Xu Miaoyan jumped in fright, and the tabby cat in her arms seized the chance to escape.
“You… when did you get here?” Turning around and seeing Lu Changqing, Xu Miaoyan felt as if the sky were about to collapse. “No, it’s not what you think! Let me explain!”
It was over. How could she have been so careless? How could she have let Lu Changqing overhear what she said to the cat?
“What is there to explain? I heard everything!” Lu Changqing strode onto the veranda, looking at the woman before him with mixed emotions. “You… how could you deceive me? You nearly made me a heartless man who killed his own wife!”
“It was wrong of me to deceive you, but I had my reasons,” the young woman stepped forward and took his hand, large teardrops rolling down her face as she wept pitifully. “A few years ago, I fell ill with a fever and nearly died. In my delirium, I received guidance from the Heavenly Dao. It was the Heavenly Dao that made me do this, not my own intention…”
A few years ago, when she was delirious with fever, she saw a noblewoman wearing a golden hairpin inscribed with Sanskrit characters and a handsome young man bowing in marriage.
A voice whispered in her ear: “Do you see? That woman is born with the Phoenix Maiden Destiny. If you kill her, wealth, honor, a devoted husband—all will be yours, along with the admiration of the people and immense power.”
How could she refuse such temptation?
“No matter what, you shouldn’t have deceived me!” Seeing her tears, Lu Changqing’s nose tingled with emotion. “I treated you with sincerity, yet you kept such a huge secret from me!”
“It was my fault, but I was so envious of the mistress. Lu Lang, please forgive me,” Xu Miaoyan leaned into his embrace, covering her face as she wept. “I will never dare covet what belongs to the mistress again, whether it’s her fortune… or her man.”
Silence fell over the veranda, broken only by the wind whistling through the corridor and the woman’s sobs.
“You said you coveted her man?” The anger and sense of righteousness in Lu Changqing’s heart had mostly dissipated. His heart now raced like a startled deer. Cupping Xu Miaoyan’s face, he eagerly sought to confirm her feelings. “But you… you’ve always rejected me?”
“I…” Xu Miaoyan was momentarily speechless, her cheeks flushing red. “You and I are brother and sister-in-law by relation, and without matchmakers or betrothal gifts, we are not yet married. If I agreed, I feared you would look down on me.”
“How could I ever look down on you? You are pure and chaste. It is I who am unworthy of you.” Overjoyed, Lu Changqing instantly cast aside all sense of propriety and morality, deeply kissing the young woman’s soft lips.
The deer penis wine had already left him restless with desire, and with Xu Miaoyan deliberately trying to please him tonight, winding around him like a snake, the two of them paid no heed to whether she would be wife or concubine in the future, carrying on until dawn.
From the Song Sheng Residence, the woman’s cries rose wave after wave.
The strong wind ceased beyond the high walls, and the red plum blossoms on the tree withered, losing their color.
Fang Qianxue sat alone by the window, holding the letter Fang Jue had sent. After pondering for a long time, she finally made up her mind.
Years ago, her grandfather had calculated that the Great Yong Dynasty faced internal strife and external threats, and within thirty years, Emperor Ming would inevitably meet a tragic end.
Once her Phoenix Maiden Destiny was exposed, all those contending for imperial power would flock to her. Her grandfather had sealed her fate precisely because he did not want her entangled in these conflicts. He had also advised her to stay away from the eye of the power struggle and live a peaceful life.
But her grandfather had not foreseen that Lu Changqing, who had nearly worn out the Fang family’s doorstep with his kneeling pleas back then, would prove so cold and heartless.
Now, the only way to save herself and her two children was to step into that very storm.
“Madam, why are you awake so early?” Cuishuang entered carrying a lantern, noticing the extinguished candle on the table. “This servant will fetch water to help Madam wash and dress.”
After washing up, Fang Qianxue casually wrote a letter: “Deliver this letter to Lord Yan in person, and tell him it’s extremely urgent.”
“Yes!” Cuishuang dried her hands and took the letter. “I’ll go right away.”
“Mother! You must do something about Second Sister-in-law. She’s so stingy she won’t even buy me a few sets of clothes, no wonder Second Brother doesn’t like her,” Lu Wanrou wore a pink-blue brocade robe, the latest fashionable style. “If she doesn’t settle the account with Brocade Emporium, then the authority to manage the household should be given to Eldest Sister-in-law!”
“What nonsense are you talking? Madam Xu hasn’t even married into the family yet, how could she manage the household?” Lady Chen glanced at her daughter’s new clothes and the jewels on her head, frowning. “Why are you dressed so gaudily?”
“Princess Royal’s mansion is hosting a banquet this afternoon. Jinzhi invited me to accompany her, and Young Lord Jiang will also be there. Shouldn’t I dress well?” The “Young Lord Jiang” Lu Wanrou mentioned was Jiang Xu, son of the Marquis of Liaoyuan, Jiang Tianxing, who had been a hostage in the capital since childhood.
“Hah,” the old lady scoffed lightly. “Even if you dress like that, will Young Lord Jiang spare you an extra glance?”
Lu Wanrou wasn’t qualified to attend the banquet at Princess Royal’s mansion, but she usually followed Du Jinzhi, the daughter of the Vice Minister of Personnel, serving tea and laughing along, barely managing to mingle in the circle of noble ladies.
Lady Chen knew her daughter well—if Young Lord Jiang had spared her even a glance, Lu Wanrou wouldn’t have returned so early.
“Mother! Young Lord Jiang is very busy. Something happened in the southern border, and he spent the whole day today talking with the consort and others,” Lu Wanrou leaned into Lady Chen’s arms, acting coy. “But last time, he really did speak to me, and he was very gentle!”