Chapter 2

At first, I only envied Zhang Jincan; I didn’t really dislike her. As the years went by, she grew more and more like her stern and upright mother, while I became increasingly like my beautiful and charming mother.

Beauty became my original sin.

She began to curse me indiscriminately, calling me “wretch” and “daughter of a prostitute,” sneering, “A dragon begets a dragon, a phoenix begets a phoenix, a fox spirit begets a fox spirit.”

Even when I politely called out “Crown Prince,” she accused me of “knowing how to seduce people at such a young age.”

Since that was the case, I couldn’t bear the blame for nothing, so I deliberately called out in a sweet and coquettish voice, just to anger Zhang Jincan.

At that time, Yin Jiuqing was already the Crown Prince, his emotions never showing on his face, always wearing a stern expression like an old scholar.

I didn’t like him at all. When I saw him, I only called him “Cousin,” nothing excessive, but Zhang Jincan still couldn’t help but slap me.

Her dislike for me had become entirely irrational.

The first time I interacted with Yin Jiuqing was at the Hibiscus Banquet in the Capital.

The noble ladies of the Capital sat together to admire the flowers and compose poetry. When it was my turn, Zhang Jincan pretended to be kind and spoke for me: “My little sister is shallow and used to being wanton; she can’t compose poetry. Everyone, please don’t laugh at her.”

My eyes immediately reddened, and I silently shed tears behind my handkerchief.

The beautiful and kind-hearted young ladies at the banquet were well-mannered and didn’t look down on me for being a concubine’s daughter. In fact, they all spoke up to criticize Zhang Jincan. For a moment, Zhang Jincan was condemned by everyone.

I excused myself to tidy my appearance, slipped away to a hibiscus garden, and laughed so hard my stomach hurt. When I turned around, I ran into Yin Jiuqing.

He seemed to know what had happened earlier, and, looking as if he were gravely ill, he scolded me with a stern face and hands behind his back: “Do you know what your status is? Do you understand what you should and shouldn’t do? Before you act, you must always remember your status. Acting like this, you have no sense of a lady’s propriety at all. Has your uncle not arranged for someone to teach you manners?”

I truly felt embarrassed. He was the Crown Prince, noble and high-born; it was only natural for him to look down on me.

What was my status? What was I supposed to remember?

Remember that I am a concubine’s daughter? Or remember that I will never be presentable?

“Yes, I shouldn’t have come here. Zhang Jincan is your cousin; as the daughter of a prostitute, I wouldn’t dare claim kinship with the Crown Prince, nor do I need the Crown Prince to teach me manners.”

Normally, I would never utter such self-deprecating words as “daughter of a prostitute,” but I was so angry at that moment that I blurted it out without thinking.

When I realized what I’d said, I was terrified. To speak so recklessly before the heir to the nation, to utter such vulgar words-I feared I’d committed a grave offense.

My anger was replaced by fear. I lifted my eyes to sneak a glance at Yin Jiuqing, secretly hoping he hadn’t heard me.

Clearly, Yin Jiuqing had heard. His face turned red, and he scolded me harshly: “Vulgar! As a young lady of an official family, how can you be so improper? I sentence you to copy the Precepts for Women twenty times. You are not allowed to leave the Grand Tutor’s Mansion until you finish.”

I didn’t take it seriously. He was busy with official duties and rarely came to the Grand Tutor’s Mansion; how could he possibly keep an eye on me? I even secretly rolled my eyes.

“Unrepentant! Your punishment is doubled-copy it forty times!” Yin Jiuqing was so angry he pointed at me. “Xiao Dezi, go. You’ll stay at the Grand Tutor’s Mansion for the next few days and personally watch her.”

I was speechless. Wasn’t this a bit much? If he saw how Zhang Jincan cursed at me, he’d probably jump out of his coffin after death just to scold her for being “vulgar.”

But then I thought, he probably couldn’t bear to scold Zhang Jincan, and certainly wouldn’t do it for my sake.

Because Zhang Jincan was his legitimate cousin, and more importantly, his future Crown Princess.