"Such a young girl, not even of age for the hairpin ceremony—how utterly depraved the Du Family is!"
"Indeed. I heard the Princess deliberately allowed herself to be abducted, with her secret guards following in the shadows. If not for her, even more children would have been victimized."
For days, the streets and alleys of the capital buzzed with discussions about the child abduction case. Prince Chu's Mansion, the Sun Family, and the Du Family became the center of public scrutiny.
Qin Prince's Mansion.
"How are the grain supplies?" Song Yu asked.
"Rest assured, Your Highness. We've already dispatched riders at full speed to the northern frontier," Shen Qingping replied, lifting his head from the ledger. "Moreover, our informants report that Sun You will arrive in the capital tomorrow."
"He dares return!"
Song Yu scoffed. If Sun You came back, only death awaited him.
"If he returns, the Sun Family might still cling to a sliver of hope. If he flees, he’ll become a fugitive," Song Shihuan interjected, her eyes glinting with a dark resolve. "But even if he returns, it won’t matter."
They had already compiled a list of the Sun Family’s crimes over the years, ready to strike the final blow—to sever one of Prince Chu’s arms.
"My father has been restless these past few days, worried that cornering the Sun Family might provoke a desperate backlash," Shen Qingping said with a faint smile. "Your Highness, Princess, what do you think will be the Sun Family’s last lifeline?"
After a moment of silence, Song Shihuan turned to Shen Qingping. "Didn’t the tutor mention encountering the Fourth Imperial Grandson in the palace recently?"
"Indeed."
"Has the Fourth Imperial Grandson made any moves since then?" Her rapid-fire questions made Song Yu set down his brush, his expression turning serious.
"Aside from visiting the Sun Residence a few times, he’s taken no other action," Shen Qingping replied, then seemed to realize something. "Princess, are you suggesting that the Fourth Imperial Grandson might..."
"He’s a clever man."
From the first moment she met her fourth brother, Song Yanhong, she knew he was no ordinary person.
The Sun Family’s last lifeline might very well hasten their downfall.
......
Meanwhile, in Prince Chu's Mansion.
"What are you doing? Why are you investigating the Sun Family?" The Princess of Chu shrieked, clutching a ledger in her hands. "Song Yanhong, don’t you realize the Sun Family is my maternal family—your own kin?"
"What good will their downfall bring you?"
"Good?" Song Yanhong’s voice was strained to the breaking point. "I was born an imperial grandson, showered with privilege. I’ve already reaped unimaginable benefits."
"Mother, do you even know what the Sun Family has done?" He advanced step by step, forcing the Princess of Chu to retreat. "Embezzlement, abetting the abduction of underage girls, reckless disregard for human life—each of these is a capital offense. And yet you still shield them? Do you want the ghosts of those they’ve wronged to come demanding vengeance?"
Slap!
A sharp crack echoed as a red mark bloomed on Song Yanhong’s cheek.
"You claim righteousness, but the Sun Family serves Prince Chu's Mansion! Do you think exposing them will spare us—spare you?" The Princess of Chu’s eyes were wild, her hair ornaments tumbling loose.
"Of course it won’t spare us."
Song Yanhong laughed bitterly. "If His Majesty is merciful, he might exile us to a fiefdom. If not, we’ll pay with our lives."
"You’re insane!"
The Princess of Chu stared at her son as if he were a stranger, her face twisted in horror.
"Yes, I am insane," Song Yanhong said, tears streaming down his face. "Born an imperial grandson yet living like a coward, shackled at every turn—I’ve been suffocated into madness."
Since childhood, he’d been taught to defer to his uncles, to kowtow to his cousins.
Later, he was warned never to provoke his eldest uncle’s family.
And yet his own father scorned both uncles, coveting the throne...
Anyone would break under such a life.
"I won’t let you leave Prince Chu's Mansion today!" The Princess of Chu clenched her fists, but before she could act, Song Xiling rushed forward and wrapped her arms around her mother’s waist.
"Brother, go now!"
Song Xiling held the Princess of Chu in a vice-like grip, preventing her from chasing after Song Yanhong.
Watching his retreating figure, Song Xiling smiled.
She, too, had endured enough of this life.
......
"I demand an audience with His Majesty! I will accuse the Sun Family of seven crimes—let me out!"
Outside Prince Chu's Mansion, Song Yanhong shouted at the imperial guards. "Report to His Majesty at once! I must see him!"
Sun You would return to the capital tomorrow. He had to present the evidence today.
An hour later, Emperor Yuanyou studied Song Yanhong as if seeing him for the first time.
"You wish to accuse the Sun Family?"
"Indeed. I have evidence of seven capital offenses," Song Yanhong said, his voice trembling. "Furthermore, I beg Your Majesty to dispatch envoys to the northern frontier at once—to verify whether the grain shipments ever reached the people."
The Emperor fell silent for a long moment.
"But Sun You is your uncle."
"Grandfather, I once thought the same. But I’ve come to realize—if we all shield our kin, what justice remains for the people? How can I call myself an imperial grandson?"
Song Yanhong knelt and kowtowed three times, his forehead striking the floor.
"The Sun Family’s crimes implicate Prince Chu's Mansion. Punish us as well—I accept my due penalty."
The Sun Family’s arrogance stemmed from one truth: Song Yanhong was an imperial grandson with Sun blood.
Had he shielded them, they might have escaped annihilation.
But now, he was their accuser.
"The Sun Family’s crimes warrant execution of the entire clan," Emperor Yuanyou mused, flipping through the evidence. "Prince Chu's Mansion is guilty of complicity. The penalties will be severe."
"Yanhong, once this evidence is submitted, even I cannot protect your family."
Song Yanhong’s heart clenched, but these were sins Prince Chu's Mansion had to answer for.
Just as he opened his mouth to accept judgment, a clear voice rang out from the hall:
"Grandfather, while the rest of Prince Chu's Mansion cannot be spared, Fourth Brother’s merit in exposing the crimes should lessen his punishment."
Song Yanhong looked up at Song Shihuan, guilt flooding his chest.
"Ah Huan... it’s our fault. We wronged you, leaving you to suffer in Tongling."
