Ling Zhenli finished listening to the Prime Minister’s wife and mentally summarized the current relationship dynamics within the Imperial family, supplementing it with fragmented information she had heard previously from Xiao Chongheng.
In the past, court politics were chaotic and the throne unstable. Emperor Gaozong favored Empress Yang Wan and even deposed Empress Xue Yuan for her, who then died of grief in a temple. Because of this, Empress Wan and Gaozong promised Xue Run the position of Crown Princess to compensate the Xue family.
Gaozong’s four sons and one daughter were all born to Empress Wan. Empress Wan was very ambitious. To seize power, she successively framed the Crown Prince Zhang Hui (her eldest son) and Crown Prince Duan Huai (her second son).
Despite persecuting her own offspring, Gaozong’s favor for her did not diminish. Before his death, he even entrusted the political authority to Empress Dowager Yang, hoping she would properly assist the remaining sons.
The third son, Pei Lian, ascended the throne, known as Emperor Xuan. However, the true political power remained in the hands of Empress Dowager Yang, the former Empress Wan.
Emperor Xuan, Pei Lian, greatly favored his Empress Chen. Consequently, the Chen family enjoyed continuous honor, receiving promotions and titles. However, the Chen family came from a butcher’s background. This displeased Empress Dowager Yang, who conspired with powerful officials and nobles to depose Emperor Xuan and enthrone the fourth son, Pei She, known as Emperor Rui.
Empress Dowager Yang wanted Emperor Rui to establish her niece as Empress, but Emperor Rui insisted on making his most beloved woman, the mother of the current Crown Prince, the Empress. However, that woman was a captive Emperor Rui had taken during a military campaign when he was a prince, and her status was low. This angered Empress Dowager Yang, who arbitrarily accused the woman of a crime and bestowed death upon her. Emperor Rui was heartbroken. Empress Dowager Yang considered Emperor Rui too weak, so she poisoned him. Later, under the strong endorsement of the ministers, Empress Dowager Yang ascended the throne, calling herself Empress Wen.
In Empress Wen’s twilight years, power gradually shifted into the hands of her daughter, Princess Wuyang, Pei Jing, Prime Minister Xue Wenmian, and General Chen Rao. However, Empress Wen appointed her nephew Yang Xiande as Crown Prince and her grandnephew Yang Chengxiu as Imperial Grandson, intending to pass the throne to the Yang family. This provoked a coup led by the Princess and General Chen. The then-Prince Pei Xuanlin charged into the Imperial City alone, personally killed Empress Wen to avenge his parents, and helped his uncle, Pei Lian, reascend the throne.
Emperor Xuan and Empress Chen Hui had only one daughter, Princess Jin’an. Therefore, Emperor Xuan adopted his nephew Pei Xuanlin, who was instrumental in assisting his ascension, and established him as the Crown Prince.
What Ling Zhenli had to do was perfectly portray the Prime Minister’s legitimate daughter, Xue Yingyue, marry the Crown Prince as a consort, and one day, upon gaining influence, seek revenge on the all-powerful Princess Wuyang, Pei Jing.
“Remember, no matter how shameless the Drunken Immortal Pavilion may have trained you to be in the past, when you go to the Eastern Palace, you must pretend to be pure and untainted, untouched by a man. Only then will the Crown Prince favor you, treat you well in the future, and offer you power and wealth.”
Upon hearing this, Ling Zhenli bit her lip hard. Although the Prime Minister’s wife’s tone was severe and her words were impolite, what she said was the truth.
Men’s love for a woman’s chastity is eternal.
Cui Yurong looked at Ling Zhenli’s face in the mirror and was increasingly reminded of her daughter. Tears welled up in her eyes. She wondered how her daughter was faring now.
