A Patchwork of Truth

If Shen Tang had been capable of inner monologue at that moment, only the standard hands-clasped-over-head scream could have expressed her feelings.

Why hadn't she been given the transmigration safety net?!

Flip the table (╯‵□′)╯︵┻━┻

It would have been one thing if she hadn't been given the original body's memories, but she still had to run into people connected to the original owner every few days. First there had been Tian Shouyi's mistaken "nephew's wife," and now Gong Cheng's astonishing "wife's brother." If it had been anyone else, those two might already have led them straight into a ditch.

Shen Tang clenched her fists, her masseters taut and her expression so dark it seemed capable of dripping water. To outsiders, this looked like the outward manifestation of her suppressing a fury on the verge of erupting—and all that fury had been caused by Gong Yun Chi alone. Seeing this, the male entertainer stepped forward at an angle.

He inserted his body between Shen Tang and Gong Cheng.

Turning his head slightly, he asked, "Brother Yun Chi, this is your wife's brother?"

He knew that Gong Cheng's entire clan had suffered disaster on the day of his wedding, been sent into exile, and been confiscated into the Entertainment Quarter. Naturally, that included the bride who had not yet had the chance to complete the three bows. He had heard that the Shen Clan the bride came from had met with even worse misfortune: Zheng Qiao had ordered the extermination of nine generations, and several hundred members of the clan had dyed the execution platform red.

Gong Cheng replied, "I suppose so."

Shen Tang's voice abruptly rose.

"Gong Yun Chi, what do you mean, 'I suppose so'?"

She was practically laughing from anger at this big brother. He was about to marry his bride into the family, yet he did not even know how many people there were in her household?

Even if it was an arranged marriage, he was being far too careless!

Shen Tang had not meant to question him, but the speaker had no intention and the listener had meaning; in Gong Cheng's ears, her words took on an entirely different flavor.

Gong Cheng thought every word of Shen Tang's sentence was dripping with a sarcastic interrogation. She had practically asked him outright—[The Shen Clan suffered a catastrophe and was subjected to clan extermination, while the Gong Clan was merely exiled. Yet now, in his mouth, the relationship between the two families was only "I suppose." Did he refuse to acknowledge these in-laws?]

Thus, Gong Cheng was overwhelmed with shame. His body, which had only just managed to stay upright, swayed violently and nearly toppled over. The young man and the male entertainer reacted swiftly, reaching out to support him from either side. Even that larger movement tore open his wounds, and bright-red blood soaked through the bandages.

The male entertainer hurriedly urged, "Brother Yun Chi, calm down!"

The young man said, "Adding injury to injury—even the finest physician in the world couldn't save your life. Whatever it is, you can take your time explaining it."

Shen Tang, who had neither a script nor memories: "..."

Because the damn plot development had refused to follow the script's usual pattern, she could only rely on her acting, guessing as she went and improvising on the spot.

The clever page had taken the shopkeeper away early.

After the room had been cleared, only the four of them remained inside.

They could speak openly now.

She snorted and held her right hand behind her back. "Gong Cheng, considering your injuries, I won't quibble with you over those trivial details."

Her thoughts shifted, and her acting instincts came online.

Gong Cheng was currently the person who understood the original owner's identity best. As someone who had personally experienced confiscation and clan annihilation, the information he knew was more detailed and reliable than Qi Shan's hearsay. Shen Tang planned to fish for information—at the very least, she needed to find out exactly who the original owner of this body was and what her identity had been.

Perhaps she could uncover some secrets from Gong Cheng.

"Thank you, wife's brother."

When Gong Cheng heard this, the pallor of his face eased slightly. He sat down limply on the mat and cupped his hands toward Shen Tang.

Shen Tang did not fall for that act. Her attitude remained cold. "Since you've addressed me as your 'wife's brother,' then answer me this: where is she?"

Who "she" was could be understood without explanation.

Hearing the form of address "wife's brother" made Shen Tang's teeth ache.

The color that had just returned to Gong Cheng's face turned white again.

He was about to speak when the male entertainer at his side said, "The young master and I rescued Brother Yun Chi. At his request, we also immediately sent people to that Entertainment Quarter to look for my sister-in-law. Only, only, we arrived too late. She wasn't among that group of women. They said..."

"She didn't make it on the way to exile." The young man finished the male entertainer's sentence for him, then added, "More than a month of walking in shackles would be a narrow escape even for an ordinary able-bodied man, let alone a frail young woman who hadn't yet reached the age of the golden hairpin..."

Those sent into exile had to face more than walking in shackles. There were shortages of food and water, wild beasts and insects, and the runners escorting the convicts.

Female convicts had a far lower chance of survival than male convicts.

Dying halfway there was only to be expected.

"So, in that case, I was the one making trouble for no reason?"

