The biting winter wind roared like a fierce beast as it swept across the eaves of the Shen Estate, pressing the sprawling dark clouds even lower, as if foreshadowing an impending storm. The sky at the hour of *mao* was still shrouded in thick ink-black darkness. A thick layer of white frost had formed upon the bronze door rings of the Shen family ancestral hall, gleaming with a cold light in the faint morning glow—much like lingering tears of time, or perhaps silently recounting the countless secrets harbored within this family shrine.
Shen Mingyue stood beneath the stone steps before the ancestral hall, the cold wind whipping at the corners of her robe, causing them to snap loudly. Her gaze was fixed firmly on the four gilded characters that read "Filial Piety and Loyalty Passed Through Generations" upon the lintel. Once the sacred symbol in her heart, they now appeared profoundly mocking. Her fingertips tightly clutched a yellowed medical prescription; the edges of the paper were worn and frayed, as though bearing witness to the twists and turns of its fate. This prescription was one she had dug out from the bottom of Lady Cao's dowry sandalwood chest late last night, at the risk of great peril. The cinnabar annotations upon it—reading "three *qian* of cinnabar, five *fen* of *aconite*"—were like a sharp dagger, ruthlessly piercing her eyes. The rainy night a decade ago when her mother had suddenly died violently flooded into her mind like a rising tide: the flickering candlelight dancing in the wind, casting dim and shifting shadows across the room; Lady Cao holding a bowl of ginseng soup in both hands with a hypocritical, caring smile; her father's reddened eye sockets filled with grief and bewilderment; and right before she herself had been made to swallow a calming draught, her mother using every last ounce of strength to grip her wrist, that final pressure seeming to linger still upon her skin, carrying boundless reluctance and grievance.
"Young Miss, the clan elders have all arrived." Chuntao's voice carried a hint of tension, interrupting Shen Mingyue's memories. The maid's fingertips were white from strain as she tightly gripped her cuffs embroidered with twin lotus flowers, the fabric already creased from her unconscious crumpling. "Nanny Liu says Lady Cao went to the Buddhist shrine early this morning, clutching her prayer beads the whole time..."
"The tighter she clutches them, the more it proves her guilty conscience." Shen Mingyue folded the prescription into a thin strip and carefully concealed it inside her sleeve. As she stepped forward and mounted the stone steps, the soles of her shoes crushed a fallen leaf, producing a crisp snap that sounded exceptionally harsh in the silent atmosphere. "Tell Xuanying to guard the back door of the ancestral hall. After today, there should be no more play-acting ghosts in the Shen Estate." Her voice was ice-cold and resolute, like a drawn blade severing all hesitation and fear.
Inside the ancestral hall, the everlasting lamps flickered in the draft blowing through the hall, their orange-yellow light casting deep shadows across the wrinkles of the clan elders' faces like gullies recording the vicissitudes of the family's history. Shen Zhengtang sat in the primary seat, tightly clasping the *Shen Family Genealogy*; his knuckles were white from exertion, and the bulging veins clearly visible beneath his skin revealed his unsettled state of mind. Lady Cao wore a plain-colored pleated skirt, with only a single silver hairpin pinned to her temples, making her appear exceptionally "refined and demure." She lowered her head to fiddle with her prayer beads; the rhythmic clicking of the beads struck the air, yet it exuded a deliberate composure, as though she wished to use it to mask her inner panic. Shen Qingyao cowered behind Lady Cao, her usual flamboyant and exquisite makeup unable to conceal the dark circles beneath her eyes, while her gaze was filled with unease and vigilance, resembling nothing so much as a startled quail.
"Mingyue, you said you had an important matter to report to the elders of the clan." Shen Zhengtang's voice carried unmistakable impatience, breaking the oppressive silence of the ancestral hall. "Do not delay the morning devotions."
