FYM - 149

...To think, it had been many years since she last returned here.

Eight long years… The past feelings of despair still felt vivid, her father’s stern gaze haunting her dreams. She had always known—even if Third Sister Song Shuyan hadn’t climbed into bed with Brother-in-law Wan Sheng and been sent to Luoyang, it would have been her own fate. Her father had already made his choice; her destiny was sealed from the very beginning.

—But now?

Do you regret it?

Step by step, she approached the coffin in the mourning hall, perhaps seeking an answer in her stubbornness. But when her father’s aged, lifeless face reappeared before her, all those words vanished from her heart.

“Mother…”

The young emperor called out worriedly. The gazes of all the guests were fixed on her. She didn’t know if they expected her to cry—or if she herself harbored such an expectation—but her coldness ran deep, and her eyes remained dry.

She…

…couldn’t cry.

An indescribable fear crept into her heart. Her face turned deathly pale, her silence shocking in its impropriety. Her cruelty would surely become a weapon for others to wield against her.

“…Does the Empress Dowager not weep for her own father?”

Sure enough, mockery and interrogation soon followed. Song Shuyan slowly turned her head and saw her long-absent stepmother, hair disheveled, kneeling by the side of the hall, glaring at her with eyes full of hatred.

“Or do you also feel unworthy to stand here…”

Lady Wan staggered to her feet, Song Shuyan panicking beside her as she tried to support her.

“He was driven to death by your own hands!”

The accusation was merciless, providing a spectacle for the gathered officials. Wei Xi’s expression darkened as he barked, “How dare you!” His tone icy, he continued, “Lady Song is overwhelmed with grief and has lost her composure. Quickly take her away to rest.”

The palace attendants moved forward hesitantly but were swatted away by Lady Wan, who now seemed utterly deranged, abandoning all pretense of decorum and fearing no consequences.

“You’re afraid!”

“You don’t want to hear me speak!”

“You killed your own father with your unfilial cruelty!”

“You exiled his son after his death, condemning him to die in a harsh borderland!”

“You seek revenge on all of us! You want the entire Song family to pay for your past!”

...and so on.

These accusations were nothing new; Song Shuyan had anticipated how the Song family would gossip and slander behind her back. She hadn’t expected news of her eldest brother’s exile to reach Lady Wan so quickly. Clearly, only knowing her beloved child was safe gave her the audacity to speak so recklessly.

She watched her coldly, feeling no stir in her heart despite the other woman’s hysterical cries. She seemed impervious to others’ sorrow, her coldness startling even herself.

“Drag her away—”

Wei Xi’s anger intensified. He looked around but saw the Song family members standing idly by, watching indifferently—they knew Lady Wan’s actions were gravely disrespectful, yet precisely because of her madness, she could say and do what they dared not. Song Bo stood with his hands clasped behind his back, his gaze filled with endless disdain and coldness toward Song Shuyan. Perhaps at that moment, he even wished to stab her with a sword at her father’s altar, believing it necessary to uphold the Song family’s honor.

The solemn mourning hall descended into chaos. The woman’s shrieks and struggles caused headaches. Palace attendants, hesitant to harm the widow of Lord Song due to the occasion’s sensitivity, refrained. This hesitation allowed Lady Wan to lash out, seizing a bronze incense burner and hurling it at Song Shuyan with closed eyes, her expression murderous, as decades-old grievances escalated into a deadly feud.

“Empress Dowager, be careful—”

“Mother—”

Voices cried out in alarm, but the first to rise and shield her was actually Fang Xianting—he stood far away but was acutely aware of everything around her. His tense demeanor relaxed at the last moment as he chose to remain still.

—The nearest Southern Command General Lou Wei swiftly drew his sword, splitting the incense burner in two. Frowning, he showed no more leniency to the Song family, signaling soldiers to subdue Lady Wan, binding her tightly with ropes.

Beside her, Song Shuyan, who had clung to her mother, wailed loudly, trying to pull the guards away while frequently looking to her uncles for help. Song Bo and Song Cheng ignored her, and other relatives merely watched. Desperate, she knelt before her once-powerful younger sister, repeatedly kowtowing, pleading, “Empress Dowager—Empress Dowager—Mother knows her mistake, we all do! Please forgive her—please let her go—”

This scene was truly spectacular, airing the Song family’s dirty laundry completely. The officials outwardly maintained composure but inwardly smirked at how the Empress Dowager’s dignity was being eroded by her own kin.

—Only one person wasn’t focused on this.

Wei Lan stood quietly beside her father, her eyes always reflecting Fang Xianting’s figure. She had grown much thinner, no longer as radiant as she was half a year ago at the palace banquet. No one knew she hadn’t stepped out of the Yinping王府 gates since April, and today she came to this inauspicious mourning hall only to seek an answer from him.

—I can’t understand.

Why did he reject me?

Why would he rather risk offending the world, mobilizing troops in the south, than accept my marriage proposal?

That night, she set aside all her noble pride and personally visited him. She clearly felt him wavering, convinced his final words meant he would request the marriage in the palace. Why did everything change overnight?

She wasn’t afraid of half a year’s worth of rumors in Jinling. She could pretend ignorance to the ridicule from other noble ladies. Today, under immense pressure, she came here to ask him directly—what had she done wrong? Why wouldn’t he grant her wish!

But just now… she suddenly felt there was no need to ask.

Everyone said the imperial family quarreled with the Marquis over southern affairs. But just now, when the Empress Dowager was nearly hit by the incense burner, she clearly saw his anxious and concerned gaze—her eyes were only on him, magnifying every movement and expression. She saw his tension, his emotional fluctuations, and the indescribable look in his eyes as he gazed at that woman.

…That wasn’t the loyalty of a subject to his sovereign.

It was a man, deeply concerned for his beloved woman.

She stood rooted, struck like by lightning. Suddenly recalling scenes from the palace banquet half a year ago—when she publicly pulled his sleeve, he immediately tried to withdraw it, then sharply looked up at the Empress Dowager’s arrival—what was that expression? Clearly guilt and apology! He was appeasing that woman, fearing she would be displeased by others!

…Yes!

Exactly!

That’s why he changed clothes that night! All that talk about being splashed with wine by palace attendants was an excuse! He was soothing her! That woman who was already someone else’s wife!

Wei Lan trembled violently, though lacking concrete evidence, a voice deep inside screamed this was the truth! Her limbs went cold, an indescribable sense of humiliation turning her face ashen.

But… how could they have an affair?

When did it start?

In recent years?

Or…

Her heart raced faster, her ears ringing with Lady Wan’s earlier screams—she said the Empress Dowager sought revenge, even wanting “the entire Song family to pay for her past”—what was “her past”? Could it possibly be related to the Yingchuan Fang family?

A woman’s keen intuition worked wonders, piecing together clues to form a significant narrative. Her gaze swept across the mourning hall, each face potentially becoming a useful tool. At that moment, she spotted Song Shuyan—the notorious, worthless woman now wailing and panicking as her mother was bound.

She narrowed her eyes sharply.

…Feeling infinitely close to a secret that could overturn everything.