As the last word fell from Pei Xuanran’s lips, let alone Qin Susu, even Qin Yihuan’s pupils suddenly constricted.
Her lips trembled, filled entirely with the sting of betrayal. “Your Highness…”
Pei Xuanran stood up. His movement was so swift that Qin Susu almost failed to pull back her hand in time. Taking advantage of the Crown Prince’s motion, Qin Susu hurriedly reached out and scooped the clean handkerchief from the alcove bed straight into her bosom.
As if completely unaware of the young woman’s movements, the prince stepped off the platform and reached for the dark robe draped over the folding screen, throwing it over his shoulders. His motions were fluid, yet subtly imbued with imperial majesty. His icy gaze swept over the trembling group of maidservants.
“Anyone who trespassed, give yourselves twenty slaps across the face.”
An oppressive silence fell over the hall. One of the maidservants went weak at the knees, collapsing to the floor as her forehead struck the brick paving with dull, echoing thuds. The Crown Prince’s wife turned pale and parted her lips to speak, only to catch his sideways glance.
Pei Xuanran stepped forward, his expression softening with a rare gentleness as he affectionately patted the Crown Prince’s wife on the head.
“In this matter, I have wronged your Qin family. Since she is your younger sister, I will not treat her poorly.”
Qin Yihuan’s lips parted and closed, but in the end, no words would come out.
Once Pei Xuanran had departed, Qin Yihuan cast a cold glance over the shivering cluster of servants. With an irritated wave of her hand, she commanded, “Slap your own faces.”
Slap, slap…
The crisp sounds of flesh striking flesh erupted one after another across the courtyard, accompanied by stifled sobs.
Qin Yihuan’s gaze slowly drifted toward Qin Susu.
Delicate as peach blossoms, she looked like a water lily battered by the rain, trembling with fragile allure. Seeing the purplish bruises on her skin, it was impossible not to imagine just how deeply His Highness must have adored this body last night! The scouts she had sent out had already reported back: last night, hot water had been requested a full five times!
Jealousy surged within Qin Yihuan. She stepped forward and pinched Qin Susu’s chin hard.
“You are nothing more than the daughter of a concubine. Now that good fortune has brought you to the prince’s side, you ought to know your place!”
Seeing that Qin Susu looked as though she wanted to speak, Qin Yihuan withdrew her hand and disgustedly wiped her fingers with a handkerchief.
An elderly wet nurse walked in from outside, and at the sight of her, the tense knot between Qin Yihuan’s brows finally eased.
“Mother He, I leave her in your hands.”
Qin Susu raised her gaze and locked eyes with the venomous look in Mother He’s eyes.
Mother He wore a washed-out indigo palace gown, her hair coiled immaculately with a plain silver hairpin, leaving a forehead so smooth it looked almost severe. Her features were ordinary, but her eyelids drooped perpetually, her gaze leaking out through the narrow slits.
Qin Susu naturally knew just how ruthless Mother He truly was! In her past life, every single time she served the prince in bed, she was treated like a mere object, forced to spread her legs wide for Mother He’s inspection.
A wave of humiliation washed over her. Qin Susu lowered her long lashes, maintaining a thoroughly obedient outward demeanor.
Mother He looked down from on high. “Second Miss, now that you’ve entered the East Palace and won the prince’s favor, you must not forget your station.”
In the days before she was sent into the East Palace, Qin Susu’s biological mother, the concubine, had fallen pregnant. Originally a joyous occasion, the principal wife of the Qin household—Qin Yihuan’s birth mother—had placed their small courtyard under airtight lockdown.
Before that day, Qin Susu had naively believed that, as the Second Miss of the Qin family, even if she couldn’t marry a peerless, pristine crown prince like her older sister, she could at least marry into an ordinary official’s family as a legitimate wife. She never expected her legal mother to use her concubine mother and her unborn younger brother as bait to force her into the East Palace.
In her past life, out of concern for her mother and unborn brother, Qin Susu followed her eldest sister’s demands, turning herself into a vain, calculating concubine-born sister who deliberately seduced the Crown Prince.