Shen Mingyue did not hesitate in the slightest. With a dull *thud*, she dropped to her knees, her knees striking the blue bricks—a sound that seemed to strike at everyone's heart as well. She solemnly kowtowed three times, her movements steady and forceful. When she raised her head, her gaze was as sharp as a falcon's, sweeping across the people gathered in the hall. Her voice was clear and resolute: "Today, I ask all our elders to serve as witnesses. Regarding the cause of my mother's death, your daughter has found conclusive evidence."
The moment her words fell, a stir instantly broke out within the ancestral hall as the clan elders leaned close and whispered among themselves. Lady Cao's hand froze abruptly on her prayer beads; the beads scattered across the floor like broken pearls, making a clattering noise that was exceptionally abrupt in the silent hall. Shen Qingyao let out a short, startled gasp, then hurriedly raised a hand to cover her mouth, her eyes brimming with terror. Third Great-Uncle, sitting in the lowest seat, frowned and coughed twice, striking his long-stemmed pipe heavily against the floor with a hollow *thump, thump*. His voice was laden with dissatisfaction and suspicion: "Nonsense! Your mother died of postpartum hemorrhage; the doctors confirmed that!"
"That is because someone bribed the midwife and the physician!" Shen Mingyue abruptly jerked open her sleeve, revealing a pale cyan birthmark on her lower arm—the mark left by her mother's desperate, forceful grip before drawing her last breath, its distorted shape seeming to recount the pain and struggle of that moment. "Before drawing her last breath, Mother told me there was something strange about the ginseng soup. Yesterday, I found this in Lady Cao's dowry chest!" As she spoke, she slowly unfolded the yellowed prescription, her movements solemn and deliberate, like the performance of a sacred ritual.
The instant the prescription unfolded, gasps rose one after another within the hall. Shen Mingyue extended a finger, pointing at the cinnabar annotations, her voice trembling slightly yet incomparably firm: "Aconite is toxic; it requires honey-processing seven times before it can be used in medicine. Yet this prescription plainly writes 'raw aconite, ground into powder.' And even more ridiculously—" She slowly turned toward Shen Zhengtang, her gaze holding a mixture of expectation and lingering sorrow. "Does Father remember the day of Mother's death anniversary, when Lady Cao claimed she would copy scriptures to pray for her blessing?"
Shen Zhengtang's complexion instantly turned ashen, as though all the color had been drained from him. His lips trembled slightly, but he could not force out a single word.
"Indeed!" Shen Mingyue produced another sheet of xuan paper from her sleeve, bearing a forgery of Lady Cao's handwriting; every single character was identical to Lady Cao's usual script. "She deliberately mixed aconite powder into the scriptures so that Mother's spirit tablet would be tainted with poison day after day, attempting to ensure we could never uncover the truth!"
"Utterly absurd!" Lady Cao suddenly sprang to her feet like an enraged beast, her voice sharp and grating. "I have married into the Shen Family for twenty years and have never harbored a divided heart! Do you wish to slander me based merely on a prescription of unknown origin?" Her face was written over with anger and resentment, yet her eyes concealed a trace of panic.
"Whether it is slander or not, a test will make it clear." Looking entirely calm, Shen Mingyue clapped her hands. Nanny Liu, accompanied by two maids, carried in a red-lacquered wooden trunk. Its surface was carved with exquisite patterns, yet this could not conceal the secrets held within. "This was Mother's dowry back then; the vanity cases and garments inside have never dared to be discarded to this day. Chuntao, bring out the cloud-brocade cloak from the very bottom."
Chuntao carefully retrieved the cloak from the bottom of the trunk. The moment it was unfolded, everyone drew a sharp breath. Sure enough, along the inner lining of the collar were dark brown spots of irregular shape—the remnants of blood spat up when the aconite poison took effect, standing as a silent accusation. Shen Mingyue reached out and pinched a thread on the cloak, her voice dropping low with a trace of choked emotion: "The day before the incident, Mother said this cloak had a strange odor. Thinking of it now, that was the smell of aconite mixed with cinnabar."
