a pot of porridge instead, and I watched as she wolfed it all down.

My brother watched happily, clapping his hands. “Great! Sister Zishu is a glutton now too!”

By the time Cui Shao returned, Cui Zishu had already spent half a month shut away in her room.

This time, however, it wasn’t because of a hunger strike or depression. It was to prepare for the upcoming Society of Painting.

When she was twelve years old, Cui Zishu had caused a sensation at the Society of Painting with her *Painting of Qingshan After Rain*. She had taken first place and earned the title of “Painting Immortal” that year.

Countless famous scholars and noble clans had sought to cultivate a relationship with her back then. But at that time, the Cui Clan was at the height of its power, and she naturally looked down on them. Her nonchalant departure back then had instead earned her a reputation for being “free-spirited and elegant.”

But now, the very things she once looked down upon had become one of her few remaining opportunities.

The painting she had once used merely to pass the time was something she picked up once more, now imbued with a new sense of hope.