Taking advantage of the gap created by her earlier change in emotions, Shen Tang deliberately stood with her back to the three of them, lest they discover a flaw because the expression on her face was not convincing enough. Only the slight trembling of her shoulders and the rise and fall of her shoulder blades with each deep breath revealed the changes in her emotions.

Acting really did require powerful conviction!

Unable to hold back, the male entertainer interjected, "The Shen Clan was subjected to the extermination of nine generations on Zheng Qiao's orders. What does that have to do with Brother Yun Chi?"

He had practically called Shen Tang unreasonable outright.

Every word Shen Tang had spoken to Gong Yun Chi had been barbed. Even he, merely a listener, found them grating. The young man, however, remained silent.

Shen Tang snorted and countered, "Were you there?"

The male entertainer was rendered speechless.

Gong Cheng also quietly stopped him, saying shamefully, "Weng Zhi, although this has nothing to do with me, it does concern the Gong Clan..."

Shen Tang closed her eyes, trying to empty her mind,

forcing herself not to think or analyze.

Having someone who could read minds around was truly too irritating.

The male entertainer followed Shen Tang's wishes and pressed further. "It really does?"

Gong Cheng said, "Yes. Otherwise, why would the wedding have been arranged so hurriedly?"

The knot in Shen Tang's heart gradually came undone through those few exchanges. She took a gamble and fabricated an explanation. "If there were no connection, have you ever seen a noblewoman from a scholar-official clan marry before reaching the age of the golden hairpin? She was so young—what was the point of marrying her off? To become someone's child bride?"

The male entertainer was choked into silence.

That question really was...

The bride truly was far too young.

He questioned Gong Cheng with his eyes, and the latter explained in a low voice, "Back then, when Zheng Qiao wanted to return to his country, my father supported him openly to let him lower his guard, while secretly contacting the court officials. My father-in-law, Lord Shen, was among them. Lord Shen and my father plotted together. My father handled matters at court, while Lord Shen activated the agents he had planted in the inner palace and joined forces with Consort Chu, who was then greatly favored, preparing to kill Zheng Qiao from within and without. Who could have known that we would still fall short at the final step? Not only did Consort Chu and her son die wrongful deaths, the information also leaked..."

Consort Chu, five months pregnant, was framed, miscarried, and died violently. Her homeland was also destroyed by the furious Sovereign of Xin Country, who sent troops against it. As for the maids and servants who had accompanied Consort Chu to Xin Country, along with the retainers and clients who had helped her manage her properties—a total of more than two hundred people—they were reduced to slaves and sold at will.

Zheng Qiao was a man who held grudges over the smallest slight. Consort Chu had met such an end, so how could he possibly spare the Shen Clan, which had been deeply involved in the matter?

The young man had doubts.

"So, the Shen Clan merely assisted rather than being the mastermind. Why, then, did it suffer the extermination of nine generations?"

After all, the mastermind had been the Gong Clan, not the Shen Clan.

Gong Cheng shook his head. "I'm not entirely sure about that."

If his father had not repeatedly urged him, his usually low-key and moderate father-in-law, Lord Shen, would never have stepped forward, much less provoked Zheng Qiao and brought down the disaster of clan annihilation. When his father learned that Zheng Qiao had led troops back, he knew things were bad. He discussed it with Lord Shen and prepared to have the eldest daughter of the Shen Clan marry into the Gong Clan. His father had not been exposed and was still Zheng Qiao's "benefactor" in public.

If Zheng Qiao sought revenge against the Shen Clan, at least one branch of their bloodline might be preserved.

Who could have known—

Zheng Qiao simply refused to play by common sense.

Consort Chu was the Princess of the small country mentioned earlier—the one who married into the inner palace of Xin Country and died after five months of pregnancy.

Old Mr. Chu was one of the talented people she had brought from her homeland, an innocent fish caught in the calamity.

The young man's surname was Gu, a chaotic neutral wearing the skin of a chaotic evil.

The male entertainer was Weng Zhi by courtesy name; his identity would remain confidential for now.

Gong Cheng, courtesy name Yun Chi, was a member of the Gong Clan whose household had been confiscated and who had been sent into exile.

The information currently available about the body Shen Tang inhabited was that she came from the Shen Clan.

P.S. The general outline of the current plot was that the patriarchs of the Gong and Shen Clans joined forces with Consort Chu to kill Zheng Qiao. In the end, Zheng Qiao narrowly turned the tables and successfully escaped back to his country. After recuperating for five years, he led troops to destroy Xin Country. The Shen Clan was betrayed and subjected to the extermination of three generations in Zheng Qiao's revenge.

The royal family of Xin Country also bore the surname Shen, but it was not the same Shen Clan mentioned above.

P.P.S. An update this early—wasn't that a pleasant surprise?