Chapter 4

That night.

First, a page came to say Yuan Shaoxuan would sleep in his study. Then my maid Dongrui reported quietly:

“I’ve found out that His Lordship slipped along a side path to the northwest of the rear courtyard.”

“Miss, should we…?”

I sat before my dressing table and watched a mocking smile curve the pretty face in the mirror.

His beloved had been wronged during the day, so naturally he had hurried to comfort her at night.

The woman in the mirror shook her head. “It doesn’t matter. Help me get ready for bed.”

The maids set to work. Once Dongrui had removed my hair ornaments, I handed her a brocade box.

“Amber earrings set in gold. Would you exchange your pearl earrings for these?”

This was the welcoming gift I had given Su Zhirou in my previous life. It was worth a hundred times more than the pearls.

Dongrui accepted it with both hands, smiling so broadly her eyes disappeared.

“Thank you, Miss! You’re so good to me!”

I smiled too, my eyes crinkling at her delight.

My dowry was ample; such worldly things were ordinary to me. But in this life, I would never spend so much as a fraction on ungrateful creatures.

In my previous life, I had once found Su Zhirou embroidering handkerchiefs by lamplight late at night. Only then did I learn how short of money she was. She had to sell her embroidery to bring in a little extra.

When she lived with my mother-in-law, she had not needed to pay to keep the servants happy.

But after becoming Yuan Shaoxuan’s concubine, she had to manage such courtesies herself, and expenses in this household were high.

Her family’s property had been confiscated. By the time the marquis’s household took her in, she was penniless. She had no dowry, no private properties or shops to bring in a steady income.

Yuan Shaoxuan gave her no rewards, either, so her monthly allowance was nowhere near enough.

Each time, I stopped the servant sent to sell her handkerchiefs, bought them for several times their value, and warned the servant not to tell.

Looking back, wouldn’t it be better to save that money for the people who truly cared for me?

The next morning, I took a group of servants straight to Rain-Bamboo Lodge.

Since Yuan Shaoxuan had slipped here in secret, he had brought no page. There was no one to announce my arrival.

I stood in the courtyard strewn with fallen leaves. Through the window’s thin gauze, I could vaguely see that the occupants had just risen.

Su Zhirou was helping Yuan Shaoxuan dress. As she did, she suddenly embraced him from behind, her voice choked.

“Brother Shaoxuan, I live in such a shabby courtyard. How good of you to come and keep me company.”

He turned and pinched the tip of her nose.

“You’re in my heart. Of course I want to be with you.”

Not receiving the answer she wanted, Su Zhirou paused, then buried her face against his chest.

“If I’m in your heart, why make me live in such a remote, lonely place? From now on, it’ll take me so long just to see you.

“Do you know? When I arrived yesterday, there was dust and cobwebs everywhere. I cleaned for ages before it was even fit to live in.”

Yuan Shaoxuan held her tenderly and explained with great feeling.

“Madam made things difficult for you yesterday because you must have drawn too much attention and annoyed her.

“If I don’t make it look as though I detest you, what will happen when that woman gets jealous? You’ll suffer endlessly. I’m doing this for your own good.”

She raised her tear-filled eyes.

“Brother Shaoxuan, why are you so afraid of her? She’s only a concubine-born daughter of the Grand Tutor.”

“Silly girl. She may be concubine-born, but she was raised under her father’s principal wife and is very close to the empress. Our household needs that connection to rise again. Naturally, we must be careful with her.”

The truth hurt to hear. But the pain made me more clear-headed.

Father had not refused his proposal because Yuan Shaoxuan came from the household of the Marquis of Xuanping. The old marquis had died early, and my mother-in-law had raised her son alone. As soon as he came of age at twenty, he inherited the title.

He became the youngest marquis at court.

He was more than a suitable match for a concubine-born daughter of the Grand Tutor. If anything, I was marrying above my station.

Thinking about it now, however, he had really valued how easy my birth status would make me to control, and how close I was to my legitimate elder sister, now empress.

The last few generations of the Xuanping family had produced few children. Its other branches were weak. With no one at court, its influence had steadily declined.

There was no suitable girl of marriageable age in the imperial family, so he could only marry me and become the emperor’s brother-in-law, hoping for a chance to gain favor and responsibility.

In my previous life, believing we were a loving match, I had begged my elder sister in the palace almost as soon as I married.

I secured him an official post with real power.

His Majesty loved and respected the empress. Naturally, he agreed to such a small request.

In this life? Ha.

The two people inside were still clinging to each other.

“Don’t worry. My feelings won’t change. You must believe in my love. We’ve had so many years together.

“If it weren’t for her family, I wouldn’t even look at her.

“Remember the letters I sent you? Until heaven grows old, our love cannot end…”

Su Zhirou smiled through her tears and joined him, reciting the next line together.

“My heart is a net of doubled silk, with a thousand, thousand knots within.”

Yuan Shaoxuan nodded. “Yes. As long as you understand my heart.”

“You’ll have to endure a little hardship for now. Later, I’ll repay what I owe you a thousand times, ten thousand times over.”

I sneered again and again.

What a lovely dream. A thousand times, ten thousand times? That depended on whether they ever got the chance.

Su Zhirou murmured shyly and crouched to put on his boots.

She was clearly prepared to suffer willingly.

Pleased with her attitude, Yuan Shaoxuan pinched her cheek and turned with a smile to push the door open.

He came face to face with me and all my servants in the courtyard.

“Yun… Yunniang, what are you doing here?”