Chapter 1 — Song of the Venom Pearl

Before my father set off for the frontier campaign, he instructed me to journey to the imperial capital to find my mother. My parents had parted ways many years ago, and my mother had remarried, wedding the current Prime Minister—a man holding immense power and high prestige. Yet it was not my mother who came to receive me. Instead, my stepbrother, Xie Zhou, stood at the ferry landing, his face as cold as frost and snow. "You are merely the child of a second wife. What kind of sister does that make you to me? Yet my father insisted I come meet you." He added harshly, "Once you set foot in the Prime Minister's residence, you must remember your place in all things." I could only lower my head, nodding timidly.

Later, when he offered to teach me calligraphy, I declined. "I dare not trouble you, Elder Brother; my status is humble." When he invited me out to sightsee, I refused. "Elder Brother, your status and mine are vastly different." Whenever he tried to grow closer, I retreated further away. "Elder Brother is noble and exalted; my standing is lowly, I am unworthy."

Later still, the Emperor sought to bestow a princess upon Xie Zhou in marriage. To avoid any misunderstanding on the princess's part, I left the capital quietly without bidding farewell, heading back to the wild frontiers to find my father. Amidst swirling dust and blinding sand, Xie Zhou arrived, caked in travel dust, seizing my wrist and refusing to let go. "Ah-Yang, come back to the manor with me." I retreated a few steps, smiled faintly, and replied, "My mother was only a second wife. What kind of brother does that make you to me?"

My father was originally a low-ranking military officer on the borderlands, spending year after year fighting on the battlefields. My mother harbored endless resentment toward him, so my father decisively granted her freedom. On the day she left our home, she stroked my cheek, her tears falling without end. She could not bear to abandon me, yet if she brought me along, she could never remarry into a powerful, noble house. In the end, urged on by my uncle, she reluctantly climbed into the carriage. Before leaving, she promised me, "Yangyang, wait until Mother settles down, then I will return to get you." I ran behind the carriage, weeping and calling out for Mother. Not until the carriage vanished at the bend of the alley did I stand dazed in the haze of dust, waiting for her to come back for me. And so I waited, year after year, until I grew into womanhood.

Years drifted by, but my mother never returned. Fearing that a stepmother would mistreat me, my father never remarried. When war broke out, he entrusted me to an old nursemaid's care; when the frontier was peaceful, he took me traveling far and wide across the land. He often said, "A daughter must witness the vastness of the world so she will never be blinded by romance nor bound by narrow obsessions." But now, war flamed anew along the borders. My father departed this time not knowing if he would ever return, and fearing I might miss my chance at marriage, he sent me to the capital. Given his ties to the Prime Minister's estate, he hoped they could find me a good match. "Yangyang," he had said, "if your mother will not come to fetch you, then go seek her out yourself."

As the boat moored at the pier, mist hung thick across the water's surface. Piercing through the thin veil of haze, I caught sight of a figure standing motionless at the edge of the shore—aloof and poised, like a lonely pine tree or refined jade. Set against the backdrop of emerald mountains and clear waters, he seemed to have walked straight out of a painting. Yet the moment my feet touched dry land, the man from the painting spoke with icy indifference, casting my heart into a dark abyss. "Are you the daughter of my stepmother—Tong Yangyang?"

"Your mother is merely a second wife. What kind of sister are you to me that my father should order me to receive you?" So this was my stepbrother, Xie Zhou. Before coming here, I had heard my father speak of him: after my mother remarried the Prime Minister, she became stepmother to his eldest son, Xie Zhou—a man of extraordinary talent, yet possessing an exceptionally cold demeanor. My father had warned me, "That young master has both beauty and brilliance, so he is bound to be arrogant and proud. Once you enter the Prime Minister's estate, you cannot act as freely as you did at home. You must be patient and endure everything." "And what if I cannot endure it?" "Then come back to the border to find me. At worst, you simply will not marry." Recalling my father's words, I lowered my eyes and bowed deeply to him. "This humble girl greets you, Elder Brother." He uttered a faint, chilly laugh. "Though you call me brother in name, once you step into the Prime Minister's residence, always remember your place." The wind blew fiercely at the ferry dock, rustling the hem of my skirt as a bitter cold seeped into my chest. I kept my head bowed and softly murmured, "Yes."

When I entered the Prime Minister's estate, I was surprised to find the Prime Minister himself waiting in the main hall. His demeanor was warm and gentle as he exchanged pleasantries about family matters, bidding me to treat the residence as my own home. When my mother looked at me, a hint of distance flickered in her eyes, yet she still stepped forward, took my hand, and led me to the small courtyard prepared for me. The Prime Minister's estate was grand and expansive, and they had assigned me a secluded little courtyard at the far end of the garden. "Yangyang, you have grown so big." My mother smoothed my hair, her palm resting gently against my cheek. Ah, yes, I had grown. Once, my face had not even been as large as her palm, yet now it filled her hand completely. But time had altered far more than just my appearance. In this moment, after exchanging a few polite inquiries, there was nothing left for us to say. Only the howling of the winter wind could be heard whistling past the window frames.

Suddenly, a young boy ran inside, tugging at my sleeve before turning to ask my mother, "Mother, is this my elder sister?" My mother smiled and patted his head, her eyes filled with boundless tenderness. A sudden, inexplicable pang pierced my heart. "This is your younger brother, Ah-Yi." Before I could speak, Ah-Yi cheered joyfully, "I have a sister now! I have a sister!" "Eldest Brother is always as cold as ice, not affectionate at all. Sister is much better!" His innocent, carefree nature warmed me, and I could not bring myself to remain distant, reaching out to stroke his head gently. Mother coaxed him with a few soft words and led him away, telling me to rest first. Watching the intimate shadows of mother and son fade across the courtyard, an inexplicable emptiness hollowed out my chest. Later, I learned from the old nurse assigned to attend me that Ah-Yi was not actually my mother's biological son. The Prime Minister's late wife had passed away when Ah-Yi was still a newborn, and my mother had married into the family while he was still swaddled in blankets. She had raised both him and Xie Zhou as her own children. But Xie Zhou, being a few years older than me, recognized only his late birth mother and kept my mother at arm's length. Only Xie Yi regarded her as his true mother, their bond deep and inseparable. I did not know why, but listening to the nurse's words made my chest ache all the more. For all these years, the maternal embrace I had longed for... my mother had bestowed entirely upon another woman's child. I stood in the night wind, listening to the distant sound of a child's laughter mingling with a mother's gentle lullaby, my mind thrown into turmoil.

"What are you doing standing out here?"