Seeing the Prime Minister’s wife weep, Ling Zhenli suppressed her resentment over the earlier harsh words and quickly tried to console her:
“Madam, please don’t be sad. Sister Run is watching over you from heaven, and she must wish for you to live the rest of your life well…”
Realizing her lapse in composure, Cui Yurong quickly wiped away her tears and stubbornly said:
“My Run’er was ill-fated. You are blessed with good fortune. You still have the opportunity to ascend to a high position and live a life envied by all. From now on, you must not leave this residence. Stay here and diligently follow the governesses’ teachings. You don’t have much time left.”
With that, the Prime Minister’s wife did not linger, leaving Ling Zhenli alone in the chamber.
In the following days, the Prime Minister’s wife hired all the teachers who had previously taught Xue Yingyue the arts. With only two short months remaining until the wedding, Ling Zhenli had to perfectly imitate Xue Run in a short amount of time. Fortunately, she came from a gentry family and had also learned many things in the Drunken Immortal Pavilion to please Xiao Chongheng. What she had to learn now was not too difficult for her.
However, every night, Xue Haoting would visit her chamber and “instruct” her personally.
The candlelight illuminated the entire room.
Ling Zhenli stood in the center of the boudoir, her expression flustered, her fingers unconsciously twisting the corner of her dress, almost wrinkling the silk fabric.
“Raise your head.”
Xue Haoting’s command came from behind her.
Ling Zhenli bit her lower lip and slowly lifted her face.
Xue Haoting’s eyes were instantly reflected by the half-similar face to Xue Yingyue’s. But at this moment, those similar eyes were filled with resentment and fear.
Xue Haoting’s finger traced Ling Zhenli’s cheek. The cold touch made her entire body tremble.
“Do you know why I brought you home? You look somewhat like my little sister, Ali.”
He murmured, his thumb rubbing her lips, “What should you call me?”
“Big brother…” Ling Zhenli’s voice was as faint as a mosquito’s buzz. She felt a sense of shame and ground her teeth, “It’s late. You should go back and rest.”
“What did you say? Want me to go back?” Xue Haoting suddenly let out a low laugh, as if he had heard a joke. His fingers tightened abruptly, pinching her jaw painfully. “You are merely the Xue family’s dog now. You must do whatever I tell you to do. Don’t actually think of yourself as someone important.”
Ling Zhenli’s eyes reddened with pain, but she dared not struggle.
She knew that the opportunity for revenge was given to her by the Prime Minister. Offending Xue Haoting now would not benefit her. Thinking of her parents’ tragic deaths and her own miserable life, Ling Zhenli understood her situation. She had to endure it now.
Xue Haoting found it uninteresting. He released her, turned, and took a sheer, rouge-snow-colored dress from the cabinet.
He threw the dress in front of her, “Change into this.”
Ling Zhenli stared at the dress spread out on the floor, feeling as if a thousand-pound boulder was pressing on her chest.
Through their interactions, she sensed that Xue Haoting harbored an unspeakable desire for his biological sister, Xue Yingyue. Now, he was using her as a substitute for his sister.
So she deliberately avoided looking at the dress and tried to refuse: “How can I wear Sister Run’s clothes?”
Unexpectedly, the next moment, Xue Haoting grabbed her hair, forcing her head back to look at him, his eyes cold enough to kill.
“What did you say? You can’t wear it? Then why don’t you strip off what you’re wearing right now?”
The pain brought tears to Ling Zhenli’s eyes. Her last remaining shred of dignity made her absolutely unwilling to put on the dress on the floor, so she trembled as she reached to untie her own belt.
Xue Haoting watched her with cold eyes, his gaze dark like an ancient well, filled with disgust.
When her outer garments slipped off, revealing the plain white undergarments beneath, Xue Haoting swallowed hard. Just as he was about to remove the last undergarment, he suddenly reached out and pressed down on her shoulder.
Xue Haoting’s fingers traced her collarbone. He leaned down and whispered in her ear, his breath hot against her neck, his words slightly gentle, “Now, call me big brother.”
Ling Zhenli froze rigid upon hearing this, her nails digging deeply into her palms.
She knew what Xue Haoting wanted to hear. He wanted to hear her call him using Xue Yingyue’s tone. She originally intended to defy him to the end, but she worried that continuing would further enrage Xue Haoting.