Third Great-Uncle's tobacco pipe dropped to the floor with a clatter. His eyes bulged wide, filled with shock: "Second Brother, this... what on earth is going on?"
Cold sweat beaded on Shen Zhengtang's forehead, droplet after droplet sliding down his cheek. He stared at Lady Cao, his voice trembling violently: "You... did you truly commit such a deed?"
Lady Cao's complexion shifted from pale to livid. Suddenly, she lunged toward Shen Zhengtang's feet like a madwoman, her hands gripping his trouser cuffs tightly while her eyes filled with frantic entreaty: "Master, I am wronged! All of this is a trap set by Mingyue! She has long resented me and wishes to use this opportunity to drive me out of the estate!" As she spoke, she frantically shook Shen Zhengtang's legs. "Have you forgotten? Back then, it was my father who led troops to your aid, allowing you to secure your position as head of the family!"
"Silence!" Shen Mingyue abruptly stood, her soft sword half-drawn from its scabbard as a cold flash of light swept past. "Do you think you can escape punishment by dragging out your maiden family? Last night, I already had the people of Tianji Pavilion investigate. The account books detailing your father's embezzlement of military funds back then are hidden in the secret compartment of the pawnshop in the west city."
Lady Cao was struck as if by lightning, collapsing limply to the floor. The color drained entirely from her face, leaving her eyes filled with utter despair. Seeing this, Shen Qingyao hurriedly stepped forward to support her, only to be shoved away with such force that she nearly tumbled over. "It is all your fault! If not for you constantly scheming for favor, how could it ever come to this!"
"Mother!" Shen Qingyao's eyes instantly reddened, her voice laced with tears. "Clearly it was Shen Mingyue pressing us relentlessly, how can you..."
"Enough!" Shen Zhengtang suddenly bellowed, his voice exploding in the ancestral hall like thunder. "Since the evidence is conclusive, how should she be dealt with according to clan rules?"
The senior uncle of the main branch cleared his throat, his expression severe: "Murdering the mistress of the house. According to Article 32 of the Shen Family Rules, she is to be stripped of her status as secondary wife, confined to the Buddhist shrine, and forbidden from stepping outside for the rest of her days."
"No! Master, I know I was wrong!" Crawling on hands and knees, Lady Cao lunged to grab Shen Zhengtang's legs, her weeping shrill and pathetic. "For Qingyao's sake, spare me this once! I will never dare do it again..."
With an expression of utter disgust, Shen Zhengtang kicked her away and turned his gaze to Shen Mingyue, his eyes holding a mixture of guilt and gratification: "Mingyue, what is your will?"
Looking at Lady Cao's disheveled state, Shen Mingyue felt no sense of the release she had imagined. She recalled her mother's dying smile, and the nights she had spent gnawing on moldy biscuits in the Cold Palace. Her fingernails dug deep into her palms, leaving crescent-shaped marks. "Punish her according to clan rules. But there is one thing—" Her gaze pierced Shen Qingyao like a sharp sword. "Starting from today, Shen Qingyao shall no longer take part in the preparation for the coming-of-age ceremony, and all account books must be handed over for me to inspect personally."
Outside the ancestral hall, sleet suddenly hammered against the paper windows with a rustling patter. Standing in the veranda, Shen Mingyue watched as maids hauled Lady Cao toward the Buddhist shrine. Lady Cao's hair bun had come undone, her hairpins scattered across the ground, and her clothes were creased and rumpled. Her whole demeanor was utterly vacant and unhinged, resembling nothing less than a raving madwoman. Shen Qingyao trailed behind, turning back to look from time to time; her gaze was fraught with both hatred and terror, as though silently declaring that she would mark down this score.
"Young Miss, are we just going to let them off like this?" Chuntao handed over a hand-warmer, her voice laced with incomprehension and reluctance. "Lady Cao murdered the Mistress; shouldn't she pay with her life?"
