Lu Jingxing frowned at Mu Wan Yun.
“The Mu Family has committed countless evil deeds, their crimes too numerous to count.
A descendant of traitors is unfit to become an imperial concubine!
The Jinling Qin Family and the Lin’an Rong Family are both great aristocratic families.
Whichever name you choose to take, they will not treat you poorly.”
Mu Wan Yun looked at Lu Jingxing and said, “Did you, even back when you married me, already plan to have me change my name and background one day?”
Lu Jingxing looked at Mu Wan Yun, perplexed.
“What?
You’re unwilling to change your surname from Mu?”
Mu Wan Yun said, “Of course not.”
Lu Jingxing asked, “Weren’t you the one who just said the Mu Family not only abandoned you but made you suffer terribly?
Don’t tell me you still have some lingering attachment to the family that cast you aside?”
Mu Wan Yun said, “I have no attachment to the Mu Family.
It’s just that I will never change my name, no matter what.”
Lu Jingxing said unhappily, “The Mu Family didn’t want you.
They abandoned you in a village for more than a decade, and you still refuse to change your name?
A daughter of the Mu Family is a traitor’s descendant.
You’ll be nothing but a servant for the rest of your life!”
Mu Wan Yun said, “Then I’ll be a servant.
I don’t know why the Mu Family despised me and cast me aside as if I were superfluous, but that’s precisely why I insist on being a Mu.
Even if I die and enter the Yellow Springs, I will do so with the Mu name.
The more they loathe me, the more I will refuse to change it.”
Lu Jingxing truly couldn’t understand her.
His face filled with vexation, he said, “Can’t you think about this from my perspective?
If you remain a daughter of the Mu Family and I make you Empress, how am I to face the loyal officials who were wronged by them?”
Mu Wan Yun said, “Do you think that if I change my name, people will suddenly forget I was once a daughter of the Mu Family?
My face is right here for all to see.
Anyone will know I’m a Mu Family member.
The Mu Family forced me to live as someone else’s replacement.
Are you going to make me do the same?
I won’t be a substitute for anyone.
I am Mu Wan Yun, and for my entire life, I will be Mu Wan Yun!
Even in death, I will be Mu Wan Yun!”
Lu Jingxing said, “If you insist on keeping the Mu name, then whatever bond we had is severed as of today.
From now on, you will be just a servant, and if you dare violate palace rules again, I will show you no mercy!”
Mu Wan Yun looked into Lu Jingxing’s eyes, her heart aching terribly.
“Fine.”
‘This is for the best.
In any case, she couldn’t bear children in this life.
Even if she did forsake her name to become Empress…’
‘…without an heir, she would lose her position sooner or later.
It was better to stay in the Clothing Bureau making clothes than to scheme against the other concubines.’
Lu Jingxing was so furious he wanted to strangle the woman before him.
‘He had already endured the utter humiliation of her divorce letter and was willing to overlook that she was a daughter of the Mu Family, yet she had the audacity to say “Fine”!’
‘She had abandoned him once again, all for the sake of the Mu Family!’
Mu Wan Yun curtsied.
“This servant has not yet had lunch.
If I don’t return now, I’ll miss the midday meal in the palace.
I will take my leave.”
‘So, the palace lunch was more important than him!
If he ever forgave Mu Wan Yun in this life, he was a dog!’
Hearing the sound, Mu Wan Yun turned to look at Lu Jingxing’s hand.
She walked over and took it in hers.
“It’s bleeding.
Why did you hit the willow tree?”
Lu Jingxing snorted.
“It’s none of your business.”
“Qiu Chi!”
Zhang Qiuchi braced himself and stepped forward.
“Your Majesty, what are your orders?”
Lu Jingxing said in a cold voice, “Summon Assistant Minister Liu of the Imperial Secretariat to the palace to discuss the selection of new concubines.”
Zhang Qiuchi acknowledged the order.
Hearing this, Mu Wan Yun’s heart ached even more fiercely, and for some reason, her eyes began to sting.
…
When Mu Wan Yun returned to the palace, the hour for the midday meal had indeed passed.
Fortunately, Lin Miaoyi had saved some food for her.
Not long after her meal, Mu Wan Yun was summoned by Lin Siming to Zhong Shanggong’s office.
All the female officials in charge of the Twenty-four Departments were gathered in the main hall.
Zhong Shanggong said, “Word has come from Taiji Palace.
