Chapter 3
The next day, before my injuries had fully healed, I went to pay my respects in Lady Liu’s courtyard.
In the morning light, I curtsied with lowered eyes, poured her a cup of tea, and watched Father leave for court.
Then I was summoned to Cui Yueshu’s courtyard.
Cui Yueshu was going to a poetry banquet.
A maid held up two gowns, one a vivid vermilion, the other a soft jade green.
Holding her handkerchief, she compared them carelessly and asked me,
“Which do you think is better, Sister?”
My gaze paused on the red one.
In my previous life, Cui Yueshu had been too ashamed to leave home after the wastrel proposed. I had gone to the banquet alone.
At that banquet, the Noble Consort had just received a confidential report that her younger brother had died in battle. She had nowhere to vent her grief.
One unfortunate young woman wore red from head to toe. The consort publicly denounced her as “vulgar beyond bearing.”
The young lady went home and was ill for a fortnight.
So I smiled and pointed to the green gown.
“The jade green suits your complexion. It is gentle and dignified, perfect for spring.”
Cui Yueshu glanced at the green, curled her lip, and had the maid drape the red gown around her instead.
She turned before the bronze mirror, nodded in satisfaction, and smiled smugly.
“You always have good taste, Sister. But whatever you choose must be a little beneath what I have.”
She turned to me, a trace of mockery in her eyes.
“When you choose a husband, be sure not to set your heart on someone beyond your reach.”
I lowered my head and murmured assent.
Sure enough, she went out in red, drawing eyes all the way.
At the banquet, confident in her beauty, she carried her cup into the midst of the crowd, her red gown glaringly bright.
Until a cold reprimand came from the place of honor.
“I have just lost my brother.”
“Miss Cui, have you come dressed like that to torment me deliberately?”
Cui Yueshu went white and dropped hastily to her knees.
“Forgive me, Your Highness. I did not know…”
The young ladies around her covered their mouths with handkerchiefs and laughed softly.
I watched from the far side of the crowd, my brows drawn together in just the right degree of concern.
At some point, Pei Zheng had come to stand beside me. His eyes narrowed slightly, his voice flat.
“You knew the Noble Consort had just lost her brother, yet you still urged your sister to wear red. How calculating you are.”
I turned to meet his eyes, looking frightened.
“Surely you are joking, my lord.”
“The death of the consort’s brother at the border was urgent military intelligence. Father dotes on my sister, and even she did not know. How could a girl who lives in the women’s quarters have heard?”
I paused, letting a little more hurt enter my voice.
“Besides, my sister did ask me to choose a gown before we left, but I pointed to the green one. She insisted on red. Can you blame that on me too?”
Pei Zheng stared at me, his gaze dark, as though searching my face for a flaw in my performance.
I met his eyes without flinching.
At last, he looked away and turned to leave.
“Well, so long as your conscience is clear, Miss Cui.”
“But you and I have nothing in common. Do not pursue me again.”
For the rest of the banquet, he kept well away from me.
When I raised my cup, he was murmuring to someone else.
When I passed, he stepped aside. His eyes never rested on me.
He avoided me as though I were venomous.
I did not care.
In my previous life, I had attended that banquet for the express purpose of taking Cui Yueshu’s intended husband.
Back then, I would always look toward him “by accident” when I smiled.
When our paths crossed, I would turn my ankle and fall into his arms, gazing up at him with helpless innocence.
After marrying him, I indulged his every wish and captivated him in our bedchamber.
In this life, he already knew my true nature. I would hardly invite humiliation.