"Killing her would let her off too easily." Gazing at the boundless swirling snow, Shen Mingyue watched as snowflakes landed upon her shoulders, rapidly melting into water. "I want her to live and watch as everything she cares about crumbles piece by piece." She fished out the prescription from her sleeve, gently stroking it as though caressing her mother's face. "This is only the beginning. The debt of the Blood Fiend Alliance, the debt of Jiang Yanbai, and the debt of that Imperial Noble Consort in the palace—I shall settle every single one of them."
"Mingyue!" Shen Zhengtang's voice sounded from behind her. Turning around, Shen Mingyue saw the family head's face etched with profound exhaustion, making him look older by a decade in a single instant. "Today's affair... is on me, for failing both you and your mother."
Offering a respectful bow, Shen Mingyue replied in a calm yet resolute tone: "Father need not reproach yourself. The most urgent task is to have Xuanying immediately seal off Lady Cao's dowry estate; the letters documenting her communications with the Blood Fiend Alliance are hidden there. And furthermore—" Lowering her voice, her eyes filled with vigilance, "—the cellar of Jishi Hall in the east city may harbor Western toxic powders. It must be cleared out before the coming-of-age ceremony."
Shen Zhengtang started, a flicker of astonishment crossing his eyes: "How do you know..."
"I only ask if Father believes in your daughter." Shen Mingyue met her father's eyes squarely, her gaze brimming with expectation.
"I believe." Letting out a sigh, Shen Zhengtang wore a gratified smile on his face. "From the very moment you produced the evidence, Father knew you were no longer that little girl who used to cry and search for her mother."
The snow fell heavier and heavier, casting a blanket of white over the entire Shen Estate as swirling flakes filled the air. Shen Mingyue gazed at the accumulated snow on the roof of the ancestral hall, recalling words her mother had once uttered: "The heavier the snow, the better it covers up the filth. But once the sun comes out, everything will be brought to light." Clenching her fists, she let the sleet strike her face; the biting cold only made her mind sharper. The sun that belonged to her was about to rise.
At the hour of *zi*, the Buddhist shrine was pitch black, save for a faint sliver of moonlight filtering through the window cracks, imparting an eerie ambiance to the room. Lady Cao curled up on a rush mat, shivering uncontrollably as she listened to the howling wind and snow outside. Her heart was filled with terror and despair; she had no idea how much more evidence Shen Mingyue held, nor whether Imperial Noble Consort would come to her rescue. At that very moment, the window paper emitted a soft *swish*, and a dark figure vaulted through the window.
"Who is it?" Lady Cao asked in terror, her voice trembling with fright.
"It is me." Lifting her cloak, Shen Qingyao revealed a face tinged with tension and unease. "Mother, we cannot just sit here and await our doom!"
"Why have you come?" Startled and delighted in equal measure, Lady Cao saw a glimmer of hope flash in her eyes. "There are people belonging to Shen Mingyue everywhere outside, how did you—"
"There is no time to explain." Pulling out a small vial, Shen Qingyao let it catch the eerie, shimmering glow of the moonlight. "This is 'Shadowless Powder' from the Blood Fiend Alliance; it can render a person unconscious for three days straight. Once Shen Mingyue drinks this, we can take advantage of the chaos and escape the capital!"
Staring at the medicine vial, Lady Cao's eyes were filled with hesitation and struggle. "Yet... once this poison is used, there will be no turning back."
"Mother!" Shen Qingyao seized her hand and shook it hard. "Do you wish to be trapped in this Buddhist shrine for the rest of your life? Young Master Jiang said that once we reach the Northern Frontier, we can live like royalty!"
Gritting her teeth, Lady Cao finally accepted the vial. "Very well, we shall do as you say. Tomorrow morning, under the guise of repentance, I will send the ginseng soup to Mingyue..."
Outside the window, a dark figure flashed by. Hiding in the shadows, Xuanying tightened his grip on the eavesdropping device, a sneer crossing his face before he vanished into the snowy night. A new contest of wills was once again quietly unfolding within the Shen Estate.