Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Zhao Yunzhou froze, as if he could not believe his ears.

“What did you say?”

I took out the divorce agreement I had prepared long ago and answered evenly.

“Sign it.”

My name was already written on it.

I had drafted it on our wedding night, after he and Concubine Song left the bridal chamber.

I had a temper and a sense of pride. There was no reason I should swallow such humiliation without protest.

Yet once the agreement was written, the fire in me gradually faded.

Divorce would have felt wonderfully decisive.

But what would happen afterward? Where could I go?

My parents had never valued me. If I truly returned home divorced, they would bundle me up and send me straight back to the Zhao residence.

I would only suffer greater humiliation, and Zhao Yunzhou would despise the last scraps of dignity I possessed.

So I signed the agreement in silence, put it away, and chose to endure.

For three years, I built up everything I had until I finally possessed the means to say the word divorce and stand by it.

I held the thin sheet of paper out to Zhao Yunzhou.

It had yellowed with age, a witness to three dim and joyless years.

He took it with trembling fingers, his eyes darkening.

“Are you still angry about what happened three years ago?” he asked uncertainly.

Three years earlier, on our wedding night, Zhao Yunzhou had not even lifted my bridal veil.

From the other side of that veil, he told me he already loved another woman: Concubine Song, whom he had taken into the household before our marriage.

He said she was sweet, innocent, and pure. He expected me to accept her and warned me not to use my authority as mistress of the household to oppress her, lest I only disgrace myself.

His tone was severe, as though I were already the villain.

Anger surged through me.

I tore off my veil and glared at him, only to catch a flash of astonished admiration in his eyes.

It vanished at once. His expression cooled as he asked, “Have I made myself clear?”

My eyes burned. Rage and hurt rose together, nearly making me cry on the spot.

I drew a deep breath, forced the tears back, and demanded, “When our marriage was arranged, no one told me you had a concubine.”

His gaze held steady, his answer utterly certain.

“They did.”

My heart went cold.

If his family had disclosed it, then the only people who could have hidden it from me were my own parents.

No wonder they had kept me indoors during the engagement, claiming the Zhao family was strict and that people would laugh if I went out before the wedding.

Even when I was allowed to leave, two maids followed me everywhere and hurried me home.

At the time, I thought they were simply being cautious because our modest family was marrying above its station.

Only then did I understand: they had been afraid I would discover Zhao Yunzhou’s beloved concubine and refuse to marry him.

It also explained why the distinguished Zhao family had chosen a daughter from an insignificant household like mine.

I raised my eyes and met Zhao Yunzhou’s gaze without wavering.

“Zhao Yunzhou, I did not know you had a beloved concubine. Had I known, I would never have married you. But now that I am here, I came intending to build a life. I, Li Suyi, will never consent to you favoring a concubine at the expense of your wife. If you truly believe what you just said, repeat it in front of your parents. If they agree, then I will obey.”

I refused to yield.

If I gave way that night, my life would only become harder.

Zhao Yunzhou’s face darkened, his lips pale with anger.

I later learned the truth.

He had been unable to persuade his parents to let him marry Song Lanzhen, a woman trained as a courtesan, so he had been forced to take her as a concubine instead.

His parents had compelled him to marry a proper wife.

Unable to defy them, he decided I would be easy to intimidate and chose our wedding night to put me in my place.

“I never imagined you could be so calculating,” he said coldly. “You know perfectly well my parents would never agree. Lanzhen and I truly thought we could reason with you.”

Another piece of my heart turned to ice.

Once a man decided you were wicked, everything you did would be wrong in his eyes.

Fine, I thought. Then let us sever this bond.

If he meant to cast aside all affection between husband and wife, I would make the break complete.

I gave him a second choice.

“In that case, invite Concubine Song here and let us settle this properly. You fear I will use my position to bully her, but I fear she will use your favor to humiliate me.”

“Lanzhen is not that kind of person,” Zhao Yunzhou denied at once.

I gave a cold laugh. “What worries me is that you cannot tell right from wrong.”

His face hardened. “Do you always assume the worst of people?”

I looked at him squarely. “Then answer me this. If Concubine Song fell in my courtyard, whose fault would you suspect first? Zhao Yunzhou, do you dare say what would truly cross your mind?”

I had gone all day without food or water. My head throbbed, and I made no effort to soften my tone.

His gaze grew darker. For a long time, he said nothing.

Perhaps he finally understood that he would take Song Lanzhen’s side, not mine.

He was no impartial judge, so he had no right to expect me to trust his judgment.

At last he ordered a servant, “Bring Concubine Song here.”