Just as Shangguan Liqian had predicted, undercurrents surged through the imperial court following the Flower Viewing Banquet.
Evidence of the Shangguan family’s crimes was delivered to Luo Wushuang’s dragon desk time and time again. The Empress, who usually harbored a deep-seated hatred for the Shangguan clan, remained uncharacteristically composed. She reviewed every memorial denouncing them but chose to withhold them all, neither dismissing the charges nor acting upon them.
This silence only fueled the anxiety of the ministers who sought to suppress the Shangguan family. Fearing she might change her mind or show leniency, they worked even harder to scour the capital for further evidence of corruption.
Meanwhile, within the walls of the Shangguan Manor, the increasingly precarious situation began to tear the family apart from the inside.
Shangguan Chi had always harbored resentment toward his father for seemingly favoring his younger brother. Under the subtle provocations of Yuechen—Yueying’s sister—his temper finally snapped. In front of Shangguan Qingyun himself, Shangguan Chi delivered a stinging slap to Shangguan Shi’s face.
As the former golden child of the family, Shangguan Shi was not one to endure such an insult. Regardless of his brother’s seniority, he found the physical assault entirely unjustified. Arguments quickly devolved into violence.
Right there at the dinner table, the two brothers began a frantic brawl. In the end, Shangguan Shi suffered for his youth and lack of strength; he was pinned to the floor and soundly thrashed by his elder brother.
Seeing her two sons in a civil war, Madam Shangguan rushed forward to break up the fight. In the chaos, Shangguan Chi failed to pull back his hand and accidentally struck his mother across the face.
As Madam Shangguan clutched her stinging cheek, drowning in a wave of self-pity, she was knocked to the floor by the flailing Shangguan Shi.
Surveying the wreckage of the dining room and remembering the gruesome fate of her eldest daughter, Madam Shangguan’s composure shattered. She sat on the floor and began to wail at the top of her lungs.
A woman who had spent her life being sharp-tongued and cruel did not weep quietly. She shrieked and cursed, and in her tirade against Shangguan Liqian, she inadvertently included Shangguan Qingyun in her insults.
Already irritated by the house arrest and the looming threat of the throne, Shangguan Qingyun could no longer stomach her screaming and veiled accusations. He stepped forward and kicked her.
“What are you howling for? I’m not dead yet!”
Madam Shangguan staggered from the kick. She opened her mouth to continue her tantrum, but the moment she met Shangguan Qingyun’s pitch-black expression, her voice died in her throat.
As his wife, she knew better than anyone how hypocritical and cold-blooded her husband truly was.
Her gaze swept over the concubines standing by the wall, waiting to serve the meal. She realized that continuing this scene would only work against her. Swallowing her resentment, she forced herself to stay silent.
Seeing their mother struck, the brawling brothers finally ceased their fighting.
“Mother, are you all right?” Shangguan Chi was closer and hurried to help her up.
Shangguan Shi approached as well, his face already bruised and swollen from the beating he had taken.
Seeing her two legitimate sons supporting her on either side, Madam Shangguan felt a flicker of relief. She told herself that no matter what, she still had two sons to rely on.
She failed to notice, however, that the respect and fear the concubines once held for her were evaporating.
Previously, the Chancellor and his wife had appeared as a united front—at least on the surface. They had always performed the role of a loving, respectful couple in public, and the Chancellor would never allow anyone to breathe a word against his wife. Naturally, the concubines and their children had been forced to bow their heads and live in the shadows.
But now that the Madam had lost the master’s favor, the concubines saw an opening. They weren’t about to miss the chance to become the master’s new confidantes and solace. If not for their own sake, they had to think of the future for their own children.
Shangguan Qingyun remained unaware that his single violent outburst had shattered the fragile peace of his inner household.
Shangguan Chi, watching his mother being humiliated but not daring to strike back at his father, decided to twist the knife under the guise of concern.
