Chapter 97: What Happened Back Then

The Xu family adopted Xu Caixia, following Madam Song’s instructions, and treated her with nothing but beatings and scoldings. One might say girls like Xu Caixia survived only by sheer luck. It wasn’t until much later that she discovered Wu Huixian was her sister—they were twins. She never quite understood why they looked so different, but after returning to the capital, she realized she resembled their mother, while Wu Huixian took after their father.

When Song Qinglan was acknowledged by her birth family and returned, life was hardly easy there, but she was not one to yield. She caused trouble both openly and in secret, and Master Song could do nothing with her—he couldn’t afford the shame. In time, she established herself in the Song household, especially after a falling-out with her biological brother; relations with her stepmother improved somewhat, and Master Song grew more fond and fatherly.

Song Qinglan learned by chance that Wu Huixian was her sister. To confirm it, she returned once. It happened to coincide with Wu Huixian’s wedding. Song Qinglan disapproved of Father Lin and opposed the match, but Wu Huixian, suddenly confronted with the truth of her origins, found it too much to bear. She hated Madam Song and Master Song, yet pitied Madam Song as well. In her confusion, she married Father Lin.

Seeing Wu Huixian’s determination, Song Qinglan had no choice but to prepare her dowry in the name of the Wu family. “The gold bars under the bed were placed there by me, in case she ever needed them,” Song Qinglan sighed. “Your mother and I were at odds for twenty years; I suppose she blamed me until the end.”

Lin Jingyue and Jiang Xun exchanged glances. Lin looked at Song Qinglan and saw genuine sorrow and regret in her eyes. Her heart felt conflicted.

“Still, my mother blaming you—doesn’t really make sense. Even if there were misunderstandings, family should outweigh them, right? Besides, she’s been gone so many years, and you never reached out…” Seeing the strange look on Lin Jingyue’s face, Song Qinglan let out a long sigh and glanced at Jiang Xun, hesitating.

“I’ll go check on things. You two talk,” Jiang Xun said, rising to his feet. He guessed there was some secret—he wasn’t in a hurry; Jingyue would tell him in time.

Lin Jingyue nodded. “I’m a bit hungry, go start dinner.”

“Alright.” Jiang Xun smiled gently and left, closing the door behind him.

Watching their natural interaction—Lin Jingyue asking Jiang Xun to cook, Jiang Xun accepting without complaint—Song Qinglan felt a bittersweet pang, but also a sense of relief.

“You can speak now,” Lin Jingyue said, her expression changing as she faced Song Qinglan.

Song Qinglan gave a bitter smile, lowering her voice, a hint of suppressed ferocity within it. “The real reason your mother disliked me… is because she saw me kill someone.”

Lin Jingyue: “!!”

She was utterly shocked—her pupils contracted as she looked at Song Qinglan in a whole new light.

Song Qinglan managed a wry smile. “This secret—I knew I couldn’t hide it forever…”

When Song Qinglan was seventeen, the Xu family’s patience finally snapped—or rather, her stepmother’s did. They decided to marry her off to someone deep in the mountains. In those remote places, such a fate was no different than being sold. Women were treated like livestock, even shared among men. Song Qinglan overheard their plans and was terrified.

Wu Huixian, her best friend, was barely better off in the Wu family. There was little she could do to help. Their first thought was to escape; Wu Huixian gave Song Qinglan everything she owned to aid her.

During her flight, Song Qinglan encountered Master Song. Doubts arose in her heart—perhaps she wasn’t really Xu family’s child. Otherwise, why would they treat her so cruelly? She followed Master Song to the Song ancestral home, and there learned that Master Song had an ex-wife who’d taken a daughter when they divorced. Her suspicions grew stronger.

Providence had its ways—she found an old neighbor who had prepared Madam Song’s body for burial. She learned that the daughter had indeed been adopted by the Xu family. Feeling certain, she asked someone to send a message to Master Song, who was still in his hometown.

But the day the letter was sent, the Xu family caught her and brought her back without a word. Only then did she realize the scheme to sell her had been her stepmother’s idea.

She was locked in the woodshed, desperate, but what truly broke her was when Xu Eldest snuck in that night. She would never forget the vile look in his eyes and his disgusting words—something about “better him than a stranger.” Song Qinglan was tied up; her clothes were torn to shreds…

But Xu Eldest was so engrossed he didn’t notice Song Qinglan’s ropes had loosened.

He kept tearing at her clothing, and as he went for her pants, suddenly, a heavy blow struck his head. He collapsed, dazed. Song Qinglan threw aside the stick, scrambled up from the woodpile, and, losing all reason, battered him again and again. By the time she regained her senses, he was no longer breathing.

Song Qinglan was terrified. Then, Wu Huixian finally managed to slip away from her house and came to rescue her—only to witness the scene.

“So, did you set fire to the Xu house as well?” Lin Jingyue’s thoughts were tangled. She didn’t know what to say. Song Qinglan’s ordeal… truthfully, had it been her, that man would likely have died too. Better to break than to bend.

Years later, recalling the secret, Song Qinglan seemed dazed, but soon recovered, shaking her head with a complicated expression. “No.”

No matter how she explained, Wu Huixian always looked at her in terror. With no other choice, Song Qinglan begged her not to tell anyone. But the commotion in the woodshed had already alerted the Xu family, who knew Xu Eldest’s nature and had let him have his way. When things felt wrong, they rushed in, catching Wu Huixian and Song Qinglan as they tried to escape.

They stood no chance—both were tied up and thrown back in the woodshed. Seeing Xu Eldest dead, the Xu family tortured Song Qinglan and Wu Huixian. After venting their rage, they plotted their next move: at dawn, send Wu Huixian away and sell Song Qinglan into the mountains.

Before daybreak, while the Xu family dozed, the two girls escaped. Wu Huixian urged Song Qinglan to run and said she would go home first. Song Qinglan thought she needed to retrieve something and agreed to meet outside the city.

Being Song family’s blood, she believed she could support both herself and Wu Huixian. Little did she know Wu Huixian, after leaving, returned.

Lin Jingyue looked at Song Qinglan with astonishment. “My mother set the fire?!”