Chapter 1

Chapter 1

On the fifteenth of every month, without fail, I accompany my mother-in-law to Huguo Temple to pray for blessings.

Having reached her twilight years, she has too many attachments she cannot let go of. She entrusts them all to the gods and ancestors, praying from the peak of the blazing sun until the golden crow sinks into the west.

Because I have no regrets in life and nothing left to ask for, I usually slip away early to the back courtyard to listen to the wind and watch the clouds, passing the time in peace.

However, in the pavilion where I usually brew tea, I happened upon an interesting young girl. She was cradling a bowl of bird’s nest porridge served by her maid, her eyes curving into crescent moons as she spoke.

“He’s always worrying over nothing,” she said.

“In a place as large as Huguo Temple, surely he doesn’t think his son and I would go hungry?”

As she spoke, she intentionally or otherwise stroked her belly, which did not yet show her pregnancy. Her face overflowed with the tenderness and joy of a first-time mother.

Noticing me watching her, she nodded at me bashfully.

Then, she asked casually, “Madam, how old are your children now? Do they ever make it difficult for you to eat or sleep, like the little rascal in my belly?”

Among the noble ladies of the capital, who didn’t know that I, Su Jinhua, was barren? Those who dared to come looking for trouble were few and far between.

Yet, her eyes were entirely earnest as she waited expectantly for my answer.

I curled my lips into a faint, polite smile. “My fortune is thin; I have never given birth.”

She let out a sigh that sounded like regret. “That truly is a pity. Being a mother is such a happy thing.”

Seeing that I only smiled without responding, she continued to herself, “The prayers for children at Huguo Temple are very effective. If a husband and wife come together and hang a prayer ribbon high up, their wishes will surely be granted.”

“I came back today specifically to fulfill my vow because my wish was granted.”

“Why don’t you try it, Madam?”

My heart tightened. I gave her a long, deep look. “It is true that I cannot conceive, but my husband does not want children either. Otherwise, taking a few concubines wouldn’t be much trouble at all.”

Her smile froze, turning strained. “Then your husband must… love you very much.”

Yes, Meng Ye once loved me very much.

In the third year of our marriage, when the imperial physician concluded I would never have an heir, I tentatively requested to be set aside and leave the marriage.

Meng Ye had stormed into the inner quarters like a madman, kneeling before me with bloodshot eyes as he swore an oath.

“I want only Jinhua. I would rather die without descendants.”

“If I ever have a change of heart, may I die a miserable death.”

I was someone who could see things clearly; for all these years, I never let the lack of children trouble me. He had kept his promise too, never adding a single woman to his inner court.

Time had passed in a flash, and half my life was already over. To be pricked in the heart over the matter of heirs by a young girl was truly laughable.

As I assisted my mother-in-law down the mountain, that girl happened to be boarding her carriage. The carriage was grand and magnificent, no less so than those of the Grand Tutor’s Mansion.

The service from her maids and servants was even more meticulous. Every sentence they spoke included “the master’s orders.” She was clearly a woman cherished and pampered by her husband.

Only, a decoration hanging from a corner of the carriage roof caught my eye.

It was the Ping’an Kou that my mother-in-law had sought for Meng Ye last month. She had repeatedly urged him to keep it on his person, yet he had claimed he didn’t know where he’d lost it.

My mother-in-law clearly saw it too. She quickly moved to stand in front of me.

“Jinhua, Mother is a bit tired. Could you help me over there to rest for a moment?”

I withdrew my gaze, pretending I hadn’t seen the woman’s blatant attempt to flaunt her status and force my hand.

“Of course.”

When one reaches middle age, the most important thing is to maintain one’s dignity.

A young girl might not understand that, but as the matriarch of a household, I had to.