Father Hits Sister

Sam Yuan let out a small sigh of relief.

"Joanna, since things have come to this with Andrew Zhao, what I mentioned earlier... Please consider it," Grace advised.

She was referring to: amicable separation.

Grace had another reason for saying this.

The Duke Zhao Mansion has sided with Prince Zane Tuoba, and sooner or later, just like in the previous life, their whole clan will be destroyed.

Besides, this time, Henry Tuoba has come with memories of his previous life. Anyone who once harbored rebellious intentions will be dealt with in advance—he won’t give them a chance to rise.

If Joanna Zuo leaves Andrew Zhao with the two children, then the three of them can be spared when the time comes.

......

"Amicable separation..." Joanna Zuo sighed. "I don’t really mind, but the two children..."

"Mom! Mom!" Just as Joanna mentioned her children, they suddenly came running over.

A big and a little child rushed in, both sobbing at Joanna’s bedside.

Especially the younger girl, Lillian, only two or three years old, was crying her heart out.

"Sophie, Lillian, what happened to you?" Joanna Zuo asked.

"Daddy just hit my little sister!" The older boy, about five or six, pointed at Lillian. "Her face is all swollen."

Grace took a closer look. Sure enough, Lillian’s soft, pink cheeks were marked with a distinct handprint, already red and swollen.

"Why did he hit Lillian?" Joanna’s face turned pale with anger. "She’s just a little girl!"

"She just wanted to see Mom. Then Daddy suddenly hit her."

Joanna was so furious she could barely breathe. After a long moment, she managed a few deep breaths and told the maid to comfort the children and take them aside.

Then she turned to Sam Yuan and said, "Sam, when you go back, please ask Uncle and Aunt to come... Let’s do as Grace suggested—amicable separation!"

"Joanna, are you sure about this?" Sam Yuan asked gravely.

"I used to think that keeping the children at the Duke Zhao Mansion was at least keeping them in their own home! Better than relying on others or being gossiped about by the neighbors," Joanna said, shaking her head. "But clearly, that’s not true! I’m still here, and they’re already being treated like this. If I were gone, the kids would be living worse than animals!"

"Alright!" Sam Yuan burst out. "My parents were already planning to visit you, but they just couldn’t get travel passes for now. They’ll be here soon!"

"Sam, thank you all so much!" Joanna said through tears. "I’m so lucky to have you!"

......

Leaving the Duke Zhao Mansion, Grace and Sam Yuan headed to the Vermilion Spirit Alliance together.

The guards at the foot of Spirit Alliance Mountain recognized Sam Yuan, and since he had an Alliance token, he was allowed in without a report.

But Grace wasn’t so lucky.

So Sam Yuan went up first, to ask Elder Conrad to come down for Grace.

But when he returned, he brought Grace some news.

He said Elder Conrad ran into an old enemy on his way back from the Blue Moon Kingdom to Yanjing.

That enemy poisoned him, and he’s been unconscious ever since.

"So, the results of the Blue Moon Spirit Alliance examination were all submitted by Lily Xu," Sam Yuan said. "She must have tampered with them!"

Grace took a deep breath and said, "You go handle your business. I’ll go to Elder Conrad’s house and check on him."

They agreed on a time and place to meet, and Grace left.

She knew exactly where Elder Conrad lived and went straight there.

She knocked on the door, and the person who answered was Sam Summers.

"Sam Summers, I’m Grace Zhuqing. Do you remember me?" Grace asked.