“Father, you are no longer the Chancellor,” Shangguan Chi said with feigned sincerity. “You should be more careful with your words and actions from now on.”
Shangguan Qingyun nearly choked on his own breath. This unfilial brat is trying to provoke me to death!
Did he think his father didn’t know? Did he need a reminder of his own downfall?!
“Vile son! You wretched boy!” Shangguan Qingyun panted heavily, waving the group away. “Go back to your own courtyards! From now on, none of you are to come here except for the midday meal!”
Once he had driven them all out, Shangguan Qingyun sat on the threshold of the room, staring at the pillars of his house, his heart heavy with regret.
He regretted listening to his wife’s instigations to alienate his concubines and their children. If he hadn’t, would his household be in such a state?
Outside, the manor was heavily guarded. To the outsiders, it was a house arrest; to those within, it felt as though the family was on the verge of total extermination.
He let out a long, weary sigh. He knew he couldn’t sit and wait for death, or the situation would truly become irreversible.
But the Empress was clearly enraged, and his daughter, Shangguan Liqian, had been thoroughly hurt by his actions. He was trapped in the manor, unable to leave…
Thinking of the “Letter of Repentance” the Empress had demanded, Shangguan Qingyun’s eyes flickered with a internal struggle. Finally, he dragged his heavy feet toward the study.
However, a man accustomed to being flattered for decades found it nearly impossible to lower his pen. How was he supposed to write such a thing?
The Empress’s meaning had been clear: she wanted him to write a confession of his sins specifically to Shangguan Liqian.
For a father to write a formal apology to his daughter—what era or dynasty had ever seen such a subversion of the natural order?
The thought that Shangguan Liqian hadn’t even pleaded for mercy on his behalf made his blood boil again.
Clatter!
He slammed the brush onto the desk. Clinging to his ridiculous pride and what little remained of his dignity, Shangguan Qingyun stormed out of the study with his head held high.
He was the father. How could he write a confession to his daughter? Preposterous!
Ten days passed in a flash. Only one day remained of the Empress’s deadline.
Thinking of Luo Wushuang’s ruthless methods, Shangguan Qingyun’s pride and dignity vanished into thin air. He locked himself in the study for a day and a night, never leaving his seat. Using the same brush he had slammed down earlier—which was now frayed and losing its bristles—he scribbled frantically. He finally finished by the evening of the last day.
No sooner had he dropped the pen than Leng Yue’s voice rang out from beyond the door.
“Her Majesty has ordered this Commander to retrieve Lord Shangguan’s Letter of Repentance.”
Normally, such a trivial errand wouldn’t warrant a Commander’s attention, but Leng Yue had been green with envy seeing the rewards Ling Feng and Leng Yu had received. She had shooed away the little eunuch meant for the task and come personally.
Hearing her voice, Shangguan Qingyun hurried out with a forced smile.
In the past, even the Empress’s personal guards would have addressed him as “Chancellor Shangguan” with the utmost respect. Now…
Leng Yue didn’t give him time for nostalgia. She stared at him with a cold, expressionless face.
“The half-month deadline is up. Her Majesty sent me to ask if Lord Shangguan has completed the letter. If not, I am to take you to a ‘quiet place’ where you can finish it undisturbed.”
At the mention of a “quiet place,” Shangguan Qingyun shuddered. He felt a wave of relief that he had actually finished it. Otherwise, that “quiet place” would likely be a prison cell.
Leng Yue fell silent after her threat, her eyes scanning the courtyard as if looking for something—or someone—else.
“Please wait a moment, Commander Leng.”
Shangguan Qingyun turned back into the study, grabbed the thick stack of papers, and handed them over with a subservient smile. “I have completed it according to Her Majesty’s wishes. I must trouble the Commander to present it to the Empress on my behalf.”
Leng Yue took the heavy stack of paper and gave a curt nod.
“Very well. Lord Shangguan, continue your reflections behind closed doors.”
With that, she turned and departed.
