chapter 1

My name is Zhao Wenzhi, the orphaned daughter of the Prince of Shu. I was nine when my father fell in battle. Taking pity on a child who had lost her father, the Empress Dowager brought me into the palace and raised me there.

I married at sixteen.

At eighteen, I gave birth to twins, a boy and a girl. My husband, Wei Xu, and I were deeply devoted to one another. When the children were six, I went hunting with him, and the Third Prince deliberately aimed an arrow at him.

It looked like a jest, yet also like a genuine attempt on his life.

I took the arrow for Wei Xu and damaged my internal organs. While I lay gravely wounded, I used the opportunity to plead pitifully before the emperor and the Empress Dowager, and the Third Prince was severely punished.

My husband’s family supported the Second Prince.

My injury turned the emperor and my late father’s former officers against the Third Prince, clearing obstacles from the Second Prince’s path to becoming crown prince.

Wei Xu told me, “Ah Zhi, this wound of yours cannot heal too easily. The Third Prince bears us a grudge. Why don’t we use this chance to bring him down for good?”

I had always believed Wei Xu and I were one, bound to share honor and disgrace.

For the sake of our grand cause, my wound had to send me away from the capital for three or five years of recuperation. That would give the court and the Second Prince grounds to attack the Third Prince.

So I went to an estate in the south.

Yet after the Second Prince was named crown prince, Wei Xu did not send for me at once.

I sensed that something was wrong.

Only when I returned home did I learn that someone else had long since taken my place.

Reborn, I went to the palace to see the Empress Dowager before doing anything else.

She was the only person in this world who had ever loved me sincerely.

“I’m well now,” I told her.

The Empress Dowager took my hand. “It is enough that you are back. Come to the palace often and keep me company, so I need not worry about you.”

I promised I would.

Before leaving, I quietly slipped the gold bracelet from my wrist and tucked it beneath the cover of an ebony chair.

It had belonged to my birth mother.

The Empress Dowager had placed it on my wrist herself, and she knew how much it meant to me.

It was midafternoon when I reached the Duke of Song’s estate.

The sun slanted westward, its golden light filtering through the treetops and scattering mottled shadows. My husband and children stood gathered around my mother-in-law, surprise showing on every face.

Behind them stood a young woman in lotus-pink robes, gentle and lovely.

“Why have you returned today, Ah Zhi? The steward never sent word ahead.” My mother-in-law came forward and took my hand.

I smiled. “I need no elaborate ceremony to come home, do I, Mother?”

She gave an awkward laugh.

Wei Xu stepped forward and asked about my journey. Our ten-year-old twins, a boy and a girl, came to pay their respects.

“Ah Zhi, you haven’t met her yet. This is Lady Lan. I engaged her to teach Song Song needlework.” Seeing me look at the woman in lotus pink, my mother-in-law volunteered the introduction.

“Dou Fenglan greets Your Ladyship.” Lady Lan stepped forward and saluted with poised composure.

She was a distant niece of my mother-in-law’s. After her husband died, she had come to seek refuge with the Dowager Duchess.

Her embroidery and cooking were both exceptional. With those two talents, she had won over my entire family.

“No need for ceremony.” Smiling, I made a gesture as though to help her rise. “Thank you for looking after Song Song while I was away.”

My daughter, Wei Song, immediately said, “Mother, you have no idea how wonderful Aunt Lan is!”

I stroked her hair gently. “You can tell me all about it later, Song Song.”

Unlike in my previous life, I did not come home, instantly notice that everyone favored Dou Fenglan, and let my displeasure sour the mood on my first night back.

I chatted and laughed with them and stayed through dinner.

Afterward, my husband was visibly restless.

“I… am exhausted from the journey and would like to retire early. May I trouble Your Grace to make do in the outer study tonight?” I offered.

I knew Wei Xu had already slept with Dou Fenglan by this point.

Given the choice, he would much rather comfort her tonight than stay with me.

Delight flashed across his face. “Rest well, Ah Zhi.”

I slept soundly through the night.

The next morning, I waited for precisely the right moment to lose my temper.