Chapter 516 — The Ancestral Hall

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To carry oneself as Song Han did—that in itself was a kind of sorrow.

She said this for Song Yan to hear.

Song Yan gave a cold laugh. "He brought it on himself. Who else is there to blame? If he had told me about Mother back then, would I have gone to such lengths against him? No—even if he had been too afraid at first to speak of it, and only told me after I fell out with Father and he saw that I had gained the upper hand, I would not have pursued the matter. But he chose to feed me a few scraps of half-truths to lead me astray, and when I caught him at it he offered one excuse after another. Can you honestly say he had not a single scheme of his own?"

More likely a head full of schemes.

Dou Yan smiled bitterly.

Song Yan let out a long breath and said gently, "Let us not speak of him anymore—the moment his name comes up I lose all appetite for anything. I have already spoken with Magistrate Huang of Shuntian Prefecture; tomorrow morning Father can go with the Miao family and complete the formalities. Once the ancestral hall is opened, Song Han will get out of here at once—"

And after he gets out?

Dou Yan looked at Song Yan's face, cold as frost, and wisely did not ask. She let him help her to bed and rest.

Perhaps because a great stone had at last fallen from her heart, Dou Yan slept especially soundly. By the time she opened her eyes, the sun was already high, and Song Yan was no longer at her side.

She could not help scolding, "Why did none of you wake me?"

Miao Ruosu and Qixia were staying for the time being at Yizhi Hall—and today the ancestral hall was to be opened!

The one on duty was Ruozhu. She smiled and said, "It is not that we did not wish to wake you, but the Heir Apparent said you had been toiling hard these past days and told us not to disturb you." She added, "The Duke of the Realm and the Miao family went to Shuntian Prefecture and have not yet returned. The Second Madam took her morning meal and went to Miss Qixia's rooms; the two of them have been walking and talking by the lake all morning."

No doubt both of them had much to sigh over.

Dou Yan let Ruozhu attend her through breakfast, then went to look in on Yuanheng, who was playing on a seesaw in the back courtyard with the little maids, before she made her way to the rear garden.

Miao Ruosu spotted Dou Yan from afar. She whispered a few words to Qixia; Qixia glanced this way, and the two of them came over together.

Dou Yan asked them, "What do the two of you plan to do from now on?"

The Song family was not large, yet one of them was Song Han's wife and the other his serving woman, and they had actually borne witness against him in the ancestral hall. Their reputations were ruined. She hoped to do all she could to protect them.

Miao Zhi smiled and said, "Last night the young servant at my brother's side came to see me and told me everything the Heir Apparent had said. To leave the Ying Dingzhen Duke's Manor like this is already a blessing greater than heaven could grant me; as for anything more, I would not presume to ask." Then she teased, "In the past I had nothing at all, and still I married into the Ying Dingzhen Duke's Manor. Now I have land and a house, and the protection of the Heir Apparent and his lady—could it be that I shall live worse than before?"

.

Qixia, for her part, wished to return to the Cui family estate in Zhending: "The Thirteenth Master told the people there that my husband died guarding the young lady of the house, so everyone treats me with great kindness, and I have grown used to rising with the sun and resting at dusk."

More than that, no one had ever looked down on her for being a widow. Several of the older women had even urged her time and again to find another husband. And the peddler son of Widow Du at the head of the village, whenever he came back from carrying his wares from village to village, would bring her brightly colored silk threads. This time, when he heard the lady wanted her back at the manor, he thought she would not return, and followed behind her carriage all the way out of Zhending County...

At the thought, her cheeks grew warm. She shot a quick glance at Dou Yan, and seeing that Dou Yan was speaking with Miao Ruosu and had not noticed anything amiss, she let out a breath and her anxious heart finally settled.

Wuyi came running to find them: "My lady, Second Madam, Miss Qixia—the masters and the uncles from the Lu family have all arrived. The Heir Apparent asks you to come over."

The curtain was about to rise.

Dou Xin followed Wuyi to the ancestral hall.

The several masters of the Song family and the several uncles of the Lu family sat in the great hall of the ancestral hall, while the women waited in the side chamber.

Before long, Song Cen and Song Chu entered the ancestral hall one after the other.

Everyone rose to exchange greetings with Song Cen and Song Yan.

Song Yan was mild in manner, but Song Cen looked as though someone owed him three thousand taels of silver and had no intention of repaying it. He nodded stiffly at the assembled company and took his seat in the grand armchair at the center of the hall. "I have already told you all why I called you here," he said, his gaze sweeping over the Lu family. "Today I have asked you here to serve as witnesses, so that when people ask hereafter, they will know that from this day on Song Han is no longer a descendant of the Song family." Then his gaze darkened, and he shouted, "Bring Song Han in!"

Song Han was nearly going out of his mind!

Dou Yan had shut him in the firewood shed, served him good food and drink, and yet not a single person had spoken a word to him—no scolding from Song Cen, no interrogation from Song Zhi. Everyone seemed to have forgotten he existed. He wished to defend himself, but there was no one to listen, and he did not know what would be waiting for him next. One moment he imagined the shed door creaking open, his father standing on the threshold with a dark face, Leng Heng saying to him, "Come with me," while Song Sui could only swallow his anger and watch him leave with his father. The next moment he imagined the door kicked open and himself dragged out like a dead dog, those men heedless as the gravel tore his clothes, snarling, "You have eaten and drunk your fill today—next meal you will be dining in the courts of the King of Hell"...

So when Xia Lian came in with several serving women carrying hot water and clothes, he threw himself down before Xia Lian with a thud, clutched her leg, and burst into tears: "It wasn't me, that business truly wasn't me, I have been wronged... let me see my brother once, just once..." When he saw that Xia Lian was unmoved and wore a trace of mockery, he hastily changed his tune: "I beg you, carry a message to my father for me. I will not treat you ill, and you know my father is very fond of me. If he learns who has done this to me, though he may not be able to touch the one behind it, dealing with the hands that carried it out would be easy enough... This is a family matter of ours, so do not meddle in it. Since ancient times, no subject who became entangled in a contest over the succession has come to a good end—and the same will be true of you..."

No wonder everyone said the Second Master and the Heir Apparent were not born of the same mother.

How could the Heir Apparent, so steadfast and resolute, have such a full brother?

It was only with great effort that Xia Lian kept herself from kicking Song Han aside.

"The Second Master misunderstands," he said, bowing respectfully. "It is the Duke of the Realm who wishes to see the Second Master; that is why the Heir Apparent ordered me to bring these people to attend the Second Master's washing and dressing."

"What did you say?" Song Han was astonished and overjoyed. "My father wishes to see me?"