Lin Yao jumped up from her chair, brushed off her clothes, and said crisply, “Let’s go!”
The young eunuch who had delivered the message stood frozen in place, stuttering as he pointed at her: “M-Miss Lin… you’re… you’re going to see the Crown Princess like this?”
At this moment, Lin Yao was dressed in plain white undergarments, wearing a pair of half-worn soft-soled shoes, with her just-washed, still-damp long hair casually draped loose behind her. With this appearance, she wouldn’t even be allowed to see a head maid, let alone the Crown Princess—she’d be beaten out with sticks.
Lin Yao looked down at herself and seemed to realize it was indeed not quite presentable.
“True enough, it is a formal occasion after all.”
She turned and went back into the room, grabbed a light blue outer robe from a pile of colorful brocades, threw it on like a bathrobe, and tied a casual butterfly knot at her waist with the sash.
“Alright, let’s go now.”
The young eunuch looked at her butterfly knot, seeming to want to say something, but ultimately just pursed his lips and led the way.
This was Lin Yao’s first time stepping out of the cage called “Jingyou Pavilion” since she had transmigrated over a week ago.
Along the way, red walls and yellow tiles stretched layer upon layer. The palace architecture was oppressive and solemn, with towering palace walls cutting the sky into narrow strips.
Lin Yao followed behind the eunuch, observing her surroundings with great interest. There were no weeds or cicada sounds here like at Jingyou Pavilion—only strict rules and deathly silence.
However, that silence was broken as she passed by.
The maids and eunuchs she encountered along the way all stopped in their tracks the moment they saw Lin Yao, lowering their heads while frantically stealing glances from the corners of their eyes.
“Oh my god, she came out with her hair loose? Has she gone mad?”
“Shh… I heard that on her wedding day she was… who knows what kind of shock she suffered…”
Whispers buzzed into her ears like mosquitoes.
Lin Yao assumed her absurd betrothal ordeal had already spread throughout the palace, unaware that the terrified looks in these people’s eyes were all because of her loose, flowing hair—which in ancient times symbolized “madness” or “extreme violation of feminine virtue.”
Passing through several ornamental gates, the view suddenly opened up, and a wave of extravagant wealth hit her in the face.
This was the Eastern Palace.
Unlike the dilapidated Jingyou Pavilion, here the ground was paved with golden bricks, beams were carved and painted, and even the flowers and plants in the courtyard were trimmed to a perfection that looked fake. A faint, expensive incense floated in the air—the scent of power.
“Miss Lin, we’ve arrived.”
The young eunuch stopped outside the main hall.
Lin Yao stepped over the high threshold and immediately saw a man and a woman seated in the place of honor in the spacious main hall.
The woman wore the formal crimson robes of the Crown Princess, with gold-threaded phoenix hairpins in her hair, her makeup flawless and impeccable.
She was beautiful and dignified—by Lin Yao’s modern aesthetic standards, she absolutely lived up to the title of Crown Princess. But at this moment, those almond-shaped eyes didn’t seem to be looking at an elder sister; instead, they held the scrutiny of someone in a position of authority.
If she guessed correctly, this was the original owner’s younger sister, the current Crown Princess, Lin Rou.
And seated beside her was a middle-aged man. Purple robes with a jade belt, an imposing aura, slight frost at his temples, and a pair of sharp, piercing eyes that exuded authority.
But Lin Yao was confused. Who was this man? She remembered the Crown Prince was only in his early twenties and looked rather handsome and elegant, and the Emperor didn’t look like this either…
Lin Yao stood still, not moving.
It wasn’t that she didn’t know how to bow—during these days at Jingyou Pavilion, she had learned the gestures by copying the maids when they paid their respects.
But she didn’t want to kneel.
So she merely gave a slight nod of her body and stood there, neither humble nor overbearing.
The Crown Princess noticed she had made no gesture of greeting. The hand holding her teacup paused slightly, but she said nothing, displaying the restraint and dignity befitting a Crown Princess.
It was the man beside her who suddenly slammed his hand on the table, making the teacups rattle.
“Lin Yao! How dare you!”
Lin Qi’s eyes bulged with rage as he pointed at Lin Yao’s nose and cursed: “It’s one thing that you show no respect to your own father when you see me! But now Rou’er is the Crown Princess personally appointed by His Majesty, and you don’t perform the full ceremonial bow when you meet her?! Have all the propriety and decency you learned been fed to the dogs?!”
Oh, so you introduce yourself, do you? So this is the original owner’s cheap father!
It seemed the whole family had conspired to give this “discarded piece” Lin Yao a good beating today.
From fragments of conversation over these past days, Lin Yao had pieced together that the original owner had never been favored since childhood—she was hidden away by her family as a burden because of illness.
Then, due to the power struggle between the Fourth Prince and the Crown Prince, she was switched in and sent to the Crown Prince’s bridal chamber, only to end up being betrothed to the mad Fourth Prince.
It was practically a walking Les Misérables.
Lin Yao tried to search deeper in her mind for more memories of the original owner and this father, but the moment she did, a sharp pain exploded from her temples, accompanied by intense palpitations and shortness of breath, as if a voice inside her body was screaming in resistance to the memories.
