Chapter 2

I straightened my back and stepped in front of Shuyi, shielding her from the crowd’s prying eyes.

“Your Highness,” I said evenly, “did you come here today for the express purpose of humiliating the Wen family?”

Prince Yan looked up, visibly taken aback.

Everyone seemed astonished that I would stand up for Wen Shuyi.

Under their stunned gazes, I continued.

“What you have done today dishonors not only the Wen family, but the imperial family as well. First: Concubine Lu gave her life to save Noble Consort Ying, and it was in gratitude for that great sacrifice that this engagement was made. By breaking your word today, you cast Noble Consort Ying herself as dishonorable.

“Second: you came to dissolve the engagement without first consulting my father. That violates both custom and propriety. My father has served the court for decades, yet Your Highness chose to humiliate his daughter in this fashion. What loyal official would not be chilled by such treatment?

“Third: my sister’s mind is incomplete. She is as innocent as a child, yet you led others in taunting, ridiculing, and tormenting her. Such conduct is beneath any honorable gentleman.

“When Father returns, I will report every detail of today’s events to him. Your Highness may leave. Steward, show our guests out.”

Prince Yan’s face changed at once. Even Liu Xuran clenched her handkerchief, anger burning in her eyes.

My words had struck Prince Yan squarely across the face. I had stopped only just short of calling him a faithless scoundrel outright.

I did not care.

I helped Wen Shuyi to her feet, took her hand, and led her toward the rear courtyard.

A physician had already arrived and examined her carefully.

I sat a short distance away and drank my tea at an unhurried pace. I had chosen to help her, but there was no need to behave with sudden affection. I had always been reserved.

The servants whispered behind my back that I must have studied myself senseless to offend Prince Yan for Wen Shuyi’s sake.

That evening, even Grandmother summoned me for a scolding.

She slammed her prayer beads onto the table, fury in her eyes.

“You have always conducted yourself with restraint and known when to advance or retreat. Years of diligent study earned you a reputation for talent and a place among the capital’s finest young ladies. Your good name allowed this family to arrange a splendid future for you. So how could you lose your senses today and offend Prince Yan over a fool?”

Life inside a great clan came with countless indignities, but none could be spoken aloud.

I bowed. “Your granddaughter knows she was wrong.”

I lowered my head so obediently because I knew argument was useless. It would only earn me a harsher punishment.

Her anger gradually subsided. Dropping her gaze, she said sternly, “Prince Yan is the man most likely to inherit the throne. The Wen family must not offend him for a fool. Go kneel in the ancestral hall for the night. Perhaps the lesson will stay with you.”

A bitter wind blew through the hall.

I knelt before the ancestral tablets while the old women guarding me dozed against the pillars.

My thoughts turned to the future.

Grandmother had said Prince Yan was the man most likely to inherit the throne.

Unfortunately for him, he was not.

In this world, he was not the hero.

And Wen Shuyi’s rise had only just begun.

At the Four Kingdoms Banquet next month, she would dazzle everyone and cast off her reputation as a fool.

That same day would mark the beginning of my fall.