Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Lin Wanrou’s friend Xue Wantang was the concubine-born daughter of Xue An, a fourth-rank official of ceremonies. She was small, and even her voice was gentle.

There was always a hierarchy of contempt among the nobility. Lin Wanrou stood on the second rung; Xue Wantang was at the very bottom.

Xue An’s rank was not high, and Xue Wantang was only a concubine-born daughter.

That alone was bad enough, but she was also an honest person.

She neither flattered nor had the wit to coax young ladies into smiles.

Only a strange creature like Lin Wanrou liked playing with her.

Princess Zhaohua once teased them.

“Lin Wanrou, why don’t you just marry Xue Wantang?”

Lin Wanrou thought that was not impossible. After all, Xue Wantang was very good at cheering her on.

Whether Lin Wanrou was wielding a spear, swinging a staff, punching, or kicking, Xue Wantang would clap with all her strength.

“Wow, Wanrou, you are amazing!”

The pride in her eyes made Lin Wanrou’s little tail perk up.

Unfortunately, Xue Wantang married at seventeen.

If a woman did not marry, she only had the fault of not marrying. Once she married, the faults multiplied.

Not bearing children was a fault. Not serving her parents-in-law was a fault. Even sleeping a quarter-hour too long was a fault.

The first and greatest fault was not bearing children.

Xue Wantang had been married for seven years and had been called a hen that could not lay eggs for seven years.

She had no choice but to personally take two concubines for her husband.

Now even those concubines rode over her head, and Xue Wantang did not dare say a word.

Her birth family could not be relied on, her husband did not love her, and Lin Wanrou was her only friend.

When Lin Wanrou entered the Xue residence, it was as if Xue Wantang’s spine could straighten a little.

Slowly, very slowly, Xue Wantang straightened her back before her mother-in-law.

“Wanrou, you came!”

Lin Wanrou gave a hum, putting on quite the air. “I came to see whether you were living well.”

Her gaze swept over Li Xu, frightening the man into lowering his head, not daring to look at her. He only said, “Of course I treat my wife with the utmost care. Miss Lin, please be at ease.”

Old Madam Li could not stand Lin Wanrou’s manner.

“A woman should stay home and do embroidery. What kind of behavior is it to show your face outside all day and mix with men?”

Li Xu told his mother to say less.

He had once slapped Xue Wantang several times and been tied behind Lin Wanrou’s horse and dragged around for a full lap.

Now the sight of Lin Wanrou’s stern face frightened him.

If that horse ran another lap, he might not be able to father a son at all.

The two women ate dinner alone, huddled together and whispered.

Xue Wantang reported only good news, saying Li Xu was wonderfully kind, gentle, and considerate, and that she was very happy.

Lin Wanrou sighed. “You have grown thin.”

Those three words made Xue Wantang’s eyes fill with tears.

She cried and said, “Lin Wanrou, if only you were a man. If you were a man, I would definitely marry you.”

Lin Wanrou thought that if she were a man, she would not be able to understand Xue Wantang’s suffering.

Men had never been women. They did not understand.

Lin Wanrou stayed the night at the Li residence. The two women crawled under the quilt and kept whispering.

Only after Xue Wantang had cursed Li Xu under her breath for half the night and wished he would fall ill and die early did she finally fall asleep.

On the days Lin Wanrou was a guest, Xue Wantang did not have to rise early to serve her mother-in-law. She could sleep soundly.

Otherwise, she had to get up at the hour of the Tiger to cook, as if the whole household would starve without her.

Lin Wanrou was her natal family. A very reliable natal family.

Lin Wanrou practiced every morning, so she rose early. She picked up a wooden stick in the courtyard and swung it with roaring force. Li Xu saw it and shuddered again.

But Lin Wanrou’s intimidation could only work from one side. She could not truly manage matters between husband and wife.

Li Xu only maintained appearances in the open. In private, Xue Wantang was still drowning in misery.

The daughter wine that General Lin had buried beneath the peach tree for Lin Wanrou was already twenty-four years old.

In the years when he still dreamed that Lin Wanrou might marry, General Lin had wept until his nose ran.

Even though his own daughter had the strength to uproot mountains and the spirit to cover the world, he was still afraid her husband would bully her.

The treasure he had held in his palms for twenty years would become nothing more than a daughter-in-law in someone else’s home.

For this, General Lin had worried constantly.

So Lin Wanrou could not understand how there could be parents who did not love their daughters.

When Xue Wantang married, her dowry was shabby. Lin Wanrou had carried in two chests for her.

When it was time to part, Xue Wantang still had tears in her eyes.

She said, “Wanrou, I am pregnant. After all these years, I have finally made it through.”

Lin Wanrou should have been happy for Xue Wantang, but she could not be.

She could only flee in panic.

On the way to the palace, Lin Wanrou ran into Wei Li again. Just as she was irritated that she could meet this wastrel everywhere, she remembered that Wei Li was the empress’s nephew.

He was also the youngest child of the empress’s maternal family, cherished by ten thousand people since childhood. For him, entering the palace was as simple as drinking water.

When the two met, neither yielded. Their steps were so quick they seemed to stir up wind.

Relying on her two-inch advantage, Lin Wanrou squeezed Wei Li to the side and left him only the back of her head.

Lin Wanrou was Princess Zhaohua’s study companion, though because the princess was spoiled, willful, and hated studying, Lin Wanrou had nearly forgotten she had that role.

In truth, she was just there to keep the child from causing trouble.

There were exactly seven years between them.

For a moment, Lin Wanrou could not accept that the child she had watched grow up was also going to marry.

Fortunately, Zhaohua was arrogant and refused to marry anyone but the greatest hero under heaven.

When Lin Wanrou arrived, Zhaohua was playing the qin.

It was complete nonsense, like demonic music drilling into the ears.

Without looking up at Lin Wanrou, Zhaohua only asked, “Where is Wei Li?”

Lin Wanrou rubbed her nose and said guiltily, “With Her Majesty the Empress.”

Zhaohua jumped up, smashed the priceless ancient qin to pieces, and shrieked while running back and forth.

“Who exactly is her child? She might as well make Wei Li her son! What does she need me, her daughter, for? She does not care about me anyway! She does not care! Ah! I am furious!”

Lin Wanrou could only persuade her. “Your Highness, Her Majesty still loves you very much.”

Zhaohua was so angry that she thought Lin Wanrou was showing off.

“What do you know? Your parents only had you!”

But she had a dozen brothers and sisters.

Their unfavored imperial father could not even remember some of their names, while Zhaohua’s mother knew every one of them clearly.

Why? They were not even her own children!

Zhaohua angrily stomped on the broken qin several more times.

“Then what am I?”

Zhaohua decided that since she could not get love from her parents, she would marry. She would find someone who loved only her.

Of course, that person had to be the greatest hero under heaven.

She would hold a martial contest for marriage.

Lin Wanrou could not untangle the thoughts of a rebellious child, so she reported the matter truthfully to the empress.

The empress rubbed her brow. Since Zhaohua was of marriageable age anyway, they might as well choose one among the sons of noble families.

And so, by Princess Zhaohua’s own decision, anyone who could defeat Lin Wanrou could become the prince consort.