Volume One, Chapter One: The True Face of the Song Family

The sky offered no mercy. What had been a gentle drizzle moments ago suddenly turned into a torrential downpour, the raindrops striking the corridor and splashing loudly like crackling fire.

Inside the house, the atmosphere grew cold and oppressive. Though it was spring, the chill seemed to seep into one’s very bones.

“Uncle, I beg you, please save my father!” Song Ci knelt on the hard stone floor of the hall, her thin dress providing little warmth. A coldness seeped into her knees, making her shiver. Her eyelashes fluttered as she looked up at the cold faces of the elders seated above.

“Your father committed a grave error. He’s involved now. The emperor has decreed that those who err must be thrown into prison, with no visits or pleas allowed,” her uncle replied with a stern expression.

Song Ci’s heart sank as she gazed at her uncle’s indifferent face. Her father had been locked away in the dungeon for ten days with no word. What kind of place was that dungeon? It was said to imprison the empire’s worst criminals, a place perpetually dark and damp, thick with the stench of mildew. The food was spoiled, and at night, snakes, rats, insects, and worms would gnaw at the prisoners’ wounds.

Her father had devoted years of painstaking effort to managing the Song family’s estates, exhausting himself, his health steadily declining. How could he endure such a fate?

Suppressing the sharp pain stabbing her knees, she knelt forward, hope flickering in her eyes. Her slender fingers grasped the corner of his robe embroidered with golden threads. “Uncle, you will soon enter the council, wielding great power. If you just speak a word, my father will surely be saved! You will save him, won’t you, Uncle...?”

“Bang!” The cane struck the floor with force.

“You’ve lost your mind,” the old woman snapped. “Your father is ruined. Would you have me sacrifice myself for him? I’m about to enter the council myself, and the Song family’s future glory depends on me. I absolutely will not allow you to cause trouble!”

The matriarch’s face was as cold as ice, her deeply lined visage seemingly encased in frost. Her gaze toward Song Ci held a trace of barely concealed disdain.

“Grandmother, my father is your son too!” Song Ci protested.

The matriarch frowned sharply. “Ungrateful child! How dare you talk back to your elders? Your father has been nothing but a merchant all his life! How can he compare to your uncle? I will never allow anything to jeopardize your uncle’s career!”

These words struck Song Ci with a mix of shock and sorrow. For years, she had been taught the importance of family unity and mutual support. Yet now, it felt all like a lie.

“A merchant? Grandmother, have you forgotten? My father was once a scholar, he even passed the county exam! You said my uncle and second uncle had official ranks, so my father should manage the family business. We are all one family! Helping my uncle and second uncle is helping ourselves. When they gain honor, our branch will share in the glory!”

“So what if I said it? Times have changed. Your father made a mistake and must be punished!”

Song Ci felt the injustice keenly as she stared at the indifferent trio before her. “Mistake? Who made the mistake? It was uncle himself who told father that the emperor had opened maritime trade, that inspections were lax, and that smuggling goods on ships was no big deal! When father refused, uncle intervened and arranged for someone to pull such a stunt! How can you say it was father’s fault?”

The matriarch’s face twisted with fury as she pounded her cane sharply on the floor. “Silence! You insolent child!”

Then she broke into a violent coughing fit.

The two uncles who had been sitting quietly finally showed some concern, quickly tending to the matriarch.

“Song Ci, you’ve behaved improperly. Go back now. We will handle this matter,” the eldest uncle said coldly, dismissing her.

He intended to sweep the issue under the rug, but Song Ci refused to leave. She knew that if the conversation ended there, her father’s fate was sealed.

Steeling herself, she grabbed his hand. “Uncle, your transfer was secured because eldest brother married the marquis’s illegitimate daughter. Your promotion came because my mother was crippled by that same woman! For years, our branch has poured every effort into the Song family. My mother is still bedridden! Do you have no compassion?”

“Song Ci.” Her uncle’s eyes held a strange look. “Isn’t that what being part of the Song family means? How dare you expect a reward! Your branch has neither talent nor virtue. This is all you’re fit for. As for your mother, your father is doomed to die, and she has her own fate. You need not worry.”

Stunned, Song Ci lifted her head, her cheeks flushed with anger and grief. Tears ran down her gaunt chin.

With a soft plop, one tear fell onto the stone floor.

“What did you say?”

Her uncle’s eyes darkened, a faint smile curling his lips. “Old Lord Qi prefers older, delicate women, especially the beautiful and fragile. He has taken a liking to your mother. With your father gone, going to Lord Qi’s mansion is a fortunate outcome.”

Clad in a sky-blue robe projecting scholarly elegance, his soft words sounded like a grim reaper’s whisper from the depths of the underworld.

Song Ci’s teeth clenched in fury. “You would send my mother to that ridiculous lord? Everyone in the capital knows of his debauchery. You call that a good place? If it’s so good, why don’t you go yourself, Uncle!”

“You’re mad! How dare you speak to your uncle like that!” the matriarch scolded, frowning with undisguised disdain.

After her outburst, Song Ci realized she could not sway them—they had no heart. Her parents’ fate was sealed. Overcome with despair bordering on madness, she wept and laughed uncontrollably, pounding her fists on the cold stone floor until blood appeared.

Father, mother, I am powerless.

We were mistaken about our family. This is no family at all—they seek only to tear apart the third branch, strip it bare, and squeeze every last drop of value.

“Yes, I am mad!” Song Ci spoke each word deliberately. “Mad for not seeing you for what you truly are sooner! You are not family—you are a pack of scoundrels and rogues! Burning bridges after crossing them! Shameless beyond measure!”

From his silent seat, the second uncle suddenly stood and kicked her hard in the chest. “Silence!”

His face was icy, not a trace of the kindness he once showed.

In that moment, Song Ci understood the true nature of the first and second branches.

“Guards, lock up the third miss,” the eldest uncle ordered. Song Ci was roughly dragged to her feet, yet her eyes remained fixed fiercely on them.

The second uncle raised his foot to kick again but was stopped by the eldest uncle. “Enough. Don’t kick her. My entry into the council is urgent. That scoundrel Pei Ji has been watching me closely, looking for faults. We can’t afford extra trouble.”

“He is gravely ill, his time short. I’ve planted someone beside him, poisoned him. Once these days pass, you and I, brother, will be free to soar.”

Listening to their conspiratorial plotting, Song Ci spat out a mouthful of blood. In the last moments of her consciousness, she heard a voice ring out clearly:

“Eldest brother is brilliant!”