Chapter 1

The night before I left the chancellor’s household, the eldest young master came to my room especially to see me.

“Have you come to see me one last time?” I asked.

He stroked my cheek and sighed helplessly. “Xiaocao, I do care about you.”

His full name was Qi Yuchen. Originally, I was supposed to become his personal maid and concubine.

A month earlier, Mother had left me at the chancellor’s residence, collected fifty taels of silver, and walked away without looking back.

The steward brought me, utterly bewildered, before Qi Yuchen and bowed. “Young Master, of all these girls, this one looks most like the second young lady.”

The sunlight dazzled my eyes. Seated above us, he glanced over indifferently. “If she resembles her, keep her.”

During my month in the household, I gradually learned their real purpose. Qi Yuchen had bought me not for himself, but to enter the palace in his younger sister Qi Yuxian’s place and become an imperial consort.

My new identity was Qi Yuwan, the chancellor’s long-lost third daughter.

Qi Yuchen did not like me. I knew that perfectly well.

What madness had possessed him to say such things now?

But he looked so sincere that I had to play along. “Young Master, Xiaocao cares about you too.”

“But if you don’t go, Yuxian will have to. You understand, don’t you?”

Qi Yuxian had been spoiled by the whole family since childhood. Yesterday, Qi Yuchen had given me a new dress. She disliked the sight of it and cut it to pieces with scissors.

Lifting her chin, she stared coldly at him. “You can give her only what I don’t want.”

I was not really Qi Yuwan, but no one in the household seemed to have told her that.

She thought I had stolen her chance to enter the palace. It was only natural that she disliked me.

I lowered my eyes. “I understand.”

“Still, Xiaocao, don’t worry too much. If an opportunity arises, I’ll bring you back out…”

Qi Yuchen clearly had little talent for this sort of performance. His tone was exaggerated and awkward. Finally, he took a jade hairpin from inside his robe and placed it in my hand.

“Look at this whenever you miss me.”

I agreed, then threw it away the moment I left the residence.

At the palace, I stepped down from the carriage. Someone took my arm, led me a long way, and told me to sit beside a bed.

A faint, cool fragrance drifted into my nose. Before long, I heard the door open. Footsteps drew nearer and stopped before the bed. A pale, slender hand tilted my chin up.

A clear, pleasant voice reached my ears. “Afraid to look up?”

I raised my head and met a pair of tranquil eyes.

They were as clear as if they had been washed with water, and were somehow the darkest part of his face. His skin was pale, his lips almost bloodless. He had an air of refined nobility, but clearly did not look well.

The sight of my face seemed to startle him. “How old are you?”

“Fifteen.”

He frowned slightly and studied me, apparently thinking.

I clutched my skirt nervously. Remembering Qi Yuchen’s instructions, I added, “My name is Qi Yuwan. I’m the chancellor’s long-lost third daughter.”

“Qi Yuwan.”

He repeated it calmly. After a moment, he suddenly smiled. “Then tell me, which characters make up Yuwan?”

Qi Yuchen had not prepared me for this. Unable to invent an answer, I said, “I don’t know.”

His smile widened, and he even patted the top of my head. “You don’t know how your own name is written?”

Even through my thick hair, I could feel how cold his fingertips were, like chilled porcelain.

That touch moved down my face and stopped at my neck.

Instinct told me that if I did not say something soon, I might not leave this room alive.

“I… I have another name. Xiaocao.” I swallowed and looked at him nervously. “Mother says a humble name makes a child easier to keep alive. I know those characters. I can write them too.”

Some of the murderous chill around him seemed to fade. He sat beside me and motioned for me to explain my injuries. His voice was very soft. “Good girl… Now answer whatever I ask.”

His fingertips were cold, but their pads were soft and warm. The unfamiliar touch made me tense.

I shifted the cloth at my shoulder a little to show the scar. He pointed to it. “What’s this?”

“Mother burned me with the poker.”

“And this?”

“My brother cut me with the woodcutting knife,” I said carefully. “It’s almost healed.”

He asked about my injuries one after another, his expression growing graver. Finally, he asked quietly, “How old are you, really?”

I dared not lie again. “Thirteen.”

He went completely still.

After a long while, he straightened with clenched teeth and closed my collar. He stared at me, then gave a mocking laugh. “Sending a little girl to deceive me… My excellent chancellor truly has no regard for his emperor.”

He even rested his forehead in his hand and laughed twice more. The light in his eyes looked misted over.

His laughter made me strangely sad. I pointed at my own eyes and shook my head. “It’s all right. Look, I keep you in my eyes.”

He fell silent again and watched me intently for a while. Then he put an arm around me and lay back on the couch.

Startled, I gave a small cry. His cool hand covered my eyes. “Sleep. You’re still little. I won’t hurt you.”

I had eaten nothing all day. Hungry and exhausted, I soon fell asleep. Half dreaming, I heard him ask, “Xiaocao, do you like your name?”

“No… I don’t…” I murmured drowsily. “I like flowers…”