Chapter 3

Chapter 3

While Zhong Ling’an was dead drunk, the young woman from Chenyue Lane came to our door, bringing her son with her.

Only then did I learn that Zhong Lingjia had not finished speaking that day.

It was not only a beloved woman.

There was also a son.

He had a home in Chenyue Lane.

This woman, Song Wanyin, was his mistress.

They had lived together at the border for several years as husband and wife.

She had been a shepherdess, and was also the descendant of criminals once exiled to the southwestern frontier.

The two elders of the Zhong Family refused to accept Song Wanyin into the household.

Song Wanyin knelt before our gates with her son and said nothing, letting the passersby whisper and point as they pleased.

I ordered the servants to invite them in.

But once inside, she looked me up and down, contempt showing in her eyes. The meek, lowered-brow manner she had worn at the gate was gone without a trace.

“I truly thought he would never marry for my sake in this life. I never imagined it was all empty words. Miss Shen, you really do have impressive methods…”

She actually believed I had seduced Zhong Ling’an into asking for my hand.

“Miss Song, my marriage to him was personally bestowed by His Majesty. I do not care for his affection or sincerity, and I have no intention of seeing you as an enemy. You may rest assured.”

Only after I had said that did she reply carelessly, “Be my enemy? You are not worthy.”

With that, she took the child and left.

But the next day, after Zhong Ling’an sobered up, he came storming to our door in a fury.

He kicked aside the young servant blocking his way and shouted at me, “You were the one who drove Wanyin away! A mother and child with no one to rely on, and you could still be this vicious?”

Seeing my blank confusion, he turned to my father and said, “So this is the fine upbringing of the Shen Family. She has not even married into my household yet, and already she is so jealous, so intolerant of others. In the future, I fear she will overturn my entire general’s estate. Truly, you have failed to teach your daughter properly.”

After throwing down those words, he turned and left.

Yet that one sentence brought disaster down upon me.

Failed to teach your daughter properly-those four words struck every taboo my father possessed, and their weight sent him into a towering rage.

In raising his daughters, he had always valued chastity, quiet obedience, and docility above all else. He could not tolerate anyone who strayed from the proper path.

He took out the disciplinary ruler and brought it down hard across my palm.

With every strike, he asked whether I knew my mistake.

But I did not know.

Where had I gone wrong?

This marriage had clearly never been what I wanted. I had clearly yielded at every turn. So why was I the one left to bear all the blame in the end?

Was it simply because I had no one behind me to rely on?

Princess Jiuhua once told me that what made people bow their heads quickly in this world was not reason, but power.

Even if I acted with perfect honesty, I might not receive justice. Even if reason was entirely on my side, there might not be anyone willing to listen.

But with power in hand, one could make all present lower their heads.

In that moment, I understood the deeper meaning behind her words back then.