Chapter 1
When Wen Changfeng came to my home with the betrothal gifts, he was splendidly dressed, mounted on a fine horse, and brimming with youthful confidence.
Risking a scolding, I hid behind a folding screen to steal a look at him.
He had clear-cut features, and his dark hair was swept up into a high knot. Everything he did spoke of gentleness and modesty. Among ordinary men, he was one of the better-looking sort.
I breathed a sigh of relief. I thought I ought to be a suitable match for him.
He discussed politics and history with Father, displaying broad learning without arrogance or servility. Father listened with a smile and nodded again and again.
I found myself wondering whether marriage to him might give me a better life than the one I had in the Yun residence.
Wen Changfeng acquitted himself well. He showed not the slightest disdain or resentment over my status as a concubine-born daughter.
Then my legitimate elder sister, Yun Xiu, returned from an outing.
Ignoring the servants trying to stop her, she swept into the room like a whirlwind.
Her flamboyant peony-red dress flared around her as she ran, a blaze of fire that drew Wen Changfeng’s gaze before he could stop himself.
Unconcerned by the presence of a man outside the family, Yun Xiu leaned against Father’s knee and told him stories of her outing with flashing eyes and playful expressions.
She had chased away a greedy peddler, rescued a girl from harassment, and even freed a rabbit caught in a trap along the way.
Wen Changfeng fell silent.
He stared, spellbound, at Yun Xiu’s rosy cheeks.
Father lovingly stroked her dark hair and chided her without conviction. “Ah Xiu, we have a guest. Mind your manners.”
In the next instant, the fervor in Wen Changfeng’s eyes froze.
It was as if a basin of cold water had been mercilessly dashed over a tiny flame that had only just begun to burn.
Because the girl he was going to marry was named Yun Xia.
Not Yun Xiu.
One heart yearned; the other remained unmoved.
Whenever Wen Changfeng sent me gifts, there was always something for my elder sister as well. His letters asking after me never failed to add, “Please convey my regards to Miss Yun Xiu.”
Unfortunately for him, my sister would give them only a cursory glance before tossing them aside.
Her heart belonged to Zhao Qinchen, the legitimate son of the prime minister.
Young Master Zhao was charming, dashing, and as famously handsome as Pan An. But Father thought him far too dissolute. He was over twenty, yet cared nothing for achievement or office and spent all his time chasing women. He was hardly a man to whom a daughter could entrust her life.
The only thing he had to recommend him was his status as the prime minister’s youngest legitimate son.
Father ordered me to talk sense into my sister and persuade her not to waste her heart on a lump of mud that would never hold up a wall.
When I went to see her, she happened to be eating grapes Zhao Qinchen had sent.
“A man like Young Master Zhao is someone you could never hope to reach in your lifetime. You should be happy for me that he chose me.”
Instead, she mocked me. Plucking up a grape, she flicked it at my forehead as if it were a toy.
It struck with a dull thud. I frowned and covered the spot.
She burst into delighted laughter. “Yun Xia, don’t be sour just because you can’t have the grapes.”
I lowered my head and endured the humiliation in silence.
I was the daughter of a concubine. My mother had once been a maid who served Father, and I had been conceived by accident.
In plain terms, I was a servant too.
If the masters were pleased, they rewarded you with food. If they were displeased, they could have you beaten to death without having done the least wrong.
That was the lesson Yun Xiu had taught me.
She threw another grape. It struck the tip of my nose dead center, making her giggle. “Do you know that a single one of these grapes costs as much as your monthly allowance? Only Young Master Zhao could afford to send me such things.”
She loved nothing more than sneering at my poverty and stinginess.
“You…” Her eyes shone. “You reek of poverty, just like that dead mother of yours. What could you possibly understand?”
I lowered my head and stared at the toes of my shoes without a word.
My mother had died because of one of Yun Xiu’s cruel games.
When I was little, Yun Xiu once slipped into my room during my afternoon nap to steal my cloth doll.
Mother tried to dissuade her, saying I would cry if I woke and found it gone.
Yun Xiu took offense and ran outside, threatening to jump into the lake.
She leaped in lightly. Terrified, my mother had no choice but to force herself into the water after her.
But Yun Xiu could swim.
My mother could not.
Yun Xiu climbed back onto shore without calling for help. She only giggled as she watched my mother thrash in the water and sink beneath the surface.
By the time I was woken, Mother’s body had already been carried away for burial.
Whenever Yun Xiu was questioned, her favorite trick was to cry.
Simple. Crude. Effective.
She claimed my mother had only gone into the lake to retrieve money Yun Xiu had dropped. Greed had killed her.
My mother had brought it upon herself, Yun Xiu said. Her death had nothing to do with her.
Everyone believed her.
From that day on, I wanted nothing except enough money to protect myself.
When I said nothing, Yun Xiu gave a disdainful snort. She casually crushed another grape between her fingers and let its clear juice drip onto the floor. “Look. You can’t afford a grape like this, but I can crush one whenever I please. You’re still so young. Instead of learning anything useful, you’ve learned to seethe with jealousy whenever someone else has something good.”
I bowed my head. “Thank you for the lesson, Elder Sister.”
I backed away a few steps and left.
After that, I kept my mouth shut.
Father was furious. He would rather send Yun Xiu to a convent than allow her to marry Young Master Zhao.
Yun Xiu was out of options. When she saw other women gaining Zhao Qinchen’s favor, she panicked.
On a dark and windy night, she climbed over the wall. She did not return until dawn the next morning.
Her clothes were disheveled, her hair askew, and several of her jeweled pins were missing.
She told me smugly that she and Zhao Qinchen had pledged themselves to each other. As soon as Father relented, Zhao Qinchen would come to the Yun residence to ask for her hand.
I was shocked, though not entirely surprised. “But you’re not married yet. How could you…”
She shot me a sidelong glance and jabbed a finger hard against my forehead. “You little fool! Young Master Zhao has so many beauties around him. How was I supposed to hook him without making a sacrifice?”
My scalp prickled. “Then how will you make Father relent?”
She grinned. “I’ll go to Father in a moment and tell him I’ll jump into the lake if he won’t let me marry Zhao Qinchen. He’ll think I’m only speaking in anger. You wait by the lake. As soon as I go in, run and fetch Father.”
“I can swim, so I’ll be fine.”
I went still.
She hummed and studied me with a frown. “You aren’t still holding a grudge, are you?”
I shook my head and put on an obedient expression.