Volume 1: Chapter 1, Grave Illness
The third year of Jingtai, the capital.
A spacious and exquisitely decorated carriage slowly traversed the streets, its wheels rolling over the bluestone pavement. A wooden plaque hung from the carriage, the character ‘Song’ carved onto its front.
“Do you remember everything I instructed you on yesterday?”
Inside the carriage, Madam Song wore a formal slate-brown brocade gown with cloud patterns. Her hair was adorned with gold hairpins, and her makeup and coiffure were impeccable—the very image of a noble lady.
However, her expression was rigid, and the faint lines between her brows betrayed a hidden exhaustion.
She lifted her eyelids slightly and questioned the young woman in green sitting opposite her.
“In reply to Mother, I have remembered it all.”
A voice as clear and melodious as pearls striking jade rang out. It belonged to the young woman in green sitting upon the soft cushion.
Hearing this, Madam Song’s brow smoothed, and her expression softened a fraction. She raised an eyebrow, shot a glance at her, and said sternly, “It is good that you remember. Do not forget, this was your own choice.”
The early spring air was chilly. Tanyin wore a light silk dress of pale misty green with a jade-colored outer garment draped over her shoulders. Her eyes were cast down slightly, and her snow-pale face became a splash of brilliance in the dimly lit space.
A flicker of mockery flashed through her dark, bright eyes, but Tanyin’s expression remained calm.
A choice made when there were no other options—what kind of choice was that?
If she did not choose this path, her legal mother would send her to her natal family tomorrow to be the successor wife to her nephew.
Everyone in the Song household knew that man was a lazy, good-for-nothing glutton who spent his days lingering in brothels and gambling dens. His previous wife had even died under mysterious circumstances.
It had only been three months since then.
Rather than stepping into a fiery pit like that, she would rather choose the other path they had offered—
Entering the Zhenbei Marquisate as a concubine-born daughter and becoming a concubine to the Marquis of Zhenbei under the pretext of bearing a child for her elder sister.
Perhaps, she might even find a sliver of hope for survival.
Seeing her silence, Madam Song’s expression turned displeased. Especially when she looked at Tanyin’s cold and ethereal face, a flicker of complexity crossed her eyes.
This girl was truly too beautiful; she didn’t know if it would be a blessing or a curse for Shuhua.
If it were up to her, she would have preferred Tanyin to marry into her natal family. No matter how beautiful she was, she wouldn’t be able to escape her grasp then. For a concubine-born daughter to become her nephew’s successor wife was already doing her a favor.
Keenly sensing her legal mother’s gaze, Tanyin tucked her chin slightly and tightened her grip on her handkerchief, appearing timid and uneasy.
Seeing this, Madam Song withdrew her scrutinizing gaze and said slowly, “The Xie family has always placed great importance on rules. Once we enter the gates, follow behind me. You must not lose your composure.”
“Yes.”
Madam Song glanced at her and continued, “Though you will be a concubine, the Xie family is a prestigious house of the first-rank Marquisate. Your eldest brother-in-law is the head of the Xie family and a high-ranking official of the court. You are but a mere concubine-born daughter; to be a concubine for such a family and bear a child is your good fortune.”
“If it weren’t for your elder sister still looking out for you, how could this opportunity ever fall to you? You must remember your sister’s kindness in the future.”
Tanyin curled her lips slightly. “Mother is right.”
Her submissive appearance improved Madam Song’s mood. Although this concubine-born daughter possessed extraordinary beauty, she seemed easy to control—unlike that wretched girl, Song Mingyue.
The wheels turned, and the carriage soon came to a halt, signaling their arrival at the Zhenbei Marquisate.
Under the warm sun, a towering and magnificent mansion stood before them. Two stone lions at the foot of the steps looked majestic and intimidating. The wide, heavy dark doors were made of sandalwood, exuding an aura of grandeur.
Above the main gate, a plaque bore four large characters: ‘Zhenbei Marquisate.’ The calligraphy was bold and fluid, its momentum like a rising rainbow.
Knowing that people from the Song family were arriving today, servants had long been waiting at the entrance. As soon as the carriage arrived, they immediately came forward to greet them.
After the two descended from the carriage, Tanyin followed behind Madam Song, with her personal maid close behind. The group entered the Marquisate.
The exterior was already magnificent, but the interior was even more exquisite and elegant.
