Chapter 2
Chapter 2
A month later, the fish finally took the bait.
Chu Ying, the daughter of the Yong’an Marquis Estate, made a “slip of the hand” in the palace and shattered a relic of the Late Emperor.
This Princess was furious and ordered her to be seized in court and taken back to the Princess Manor.
The New Emperor had only recently ascended the throne, and the court was in a state of upheaval.
The Yong’an Marquis Estate was too deeply entangled with the former Crown Prince’s affairs, and their position had long been precarious.
Even though the Heir of Yong’an Marquis, Chu Xingzhi, was Zhaoyang’s fiancé…
If he wanted to save Chu Ying, he had no choice but to come and beg me in person.
Oh.
Zhaoyang had also come to my estate to make a scene.
I didn’t waste words on her.
I simply raised my hand and delivered a backhanded slap.
It was crisp and loud.
I had waited many years for that slap.
In the eyes of others, Zhaoyang was innocent, bright, kind, and flawless.
But there are no true faces in the deep palace; brightness is mostly a performance for others to see.
Years ago, in the Cold Palace, a group of eunuchs was bullying me.
Chu Xingzhi reached out and saved me once.
When Zhaoyang found out, she led a group into the Cold Palace.
A slap landed, leaving my ears ringing so loudly I couldn’t hear voices for a long time.
“Anping, your consort mother owes my mother the Empress her life. You will spend your whole life kneeling to pay it back.”
She stood under the corridor, draped in a fire-fox fur cloak, looking down at me from above.
“Don’t use those eyes of yours to look at Brother Xingzhi.”
“You aren’t worthy.”
Zhaoyang.
Well then, today…
You shall see whether I am worthy or not.
Chu Xingzhi arrived at night.
The night was deep, and the lanterns under the eaves swayed gently.
The light and shadows fell upon him like a layer of thin frost.
He wore a slate-blue official robe, which accentuated his cold, pale complexion.
I reclined on the daybed, idly playing with a jade ruyi scepter.
“Your Highness.”
He spoke, his voice incredibly raspy.
“My younger sister is young and ignorant.”
“I beg you… show mercy.”
“If you want me to release her, fine.”
I leaned forward slightly, the tip of my finger pressing gently against his Adam’s apple.
It wasn’t heavy, yet it forced his breath to hitch.
“Lord Chu, you are a clever man.”
“If you want to save someone, you must bring something to trade.”
He looked up at me, a layer of fire suppressed in the depths of his eyes, burning with restraint.
“What does Your Highness want?”
I withdrew my hand and sat back on the daybed.
I tossed the jade ruyi aside onto the side table.
My gaze swept inch by inch across his brow, his Adam’s apple, and the line of his shoulders.
Finally, it landed on the jade belt around his waist.
Then, I softly uttered a single word.
“Strip.”
Chu Xingzhi’s face instantly flushed crimson, his shame and indignation nearly burning through that layer of coldness.
“Anping!”
It was the first time he had called me by my name, each word squeezed out from between his teeth.
“I am a Tanhua of Great Qi, an Imperial Official!”
“I am not some actor kept in Your Highness’s manor!”
I lazily raised my eyes as if I had heard a joke.
“An Imperial Official? A Tanhua?”
“If those titles were actually useful, why would you be reduced to kneeling here?”
He clenched his fists tightly, his knuckles turning white.
I looked up, staring directly into his eyes.
“Or…”
“This Princess can send Chu Ying to apologize to the Late Emperor right now.”
Blood seeped from between Chu Xingzhi’s fingers.
After a long silence, he closed his eyes.
When he opened them again, the fire in his eyes had died out, leaving only ashes.
Those slender hands, which had once written brilliant essays…
Now trembled as they reached for the buttons of that slate-blue official robe.
One by one.
Layer by layer.
His robes fell one after another, his plain white inner garment like snow, silently touching the floor.
I stood up and walked barefoot to stand before him.
“Lord Chu,” I leaned in, whispering close to his ear.
“It seems the word ‘shame’ isn’t worth much when it comes to saving a life.”
He jolted violently, his pupils shrinking suddenly.
It seemed he, too, remembered the past.
That winter night in the Cold Palace, the north wind was like a blade.
Jingping was burning with fever and drifting in and out of consciousness. For a basket of charcoal…
I had prostrated myself at the feet of the Head Eunuch, letting him humiliate me however he pleased.
As fate would have it, he and Zhaoyang had stumbled upon that scene.
He had almost instinctively raised his hand to cover Zhaoyang’s eyes, as if afraid she would be tainted by the filth.
“A dignified Princess of Great Qi, yet you are so utterly shameless?”
Chu Xingzhi.
Look.
When the blade of fate stabs everyone equally…
No one is more noble than anyone else.
I straightened my back, my fingertips slowly smoothing the creases of my skirt.
“Come.”
I parted my lips, my voice slow and unhurried.
“Serve This Princess.”
“Only when This Princess is satisfied may you take Chu Ying away.”
His hand reached for my belt.