Chapter 1

Chapter 1

I slowly turned around.

The Young Marquis stood beneath the corridor eaves, the flickering candlelight casting half of his face into deep shadow.

Yet those eyes of his were as sharp as a hawk’s, locking onto me with unwavering intensity.

The two girls who had been gossiping just moments ago turned deathly pale. They scrambled to their knees, heads bowed, not daring to look up.

The air seemed to freeze into ice.

I suppressed the storm raging in my heart and pursed my lips, instantly adopting an expression of coquettish resentment.

“Why do you even ask, Marquis? Naturally, I am angry with you… for always refusing to redeem me and buy my freedom. It keeps my heart in constant suspense!”

The Young Marquis stared at me, his gaze piercing like needles.

After a few moments, he suddenly laughed and reached out to stroke my hair.

“Still throwing a tantrum? I’ve told you, it’s not that I’m unwilling to redeem you; the timing just isn’t right yet.”

That was it.

Only half an hour ago, I had run out of the room in tears because he refused to buy my freedom.

At this moment, “grievance” was my best disguise.

“Timing, timing! You always use that word to brush me off!”

I lightly thumped his chest, my voice trembling with just the right amount of emotion. “If you truly loved me, how could you have the heart to let me stay in a place of ill repute like this?”

It had been three years.

I had long since learned how to manipulate men with perfect precision.

The brows must be slightly knitted; the voice must carry a tremor.

I had to make him feel pity without provoking his annoyance.

This was once the behavior I despised most, but now, it had become my only protective coloring.

Sure enough, the Young Marquis’s expression relaxed, and his tone softened.

“My darling, how could I not love you? The night-luminescent pearls from the Western Regions, the cloud brocade from Jiangnan-which of these did I not let you pick from first? I have raised you to the position of the Capital City’s number one Flower Queen. Is that not enough love for you?”

Seeing us “flirting” like this, the two girls nearby quietly breathed a sigh of relief, thinking their words hadn’t been overheard.

My heart, however, sank straight into an icy abyss.

Before, I had been obsessed with getting him to redeem me because I thought leaving the brothel would be my chance to escape this life.

But if even the concept of “transmigration” itself was a lie…

Then this Drunken Spring Pavilion was a massive cage he had custom-built just for me!

How could he possibly let me out and give me the chance to glimpse the truth beyond this stage?

“However…”

The Young Marquis’s tone shifted, and a look of difficulty crossed his face.

“My position in court has been difficult lately, and I need to rely on the Seventh Prince’s influence. I know he… has always quite admired you. Fudong, if you are willing to lend me a hand in this matter, I will surely redeem you with great fanfare once I have secured my footing. What do you say?”

I caught the underlying meaning of his words.

“You mean… you want me to help you by… serving someone else?”

“It is only a temporary measure,” he coaxed softly. “You wouldn’t have the heart to watch me fall into a predicament, would you?”

I looked into those hypocritical eyes, and hatred grew wildly in my heart.

It was all fake.

The imperial court was fake, the Prince was fake, and even these past three years of my life were fake!

And now, he wanted to direct an even more despicable play-

To watch me, the woman he had “monopolized” for three years, willingly undress for another man for his sake.

What he wanted was to see me completely broken, sinking into degradation for him amidst the humiliation!

Fury burned in my chest.

But in the end, I merely lowered my eyes, masking all emotion.

“Marquis, I am tired.

“Allow me… to think about it carefully.”

With that, I gave a formal curtsy and turned to leave.

I had to calm down and think seriously about where exactly I should start to break this deadlock.