chapter 2

Dou Fenglan attended breakfast as usual, standing beside my mother-in-law and helping serve the dishes.

When the meal ended, a gate servant came to announce that a senior palace attendant had arrived.

That was when I hurled my bowl to the floor.

Everyone stared at me in astonishment.

My mother-in-law and Wei Xu both frowned slightly, baffled by my outburst.

“I am the Duchess. If we are taking a concubine for His Grace, why was I never consulted? Since Mother sees no place for me as her daughter-in-law, she should give me a letter of repudiation and tell me not to come home.” I spoke loudly enough for my words to carry.

Everyone looked shocked.

My children were the first to appear embarrassed.

My son, Wei Chang, spoke like a little adult. “Mother, how can you smash a bowl in front of Father and Grandmother? Where are your manners?”

Disbelief filled my daughter’s face. “Mother, have you been listening to malicious gossip? You’ve misunderstood Aunt Lan.”

My mother-in-law’s face went livid with anger. “Ah Zhi, you are far too willful. Is this what the Empress Dowager taught you?”

Only my husband, Wei Xu, sensed danger.

He came over and said gently, “Ah Zhi, are you unsettled after coming home? Did you sleep poorly? Dropping one bowl by accident is nothing.”

He signaled to the servants with his eyes.

At the same time, he sent warning looks at his mother and Dou Fenglan.

Neither woman was quick enough to understand.

“When did I ever say whom we were taking as a concubine?” I asked.

Everyone froze.

Their reactions had given away the very secret they meant to hide. Everyone knew about Wei Xu and Dou Fenglan, including my children.

Nanny Zhou, one of the Empress Dowager’s attendants, entered in time to witness the scene.

My people had been waiting at the gate. As soon as the servant came in to make his announcement, they had shown Nanny Zhou straight inside.

“What is happening here?” Nanny Zhou’s expression turned uncertain. “Princess, have you been wronged?”

Tears sprang to my eyes at once.

“No one told me someone else had taken charge of the household. My bedding was damp last night, and I could not find anyone to replace it, so I didn’t sleep at all.

“My hand went weak at breakfast, and I dropped the bowl. His Grace and the Dowager Duchess thought I was throwing a tantrum, but I have truly been wronged,” I said.

Nanny Zhou looked around at them all.

My mother-in-law was no fool. By then, she had finally grasped what was happening.

“It is a misunderstanding,” she said with an ingratiating smile.

“I took an arrow for His Grace and left home to recover. I can understand that, with Mother in poor health, someone had to help manage the household.

“But if His Grace has already taken a concubine, why was I neither told nor was it made public? I came home knowing nothing. If I had not seen the household keys on her belt, I would have gone on treating her like an outsider.

“When people call me jealous, they will only blame the Empress Dowager for teaching me poorly. Nanny Zhou, all of this is because Ah Zhi is useless.” I began to weep.

Nanny Zhou’s face darkened.

My mother-in-law, Dou Fenglan, and Wei Xu all looked dreadful.

Whether they called Dou Fenglan a concubine or denied it, they were trapped.

I did not continue the scene. Instead, I left with Nanny Zhou, still weeping, and returned to the palace.

Nanny Zhou had come early that morning to return my gold bracelet. The Empress Dowager knew I would worry if I “lost” it, so she had sent it back at once—and, in doing so, provided me a witness to everything that had happened.

My word alone could never establish the truth. In my previous life, that lesson had cost me dearly. Wei Xu had a censor’s silver tongue and could make black sound white.

Without the Empress Dowager’s people to testify for me, one accusation after another had been pinned on my head, and my reputation in the capital had quickly been ruined.

When I died, everyone applauded. They praised Dou Fenglan instead as virtuous and loyal, the perfect match for the Duke of Song.

Now Wei Xu would have to explain why, after his lawful wife took an arrow for him and went away to recover, a new “mistress of the household” had appeared in his residence.

I followed Nanny Zhou back to the Empress Dowager’s palace.

The Empress Dowager drew an arm around my shoulders.

This time, she did not say, You insisted on choosing Wei Xu back then, though I never cared for him.

She only said, “If you have been wronged, stay with me for a few days. No daughter of the Zhao clan is theirs to abuse.”

I remembered how she had urged me to divorce Wei Xu in my previous life as well.

I had refused. To divorce him would mean admitting that my husband and children had rejected me, and my pride could not bear it. I had been determined to fight them to the bitter end.

In the end, I paid with my life.

Only the Empress Dowager wept for me.

In my previous life, I never entirely trusted her affection. She was a ruthless old woman, decisive and merciless when she needed to be.

How much could she truly love me? Surely raising me had only been a performance to reassure my father’s former officers.

During my twenty years as a ghost, I often went to see her.

Whenever she mentioned me, she cried.

Even a cat becomes dear after enough years together. How could she not grow attached to someone as obedient and beautiful as I had been? The Empress Dowager truly loved me.