The Hua ancestral hall was filled with incense smoke and tense silence. The elders of the family gathered, their eyes sharp. The occasion: a rare assembly, called after whispers of scandal had begun circling through the city.
Second Aunt sat proudly at the front, Hua Mei by her side, both dressed in their most dignified robes. She thought she still held control. So what if Hua Mei stumbled at the gathering? A few favors, a few bribes, and gossip dies away.
But today, she would choke on her own web.
Hua Lian entered with grace, her steps unhurried. She bowed respectfully, then spoke in her soft, steady tone.
"Honored Elders, I wish to present evidence. Not against outsiders… but against those within our house who have brought shame upon the Hua name."
The elders leaned forward. Second Aunt's smile stiffened.
"What do you mean, child?" she asked sweetly, though her eyes glittered like knives.
Hua Lian lifted her gaze.
"I speak of my Second Aunt and Cousin Mei."
Gasps echoed.
One by one, witnesses stepped forth.
First, Shen Wei, holding scrolls.
"These are poems published under other scholars' names — word for word, identical to those Hua Mei claimed as her own."
The elders frowned. Plagiarism was a grave insult in scholarly circles.
Next came servants who knelt, trembling.
"Second Madam instructed us to spread rumors of Eldest Miss Hua Lian's incompetence… she ordered gifts and silver to be given in exchange for false praise of Hua Mei."
Murmurs erupted.
And then Yin Chen stepped forward, his soldier's voice cold and sharp.
"At the Spring Exhibition, I witnessed Hua Mei attempting to pass purchased verses as her own. When exposed, Zhao Rui — once her betrothed ally — tried to silence us with threats, clearly supported by Second Madam's purse."
The hall thundered with outrage.
The second Aunt's face turned ghostly pale. She rose abruptly, her composure shattering.
"Lies! All lies! My Mei'er would never—"
But Hua Lian only unfurled a final letter — the handwriting unmistakable.
A note of Second Aunt's, instructing a bribed steward to ruin Hua Lian's embroidery work last season, ensuring she'd fail before guests.
The elders slammed their staff on the ground.
"Enough!" thundered the Patriarch.
"To scheme against one's own kin, to tarnish the family name for petty ambition — disgraceful!"
Hua Mei broke, falling to her knees. "Mother, what do we do?!"
Second Aunt's hands shook, eyes wide with venom, but no words came.
The Patriarch's voice was final.
"From this day forth, Second Madam and her daughter Hua Mei are stripped of titles and privileges. They are to be sent away from the main estate — their names struck from the record of honor."
Gasps, whispers, nods of agreement.
Second Aunt collapsed, wailing, as servants moved to drag her away. Hua Mei's sobs filled the hall, but no one spared her pity.
And Hua Lian?
She stood with her back straight, her gaze calm, lips curving faintly.
In my past life, I had been cast out in tears. This time, it is you who walks away in disgrace.