A female coroner arrived at the Jingzhao Prefecture.

Chapter 438 Finale (10)

Under Song Yan's powerful influence, Bai Zhizhi successfully broke off the engagement, and the prefect of Jiangnan and his son were dismissed and investigated by the Censorate for committing crimes.

On the sixth day of the sixth lunar month, Duke Song summoned the clan elders, opened the ancestral hall, paid homage to the ancestors, and formally adopted Bai Zhizhi as his goddaughter.

To demonstrate his loyalty, Master Bai donated 200,000 taels of silver to the imperial court for military pay and people's livelihood.

The emperor was overjoyed and rewarded Master Bai handsomely, bestowing upon the Bai family a plaque inscribed with "Imperial Merchant Bai Family" by his own hand.

The reclusive old lady of the Duke's mansion personally led Bai Zhizhi into the palace to pay homage to the Emperor and Empress, thus announcing to the world that the Song family had produced a highly valued young lady.

From then on, the capital of the Great Zhou Dynasty gained a noble lady who possessed wealth, power, talent, and beauty, making her the envy of countless people.

Surprisingly, Bai Zhizhi did not remain secluded in her boudoir. Instead, like Mu Qingcheng, she removed her hairpins and jewels and joined the Jingzhao Prefecture, willingly becoming an ordinary female constable.

Her dream did not change because of her changed status; she would strive to climb the ladder to officialdom for women!
Song Zi was sentenced to be cut in half at the waist; she was the last to be executed.

On the eve of his execution, Song Yan, dressed in white, went alone to the imperial prison.

This was the first and last time Song Yan had visited Song Zi in prison since Song Zi went to jail.

Through the heavy prison door, Song Yan's indifferent and cold gaze peered through the bars and landed on the woman curled up in the corner, looking like a dead dog.

After more than a month in prison, where she was given poison every day, Song Zi's once black hair had turned mostly white, becoming tangled like wild grass. The filthy prison uniform, draped over her emaciated body, looked like a large sack. She was emaciated, as lowly as mud, a far cry from her former glamorous and haughty self.

Song Shuxing promised Song Shuyu that he would not kill Song Zi and that Song Zi would be dealt with according to the law, but that did not mean that he could let go of his overwhelming hatred for his brother's abuse!
So, he halved the dosage of the poison, slowly and steadily tormenting Song Zi day after day, making her suffer the pain of being doubly retaliated against! At the same time, to prevent Song Zi from taking her own life, he also asked the imperial physician to take care of her every day. But to his surprise, even though Song Zi felt like she was living a life worse than death, she never thought of suicide. She just asked every day when Song Yan would come to see her. She wanted to see Song Yan!
Song Shuxing knew that Song Zi would live on as long as he couldn't see Song Yan! And Song Yan hated Song Zi the most, so he would never show up until the very last moment!

As if sensing something in her sleep, Song Zi suddenly opened her eyes. Her dull pupils slowly rotated in the dim candlelight of the cell, finally landing on Song Yan.

Their eyes met, Song Yan remained calm and composed, and Song Zi was also surprisingly calm.

Song Zi's sores had fully flared up; the pustules on her face, some scabbed over and others newly broken, were constantly oozing pus and blood.

Ugly and hideous, like a ghost.

Song Zi stood there stunned for a while before suddenly remembering something. He quickly raised his arm, pulled his sleeve to cover her face, and called out in a hoarse voice, "Brother." He paused, then said in a pleading tone, "You, you mustn't look at me, I..."

A flame gradually flickered in Song Yanqing's cold eyes. He said, "Song Zi, tomorrow is your death day."

Song Zi shuddered, the fear of death washing over her. She lunged forward, waving her arms, trying to grab Song Yan, crying out, "Brother, brother... A-Zi knows she was wrong, please forgive A-Zi! I... I'll listen to you from now on, I... I promise I'll never hurt anyone again, really, I'll stay far away from you, please save me, okay? I don't want to die, I can't bear to leave you..."

"Shut up!"

Song Yan interrupted with a shout, his surging hatred erupting uncontrollably, "Save you? I'm here tonight to settle one last score with you! Song Zi, for so many years, I've wanted to tear you to pieces every single day!"