Qin Susu lowered her soft lashes, casting a shadow across her cheeks.
But now, she finally understood. This entire affair had been a trap tailored for her. Her biological mother had long since surrendered to the principal wife in exchange for protection, trading Qin Susu away for the privilege of bearing a son of the Qin lineage. For the mother, the principal wife, and the eldest sister, it was a triple-win scenario.
The only one they sacrificed was Qin Susu herself.
At this thought, an ungrounded, fierce hatred welled up in Qin Susu’s heart. In her previous life, she had been played entirely in the palm of their hands.
Now, since her eldest sister and the others were so eager to brand her with the label of seducing her own brother-in-law, she would simply play along with their wishes.
Last night, ensuring that the Crown Prince never truly consummated their union had been her very first counter-stratagem.
Seeing that Qin Susu remained silent for a long time, Mother He narrowed her sharp eyes and opened her mouth to speak, only for Qin Susu to raise her head with a delicate shiver.
“Don’t worry, Mother He, I understand.”
Qin Susu wore a timid, nervous smile, no different from her days back in the Qin residence—weak, easily bullied, and lacking a backbone.
Seeing this, a flash of mockery crossed Mother He’s eyes. She let out a cold huff. “If it weren’t for the Crown Prince’s consort, you would at best be a concubine-servant. Now that His Highness is elevating you, you must remember that this is all thanks to your eldest sister’s grace!”
Qin Susu nodded, a touch of genuine sincerity in her tone. “Susu understands. Without Eldest Sister, it would be difficult for me to even enter the East Palace as a maidservant. Eldest Sister’s bestowed fortune is something Susu will engrave upon her heart.”
Her eyes were bright and clear, as if she truly believed every word Mother He had said. “Once I officially enter the East Palace, Susu will definitely listen to Eldest Sister in everything.”
Mother He looked at Qin Susu, lifting her chin higher still. In her eyes, Qin Susu was merely a concubine-born daughter. Even if she had managed to step foot into the East Palace, she still had to live under her own mistress’s thumb. While Mother He might count for little in front of Qin Yihuan, here in front of Qin Susu, as long as she successfully reined in this little vixen and ensured she bore a child carrying both royal and Qin blood to be raised under the Crown Prince’s consort, even the mistress who usually looked down on her would have to reward her for the service.
With these thoughts, Mother He brushed past Qin Susu to search the bed for the handkerchief.
Qin Susu’s eyes flickered. Beneath the covers, her wrist turned as she used a hairpin she had hidden away to prick her fingertip.
“Mother, are you looking for this?”
Wearing a hesitant expression, Qin Susu handed the blood-stained handkerchief over to Mother He.
Mother He snatched it away at once, and upon seeing the stain, she beamed with satisfaction. “Hmph.”
Anxious to use this to claim credit, Mother He rushed to present the handkerchief to Qin Yihuan. Instead, she was met with a furious glare and a resounding slap across the face from Qin Yihuan.
That blood-stained handkerchief felt like a needle, piercing fiercely into Qin Yihuan’s heart—a constant reminder that she was barren, incapable of consummating her marriage with the prince, and forever unable to bear his heirs!
Mother He stood there trembling with terror.
Qin Yihuan took a deep breath. “Tonight, clean Qin Susu up properly and send her over.”
She didn’t have the emotional energy to watch Qin Susu linger before her eyes every single day. The sooner His Highness favored her a few more times, the better—with any luck, she might conceive within the month!
When these words finally reached Qin Susu’s ears, she was watching the maidservants dispatched by the Imperial Household Department sweep her courtyard.
Hearing this, Qin Susu raised her gaze. Her eyes lingered on the red handprint still visible on Mother He’s cheek for a fraction of a second before she calmly looked away.
A gentle, sweet smile bloomed on her face.
“Mother He, I understand.”
Watching Mother He’s retreating back, Qin Susu’s eyes dimmed for a brief moment. Then, she turned and stepped back into her room.
That set of translucent, revealing garments she hadn’t dared to use in her past life… this time, they would finally come in handy.