Chapter 2
For my first three days in the palace, I shut my doors and kept to myself. I accepted every gift that arrived, including one from Jieyu Xu, the pregnant daughter of the Xu family.
Jieyu Xu had risen from Talented Lady to Jieyu after only a month in the palace, all because she carried an imperial child. That was how important such a pregnancy was.
Word soon reached Consort Chun. Caiqing arrived with a dark expression and a thick copy of the Putuo Sutra.
“Her Highness has been unable to sleep at night. Since you have so much time on your hands, you can help copy the Putuo Sutra ten times. In five days, the copies will be sent to Putuo Temple as an offering.”
She called it helping, but could I refuse?
The Putuo Sutra contained ten thousand characters. Copying it ten times would take five days even if I went without sleep or rest.
Consort Chun had grown far more accomplished at tormenting people. In the past, all she had done was slap me, force me to kneel, toss a single bun to me when I was starving, and make me bark like a dog…
I agreed with a smile, without a trace of displeasure or reluctance.
Before leaving, Caiqing snorted. “My lady, don’t forget who you are. And don’t forget—you are not alone.”
Caiqing’s words were proven true that very night, when a small bundle appeared on my bed.
I opened it. Inside lay a plain silver hairpin and a bloodstained protective talisman.
The plain silver hairpin was Mother’s most treasured possession. She said it was a keepsake from her own mother. Years ago, a stewardess in the estate had coveted it and taken it from her.
Mother had knelt outside the stewardess’s door for three days and three nights to get it back, ignoring every cruel remark from the people around her. The commotion finally reached the principal wife, and only then did the stewardess return it, grudgingly.
I had obtained the talisman at a temple for my brother’s birthday the year before, after sneaking out of the estate. I had prayed for his health to improve.
For running away, I was beaten twenty strokes when I returned. I lay unconscious for three days and was confined to bed for half a month. My brother clung to my bloodied body and cried for three days, swearing he would keep the talisman against his skin for the rest of his life.
Now these two objects, each as precious to them as life itself, lay on my bed.
Consort Chun certainly knew what she was doing. She was far more formidable than she used to be.
“My lady, let’s go beg Her Highness for mercy!”
Xiaolian’s face was white with panic, and even her voice trembled. She had served us for years and knew how precious these objects were to Mother and my brother. The blood on the talisman was especially horrifying.
I drew a deep breath and forced myself to calm down. This was a warning from Father and Consort Chun.
“Xiaolian, get ready. We are going to pay our respects to the Empress.”