Chapter 2

“Crown Prince!”

A bright, girlish laugh floated in on the wind. A young woman in red flung herself into Xing Ye’s arms.

How dull. The play had barely begun, and already the drums had stopped.

The girl was Wen Mingzhu, the treasured jewel of the Wen family and the future Crown Princess. Today was her birthday, and everyone—including him—had come for her.

I was not stupid enough to believe Xing Ye had rushed home for me.

The girl who had driven him through sleepless nights and relentless miles was plainly the precious Wen Mingzhu before us.

He drew her gently out of his arms, smoothed a stray lock above her brow, and smiled.

“Happy birthday, Zhuzhu.”

The moment she appeared, his gaze softened into spring water.

So that was the difference.

When he looked at me, there was always something invasive in his eyes. Even his rare tenderness was secretive and dark, as cold as moonlight.

Desire, never love.

The wine in my cup seemed to have cooled. It tasted a little bitter.

Wen Mingzhu held out her hand with charming impatience. “Where is my present?”

An attendant presented the rare treasure the Crown Prince had prepared for his beloved. The vermilion lacquer box opened, and a moonlike radiance flooded the room.

“The Pearl of the Vast Sea.” Its glow filled Wen Mingzhu’s eyes.

The brilliance hurt. I raised a hand to shield my face.

On the night before Xing Ye left for war, he had sat beside the bed, playing with my hair.

“What do you want?” he asked.

“Anything?”

“Anything.”

“The Pearl of the Vast Sea.”

I needed it to break my passion curse. I had indulged his every whim in hopes of coaxing it from him.

It had done me no good.

The Pearl of the Vast Sea belonged with his precious future Crown Princess, not with a Yaoyao kept in darkness.

Bitterness filled my mouth. I drank again, then again.

It did not matter.

What existed between us had always been shallow pleasure, a mirage that looked like a palace from afar and vanished the moment one drew close. In bed, he lied to me and I lied to him. A lie for a night, pleasure for a night—that was all.

Only a fool would take any of it seriously.

I emptied my cup and looked toward the head of the table.

The noble Crown Prince and the pampered heiress sat side by side, his purple brocade robe interwoven with her crimson skirt. They were a dazzling, well-matched pair.

“What happened to your neck?” Wen Mingzhu’s eyes abruptly fixed on the scratch.

At last, she had noticed.

The others tensed with her. The interrupted play struck its gong and began anew.

I smiled at Xing Ye.

Your beloved is here, Your Highness. Do you still dare behave as recklessly as before? How will you explain your way out of this?

Our gazes met. He must have seen the mockery in mine, but he remained as composed as ever. Slowly, he smiled, the corners of his eyes lifting.

“This?”

He pressed two fingers to the mark and let his gaze roam brazenly over my face.

“What do you think, Aunt?”

Wen Mingzhu was standing right there, and he asked me?

Had he lost his mind?

He knew how much I hated the Wen family. He knew I longed to burn this gilded house to the ground.

Should I tell them?

As you can all see, the exalted Crown Prince has been carrying on with a lowly widow named Wen Lanyu. That red mark on his neck? I made it. My apologies—passion carried me away.

The thought of their faces filled me with delight.

Wen Mingzhu was already crimson, her hands trembling. What was she afraid of? That I might speak some hideous truth?

Your beloved prince is not nearly as pure as he looks, Wen Mingzhu.

I tapped one knuckle against the table and held Xing Ye’s gaze.

“What would Your Highness have me say?”

He propped his chin on one hand and idly turned his crystal cup. “The truth, naturally.”

“Wen Lanyu, do not speak nonsense!” my sanctimonious father roared.

I shrugged. “I would rather not speak at all, Father, but His Highness has commanded it. Should I obey you or him?”

Xing Ye glanced at my father. The look was calm, yet it carried the weight of thunder.

Even between future in-laws, a subject remained a subject.

My father’s voice immediately shrank. “His Highness, of course.”

I cleared my throat.

“As you have all seen, the mark on His Highness’s neck does indeed have something to do with me.

“Had I been more watchful and more careful, His Highness would never have been hurt…”

Xing Ye’s dimple deepened.