[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-the-ink-saint-of-great-zhou":3,"chapter-the-ink-saint-of-great-zhou-the-ink-saint-of-great-zhou-chapter-129":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","The Ink Saint of Great Zhou",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2292092,4481,"Chapter 129: The Truth","the-ink-saint-of-great-zhou-chapter-129",129,"\u003Cp>Song Ce grinned a cruel smile and stepped forward; before Li the steward could react, he seized his throat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ghh… Young Master.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li the steward’s feet kicked helplessly in the air.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Song Ce’s gaze grew colder, his grip tightening—then suddenly, he released him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Cough… cough… cough…” Li the steward collapsed to the ground, clutching his neck and coughing violently, tears streaming down his face, his breath ragged with the tremors of near-death.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Song Ce’s voice was icy: “No wonder I couldn’t find you—you hid in the Western Regions. Was it Zhang Shi who ordered you to kill my mother?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li the steward rasped: “Young Master, your biological mother died because she concealed her illness, delaying treatment. The moment I learned, I immediately sent for a physician.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Crack!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Song Ce stomped down on Li the steward’s calf; bone snapped. He ground his foot harder, still unsatisfied. “Still lying?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Aaaah!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li the steward screamed in pain, begging: “Young Master, I swear I’m not lying—ask Lady Zhang!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You mean Zhang Shi?” Song Ce let out a light laugh. “She’s dead. I can’t ask her anymore. If you’re telling the truth, why did you leave the Song family after my mother’s death? Why come to the Western Regions?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing Zhang Shi was dead, Li the steward shuddered, voice trembling: “You killed her, Young Master.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Oh?” Song Ce raised an eyebrow. “No one suspected me—but you alone insist it was me. I’m curious: why? What do you know?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li the steward sobbed: “Lady Zhang wrote me a letter saying you might be searching for me, so I came here. When you said she was dead, I thought… how could you kill her?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Song Ce laughed softly. “Why not? I killed her. You didn’t see the terror and confusion in her eyes as she died.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Did you really think pretending to care for me would make me obey her?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“If not for her, how would my mother have died?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li the steward blinked, stunned. “Young Master, Lady Zhang didn’t kill your mother. I did nothing to harm her. You’re mistaken.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Mistaken?” Song Ce smiled faintly. “Let me ask you: when I asked her about your whereabouts, why did she refuse to speak? Why did she claim she had no contact with you? Yet you just said she wrote you letters.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He paused, his smile turning cold. “Why did she know I was searching for you—and send you to the Western Regions? And why, upon hearing she was dead, did you immediately assume I killed her?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li the steward hurried to explain: “Young Master, you’re mistaken. I left the Song household because Lady Zhang feared you’d harm me—she thought I was the one responsible for your mother’s death, since you spoke in your sleep.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I did maintain contact with her. She was kind-hearted; learning of my hardship, she often sent silver to help me survive.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“In her final letter, though she didn’t say it outright, I sensed her deep unease about you. That’s why I just assumed… you killed her.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Song Ce snorted. “Do you think I’d believe you?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li the steward grew agitated. “Even if I die today, I must tell the truth: your mother died because she concealed her illness.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Song Ce roared: “Still denying it? Why would my mother conceal her illness? Did she want to die? Does that make sense?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li the steward nodded frantically. “Lady Zhang never told you? Your mother truly wanted to die—that’s why she concealed her illness.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Song Ce frowned tightly. He wanted to kill Li the steward instantly—but held back. “Then explain: why did my mother want to die? Was it you and that woman who drove her to it?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li the steward opened his mouth, then hesitated, watching Song Ce’s face with wary caution.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Song Ce bellowed: “Can’t come up with an excuse? Then don’t bother. Don’t worry—I’ll make you wish you were dead. I’ll flay you alive.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li the steward trembled. “Young Master, if I tell you, will you spare me?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Speak.” Song Ce snapped.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li the steward took a deep, trembling breath, as if bracing himself. “Because your mother’s maid discovered she was having an affair with a servant—and reported it to Lady Zhang…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Song Ce’s eyes turned blood-red. “What are you saying?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li the steward’s face was pale with grief. “I swear I’m not lying. And Young Master—that maid said you saw it with your own eyes. Was she lying? I don’t know.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“After learning this, Lady Zhang had the maid sold far away that very night. The servant—I drowned him myself.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But because you showed such exceptional Confucian talent, and Lady Zhang raised you since childhood, she concealed the matter from your father.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“As for your mother, Lady Zhang never met her. She sent me to deliver the message: from now on, live a life of purity and restraint. When you grew older, she would become a nun at home.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Your mother, consumed by guilt, deliberately stood in freezing winter rain, concealed her illness, and died. She refused to see you again—until Lady Zhang insisted she see you one last time. Didn’t she say anything to you?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Your mother had an affair with a servant!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Those words struck Song Ce like thunder. He stood frozen, tears pouring uncontrollably from his eyes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The ground seemed to roll beneath him; the walls shrank inward, endless darkness swallowing him, as if he were falling into nothing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Memories long buried surged before his eyes, one by one.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No no no! This isn’t real! It’s all an illusion!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Song Ce clawed desperately at his hair, eyes bloodshot. He tried to wipe his tears—but they only flowed faster.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ce’er, come eat some snacks. I’ve told your father it wasn’t your fault—you don’t have to kneel anymore. Get up, my heart aches seeing you like this.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ce’er, I know you’re filial, but when your father’s around, call me ‘Mother.’ If you don’t, he’ll punish you again. When we’re alone, you can call me whatever you like, alright?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ce’er! Don’t struggle—let go… ghh…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The image of Zhang Shi’s final moments—Song Ce’s hands around her throat—flashed before him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Guilt crashed over him like a tidal wave, overwhelming, annihilating. His tears would not stop.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Why didn’t she reveal the truth before she died?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The voice of the divine echoed: “Perhaps she feared that knowing the truth—that your mother betrayed you—would leave you with a wound too deep to heal.”\u003C\u002Fp>",1066,"2026-06-20T03:56:21.568Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","242d03f1ab795c8c123ed2f0e9386d6da0896bccad487a11cd7f8709af474bc3","the-ink-saint-of-great-zhou-chapter-130","the-ink-saint-of-great-zhou-chapter-128",289,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-ink-saint-of-great-zhou-cover.jpg"]