Song Yu bent down to pick up the suicide note at his feet, his mind still echoing the words Old Lady Wu had just read aloud. With careful hands, he folded the letter and passed it to the handkerchief friend of the Wu family behind him, then loosened his collar.
Without hesitation, he swung his fist toward the men of the Wu family.
"You heartless, ungrateful wretches! How much silver has the Guo family given to your Wu family since the marriage alliance? Do you really have no shame?"
"Scheming against a married woman’s dowry—I’ve never seen such shameless creatures in my life!"
With every word, Song Yu’s fists came down harder.
It didn’t matter whether he was truly Guo Feng or not—right now, he was consumed by raw fury.
"What did she ever do to wrong you? Was she born owing your Wu family a debt?"
Before long, the Wu men were left gasping for breath, barely conscious.
Yet no one stepped forward to stop Song Yu.
Only Ye Shijie, seeing them on the verge of death, offered a token protest, worried that their deaths might tarnish Song Yu’s imperial examination prospects.
"Now that the truth is out, Guo Feng, you need no longer be entangled with the Wu family."
Song Yu panted heavily, the corners of his eyes flushed red with rage. "This commoner only asks that the Wu family be punished severely."
"Punish the Wu family!"
"Punish the Wu family!"
The cries erupted from the crowd outside the courtroom. The onlookers seethed with indignation, as if they wished they had rotten vegetables and eggs to hurl at the Wu family.
In the end, Ji'an Prefecture ruled that the case was too egregious, severely damaging local morals. Combined with the Wu family’s numerous other crimes, they were dealt with harshly.
The Wu men were exiled to Lingnan, while the women were conscripted as government slaves.
The main culprits—Old Lady Wu and a few others—were sentenced to public execution.
The letter written by the Wu family’s daughter-in-law was finally brought before Guo Feng.
......
"Condolences."
At Song Yu’s words, Guo Feng actually laughed—a laugh that grew louder and louder.
Two streaks of crimson tears streamed from his eyes. Song Yu’s pupils constricted—Guo Feng was weeping blood.
"I clung to this last breath just to see the truth come to light."
Guo Feng clutched the letter tightly. "My wife has waited alone in the afterlife for too long. It’s time I joined her."
He had refused to die, terrified that his wife had taken her life out of anger toward him.
He feared he would have no face to meet her in death.
"Your Highness, from now on, you are the only Guo Feng left in this world."
As he spoke, the Guo family’s landlord burst through the door with his wife, collapsing in tears at the bedside.
Song Yu silently withdrew. Spotting Song Shihuan waiting in the courtyard, he reached out and ruffled her hair.
"Ah Huan, in the courtroom today—were you thinking of yourself?"
He knew her well. It was rare for her to show such fury.
Before Song Shihuan could answer, Song Yu continued, "It’s not that the Ping Prince’s Mansion didn’t want you. Heaven arranged it this way so you could become my daughter."
He assumed her anger stemmed from her birth parents’ rejection, unaware that in her past life, she had suffered even more than the Wu family’s daughter-in-law.
"Ah Huan understands. That’s why she’s no longer angry."
Song Shihuan leaned against him. "Father, Guo Feng must have no regrets now, right?"
Song Yu gave a soft hum of agreement.
At this moment, he felt a strange gratitude—for having become Guo Feng.
......
The misdeeds of the Wu family spread throughout Ji'an Prefecture in just a single day, with rumors even beginning to reach neighboring regions.
Two days later.
A disheveled old woman, her face smeared with dirt, hobbled toward the Wu residence. By then, a crowd had already gathered outside, pointing fingers and murmuring about the scandal within.
Clutching a torch, the old woman strode boldly into the Wu estate under the watchful eyes of the onlookers.
Within the time it took for an incense stick to burn, towering flames erupted from the Wu compound.
The old woman stumbled out like a madwoman, cackling as she ran:
"This den of monsters—it deserves to be burned to ashes!"
"Burn it all! Not a single courtyard should remain!"
"My girl was such a good girl. She finally married the man of her dreams, only to be tormented to death by her own family. I should’ve fought to stay by her side when she married into the Wu household!" The old woman’s words grew increasingly incoherent. "Burn it all! Avenge my girl!"
The fire raged uncontrollably, yet the local authorities made no move to intervene.
Only when the flames threatened to spread beyond the Wu estate did officials finally arrive to extinguish the blaze. As for the arsonist—the old woman—no effort was made to apprehend her.
The once-opulent Wu residence was reduced to charred ruins in an instant.
Now, it stood as a crumbling monument, condemned to endure the scorn of the people.
......
At the prefectural yamen.
The officials grading the provincial examination papers were also discussing Guo Feng’s recent actions.
"Before this, we only knew Guo Feng as a reckless wastrel who indulged in pleasure. But now, he’s proven himself to be a man of loyalty and principle. I wonder which of these papers is his?"
"Indeed. From what I’ve observed, Guo Feng remained composed in the face of danger—a promising talent, truly fit for great responsibility."
As the murmurs continued, Ye Shijie’s expression twisted momentarily.
The hidden gem he had tried so hard to keep under wraps—now, thanks to the Wu family’s disgrace, Guo Feng’s name was spreading across Ji'an Prefecture?
No matter what rank Guo Feng received in this examination, his paper would inevitably be scrutinized and discussed. There was no way to keep him obscure now. The thought filled Ye Shijie with a sense of despair.
If he couldn’t hide it…
Then he wouldn’t.
With a resigned sigh, Ye Shijie cleared his throat and addressed the room:
"Gentlemen, now that we’ve reviewed all the papers, it’s time to finalize the rankings. Do any of you have recommendations?"
At once, the officials began advocating for the papers they deemed outstanding.
Song Yu’s examination script was mentioned repeatedly, quickly becoming one of the most recommended.
"Your Honor, we’ve all submitted our recommendations. The final decision rests with you."
Ye Shijie glanced at the selected papers and smirked.
With a decisive motion, he finalized the rankings for the top candidates.
When transcribing the results, the names concealed on each paper were revealed. The officials crowded around, eager to see which scholars had secured the highest honors.
But when they saw the name at the very top, they exchanged stunned glances, rendered speechless.
This… They could already imagine the uproar this ranking would cause once it was publicly announced.
......
By late April, the examination results were posted.
As Song Yu approached the examination hall, he spotted Ling Ming and Zheng Fang.
"Brother Guo."
Both men were aware of recent events and regarded Song Yu with a mix of sympathy and admiration.
"Brother Ling, Brother Zheng." Song Yu returned the greeting.
"Come, let's go check the rankings together." Faced with their invitation, Song Yu reluctantly agreed, silently praying to the heavens not to embarrass himself too much in front of the two top-ranked county exam scholars.
As they approached the posted results, Song Yu instinctively glanced at the bottom of the list—only to find his name wasn’t there.
Left with no choice, he started scanning from the top, name by name.
And there, at the very top, he saw it.
