Chapter 2
Chapter 2
When I was fourteen, the Princess Consort’s daughter, Yujie, was six.
The Princess Consort never conceived again.
The Dowager Consort forced several concubines upon Prince Zhao.
In a fit of rage, the Princess Consort smashed her vases. Only after venting her fury did she break down, tears streaming down her face.
“Back then, he clearly promised me that he would only take concubines after I had given birth to the eldest son. It has only been a few years and he has already changed. Is there anything in this world that stays the same?”
There is.
Gratitude.
A person who helps you once will help you twice, three times, or even give their life to help you.
Unfortunately, she didn’t deserve it.
She was unworthy of such loyalty, and she was unworthy of growing old with anyone.
Years ago, the Princess Consort and Prince Zhao were a devoted couple. They had traveled the world together; when Prince Zhao received his military orders, the Princess Consort even accompanied him to the frontier.
But they were too preoccupied with their romance to hold the border.
That year, the barbarians invaded. The common people were displaced, three cities were lost, and the general died in battle.
Yet Prince Zhao lived.
He returned to the capital to live a life of dissipation and luxury, all while resenting the Princess Consort. He claimed her affections had distracted him, causing the military delays that led to the nation’s ruin.
Such a man he was.
Cowardly toward the world, but a tyrant at home.
The Princess Consort’s life in the prince’s manor became increasingly difficult.
She desperately wanted a son to consolidate her position, but unfortunately, she could no longer conceive.
She would mutter to herself, “It must be because Su Yilan’s midwifing was wrong. She damaged my body. Otherwise, why can’t I have more children? Su! Yi! Lan! She ruined me!”
She spat my mother’s name through gritted teeth.
That year, the barbarians invaded.
My mother and I were fleeing the chaos when we passed a ruined temple and encountered the Princess Consort in labor.
At the time, she had been separated from her entourage by the crowds, with only a single maidservant by her side.
The maid had no experience with childbirth, and in the middle of a flight for their lives, there was no way to find a midwife.
Seeing that both mother and child were at death’s door, my mother used the acupressure and massage techniques she had learned from her martial arts training to help her deliver safely.
Back then, the moment she opened her eyes, she showered my mother with gratitude. She knelt and kowtowed while holding her child, calling my mother her second parent, her savior, and promising to erect a monument in her honor and remain grateful for the rest of her life.
Later, my mother found a carriage to take us all to safety.
But the barbarians came.
A carriage full of a woman who had just given birth, an infant, and a young girl.
My mother took the Princess Consort’s hand and solemnly entrusted me to her care.
The Princess Consort agreed through tears, promising to treat me as her own daughter.
My mother kissed my forehead and whispered a single sentence in my ear. Then, she resolutely drew her longsword and stepped off the carriage, standing alone to hold back the pursuers and buy us time to reach the city.
The city gates slammed shut.
In their frustrated rage, the barbarians tried to provoke the guards into opening the gates by deliberately tearing at my mother’s clothes…
In that moment, I cried until my eyes felt like they would burst. I was too devastated to notice the flash of relief in the Princess Consort’s eyes at her own survival, or the flicker of disdain she felt for my mother’s plight.
As it turned out, her cold-blooded nature had already begun to show even then.
I just hadn’t realized it.