It was just one word—ge (brother). She had called him that often enough during the day.
“Big brother.”
In a soft, gentle voice, Xue Haoting’s eyes were instantly filled with lust and desire.
He shoved Ling Zhenli onto Xue Yingyue’s embroidered bed, and his heavy body immediately pressed down on her.
“Call me again!” he commanded, roughly tearing open her clothes.
“No… no…”
Violently handled, Ling Zhenli couldn’t help but cry out. Humiliated, tears streamed down her cheeks, soaking into the silk quilt.
When he kissed her tears, Xue Haoting’s movements paused.
He propped himself up and stared at her tear-streaked face, his eyes momentarily showing a flicker of distraction.
“Ali,” he murmured, wiping away her tears with his thumb. “Don’t be afraid. Don’t cry. Big brother is here.”
His tenderness was deliberate, intended to humiliate Ling Zhenli for her previous stubbornness.
This facade of gentleness lasted only a moment.
When his hand covered the softness of her chest, Ling Zhenli clearly saw the lust and madness reignite in his eyes.
“You are not Ali.” Xue Haoting’s voice grew cold. He continued the insult, and his movements became harsh, “You are her substitute.”
Her baby name was actually also Ali, but she dared not tell Xue Haoting.
When the tearing pain struck, she could only bite her lower lip fiercely, preventing herself from making a sound.
Xue Haoting’s actions were utterly merciless, as if he were merely venting some long-suppressed emotion.
After a long time, her vision blurred. She could only see the canopy above her violently shaking.
“Look at me,” Xue Haoting pinched her chin, forcing her to shift her gaze, “See who I am.”
Ling Zhenli was forced to look directly into his desire-filled eyes. The darkness within them made her heart pound with fear.
For Xue Haoting, there was only possession and lust.
…
When everything was over, and Xue Haoting rose to adjust his clothes, Ling Zhenli huddled at the corner of the bed, using the shredded remnants of her dress to barely cover her body.
She dared not move, nor dared to cry, finding a semblance of security only in curling up.
Xue Haoting stood by the bed, looking at her indifferently.
“From today onward, you will wait for me every night,” his tone was flat, as if instructing a trivial matter. “If you dare to publicize this…”
He didn’t finish the sentence, but Ling Zhenli understood the unspoken threat. She still understood the principle of having to submit when under someone else’s roof.
She nodded numbly, her throat too dry to make a sound.
Xue Haoting turned to leave but was timidly held back by Ling Zhenli clutching the corner of his garment.
“Contraceptive… contraceptive medicine…”
The pain of losing a child was unforgettable, and since she had absolutely no affection for Xue Haoting, she did not want to become pregnant.
Xue Haoting found it laughable. He let out a cold snort, violently shook off her hand, and mocked, “You drank cold medicine when you entered the brothel, and you probably drank medicine frequently after being with your previous men, didn’t you? Do you actually think you can still get pregnant?”
Hearing this sentence, Ling Zhenli, who was already feeling wronged for being a substitute, felt her heart utterly broken. The pain was bitter, and a sour taste rose in her mouth.
He was right. The doctor had also told her that her body was riddled with problems after the miscarriage, so how could she become a mother again?
Xue Haoting was about to leave but stopped at the door.
He turned back to look at her, his expression complex.
But after only two seconds, he left.
The sound of the door closing was particularly jarring in the silent night. Ling Zhenli finally allowed herself to sob silently.
She reached out with a trembling hand to touch the area Xue Haoting had injured, and the pain made her quickly retract her hand again.
After a long time, the moonlight filtered through the window screen, casting dappled shadows on the floor. Ling Zhenli stopped crying, and the room was completely silent.
In a trance, Ling Zhenli touched her face.
It wasn’t hard to guess that it was because of this face that Xue Haoting had noticed her, that the Prime Minister had brought her home, and that she had found a path and opportunity for revenge.
It seemed that this appearance had brought her not only fortune but also disaster.