They crossed a water pavilion, turned through a long corridor, and passed a back garden filled with clusters of flowers before the main courtyard came into view.
Compared to usual, the main courtyard was slightly more bustling today because the mistress’s natal family had arrived.
In the main hall, Song Shuhua sat in the seat of honor, dressed in a crimson gown embroidered with gold thread and a hundred flowers. Her hair was styled in a Lingyun knot, adorned with pearls and hairpins, giving her an air of grace and nobility.
However, her dignified and beautiful face could not hide her exhaustion. Her cheeks were gaunt, and her complexion was pale. From time to time, she covered her lips with a handkerchief as coughs escaped her.
Madam Song stepped over the threshold, and her expression shifted upon seeing this. She burst into tears: “My child, it has only been a few days. How have you become so thin again?”
Suppressing the itch in her throat, Song Shuhua patted her mother’s hand and forced a smile. “I have made Mother worry. It is your daughter’s lack of filial piety.”
Madam Song’s heart ached with bitterness. “How can you say that? It’s like you’re gouging out your mother’s heart…”
The biological mother and daughter were suddenly huddled together, exchanging tearful greetings.
A faint scent of medicine lingered in the room, bitter and pungent. Tanyin’s gaze fell upon her legal sister’s face, and she couldn’t help but feel alarmed, her brows knitting together.
She remembered that Song Shuhua had been healthy since childhood, with a full figure. How had she become so skeletal and terminally ill after not seeing her for only five years?
Was she truly this deathly ill?
Could it be that this vast Marquisate actually devoured people?
Perhaps her gaze was too obvious, for Song Shuhua sensed it. she turned her eyes past the others and let them land on Tanyin.
The moment her eyes met Tanyin’s face, Song Shuhua’s fingertips suddenly tightened.
In the April spring, the warm sun was mixed with a touch of chill. Tanyin had removed the thin velvet cloak from her shoulders the moment she entered the room, leaving only her pale green silk dress. She stood there tall and slender, like a jade lotus bud ready to bloom.
With dark hair and snowy skin, her lips and cheeks were full. Her peach blossom eyes were like spring water, and the small red mole at the corner of her brow brought this vivid beauty to its peak. Yet, Tanyin’s expression was cold, forcibly suppressing that glamorous allure.
The emotions between her brows dissipated, and a faint smile formed on Song Shuhua’s lips again.
However, it was impossible to tell how much sincerity was in that smile.
Song Shuhua let go of her mother and said in a soft voice, “We haven’t met for many years. Third Sister has actually grown to be so stunning.”
Interrupted by this, Madam Song finally remembered the main purpose of their visit today. She hurriedly wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes, frowned at Tanyin, and beckoned her over.
“Quickly, come and greet your elder sister.”
“Blessings to you, Eldest Sister.”
Tanyin stepped forward and curtsied, her posture graceful.
Song Shuhua stepped forward to help her up and then took her hand to lead her to a seat. She said with a beaming smile, “Third Sister is still as quiet as she was when she was a child, not fond of talking. This actually makes me feel quite nostalgic.”
Disliking physical contact with others, Tanyin endured it and ultimately did not pull her hand away.
Speaking of nostalgia, Song Shuhua gazed at Tanyin with a long, drawn-out tone: “Since we were children, among all the sisters, Third Sister has always had the best looks. I suppose this must have been inherited from Concubine Su.”
Concubine Su was a concubine of the Song family and Tanyin’s biological mother. Born as a farm girl, her parents were both laborers on the Song family’s manor. Because of her extraordinary beauty, she had caught the eye of the Song patriarch when he went to the outskirts for leisure. He brought her back to the manor as a concubine, and she later gave birth to Tanyin.
At the mention of her biological mother, Tanyin’s emotions seemed to flicker. “Thank you for your praise, Eldest Sister.”
Song Shuhua waved her hand. “It’s a pity that fate toys with people. When I was married, Third Sister was unable to come, which left me with a sense of regret.”
Tanyin pursed her lips.
Five years ago, the year Song Shuhua was married, was the same year Tanyin had accidentally eaten crab roe and broken out in red rashes. Everyone had mistaken it for smallpox, and she was sent away to Puhua Mountain. Thus, she had missed the wedding that had brought joy to the entire Song household.
However, Tanyin was merely an unfavored concubine-born daughter; no one had cared whether she was present or not.
As for why she had eaten crab roe…