Chapter 1
“How did my lady’s handkerchief end up in your possession?
“I know what happened!
“You shameless lecher must have stolen it so you could ruin her reputation!”
The banquet hall buzzed with noise.
Hongyu, Lu Shirong’s personal maid, pointed at Gu Ningcheng and cursed,
“A brute like you who is lower than a dog—
“And you dare call yourself a gifted scholar? Bah!”
Tears shimmered in Lu Shirong’s lovely eyes as she sobbed,
“This man tried to force himself on me earlier.
“When I refused him, he resorted to this vile trick to tarnish my virtue.
“Nothing short of his death will appease my hatred!
“Father, you must see justice done for me.”
As she spoke, Lu Shirong’s hair was slightly disheveled, her cheeks flushed, and her clothes badly rumpled.
Anyone with the slightest worldly experience could guess what had happened not long before.
Yet Lu Shirong was the legitimate second daughter of a powerful minister’s family.
Gu Ningcheng was merely a poor scholar who had come to the capital to sit the examinations.
Only his modest literary reputation had earned him an invitation to the banquet at Minister Lu’s estate.
Everyone there might have guessed the truth,
but none of them was foolish enough to make an enemy of the Lu family for the sake of a penniless scholar.
Gu Ningcheng had no way to defend himself.
My father, meanwhile, was already putting on a show of towering rage.
At a wave of his hand, more than a dozen burly servants rushed forward.
Gu Ningcheng was dragged outside.
The thud of paddles striking flesh mingled with his stifled cries of pain.
In my previous life, when I had still been a pampered young lady, the sound had filled me with pity.
At that moment, however, I found it indescribably satisfying.
“Qingyue.”
The corner of my mouth curved as I whispered to my personal maid,
“Give the men carrying out the punishment a message.
“This man committed the unforgivable crime of stealing my second sister’s handkerchief.
“Ask him which hand he used to pick it up—and make sure they smash that hand for me!”
More than half an hour later,
Gu Ningcheng, now a mass of blood, was carried out and dumped in the street.
The guests departed as well, whispering among themselves.
Mocking smiles lingered in their eyes as they left.
The unmarried second daughter of Minister Lu’s household had been carrying on with the Prince of Jin.
It was an open secret throughout the capital.
My parents did not care in the least.
They crowded eagerly around my sister and asked,
“Well? Did you win the Prince of Jin over?”
“If you can attach yourself to His Highness, even as a secondary consort,
“the future of our Lu family will be secure!”
Lu Shirong smiled smugly.
“Father, Mother, don’t worry.
“His Highness has already given me his word. He will enter the palace soon to request an imperial decree
“making me his princess consort!”
My parents were overjoyed.
They praised her for being thoughtful and sensible, then ordered all manner of rare treasures sent to her courtyard.
The triumph on Lu Shirong’s face deepened.
When her gaze landed on me, it gained an edge of malice.
“Don’t worry, Sister. Once I marry into the prince’s household,
“I’ll ask His Highness to see whether any of the attendants or servants under him are promising.
“I’ll be sure to find you a fine match too!”
In my previous life, those words had sent me into a fury.
Pairing the legitimate eldest daughter of a minister’s family with a mere attendant or servant was an obvious attempt to humiliate me.
Yet our parents had rebuked me instead, saying I was not half as kind or sensible as my sister.
Now, hearing the same words, I only wanted to laugh.
Every one of the attendants in the Prince of Jin’s household was tall, powerfully built, and strikingly handsome.
The prince treasured them like jewels. How could he possibly bear to give any of them away?
I would let Lu Shirong go on dreaming that she and the Prince of Jin were madly in love.
Once she married him, she would discover just what sort of hell awaited her.
Unwilling to waste any more time on them, I made a few perfunctory responses, found an excuse, and returned to my courtyard.
“Qingyue.”
I summoned my personal maid once more.
“Go outside the estate for me.
“Find out what has become of that scholar named Gu Ningcheng.”
As I spoke, I took several banknotes from my dressing case.
Qingyue accepted them and asked,
“Do you feel sorry for him, my lady?
“Do you mean to offer the scholar some help?”
Even a young maid like Qingyue could see that Lu Shirong had framed him and that Gu Ningcheng was the innocent victim of a calamity.
It was only natural for her to assume
that I, the eldest daughter known for treating others with kindness, could not bear the injustice and meant to lend him a hand.
Instead, I slowly shook my head and smiled with cold cruelty.
“Wrong.
“I want you to have men watch Gu Ningcheng closely.
“Whenever he sends for a physician, hire that physician away before he can. See to it that his wounds go untreated and that the pain sinks into his very bones!”