"After he passed," Fen Dugong continued, "the clan fell apart. The elders were too exhausted and too divided. Everyone had their own opinion. So said we should sell our lands. So said we should beg our old allies. So said we should force Hualing to return and take responsibility for keeping the clan afloat."
Qing Luan gasped at that. "But she was already married!"
Fen Dugong nodded tiredly. "Yes. Married into a greater clan. Married to a Patriarch. Many thought that was reason enough." His eyes dimd. "But she did not return. Not because she did not want to. But because… she never replied to our letters."
Qing Luan's breath caught in her throat.
Fen Dugong continued.
"Our debt was taken over by a rchant group connected to the Lushan clan. They bought our estate at a low price, then sold it to more buyers for profit. We were desperate, we had no choice but to accept."
Han Yu leaned forward slightly. "The Lushan clan? You are certain?"
Fen Dugong nodded. "Yes. I saw their representatives myself. They wore small silver badges with a mountain symbol."
Qing Luan frowned deeply. "I have never heard of them."
Han Yu had not either. The na ant nothing to him. But the coincidence made his mind sharpen.
'First the Qing, Wen, and Zhao clans. Then the Lushan clan buying the Fen estate. Sothing is weaving through this region.'
Qing Luan asked softly, "What happened to the rest of the clan?"
Fen Dugong sighed.
"They left. So went to live with distant relatives. Others beca servants or farrs. They had no loyalty left, only fear and hunger. When there is no hope, people scatter. The clan dissolved in spirit long before it dissolved in na." He looked around the tiny house. "I was too old to leave. And Ziyue was the only servant left behind… she stayed with . So I adopted her and little Mue."
Fen Ziyue bowed her head. "I could not leave the elder alone. I owed the Fen clan everything. It is only right."
Qing Luan wiped her eyes again, overwheld by emotion and disappointnt.
She had imagined finding answers. Maybe a surviving elder strong enough to help her. Maybe a record left behind by her mother. Instead, she found a broken ruin of a family and three people barely surviving.
Her voice trembled.
"Granduncle… did Mother ever return? Did she contact you or the clan at all?"
Fen Dugong shook his head.
"No. Not once in ten years. But I now see that she must not have received our letters. We kept writing. But no reply ever ca."
Han Yu leaned forward, his eyes sharp.
"Perhaps soone made sure your letters never reached her."
Qing Luan stiffened imdiately. Her breath quickened. Her mind raced toward the one possibility that had been growing since hearing her mother was labeled a disgrace.
"The first wife…" she whispered.
Han Yu watched coldly, seeing the spark of hatred begin to form behind her eyes.
"Tell ," he said, "what was the first wife's maiden na?"
Qing Luan bit her lip. "I… I do not know. She never spoke of her past. She always acted like she was above everyone."
At that mont footsteps echoed in the alley. Driver Yun returned after parking the carriage at a better place and bowing respectfully.
"Pardon my late return. I overheard the question on my way in." He cleared his throat. "The Patriarch's first wife was born as Lushan Xiachun."
Silence filled the tiny room.
Qing Luan's breath froze in her chest. Her pupils dilated.
Fen Dugong's eyes widened with a flicker of realization.
Fen Ziyue covered her mouth in shock.
Little Fen Mue looked around, confused but sensing the rising tension.
Han Yu smiled inwardly.
'There it is. The connection I needed.'
Qing Luan clenched her fists, her body trembling.
"Lushan… clan…?"
Her voice broke.
"She… she is from the Lushan clan… the sa clan that bought our estate…"
Han Yu let the silence deepen. Let her mind draw its own picture.
Finally, he spoke in a low, cold voice.
"It seems your mother's downfall… and the destruction of her family… have the sa root."
Qing Luan's tears did not fall this ti.
Her expression hardened instead, like a blade being forged.
The hatred had begun.
The small room felt too tight for the emotion that suddenly exploded within it.
Qing Luan stood frozen, trembling from head to toe. Her fingers twitched as if trying to claw the air. Her chest heaved with each breath. Tears stread down her face, yet her expression held none of the fragility she had shown earlier.
Her voice finally squeezed out between clenched teeth.
"Lushan Clan."
The hatred in those two words alone made the air feel heavier.
Her pupils dilated and a deep flush crept across her eyes. Not the soft redness of crying, but bloodshot rage. Fury burned so hot in her gaze that even Fen Dugong, who had lived over eighty years, instinctively leaned back.
Waves of red Eight Emotions energy radiated from her, rolling toward Han Yu like heat from a furnace. The delicate green trust he sensed earlier had been consud entirely, swallowed by a surge of violent crimson anger.
Han Yu felt the emotional tide swelling.
This was the mont.
While everyone else was stunned, confused, horrified, or grieving, Qing Luan's heart was wide open to influence. Her anger was raw and directionless. All it needed was a spark to turn into a blazing weapon.
Han Yu let his eyes narrow slightly. A whisper of a smile touched his lips. Then he spoke, his voice low, cold, and perfectly chosen to shatter the last restraints in her heart.
"Think carefully, Qing Luan. Lushan Xiachun married into Qing clan, rose above her station, and then made sure your mother never received a single word from this place. While your family collapsed, she grew richer. While your mother was sared as a traitor, she stood beside your father smirking. And while the Fen clan was devoured piece by piece, she ate well from the sa table."
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