His Majesty will hold a concubine selection in three months.
The young ladies will begin arriving at the palace in one month’s time.
All of you must be on high alert, especially the Clothing Bureau.
You must begin preparing the palace attire for the new Ladies of every rank.”
Lin Siming assented, and Mu Wan Yun accepted the order as well.
Zhong Shanggong gave a long list of instructions regarding the concubine selection.
When she was finished, she had Mu Wan Yun stay behind.
“Have you had any ideas for Princess Huayang’s attire?”
Mu Wan Yun shook her head.
‘She and Lu Jingxing had fallen out.
He surely wouldn’t help her now.’
‘And she truly couldn’t come up with any good ideas on her own.’
Zhong Shanggong sighed.
“Take your time to think on it.”
Mu Wan Yun replied, “Yes.”
When Mu Wan Yun returned to the Clothing Bureau, she saw the embroidery workshop was already bustling with activity.
Although no one knew the new concubines’ exact measurements, there were general standards for their height and build, so preparing the garments in advance meant they would only need minor alterations later.
Otherwise, if a group of them were suddenly ennobled, the embroiderers of the Clothing Bureau wouldn’t be able to finish the clothing in time even if they each had eight arms.
Ru Yan stepped forward and asked Lin Siming, “Lin Siming, should we prepare the Empress’s robes as well?”
Lin Siming shook her head.
“That won’t be necessary.
Naming an Empress won’t be a sudden affair.”
Lin Miaoyi said, “I heard that at Old Madam Wei’s birthday banquet yesterday, she mentioned that His Majesty already has a wife from his time as a commoner.
I wonder when His Majesty will bring that Lady back to the palace.
Her rank is sure to be high.”
Mu Wan Yun replied quietly, “There’s no need to prepare her clothes.”
Lin Miaoyi looked at Mu Wan Yun in confusion.
“Why not?”
Mu Wan Yun said, “If His Majesty intended to bring her back, he would have issued a decree by now.
Our most pressing task is the ‘colorful black’ dress the Princess requested.”
…
「After nightfall.」
Mu Wan Yun tossed and turned, unable to sleep.
The moment she closed her eyes, her mind filled with memories of her time with Lu Jingxing.
She resented him for his usual disdain and how he rarely spoke to her.
But he would also save her the chicken leg and pick the bones from her fish.
She remembered the first time she ever saw him.
Back then, she’d heard from the other girls in the village that a handsome young man had arrived.
When she went with them to get a look, she was jostled by the crowd and fell right in front of him.
Lu Jingxing had been holding a lotus pastry, and as he helped her up, she couldn’t stop staring at it.
He gave her the pastry, and as she ate, getting crumbs all over her face, he had even used his own handkerchief to wipe them from the corners of her mouth.
After that, every time she saw him, he would always give her something to eat.
That was why, after her nanny passed away, when Lu Jingxing found her on the mountain and asked to marry her, Mu Wan Yun had agreed with almost no hesitation.
When she had written the divorce letter, the excitement of going home had far outweighed these small, everyday memories.
Now, recalling his kindness and their past in Yinxing Village, she felt a pang of regret.
Thinking again of the wound on his hand from earlier made her regret deepen.
‘Why was she so spiteful toward the Mu Family?
All the men in the family were dead.
What was the point of keeping their name?’
‘No, she had to go find Lu Jingxing.’
…
「Inside a villa in Chang’an City.」
Prince Jian watched Lu Jingxing drain a jar of wine.
“Stop drinking,” he said.
“This vintage has a strong kick.
You’re already drunk.”
“What in the world is so wrong with me?
How could she reject me not once, but twice?
If I’d known it would come to this, I should have just left her on that mountain to starve or be taken by those thugs!”
Prince Jian shivered as he listened to Lu Jingxing’s tirade.
‘There was a woman out there bold enough to abandon Lu Jingxing twice?’
‘Never mind that he was the ruler of a nation—his looks alone had countless noblewomen in Chang’an vying for his attention.’
Prince Jian readily agreed.
“It’s because she’s blind and has no taste.”
Lu Jingxing shot Prince Jian a glare, his face a drunken mask.
“You’re not allowed to insult Yunyun!”
Prince Jian: “…Yunyun?”
Lu Jingxing slurred, thoroughly drunk, “You’re not allowed to say ‘Yunyun’.”
Prince Jian was now incredibly curious.
‘Just who was this Yunyun…?’