2025-01-05 08:41:55
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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
The Wrath of Patriarch Wang
The messenger reached Wang Clan Manor before noon and requested an immediate audience with someone empowered to report directly to Patriarch Wang Dewu.The message traveled through the household quickly because Wang Ding’s name transformed ordinary market rumor into an urgent matter of clan security.Wang Dewu received the report inside a formal room where several retainers had been handling the household’s normal business.The messenger knelt and said, “Patriarch, rumors claim Young Master Wang Ding was found dead this morning inside Autumn Memory Pavilion.”Wang Dewu stared at him several breaths before replying, “Rumor claiming my son is dead does not make him dead.”The messenger lowered his head. “I did not see the body, Patriarch, but several reports say his VVIP chamber was sealed.”Wang Dewu struck the t
A Secret with Too Many Mouths
Madam Lily had barely left Autumn Memory Pavilion before her command for silence began weakening beneath the pressure of frightened workers.The main doors remained controlled, music diminished, and attendants tried maintaining ordinary morning routines without mentioning the sealed VVIP chamber.Behind screens and service corridors, however, whispers quickly formed around three facts that everyone inside had already begun fearing.Wang Ding was dead, Ning Ju was missing, and Madam Lily had departed without telling ordinary workers where she was going.An older Pavilion woman folded cloth with unnecessary force and muttered, “It hardly requires genius to decide which newcomer deserves questioning first.”A cautious companion answered, “Suspicion is not proof, and accusing someone of murdering a Wang heir may become deadly if you are wrong.”
A Body Behind the VVIP Door
Morning arrived clear over Autumn Memory Pavilion, while a strong wind scattered red Fenghuangmu blossoms across the stone courtyard and covered several steps.Two old flame trees stood beside the inner walkways, their fallen petals catching beneath pillars and along the edges of screened corridors.Fifteen-year-old Mei Hua had begun ordinary morning duties, expecting nothing worse than demanding supervisors or wealthy guests who refused to wake early.She carried folded cloth along the VVIP corridor when she noticed Wang Ding’s room remained closed far later than seemed normal.Mei Hua hesitated outside because wealthy patrons valued privacy, and disturbing one of Jinhung’s major clan heirs could bring serious punishment upon a young worker.She listened for movement, a servant’s call, or any other sign that the room remained occupied in an ordinary way.
The Cursed Oath
Ning Ju turned toward the open side of the room after admitting that her path no longer followed Guo Jiang’s direction.She kept her back to him because maintaining coldness became harder whenever memory placed Peach Blossom Island over the reality surrounding Eastern Mansion.Guo Jiang remained seated and said, “Different paths do not explain why answering one question feels like betrayal.”Ning Ju closed her eyes before replying, “Because I am no longer someone who belongs entirely to herself.”The words came quietly, but they stripped away more distance than anything she had said since waking.Guo Jiang rose from his seat without approaching her. “Then tell me who owns the part of your life you believe is no longer yours.”Ning Ju’s shoulders tightened. “I kill when ordered, travel where I am sent, and
Two Paths from One Past
Morning light entered the Eastern Mansion chamber softly, reaching Huang Jiayi before the distant sounds of servants fully entered the corridor.She woke slowly beneath clean bedding, confused first by comfort and then by the absence of the severe pain expected after Maple Forest.The chamber around her was large but restrained, furnished with refined wood, several paintings, and a faint calming fragrance.Huang Jiayi shifted carefully and felt soreness rather than the crushing internal damage that had previously made breathing difficult.Her memories returned in sequence: cold force, Guo Jiang’s face, his hand at her throat, the private name she used, and Peach Blossom Island.She closed her eyes briefly and thought, “He treated me after realizing who I might be.”That knowledge created relief and fear at the same time because rescue had pl
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