Chapter 3

Chapter 3

I grew up in the back palace, living peacefully in my status as the legitimate princess.

My Imperial Father doted on me, yet he also loathed me.

I was a thorn in his heart-one that pricked him painfully, yet one he could not pull out. He could only let the wound fester, allowing it to be corroded by remorse.

Three years after my Empress Mother passed away, he selected many concubines to enter the palace. Every single one of them bore some slight resemblance to her.

I didn’t understand it. How could someone be so obsessed with finding replacements?

Consort Wan didn’t understand it either.

She had been only one step away from becoming the Imperial Noble Consort.

In the end, it all fell through at the last moment. The investiture ceremony was never completed, and the Golden Treasure of a Noble Consort slipped through her fingers forever.

She was suppressed and framed by the newly favored concubines, and Imperial Father no longer favored her as he once had. Driven to desperation, she came to ask me why this was happening.

“Because Imperial Father is fair. Whoever is not by his side is the one he loves. Before, it was you; now, it is my Empress Mother.”

“But I have always been here,” Consort Wan said, bewildered.

Smiling, I handed her a small portrait.

Consort Wan reached out to take it.

“Is this… me?”

“This is the Princess Consort of Anyang. Her maiden name is Zhao Wanru.”

That day, it was as if several bolts of lightning had struck Consort Wan’s heart.

Once, she had flaunted her beautiful features in front of my mother, boasting that the latecomer had surpassed the predecessor. She had insinuated that my Empress Mother, being nearly thirty and past her prime, was no longer fit to serve the Sovereign.

At the time, my Empress Mother had responded, “Are you afraid you won’t live to see thirty? Someone, slap her mouth.”

But upon returning to her chambers, my Empress Mother paced back and forth in anger.

“Where I come from, twenty-seven or twenty-eight is the prime of one’s life. Here, it’s considered ‘past her prime’? These damn rules need to be changed.”

She took up her brush and wrote feverishly, contemplating how to change them.

But soon, she lost interest.

This was because Imperial Father had come to demand an explanation for the slapping of Consort Wan.

The two had a massive argument. My Empress Mother told Imperial Father to get out and never set foot in her Fengyi Palace again.

Imperial Father had said coldly, “I shall bestow the title of Imperial Noble Consort upon Consort Wan. You are far too arrogant; you should learn from her what it means to be gentle and submissive.”

In that clash, both Imperial Father and Empress Mother suffered, and only Consort Wan benefited.

Later, I learned that this tactic was called ‘killing with a borrowed knife.’

Now, I was using the Princess Consort of Anyang as my borrowed knife to see if I could strike down Consort Wan.

After all, I am a very petty person.

No one who offended my Empress Mother should expect a comfortable life.

Consort Wan’s face turned deathly pale as she stumbled backward.

“No, it can’t be like this. The Emperor and I fell in love at first sight. He loves me; that is why he broke his vow to the Empress.”

“‘Meeting on the seventh day of the seventh month, our hearts shall never waver. I wish to be the mandarin ducks on a quilt, forever covering the lovers.’ Were these all lies?”

“How could I be a replacement? This is fake! You’re lying to me!”

I smiled slightly, making no effort to hide my malice.

“Yes, I am lying to you. You can think whatever you like, as long as it makes you happy. Hahahahaha!”

I laughed arrogantly as I walked away, leaving her to collapse in tears, heartbroken and devastated.

The young palace maid beside Consort Wan also wept, asking indignantly:

“How could His Majesty be like this? How can he only love whoever isn’t there? I don’t believe it. Your Ladyship, do you believe it?”

Consort Wan seemed possessed.

She gritted her teeth and stood up, saying hatefully, “This Consort doesn’t believe it either. His Majesty has feelings for me. I will verify it myself. If he knows he almost lost me, he will surely regret it.”

Consort Wan returned to the inner palace in a daze and timed it perfectly to hang herself.

When Imperial Father heard the news after the morning court session, he merely frowned and asked coldly, “Is she dead yet?”

The Head Eunuch froze for a moment before bowing respectfully. “Fortunately, Consort Wan was not very good at tying knots. The rope broke and Her Ladyship fell. Otherwise, she might have truly perished.”

Imperial Father snorted coldly. “Attempting suicide is a grave crime for a consort. Since she no longer wishes to be my concubine, strip her of her rank to a commoner and cast her into the Cold Palace. I shall not see her again in this lifetime.”

When Consort Wan received the decree, she was stunned.

She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. She stared blankly at the imperial decree for a very long time, as if she didn’t recognize a single word on it.

It wasn’t until several strong older maids moved to drag her to the Cold Palace that she finally reacted. She rushed toward Imperial Father’s palace in grief, only to be pinned down firmly, struggling hopelessly in the rain.

“I don’t believe it! I don’t believe it!”

“For you, I abandoned my childhood betrothal and went against my parents’ wishes! You said you would shield me from the wind and rain and protect my peace for a lifetime!”

“It has only been ten years, and you have changed your heart! You are the Emperor, the Son of Heaven! Your word is worth a thousand bars of gold-how can you go back on your promise, Your Majesty!”

Every cry was like blood; every word pierced the heart.

Holding an umbrella, I watched this miserable scene through the fine drizzle.

Imperial Father had said similar things to my Empress Mother.

However, my Empress Mother hadn’t taken them seriously at the time; she simply enjoyed the love of the moment.

Empress Mother once said that a promise is only sincere at the moment it is made; every day after that, it fades.

So, she didn’t believe in them. She simply enjoyed love. When love came, she loved openly and generously. When love left, she admitted it with composure, quietly savoring the bitter fruit of romance before throwing herself joyfully into other types of affection.

After all, humans are sentimental beings. Family, friendship, the love for one’s children-aren’t these all forms of affection?

But Consort Wan could not let go.

She fed on romantic love, and in the end, she would starve to death because of it.

Consort Wan caught sight of my figure and let out a shrill, mournful cry.

“Song Yufu, you ruined me! I have fallen to this state all because of you! Are you satisfied now?”

Not quite satisfied, because Imperial Father isn’t dead yet.

However, he cannot die just yet.

My wings are not yet fully grown, and Gu Qinglan is still alive and well.

I still need him to charge into battle for me.