Chapter 3

Chapter 3

My father arranged a grand funeral for my mother, doing everything possible to save face.

Dressed in mourning white, he received guests with a face etched in profound sorrow.

Yet, from beginning to end, I never saw him shed a single tear.

In contrast, the relatives from my mother’s side-my uncles and aunts-cried until they nearly fainted.

I heard that my maternal grandfather had submitted a scathing memorial to the imperial court, impeaching my father for favoring a concubine over his wife and for his lack of moral character.

Inside the mourning hall, white banners hung low, and the scent of incense and candles was so thick it felt suffocating.

I knelt on a prayer mat, watching the flames flicker before the coffin.

Concubine Liu arrived.

She was dressed in plain white, with a small white flower tucked into her hair at the temple.

Walking to the coffin, she pressed a handkerchief to the corners of her eyes, managing to squeeze out two tears.

She sighed. “Eldest Miss… that day, that day I tried to persuade the Master. I told him to go see the Madam…”

“But the Master, he… he insisted on staying with me… and so he missed the Madam’s final moments… My heart is truly ill at ease…”

“You needn’t feel guilty, Concubine,” I said.

She froze for a moment, seemingly blindsided by my reaction.

But then I suddenly lunged at her.

I pinned her to the ground.

Squeezing her jaw, I uncorked a vial hidden in my sleeve and began pouring the contents into her mouth.

“Since you feel so guilty,”

“Then go tell her yourself.”

“No-! Master! Master, save me-!”

She shrieked and wailed, her limbs flailing, her hair falling into a disheveled mess.

The medicinal dregs were forced down her throat; some were coughed back out, splashing across her face and body until she was a wretched sight.

The sound of frantic footsteps approached.

My father rushed in with his attendants. Seeing the scene, his eyes nearly burst from their sockets. “You monster! Stop this at once!”

He stormed over and delivered a vicious slap to my face.

My cheek swelled instantly.

It burned with a searing pain.

I tasted copper in the back of my throat.

“Vicious girl! You have the heart of a viper! She is your elder!”

My father shook with rage, pointing a finger at my nose as he cursed me. “How could I have fathered a daughter like you!”

The candles in the mourning hall flickered, casting light on his furious face.

Many years ago, on my mother’s birthday.

Concubine Liu had sent over an object wrapped in white cloth.

My mother had turned ashen with rage, nearly fainting on the spot.

I was young then, and I had tugged on my mother’s sleeve to ask:

“Why don’t we just kill her?”

“Grandfather is a high-ranking official. Father relies on Mother’s family. If we cover it up as an accident afterward, he won’t make things too difficult for you.”

My mother had turned around and slapped me, her voice trembling with anger:

“Monster! You are so young, how can your heart be so malicious!”

Now, another slap.

I looked at my enraged father and the heavy coffin in the center of the hall, slowly wiping the blood from the corner of my mouth.

I smiled.

“Father, you serve in the Ministry of Rites. Your reputation is of the utmost importance.”

“Grandfather just impeached you for favoring a concubine over your wife. If your daughter were to bash her head against her mother’s coffin and die today-”

I took a step forward, forcing him to look at me as his pupils suddenly constricted.

“I wonder, how would the world speak of Lord Ji? And what would become of your career?”

My father’s hand froze in mid-air.

The muscles in his face twitched violently, his chest heaving as he stared at me with terrifyingly bloodshot eyes.

A deathly silence filled the mourning hall.

Ultimately, he only said:

“Take her away.”

I was placed under house arrest.

Afterward, my father claimed I was possessed by an evil spirit. He even summoned Taoist masters to surround my courtyard.

They performed an exorcism ritual.