Nanny Zhang's face turned as pale as fine rice paper, her gaze empty, feeling a sharp pain in her chest as she struggled to breathe.

  Lady Fan's tears poured out uncontrolbly like a flood, unstoppable. "I gave way to her in everything, putting her first in all matters once we arrived in the capital. She wanted to mix fragrances—she was skilled at it—so I didn't compete with her and turned to pying the qin... But the Crown Prince preferred my music... She came to tell me, and I still didn't fight her for it. It was all hers... all hers..."

  Lady Fan's face twisted in agony, her mind consumed by past events, almost delirious. She crouched down, covering her face with her hands, "I asked for nothing. I only wanted her to let me go home. Just let me go home... But she wouldn't!"

  Nanny Zhang took several steps back, her tears flowing non-stop like rain, as if she were seeing that young, innocent Lady Fan from over ten years ago, her youthful smile like a blossoming flower. When she was hurt, she would crouch down just like this, covering her face, refusing to let her sobs be heard.

  That once innocent and radiant young girl, whose dimples appeared whenever she smiled, was now as faded as winter jasmine in the rain, leaving behind only a shadow.

  Instinctively, Nanny Zhang stepped forward again, sighing as she knelt on the ground and held Lady Fan's shoulders, "It's all in the past, my dy... it's all in the past..."

  "No, it hasn't!" Lady Fan gripped her hand tightly, her tear-stained eyes clear and intense as she had once looked at Nanny Zhang, her voice breaking, "The torment never ended. She did such unspeakable things to me back then, and she still wouldn't spare my children..."

  Nanny Zhang lowered her eyes, feeling the painful grip of Lady Fan's hand, tightening with each pulse.

  "Zhi'er's attendants, the nannies, and all the servants around him—they were all her people. Every time I went to see him, he would fall more ill the next day..." Lady Fan's sobs were almost choking her. "I was too afraid to visit him again, feeling dead inside. Han Zhengqing accused me of poisoning my own son... He treated me as less than human, mocking me in front of Zhi'er, saying I wasn't fit to be a mother, that I was cruel enough to harm my own child..."

  They say blood is thicker than water, but no bond could survive such prolonged torment and manipution, especially with a young child whose mind was still forming. In Han Zhi's heart, she had become a malicious mother. Every time he looked at her, his eyes filled with fear and dread.

  She had tried to expin, tried to get close to him, but Han Zhi's illness would worsen the very next day. Han Zhengqing said she was a rotten gourd, rotten to the core.

  Over time, she learned to accept it, keeping a stoic face and pretending she had no son at all. If the cycle of torment continued, Han Zhi's life might truly be at risk.

  When she was giving birth to Han Yueheng, some nannies from the pace had egged her on to end it all, even to take her daughter with her in death...

  She could never forget that brutal kick to her chest from Han Zhengqing that day, nor the taunting, mocking ughter of her elder sister.

  That was the first time she truly understood her elder sister's intentions. She didn't want her to live peacefully, nor would she let her die. She wanted her to live a life worse than death.

  She endured like this for over ten years, thinking if she could just bear it until the day she closed her eyes, it would be over. But her elder sister never stopped, never thought she had suffered enough, and now she was even targeting her children.

  And Han Zhengqing, that unfeeling man, just watched, always listening to her elder sister's every word...

  Outside, Qiuju knocked gently on the door. Lady Fan, her voice hoarse, called her in as Nanny Zhang helped her sit in the chair.

  "My dy..." Qiuju's voice was as low as it could go. "Just now, Da Chuan's wife came to report that they found out Secretary Qian's trusted servant went to deliver a message to Assistant Minister Wang's residence in Tongzhou yesterday..."

  Da Chuan was in charge of Han Zhi's outings and was well-connected with the lower ranks. He often frequented gambling houses and taverns and was skilled at gathering information.

  Lady Fan felt a lump in her throat that wouldn't go up or down. She waved her hand, signaling for Qiuju to leave, then looked bitterly at Nanny Zhang. "I forgot to tell you. Yueheng will soon be going to Japan as a companion for the Ninth Princess, and Zhi'er has also encountered trouble..."

  She said this, but no longer cried. Instead, a deeper smile appeared on her face. "See, even now, my dear sister still takes such good care of me."

  Nanny Zhang's lips trembled, but no words would come out. She could only grip Lady Fan's hand more tightly.

  Suddenly, Lady Fan's knees gave way, and she knelt down before Nanny Zhang, looking up at her with pleading eyes, "Nanny, please... save me... help me..."

  Nanny Zhang wanted to pull her up, but her own body felt weak, and instead, she knelt down beside her, trembling as if caught in a chill.

  Lady Fan lowered her gaze. "You knew, didn't you? You knew why Han Zhengqing stayed with our family for over four months back then... and about that longevity hairpin he always kept with him, with the markings worn down..."

  Nanny Zhang's eyes widened suddenly, her body going limp as if she had melted into a puddle.

  "I knew then why you had to leave me and resign, going back home..." Lady Fan wiped the tears from her cheek, forcing herself to smile. "But I didn't stop you. I knew that if I acted selfishly, you'd end up being dragged down with me..."

  Nanny Zhang colpsed completely to the floor, finally unable to hold back her sobs, her voice trembling, "It was my fault... I failed you, my dy... I was a coward... I left you..."

  Whether it was right or wrong no longer mattered. Lady Fan's eyes shone brighter than ever before as memories flooded her mind—of her repeated concessions, of these years spent like a shadow, neither fully alive nor dead, and of her son, whose life was now hanging by a thread, and her daughter, soon to be sent away as a concubine. The anger within her burned like a raging fire, ready to consume her entirely.

  Her elder sister hadn't left her a single escape, a single hope. Wasn't it because she saw her as a tiger with no teeth, her cws clipped, easy to control?

  She had no allies, but she wasn't a fool.

  She extended her hand to Nanny Zhang, her voice soft and sweet, carrying a hint of the liveliness she once had as a young girl. "Nanny, when Han Zhengqing lost that hairpin, he was furious. He searched high and low, turning everything upside down, and you were so terrified, pale as a ghost, begging me to say you were sick and hadn't been to the manor that day. That's when I knew something was wrong... So now, would you give me that hairpin? Alright?"

  Would you? Alright...