Han Zhi almost doubted his own ears. In his eyes, his aunt had always treated their family, Lady Fan, Han Yueheng, and even himself, with extraordinary kindness—there had never been a single fw to find fault with.

  Although he had narrowly escaped death at the hands of Consort Fan, he had never questioned the past. But now, hearing Lady Fan's account, he began to sense something was amiss.

  If Consort Fan had truly cared for him as he remembered, how could she have so unhesitatingly decided to kill him just because he had ruined her pns? There were clearly better ways to handle the situation. If she had simply met with him, spoken a few soft words, and asked him to face any peril on behalf of her and Prince of Commandery, he would have willingly complied. Consort Fan would have known this about him.

  Yet she had still chosen to have him killed…

  It didn’t make sense. Han Zhi’s scheming against Song Yan had indeed damaged the interests of both Prince of Commandery and Consort Fan, but the situation wasn’t beyond repair. Moreover, his value far exceeded the trouble he had caused. Yet Consort Fan was willing to discard him, to sever this vital support for the Prince of Commandery, to abandon this pawn who had always charged into the fray on her behalf.

  Lady Fan suddenly lifted her gaze. After years of solitude spent with the flickering light of the Buddha’s mp, she had seemed lifeless, like a cy statue of a deity. But now, a trace of vitality radiated from her. Fixing her eyes on Han Zhi, she began to speak softly, recounting stories of the past.

  She started from the day she entered the capital, describing the hopes and dreams she held for the future. She spoke of how she had willingly relinquished the High Mountains and Flowing Streams composition to Consort Fan, and of how she had naively lost her senses while visiting the Marquis of Jinxiang’s residence. She detailed the panic and helplessness she felt upon waking to discover Han Zhengqing.

  The story seemed short, but it represented nearly twenty years of struggle for Lady Fan. For over a decade, she had endured relentless torment. She had been humiliated by Consort Fan and had to distance herself from her son to ensure he wouldn’t be poisoned by those so-called renowned physicians.

  Han Zhi had always believed no one could be more unfortunate than him. He felt justified in hating his mother and despising everyone in the world who seemed to have another chance at happiness. He clung desperately, almost pathetically, to the warmth offered by his aunt and cousin—the st sembnce of soce he had left.

  But in the end, he realized that from the moment he was born, he had been nothing more than a pawn.

  A pawn Consort Fan had used to coerce Lady Fan, to control her, and, through her, to manipute the entire Marquis of Jinxiang’s household.

  A lifetime of beliefs crumbled in a single moment. Han Zhi stood rigidly, unable to muster even a mocking ugh. The mother he deeply resented, the one he had loathed for years, had endured countless torments for his and his sister’s sake—torments that should have killed her long ago. Yet, in the past decade, instead of bringing her joy, he had only disgusted her and caused her grief.

  It took him a long time to find his voice again. Hoarsely, he turned his head to look at Lady Fan and asked, "Why does she hate you… so much?" Hate to such a deranged extent?

  Lady Fan let out a faint, bitter ugh. The most painful and shameful moments of her life had already been id bare before her son, so the rest no longer felt difficult to say.

  "Because I, an illegitimate daughter of lowly status, occupied the pce of the legitimate daughter for fourteen years. Because she believed I stole over a decade of affection that should have been hers. She felt I owed her for that."

  Of course, as time went on, some grievances had become too tangled to untie.

  For instance, every time Han Zhengqing showed her the slightest kindness, Consort Fan’s retaliations grew even more hysterical and malicious. There truly are people in this world who can’t bear to see others have what they cannot. To them, it is better to destroy it entirely than to let someone else enjoy it.

  Someone with such a twisted sense of possession cannot tolerate seeing their object of focus distracted by anything else. The moment Han Zhi or Han Yueheng gained even a fraction of Han Zhengqing’s favor, Consort Fan would relentlessly throw beautiful women into his path to divert his attention.

  But to Lady, this was nothing but humiliation. No matter how kind Han Zhengqing was to her ter, it couldn’t erase the fact that he had once colluded with Consort Fan to torment her.

  Csping Han Zhi’s hand, Lady Fan spoke urgently yet tenderly, "Leave. Go far away. Don’t go to the Northwest to find your father. In this world, the only one you can rely on is yourself."

  Han Zhi heard the ominous undertone in her voice. Without a second thought, he gripped her hand tightly and, after a long silence, squeezed out, "Don’t do anything foolish. Let me handle this."

  He despised being treated like a fool, hated being used. He had once thought his aunt was the only person who truly cared for him. But in the end, the honey-coated arsenic of her supposed love almost led him to death without even a proper burial.

  His voice grew firmer as he looked at Lady Fan. "I’ll make them pay. You don’t—"

  "It’s too te." Lady Fan hadn’t expected to see Han Zhi again, let alone have the chance to speak so openly. Choking up, she shook her head after a long pause. "It’s too te… I’ve already brought Nanny Zhang to the capital, and she knows. Nanny Zhang is dead now. I’ll be next."

  Han Zhi clenched her hand so tightly that his knuckles cracked.

  He understood what Lady Fan meant. She had likely resolved to fight Consort Fan to the death from the moment Han Yueheng’s marriage was arranged and news of his supposed death spread.

  That was why she had gone to great lengths to bring Nanny Zhang to the capital, deliberately letting Consort Fan find out. In her panic, Consort Fan had rushed to kill Nanny Zhang. Now, Lady Fan could subtly reveal the existence of the ornamental hairpin to the Crown Prince.

  With that evidence, Consort Fan, driven by guilt and fear, would undoubtedly kill to silence Lady Fan.

  How guilty must one be to harm even their own sister? The death of Nanny Zhang would pnt a seed of doubt in the Crown Prince and Prince of Commandery. Even if they didn’t entirely believe that Consort Fan had an improper retionship with Han Zhengqing, that suspicion would always linger.

  For a consort in the pace, such a seed of doubt was deadly. Even if it didn’t result in her immediate downfall, it would destroy her image and status before the Crown Prince and fill her life with paranoia and fear.

  After forcing Lady Fan to endure such torment for so many years, it was finally Consort Fan’s turn to face the same.

  Lady Fan never intended to survive this ordeal. Her sole aim was to ruin Consort Fan and Han Zhengqing.

  Han Zhi was about to say more when sudden shouts and commotion erupted outside, echoing like thunder.