2026-09-25 21:00:15The six clan patriarchs arrived at Eastern Mansion early the next morning and were received in the formal hall by household staff.
Guo Jiang had not yet emerged from his cultivation chamber, so Butler Ma approached the visitors and bowed with measured courtesy.
“His Excellency remains in cultivation, but he usually leaves the chamber around breakfast before deciding whether to continue.”
Shangguan Zan nodded. “We
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Ashes of Autumn Memory
The Wang Clan fighters advanced through the front courtyard while the remaining Pavilion workers retreated from their weapons toward the burning galleries.Spears extended ahead of the soldiers, forcing frightened women and attendants into spaces where smoke and heat made breathing increasingly difficult.One worker raised both hands and pleaded, “We never harmed Young Master Wang, so please do not punish us for another person’s crime.”The nearest fighter continued forward without answering, maintaining the formation that his commanding officer had already ordered him to preserve.A Pavilion guard tried guiding several workers toward a clearer passage, but Wang soldiers blocked the route before they could reach it.He looked at their weapons and said, “These people have no means of fighting you, so allowing them through cannot threaten your clan.”
The Choice of Song Chun
Mo Lian stood with her eyes closed before Song Chun’s sword, while heat from Autumn Memory Pavilion pressed against everyone near the gate.The blade hovered a short distance from her throat, close enough that one forward movement could end the confrontation.Song Chun’s wrist trembled as he watched the woman who had once listened patiently to his disappointments and private regrets.Her face resembled the first woman he had loved and lost, a resemblance that had initially drawn him back to Autumn Memory Pavilion.But the attachment had grown beyond appearance, and he remembered promising Mo Lian a future outside the establishment.He had spoken about marriage during moments when her company seemed more comforting than returning to his troubled household.Song Chun thought, “I made that promise willingly, so why am I standing here threatenin
The Promise Before Witnesses
Mo Lian’s question carried beyond the Wang Clan shield formation, drawing attention from spectators who had already questioned Song Chun’s condemnation.The officer stared at her while smoke rose behind the Pavilion workers, and the soldiers nearest him waited for instructions.He recognized Mo Lian immediately, but acknowledging her before so many witnesses threatened the respectable identity he maintained outside the Pavilion.Song Chun straightened his shoulders and answered, “I do not know you, and your attempt to disgrace an officer will accomplish nothing.”Mo Lian stared at him for several breaths, struggling to reconcile that denial with the personal conversations she remembered.“You do not know me, yet you always requested my company whenever another quarrel drove you away from your household?”A few spectators be
The Officer Who Condemned Them
Flames continued climbing the wooden galleries of Autumn Memory Pavilion while Wang Clan soldiers maintained their formation around every accessible entrance.The workers trapped inside had retreated toward the front courtyard, where smoke followed them from the burning corridors and surrounding rooms.Ahead stood Wang Clan soldiers holding shields and spears, while the passages on either side were already blocked by armed retainers.A young woman covered her mouth with a sleeve and cried, “Please let us through, because we had nothing to do with Young Master Wang’s death.”Another worker knelt near the front steps, begging the soldiers to remember that most of them earned only enough money to survive.The nearest soldier tightened his grip on his spear, but he kept his eyes fixed on the officer commanding their formation.“We have orders to hold this entrance,” he replied, although his voice lacked the contempt displayed by several men standing beside him.A second soldier glanced to
Fire at Autumn Memory Pavilion
Mounted Wang soldiers held their positions around Autumn Memory Pavilion while the ten fighters inside coordinated between guarded doors and courtyards.Workers watched through windows and narrow openings, searching desperately for any route not already blocked by armed clan personnel.Every visible path ended at Wang soldiers carrying swords or spears, leaving no practical passage through the surrounding formation.A Pavilion guard studied each exit and said, “They did not bring this many riders merely to keep us waiting.”His companion replied, “Do not draw your weapon unless they attack, because fighting this force only kills everyone faster.”The first guard tightened his jaw but accepted the assessment because bravery could not erase such an overwhelming numerical difference.Outside, one commander rode forward far enough that his
CHAPTER 404: A Pavilion Under Judgment
Autumn Memory Pavilion fell into an unnatural silence after Wang Ding’s body departed under escort while ten armed Wang fighters remained behind.The guqin rooms stayed quiet, singers stopped practicing, and doors once opened for wealthy patrons were now watched by clan retainers.Several guests who had not departed looked increasingly uneasy because even wealth and status no longer automatically overruled Wang Clan orders.One wealthy patron approached a guard and asked, “Surely customers uninvolved with last night may return to their households.”The guard answered, “My orders require everyone to remain until the clan decides who may safely leave.”The patron frowned and accused the Wang Clan of treating innocent customers like suspects before any investigation had even finished.“I am following one instruction, and argui
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