Chapter 2

Chapter 2

They discussed it in the study all night before finally summoning me.

When I pushed the door open, I saw Shen Chengyun with tears still wet on her face. Her eyes were red as she glared at me, then she snapped her head away.

Father gave her a helpless look before turning his gaze toward me.

“You will enter the palace with Yun’er as her dowry maid.”

“Father!” Shen Chengyun cried out.

She clearly hadn’t fully accepted this decision yet. She rushed into the center of the study and jabbed a finger toward my face.

If I hadn’t tilted my head to avoid it, her long, crimson-lacquered nails would have scratched my eyes.

“Look at her defiant face! If you let her accompany me into the palace, she will definitely try to seduce His Highness the Crown Prince!”

Father walked over to me. His expression softened significantly-a sure sign that he was about to ask something of me.

“Ruoruo, you and Yun’er are sisters.”

“That’s right. Two sisters should support one another,” First Madam chimed in.

I kept my face tightly composed, fearing that if I relaxed even slightly, I would burst into a cold sneer.

Over the years, I had eaten Shen Chengyun’s leftovers and washed her undergarments in the dead of winter. Father and First Madam had seen it all.

Why had no one told Shen Chengyun back then that we were sisters?

“Ruoruo, your mother’s status… well, it’s not something that can be brought into the light,” First Madam said airily. “So, we cannot announce to the world that you are a young miss of this house. I’m sure you understand this.”

“If you stay in this manor, you will remain nothing more than a servant. You would only be able to marry an illiterate stable hand, or perhaps be sold off as a concubine.”

“Entering the palace is different. Yun’er is the Crown Princess, and in the future, she will be the Empress. As the Empress’s favorite maid, you could easily be matched with an Imperial Guard. Wouldn’t that be wonderful?”

“But if you cause trouble now and Yun’er loses her position as Crown Princess…”

First Madam walked over and gently stroked my shoulder. Her touch was so light it felt like a venomous snake flicking its tongue against my skin.

“Then tell me… do you think your life would be easy?”

Indeed… it wouldn’t be.

My life had never been mine to command.

I lowered my head submissively and whispered, “I understand.”

“Ruoruo will certainly do her best to support her elder sister.”

First Madam and Father exchanged a look, both wearing satisfied smiles.

Beside them, Shen Chengyun’s cloudy expression finally cleared.

Such happy faces… they won’t be able to keep them for long.

I thought to myself in the dark silence of my heart.