chapter 5

Ever since the Empress invited him to admire *Geese Among Reeds*, the bastard Emperor had spent every night in Kunning Palace for months.

The entire harem whispered that the Empress had finally regained his favor.

Only the people of Kunning Palace knew there had been no favor to regain. He simply doted on her even more than before.

After several trials, I settled on a preliminary restoration plan for the white-glazed vase.

One evening, I sat in the side hall by the light of an oil lamp, completely absorbed in drawing my plans. I did not notice anyone open the door behind me.

Only when an arm slipped around my waist did I realize that there was suddenly a man in the room.

I froze in terror.

Warm breath brushed the skin behind my ear, carrying the smell of wine. My whole body trembled. I was about to scream when a hoarse but familiar voice sounded behind me.

“Chenxiang… We searched everywhere for you…”

The bastard Emperor?

What was he doing here?

Cold sweat soaked my back in an instant. My trembling worsened, but I forced down the cry lodged in my throat.

If I screamed and drew everyone here—if they found me struggling with a drunken emperor—the best outcome would be a concubine’s title followed by a lonely death in the palace.

But the Emperor had always detested me.

Far more likely, I would be accused of seducing him and quietly beaten to death.

Panic scattered every thought in my head, while his restless face continued nuzzling my neck.

“Did you change your incense? You smell wonderful… like plums…”

My heart pounded, and my body shook harder.

I groped blindly across the table with both hands, searching for anything that might free me.

The Emperor was still murmuring. “What happened to little Yuanjing was Our fault. Forgive Us, won’t you?”

My hand finally closed around a bowl of powdered porcelain.

I grabbed a fistful and flung it behind me without hesitation.

The powder filled his eyes. He released me and began coughing.

I seized the chance and ran.

I wrenched open the door—and found myself staring straight at the Empress, who stood outside holding a lamp.

At the sight of my disheveled clothes, Lizhi’s eyes flew wide. “Lin Fu… you!”

My strength gave way, and I fell to my knees.

Terror surged up from the bottom of my heart and nearly swallowed me whole. My throat burned. I panted rapidly, unable to force out a single word, and could only shake my head again and again.

The Empress looked once at the drunken Emperor sprawled inside, then at me shivering on the floor. She understood at once.

Her face hardened. “Not a word of tonight leaves this room,” she told Lizhi.

Then she stepped into the side hall.

Still on my knees, I looked up at her sluggishly. She was about to close the door when her eyes dropped to me and she paused.

“A woman’s chastity determines her life,” she said softly. “Ah Fu, tonight you caught a chill. You were too ill to serve and remained in your own room until morning.

“Do you understand?”

She shut the door without waiting for my answer.

I remained frozen outside.

At last, a gust of night wind made me shudder back to awareness. Lizhi gave me a complicated look and seemed about to speak, but ultimately said nothing.

I pulled my loosened collar closed, sniffed, and fled to my room.

That night I curled up on the bed, afraid to sleep. Whenever I drifted off, nightmares came. In them, the bastard Emperor, his face covered in porcelain dust, ordered my execution in a fury.

Dawn finally paled the eastern sky.

Only after I heard Eunuch Li’s shrill announcement—”His Majesty departs!”—did I breathe again. Then I went straight to the Empress’s bedchamber.

I took care to avoid everyone, yet when I reached the door, I could not make myself enter.

Faint voices drifted from within.

“Your Majesty,” Lizhi said in a low voice, “this servant believes His Majesty’s attitude toward Ah Fu may be… unusual.

“Since something like this has happened, why not simply offer her to him?

“If she proves capable and bears a prince or princess, the child could be raised under Your Majesty’s name…”

My entire body went cold.

My days in Kunning Palace had been so beautiful that I had forgotten this was a harem that devoured people without leaving the bones.

The last time Noble Consort Yan falsely accused me and nearly had me beaten to death, I had faced it with calm resignation.

This time, for reasons I could not explain, my heart held nothing but a vast, wounded grievance.