Chapter 1

Chapter 1

When my palm struck Zhao Mo’er’s face, everyone inside and outside the room was stunned.

A flash of fury crossed her eyes, but it was quickly replaced by a look of pitiful distress.

“Sister, how have I offended you? Why must you treat me like this?”

She had offended me in more ways than I could count.

If this were three years ago, when I first arrived in Yujing, I might have flushed with anger and tried to defend myself in public, listing her many crimes.

But now, I only said coolly, “I’ve heard exactly what you wanted me to hear. Thank you for the lesson, sister.”

I had originally intended to give Pei Yi’an a jade pendant, but instead, I handed him a short poem.

“A birthday gift for the Teacher.”

In the past, I called him “Pei Yi’an,” treating him as both a mentor and a friend.

But today, I no longer wished to call him that.

The word “Teacher” seemed to sting him.

His brow furrowed slightly, and a hidden anger flickered within his dark eyes.

He didn’t take the gift. Instead, he said coldly, “Yunwei, apologize to Princess Longyu.”

For a moment, I thought I had misheard him.

He knew better than anyone the hardships I had endured in the palace. He knew that Zhao Mo’er and I were sworn enemies.

Yet, Pei Yi’an repeated himself, slowly and solemnly, “Apologize to Princess Longyu.”

Though Zhao Mo’er’s eyes were brimming with tears, a glint of triumph flashed in their corners. Her lips curled up ever so slightly in a smug smile.

I lowered my gaze, my fingers tightening. In that instant, I felt as if I didn’t know Pei Yi’an at all.

And so, I decided to get to know him all over again.

Without a second thought, I raised my hand and slapped Zhao Mo’er again.

“Is the Teacher satisfied with this apology?”

Three years ago, my arrival in Yujing caused a massive stir.

Carrying a corpse on my back, I went to the palace gates and beat the Dengwen Drum.

An official from the drum tower emerged unhurriedly and asked what grievance I had to report.

I set the corpse down and said in a heavy voice, “This commoner woman wishes to accuse the current Emperor, Zhao Chen, of sending men to kill his first wife, murder his son, and hunt down his daughter. He has disregarded all human ethics; his actions are intolerable to the laws of Heaven.”

That day, countless people panicked.

Later, I became Princess Zhaoyue. My Imperial Father posthumously honored my mother as Empress Gong’ai and my younger brother as Prince Anping the Lamented, burying them both with full state honors.

He said, “I searched everywhere for you. I never sent anyone to hunt you down.”

I knew it wasn’t him.

But it didn’t matter.

I did not kill Bo Ren, yet Bo Ren died because of me. The one who truly wanted the three of us dead was someone else entirely.

If he were willing to investigate, he would eventually find the truth. If he weren’t, no one could force him.

I simply avoided his touch, took a step back, and said softly:

“When Mother passed away, she asked me to bring you a message. She said she forgave you and told you not to grieve for her. She said you are a good Emperor who will bring prosperity to the people.”

I lied.

My mother was a woman who held grudges; she never once forgave my Imperial Father.

But once a person dies, their light goes out, and no amount of resentment matters anymore.

If my Imperial Father’s guilt became a burden, he would eventually grow to resent her instead.

It was better to turn that guilt into tangible benefits. That way, my Imperial Father would feel better, and I would live better.

From then on, I settled into the palace. And then, I became enemies with Princess Longyu, Zhao Mo’er.

Before I arrived, she was the most noble and arrogant First Princess in the palace.

When I came, she became the Second Princess, and the bitterness of her mother’s inability to be named Empress finally found a target.

Life in the palace over these past three years had not been easy.

Zhao Mo’er led the noble daughters in mocking my supposedly crude behavior and lack of etiquette, subtly and overtly wishing for my death.

Her mother, Noble Consort Sun, used this as an excuse to send a governess to torment and break me.

In the beginning, I was at a disadvantage, hindered at every turn.

One day, the two of them were being particularly difficult.

I ran down the long palace corridors, heading straight for the area where the ministers held court, intending to lodge a complaint.

That was when I ran into Pei Yi’an, who was coming out after delivering some memorials.

He stopped me.

Only then did I learn that inside the Golden Throne Hall, foreign envoys were requesting a princess for a political marriage.

If I had burst in and been seen, my Imperial Father’s excuse that the princesses were too young would have fallen apart.

Noble Consort Sun and Zhao Mo’er had chosen that day to bully me so relentlessly because they had timed it perfectly, waiting for me to go complain so I would walk right into their trap.

What a terrifyingly sharp scheme.

Pei Yi’an looked at me with pity.

He advised, “Princess, you are isolated and without help in this palace. You must find your own mentors and friends.”