Chapter 17: The Pack Stands Together
The fallout was instantaneous and seismic. Jin Chen's broadcast, intended to humiliate and reclaim, had backfired catastrophically. He hadn't silenced a songbird; he had created a martyr for artistic freedom. The public, who had been entertained by Qu Tang, now adored her. The image of her, a lone woman in a virtual forest, turning her back on one of the most powerful beings in the Federation to continue singing, was iconic.
But Qu Tang knew the real battle was just beginning. The virtual stage dissolved, leaving her back in her apartment, the adrenaline crash leaving her trembling. The victory felt fragile. Jin Chen was not a man who accepted defeat.
Her door chime rang. It was Leo, his expression grim. "We need to move you. Now. His pride won't allow this. The next attempt won't be a public broadcast or a pair of hired thugs."
Before she could respond, another alert chimed—a fleet-wide priority channel. The screen on her wall lit up, splitting into multiple views.
The first was Lu Jue, the Black Panther Patriarch, his expression unreadable. "Jin Chen has overstepped," he stated, his voice cold. "Using Federation bandwidth for a personal vendetta is an abuse of power. The Council of Patriarchs will be reviewing his actions."
The second view was of Xan, the massive, calm White Tiger Patriarch. "The little bird has spirit. The Tiger Clan acknowledges strength, regardless of its grade. We do not condone the caging of those who have earned their wings."
Then, the view of Kai, the shrewd, serpentine Giant Python Patriarch, appeared. "The economic fallout from this... indiscretion... is significant. Public opinion is a currency, Jin Chen. And you have just bankrupted yourself. The Python Clan's support is withdrawn."
One by one, the Beast Husbands, the very pillars of Jin Chen's power structure, were publicly denouncing him. They were not doing it for her, she knew. They were doing it for stability, for protocol, for their own political reasons. But the effect was the same. Jin Chen was being isolated.
The final view that filled the screen was not of a Patriarch, but of a live feed from a medical lab. Bai Youyou, her face pale and furious, was standing beside a stern-looking official. The official held up a data-slate.
"The genetic analysis is conclusive," the official announced. "The subject, Bai Youyou, shows no markers linking her to the Lin family lineage. However, a full cross-reference with corrupted archives has been restored. A positive match has been confirmed for Qu Tang."
The screen displayed two genetic profiles side-by-side. One was Bai Youyou's. The other was Qu Tang's, with a specific, rare cluster of markers highlighted. A tagline below it read: 99.7% Match to Lin Hua, Former Matriarch.
The truth, the deep, hidden plot of the novel, exploded into the open. Bai Youyou was the fake, the switched child. Qu Tang was the true daughter, the one the Federation's systems had originally matched to the Beast Husbands. Bai Youyou's mother, in a fit of jealous ambition, had stolen Qu Tang's destiny and left her to rot in an orphanage.
Bai Youyou let out a shriek of pure, undiluted rage, her perfect facade shattering completely.
In her apartment, Qu Tang stared, her mind reeling. The foundation of her entire existence in this world had just been ripped out and replaced. She wasn't a random orphan. She was... she was the original female lead.
Leo, who had been watching silently, let out a low whistle. "Well," he said, a slow grin spreading across his face. "That changes the game."
Lang Mo's voice came through a private audio channel, steady and sure. "Qu Tang. The pack stands together. You are not alone in this. You never were."
She looked from Leo's grinning face to the screen showing the crumbling of Jin Chen's support and the spectacular implosion of Bai Youyou's life. The fear was gone, replaced by a soaring, terrifying sense of possibility. The cage was not just open; it had been obliterated.
She was no longer the cannon fodder wife. She was no longer just the Little Nightingale.
She was Qu Tang of the Lin bloodline, and the entire galaxy was finally, truly, listening.