Above the Golden Hall, the Winds of Change; Within the Literary King's Estate, Yanran Smiled

Night had grown deep.

The moon hung high above the western hills, still eight-tenths full.

On such a tranquil night, countless people remained sleepless.

Song Du was one of them.

For the first time that day, he had lowered himself, worn an affable smile, and personally presented a kinship card at Lin Su's estate. Yet Lin Su had refused to see him!

And the refusal had been anything but polite.

"This prince has neither blood ties nor old friendship with Lord Song. This kinship card is simply baffling! Ask Lord Song whether he sent it to the wrong address."

Those had been Lin Su's exact words!

Though the refusal had been utterly blunt, it had made sense.

Lin Su himself had no blood relation to Song Du—one could say he was related by blood to Song Du's direct descendants, but not to Song Du personally.

Because their families were joined by marriage!

Lin Su's mother and Song Du's principal wife were biological sisters. Their descendants could share blood, but Lin Su and Song Du themselves did not.

Song Du was not unaware of this, but he also understood perfectly well that aside from this family connection, he had even less claim to a relationship with Lin Su in any other respect.

Now that even the kinship connection had been rejected, he could not even set foot through the gates of the Literary King's Estate.

Cold sweat covered Song Du's back.

He was no fresh-faced peddler in officialdom. He was an old hand with hair on his arms, a shrewd fox of a man. He knew what this refusal meant: tomorrow's Grand Court Assembly did not bode well for him!

Otherwise, what harm would there have been in Lin Su meeting him?

He had that thought, and the other court officials