Chapter 1
Chapter 1
Beneath my thin gauze robe, I writhed like a beautiful serpent, crawling forward over the warmed floor rug.
Three feet ahead of me was the honored guest I was to serve tonight.
Lord Fuyong.
He was not only the Duke of Qi’s most beloved second son, but also a wandering strategist who had traveled between states, his tongue as persuasive as a lotus in bloom.
One careless word from him could overturn the entire life of a commoner.
For this, I had not hesitated to frame the lead dancer. I smeared lard on the soles of her shoes, making her slip and humiliate herself on the spot…
And so, the dancer sent in to serve him became me, just as I had wished.
It was an honor beyond measure.
As I crawled forward in flattery, I stole a quick glance ahead.
Behind the woven curtain sat a figure with lacquer-black hair and plain white robes, the folds of his clothing gleaming like snow. His brows were dark and thick as ink, every curve placed with perfect precision.
Just as my gaze reached the space between his brows, a guard’s hand blocked my view, hiding the deep darkness beneath.
“You may not look directly at Lord Fuyong.”
“Yes.”
By the time I had crawled closer, I could almost smell the faint, clean fragrance emanating from him. Then a voice drifted down from above me, cool as thawing snow.
“Why is it you?”
“Ah?”
“I told your master I preferred older, more voluptuous women.”
“…”
That lazy voice carried no threat or intimidation, yet it was as if a basin of ice water had been dumped over me. I went cold from head to toe.
Seeing me tremble uncontrollably, Lord Fuyong leaned forward. His red lips parted, his breath like sandalwood mixed with honey.
“I saw everything you did.”
…He saw?
The moment those words fell, sweat poured from me like syrup. “P-please, Lord Fuyong, spare my life!”
In this era, hierarchy was absolute.
For a commoner to deceive a noble was a capital crime.
He rose. His spotless white shoes gradually stepped into the center of the hall. After pacing back and forth several times, he suddenly rebuked me in a cold voice. “So young, yet already harboring such vicious intentions?”
In my despair, I argued back, “How is that vicious?”
“That woman is always bullying me. What harm is there in letting me have one chance?”
“And so?”
“All I did was smear on a little lard. She puts leeches in my shoes!”
“…Lard?”
Never in a thousand years had I expected it.
In response to my terrified, desperate excuse, Lord Fuyong burst into astonished laughter. “Ha!”
“So that was it. A scheme indeed!”
The guards on either side immediately clasped their hands in salute. “Congratulations, my lord. You subdued your opponent without even fighting!”
Wh-what?
I instantly raised my head and stared in disbelief at that tall, imposing figure.
The most virtuous and renowned gentleman of the State of Qi, a lord of a great state in his own right…
He had tricked me!
I prostrated myself on the floor again, but this time I had no heart left for flattery. My whole soul seemed to have left my body. “How did Your Honor become suspicious?”
“Heh. When something is strange, there must be a reason.”
Lord Fuyong waved a hand, utterly unruffled. “I made a request of your master, yet he did the exact opposite. Is that not strange?”
…At last, I understood.
It was not that my scheme had been lacking. It was that the person I wanted to cling to was too clever.
The next instant, that guard seized the back of my neck and lifted me high into the air like a dead quail.
“A commoner who deceives a noble must die!”
The blade flashed bright as snow. I squeezed my eyes shut in terror.
Yet the man above glanced at me. His gaze slid over my frostbitten, red, swollen hands and feet, and he let out a soft sigh.
His eyes were cold, yet they also revealed the pity of one looking down upon an ant.
“Never mind. She is only a child.”