Chapter 1

Chapter 1

My father had gotten himself into trouble.

He drank too much, got into an argument with one of his drinking buddies, and beat the man so badly he was seriously injured.

The other man happened to be the county magistrate’s precious son, so my father was thrown into prison that very day.

When the news reached our home, my mother looked sick with worry.

After hesitating again and again, she wrote a letter.

I asked her what she was writing. She said, “This letter is for your maternal grandfather and grandmother. I’m going to beg them to save your father.”

“Are Grandfather and Grandmother really that powerful?”

Mother lifted her chin proudly. “Of course. Your grandfather was a founding hero of the dynasty and was granted the title Duke Zhenguo. Your grandmother is Commandery Princess Tai’an. As long as they set their minds to something, there is nothing they cannot do.”

Her face lit up as she spoke, but then, for one brief moment, she glanced down at the coarse cloth she was wearing, and her eyes dimmed.

“Back then, whenever foreign envoys brought silk and fabrics as tribute, His Majesty would always reward the Duke’s Mansion first. There were so many children in the Duke’s Mansion, but Father and Mother doted on me the most. Those beautiful fabrics were always made into clothes for me first… If only I hadn’t eloped with your father…”

That was what she said, her voice full of longing for the past.

I had worn coarse cloth from the day I was born, so I did not understand the nostalgia and yearning my mother felt in that moment.

Before Father left the house, he had still been shouting at me, calling me stupid, saying I was stubborn and couldn’t read people’s faces because I hadn’t handed him a wrung-out washcloth in time.

For that, he twisted my arm until it was covered in bruises.

So I did not understand Mother’s urgency to save him, either.

After all, if he was in prison, I would not have to be beaten.

Only later did I realize that I really had been stupid then.

I had actually thought the anxious look on Mother’s face was because she wanted to save Father as quickly as possible.

In truth, Mother did not want to save Father that badly.

A month later, people arrived from the capital.

That morning, when I pushed open the door, the first thing I saw was a line of tall, magnificent horses.

Behind them was a carriage, high and wide, so large it looked like a room.

Many young male servants and older maidservants stood on either side of the carriage.

A moment later, a noble-looking lady stepped down from the carriage, followed by a refined, scholarly man.

The man looked to be about the same age as my father.

The instant my mother saw them, tears soaked the front of her clothes.

She pulled me aside and threw herself straight into the lady’s arms. “Mother! Your daughter knows she was wrong! Please, Mother, save me!”

Only belatedly did I realize who had come.

It was my maternal grandmother-Commandery Princess Tai’an.

My father often scolded me, saying I was stupid and dull, that I did not know how to please adults or say clever, auspicious things.

So I gathered my courage and took a step forward, wanting to greet my grandmother.

But Grandmother lowered her eyes, and her icy gaze came at me like a blade, stabbing straight toward me.

It was strange. I had not been injured, and yet meeting her eyes made my chest ache.

I bit my lower lip. The word “Grandmother” stuck in my throat, and no matter what, I could not bring myself to say it.