The Cardmaster from a Humble Family: A Millennium of Secrets in the Ancestral Hall

The bitter winter wind howled against the window lattice as if it cost nothing, sharp as a blade.

Su Chenzhou shot upright in bed, his drowsiness vanishing in an instant.

“Brother… Big Brother…”

In the darkness, his younger sister Su Wanniang’s tearful voice reached him, tugging at his heart like a cat’s claws.

Su Chenzhou hurriedly reached out to light the oil lamp by the bed.

In the dim yellow light, he saw Su Wanniang’s little face, pale as paper, while tears streamed down her cheeks like beads from a broken string.

“Wanniang, what’s wrong? Did you have a nightmare?” Su Chenzhou pulled her into his arms, heart aching, and asked softly.

“I… I heard… Mr. Zhao from the accounts office, and… and Madam… They were saying… they’re going to sell me to the mines…” Su Wanniang sobbed so hard she could barely get the words out.

Su Chenzhou’s heart felt as if an invisible giant hand had clenched around it.

The mines?