Lin Yao frowned and pressed her fingers to her temples. It seemed the original owner had suffered too much psychological trauma as a child, and her body had activated some kind of post-traumatic stress protection mechanism, blocking out those painful memories.
However, there was no need to recall anything—the attitude of the old man before her said it all.
“Pay respects?”
Lin Yao endured her headache, lowered her hand, and a trace of mockery curled at the corner of her lips.
“She is the Crown Princess, and I am the Fourth Prince’s consort. By seniority, she is my own elder sister; by rank, we are both daughters-in-law of the imperial family. We’re both wives to someone—why should I kowtow to her?”
“Presumptuous!” Minister Lin’s face flushed a livid red. “The heir to the throne commands respect. You, merely the un-wedded wife of a prince, how dare you compare yourself to the Crown Princess? Such treasonous nonsense—you dare speak it aloud?!”
His gaze fell upon her loose, unbound hair, and his brows knit even tighter with disgust. “And look at you—what is this manner of dress?! Hair disheveled, robes in disarray, parading about in broad daylight like a shameless madwoman!”
Lin Yao’s gaze swept over Lin Qi’s furious face. It seemed today was no occasion for fatherly affection and filial piety.
Reason told Lin Yao that provoking those in power in a feudal society would bring no good fruit. She wasn’t the original owner of this body—whatever grievances had been suffered before had nothing to do with her. What mattered now was making her own life comfortable.
But emotionally, that wave of bitterness and suffocation—not hers, yet surging up from the depths of this body—clogged her chest almost involuntarily.
It was like a little girl curled up in a corner, having waited eight years, only to be met with the same word: “madwoman.”
Lin Yao closed her eyes and said nothing.
At that moment, Lin Rou, who had been sitting upright watching the scene unfold, finally spoke.
“Father, please don’t be upset.” Her voice was gentle and warm, as soothing as a spring breeze. “Elder sister has lived in the outer courtyard for so long, without a governess by her side—it’s only natural she wouldn’t know these things. Someone, bring a seat and tea for elder sister.”
Every word seemed to make excuses for her, but every word also reminded everyone that Lin Yao was the one who didn’t know propriety—and the only one who could forgive her was the Crown Princess.
Lin Yao sneered inwardly, but her face betrayed nothing. She thanked her and sat down.
For a moment, the three of them sat in silence, the atmosphere somewhat awkward. She casually picked up the teacup that had just been served and took a sip.
Oh ho!
The taste was fragrant and mellow, with a long, sweet aftertaste. Lin Yao didn’t know much about tea, but she could tell this was worlds apart from the crushed tea leaves she’d been drinking.
So the Crown Prince’s household really was different!
Lin Yao felt even more indignant: Why should her sister drink such fine tea while she herself drank leaves worse than something you’d get for nine ninety-nine with free shipping?
“Yao’er.”
Minister Lin’s voice pulled her back from the teacup. He seemed to have finally suppressed his anger, adopting the expression of a wise, earnest patriarch.
“Whatever the circumstances behind this matter, the fact that you sisters have become sisters-in-law is a stroke of fortune. But from now on, you must think not only of serving your husband, but also of the glory of our family.”
He looked up at Lin Yao, his gaze complicated. “Now that you’ve recovered, as your father, I am glad to hear it. Had the household been informed sooner, we wouldn’t have been caught so off guard.”
“It was only when I was lying on the Crown Prince’s bed and got yanked off by the Fourth Prince that I realized I wasn’t blind or mute anymore,” Lin Yao shot back irritably.
“You—”
Minister Lin was left speechless, then sighed in a mix of anger and helplessness.
“Your wedding is imminent now, and your circumstances are delicate. With those… rumors circulating outside, it’s not convenient for you to return to the manor. All these years you’ve been raised in the outer courtyard—I had my own unavoidable reasons. I had intended to marry you off to some respectable, refined family as a matriarch, to live a peaceful life. I never expected…”
He paused deliberately, his brow furrowing even deeper.
Then he took a sip of tea and lowered his voice, as if discussing some trivial household matter.
“Yao’er, though you did not grow up in the manor, there is one thing I must impress upon you. The Lin family has been a house of pure scholars for generations, loyal only to the rightful line, serving only the heir apparent. This is our ancestral precept and our family rule.”
He set down his teacup, and his gaze at Lin Yao held a new layer of meaning.
“The Fourth Prince may be your future husband, but he is deep and ambitious by nature. As a young woman, you need not meddle in court affairs—but you must know where your boundaries lie. Remember: your name is Lin.”
Lin Yao understood.
She understood every single word.
“Ancestral precept” was the packaging; “family rule” was the shield.
Translated into plain meaning: marry him if you must, but you’ll keep an eye on the Fourth Prince for the Lin family—make sure he doesn’t do anything to harm the Crown Prince, and certainly don’t help him.
Lin Yao slowly set down her teacup, a faint, unreadable smile at the corner of her lips.
“Father, this daughter understands your meaning.”
She paused, then raised her eyes to meet Minister Lin’s directly.
“How about this—this daughter will petition His Majesty to annul the engagement with the Fourth Prince, and instead enter the Eastern Palace to serve the Crown Prince. Then we sisters will share the same household, serve the same husband, and Father need not worry about this daughter’s ‘boundaries’ any longer. Wouldn’t that be the best of both worlds?”