Chapter 1

Chapter 1

It wasn’t until after the wedding date was set that my father informed me he had chosen Xidai to be my dowry concubine.

He spoke with earnest gravity. “Even though Wang Jie is not one to indulge in women, if you want to secure your footing in the inner household, you must always be prepared-just in case.”

He put it tactfully.

But I possessed self-awareness.

His daughters by his mistresses were each as delicate and beautiful as flowers, one in a hundred. Yet I, his only legitimate daughter, was plain.

I took after my mother. I had a top-tier family background and a prestigious lineage, but I lost when it came to looks.

The Wang Family prided themselves on virtue and talent, and Wang Jie was no ordinary man. But a man is, after all, a man.

My father said it was better to be safe than sorry, so he proposed selecting a concubine to accompany me in my dowry. When the list was sent to me, I looked it over repeatedly but reached no decision.

In the end, my father took matters into his own hands and sent Xidai.

It did not sit well with me.

This was because Xidai’s mother had once offended mine. That woman had been arrogant and overbearing; unwilling to accept her status as a mistress, she had caused a scene at my mother’s birthday celebration. My father had protected her, causing my mother to lose face entirely.

I had committed that memory to heart.

Now, I heard that she was gravely ill and, from her sickbed, had begged my father to find a good place for her daughter. My father had agreed. Once again, he had disregarded my wishes.

My wet nurse, aware of my thoughts, tried to persuade me. “If you dislike her, My Lady, just take her with you and find a reason to send her away later. Just don’t come into direct conflict with the Master over it.”

That wasn’t the point.

I set my wedding dress aside and asked, “Where is she?”

“In the east wing,” the wet nurse replied. “I heard she’s crying quite bitterly.”

Xidai did not want to follow me into the Wang Family.

As my father said, she was timid and introverted, frightened out of her wits by this sudden turn of fate.

Through the intricate peony patterns of the window lattice, her frail silhouette was visible. I could hear her soft sobbing.

The wet nurse grumbled, “So petty and provincial. She truly lacks the poise for a grand household.”

But this might well be a facade. Her mother had been cunning; I did not dare to underestimate her. I was simply curious to see what she looked like now.

I had only seen her once. At my mother’s birthday banquet, she had been huddled in her mother’s arms-fair-skinned with red lips, her face full of terror.

Now, I pushed the window open half an inch.

I met a pair of eyes as frightened as a doe’s. From an arm’s length away, Xidai’s crying stopped abruptly; she even seemed to stop breathing.

She was terrified of me.

“…Eld… Eldest Sister.” She knelt to pay her respects.

I gave a curt grunt of acknowledgment and said nothing more. Xidai did not dare to move. Her forehead remained pressed to the ground, revealing the pale nape of her neck. It was slender and graceful.

“Will Wang Jie like her?” I asked my wet nurse.

The wet nurse replied, “The groom is the First Young Master of the realm; he would not be so shallow.” She paused, then added, “Even if he does like her, it would only be as one likes a painting or a bird. My Lady, you needn’t take it to heart.”

“Is that so?”

I wasn’t sure.

Everyone said the Wang Family was noble and pure, and that Wang Jie, the eldest legitimate son, was as bright and clear as the moon-a man beyond the ordinary. Yet, he and I had never shared our hearts the way other betrothed couples did. He was observant of etiquette, and so was I.

I could imagine our life after marriage: a picture of mutual respect and formal harmony. That wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. I had no desire to pour my heart out to someone only to be hurt, as my mother had.

But was I to just fulfill Xidai’s path like this?

I didn’t want to.