“Brother…” Song Zi’s eyes widened in disbelief, her breathing becoming heavier and heavier. “Why? I love you so much, I wish I could tear my heart out and show it to you, and you actually want to kill me? What did I do wrong? Just because I spied on you bathing and drugged you? But… but you forced me to! You forced me into the palace, forbidding me from loving you…” Song Yan reached out and grabbed Song Zi’s throat, shattering Song Zi’s last remaining hope with each word, “Because you killed Yu Wan!”

The sins buried for more than twenty years, the secrets that were thought to be perfectly hidden and could never be revealed even in the coffin, have unexpectedly been exposed!
Song Zi was so shocked that she forgot to struggle. Her bulging eyes rolled upwards, and her originally pale face turned bluish-purple. Her breathing almost stopped!

However, Song Yan was ultimately rational. In the last moment before Song Zi died, he suddenly let go and threw him heavily to the ground!
"Cough-cough-"

Song Zi coughed for a long time before weakly asking, "How...how did you know?"

Song Yan's eyes reddened, and his words were filled with tears, "When Yu Wan was pregnant, you poisoned her, didn't you? She found something wrong with her body, but the doctor couldn't find anything wrong with her pulse. She suffered a postpartum hemorrhage during childbirth, which was caused by the poison. She knew she couldn't survive, so she simply gave up her life to ensure A Yu's survival!"

“Song Zi, I never doubted you until the ‘Shuiyunjian’ family massacre happened, until you killed Madam Mu and easily killed the prince in your womb, I suddenly realized that my wife Yu Wan’s death was definitely not an accident! With your obsession, ruthlessness, and possessiveness towards me, you could never tolerate me having a woman by my side! Just like in the ten years after Yu Wan’s death, whenever my mother arranged for me to remarry, either my mother would suddenly fall ill, or the chosen woman would have an accident. Even the maids in the Duke’s mansion, if they were young and beautiful, were all watched by people you planted, not allowing them any chance to get close to me!”

"Years have passed, and I have no evidence to convict you, but just looking at you makes me feel disgusted, and I wish I could kill you with my own hands! So, I requested to be stationed at the border, and from that moment on, I began to plot against you! Song Zi, I originally wanted to leave you with a complete corpse, but you harmed my A Yu, and I will make you pay for every bit of pain you inflicted on him! You will not only be cut in half at the waist, but your body will also be thrown into a mass grave to be devoured by wild dogs and vultures. You will have no coffin, no grave, and not even a name! The Emperor will issue an edict to announce to the whole country that you are just an adopted daughter picked up by the Song family, your father is unknown, your mother is a prostitute, and you have nothing to do with the Song family!"

Song Zi went mad. The man she loved all her life had dealt her a fatal blow. She screamed like a madwoman, "No, you can't do this to me! You said you would protect me, that you would love me, but in the end, you married someone else! How can I bear this?! Song Yan, I did nothing wrong. You're the one who wronged me, you broke your promise..."

"I am your elder brother!" Song Yan's forehead veins throbbed. "From the first day you came to the Song family, I told you that I am your elder brother, and you are my younger sister. We are blood siblings! Why don't you understand ethics and morality?"

"But I always thought you were just comforting me, that we weren't related by blood..."

"Stubborn to the end, they deserve to die!"

Having said all that, with the last grudge settled, Song Yan turned and strode away.

Heart-wrenching cries poured from the dark prison cell into the long corridor, filling every crevice of the dungeon...

Is it regret? Is it hatred? Is it resentment? Or is it that illicit love, which has fallen into the mire and dares not be spoken of?

Song Zi didn't know, and no one gave her an answer.

She slowly closed her eyes in the pile of withered grass...

Rewinding to the age of six, a little girl dressed in rags walked nervously into the grand gates of the Song family.

Beneath the crabapple tree, a young man in white stood holding a sword.

Her graceful bearing and imposing presence were beyond compare.

One glance, and it feels like an eternity.

From that moment on, he was imprisoned within a self-imposed circle, a prisoner, a bloodstained blade, a demon who could never return to the human world…

The final chapter is next! Thank you all for your love and support. My new book, "A Demon's Aura in Jinling," has already started, a fantasy/suspense story. Feel free to check it out!