Xiao Song's Confession
I am the legitimate son of the Xiao clan, the ninth in line.
Ever since I can remember, I've been watching, with my wise grandmother, the exquisite "performances" within the inner court, where people's ugly hearts were laid bare by their greed or struggle for survival.
Most of my childhood was filled with such sordid ugliness that I longed to escape, leading me to be extremely rebellious in my youth.
Perhaps it was because I saw too much of women's frightful aspects that I instinctively resisted getting too close to them.
I recall once discovering that one of my father's concubines was inappropriately intimate with a steward. Liu Qingsong bet me that if they were given a secret place to meet, the little concubine would surely fail to keep her chastity. I didn't believe it, as the Xiao clan's rules were strict, and my father was also a man of imposing authority, so even if she was infatuated with someone else, she shouldn't dare to be unfaithful.
