Inside the bridal chamber of Hibiscus Courtyard, in Duke Ying’s Residence[1]“Duke Ying” is a noble title. A duke was a high-ranking aristocrat in imperial China, although the novel does not specify its historical dynasty. jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_3740374_1_1').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_3740374_1_1', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], });.
The candle flames flickered, illuminating the bride’s bright-red Suzhou-embroidered[2]Suzhou embroidery, also known as Su embroidery, is a traditional Chinese embroidery style renowned for its fine stitching and intricate designs. jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_3740374_1_2').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_3740374_1_2', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], }); peony gown as it was torn to shreds by hurried, rough movements.
The dazzling candlelight fell across Fuyun’s face. She suddenly opened her eyes and glared at the man who was ripping at her clothes, doing whatever he pleased with her.
“Li Buyan, what are you doing?”
“Why are you tearing my clothes?”
Contrary to Fuyun’s expectations, Li Buyan did not stop. Instead, he continued tearing at her scarlet dudou[3]A dudou is a traditional Chinese undergarment consisting of a cloth panel worn over the chest and abdomen, often decorated with embroidery. jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_3740374_1_3').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_3740374_1_3', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], }); embroidered with mandarin ducks[4]In traditional Chinese culture, paired mandarin ducks symbolize romantic devotion and marital harmony, making them popular motifs on wedding garments and furnishings. jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_3740374_1_4').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_3740374_1_4', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], });.
“What are you trying to do? Stop it!” Fuyun clutched the last scraps of cloth still covering her.
“Stop!”
Fuyun snapped, glaring at Li Buyan with her almond-shaped eyes.
Li Buyan gazed down at her. Her delicate, exquisite face was alluring and radiant; he couldn’t help smiling. His voice was clear and cool, like a mountain spring striking stone.
“Madam, a wedding night comes only once in a lifetime. Are you sure you want your husband to stop?”
He enunciated the last part of his question, word by word.
A wedding night?
Fuyun froze for a moment.
She took in her surroundings: the red gauze curtains, the red quilt, the mandarin-duck pillows, the dragon-and-phoenix wedding candles[5]Dragons and phoenixes are auspicious symbols in traditional Chinese wedding imagery, often representing the groom and bride and expressing wishes for a harmonious marriage. jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_3740374_1_5').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_3740374_1_5', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], });—and the man before her.
His features were sharply defined, his nose high-bridged, and a faint smile played on his thin lips. His dark, beautiful eyes gazed at her, brimming with tenderness.
His upper body was lean but well-muscled, with broad shoulders and a narrow waist.
“Our wedding night?”
Fuyun asked uncertainly.
Hadn’t they died?
Li Buyan gave her a half-smile. “Are you teasing me? Of course it’s our wedding night.”
Fuyun instinctively looked down at her stomach. Her belly was flat.
Had she… been reborn[6]In Chinese rebirth fiction, a character returns to an earlier point in their life while retaining memories of their previous lifetime, giving them an opportunity to change past events. jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_3740374_1_6').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_3740374_1_6', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], });?
And reborn on her wedding night with Li Buyan.
So she wasn’t a ghost after all.
In her previous life, she and Li Buyan had been a loving couple, deeply devoted to each other. But then the Emperor sent Li Buyan to campaign against the Rong people[7]“Rong” is a historical Chinese umbrella term applied to various peoples living on or beyond the frontiers of ancient Chinese states, rather than one specific ethnicity. The precise group intended … Continue reading jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_3740374_1_7').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_3740374_1_7', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], }); of Northern Yan. Betrayed by a traitor, he was buried with three thousand soldiers at Guyan Ridge in Yongzhou.
Not long afterward, by imperial decree[8]A formal command issued under the emperor’s authority, carrying the force of an imperial order. jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_3740374_1_8').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_3740374_1_8', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], });, the entire Li family was slaughtered on charges of deceiving the Emperor. Fuyun, too, had been driven to her death in a great fire by her maid Suning and Yuan Qiaoyan.
“Really?”
Li Buyan pinched Fuyun’s little nose and teased, “Silly girl, of course it’s our wedding night.”
“Even I, the groom, wasn’t as excited as you, the bride. You were so carried away that you forgot it was our wedding night.”
Overjoyed, Fuyun burst into tears. She was so overcome that she could hardly get the words out. “Li Buyan, you’re alive. I’m alive too.”
How wonderful. How wonderful—everything could begin again.
This time, she would change the fate of the Li family and prevent its destruction. There was still a chance for her child to be born.
…
Daybreak came.
Nanny Tao[9]“Nanny” here is a household form of address for an older female attendant or caretaker. It does not necessarily mean she was a wet nurse. jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_3740374_1_9').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_3740374_1_9', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], });, Fuyun’s dowry attendant, waited outside with the maids Cao’er and Suning, ready to help their two masters wash and dress.
Nanny Tao was forty that year, with a round, cheerful, kindly face. She had once served Fuyun’s mother, and was so attentive, efficient, and considerate that she had been sent along as part of Fuyun’s bridal entourage to the Li residence.
Cao’er was one of Fuyun’s accompanying maids and had cared for her since childhood.
As for Suning, she was a senior maid of Hibiscus Courtyard. Eighteen years old, she had served Li Buyan for four or five years. She was experienced, with a neat, pretty face and delicate features.
A knock sounded at the door. When no one inside answered, Nanny Tao was about to ask whether the people in the room were awake when Suning spoke first.
“Fifth Young Master, Fifth Young Madam[10]These are traditional household forms of address. “Fifth Young Master” identifies a young man by his ranking among the family’s sons or young masters, while “Fifth Young Madam” … Continue reading jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_3740374_1_10').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_3740374_1_10', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], });, are you up? If you’re awake, I’ll come in and attend to you.”
Inside, Li Buyan was putting on a red inner robe. As he tied its sash, he answered Suning’s greeting. “Come in.”
With his permission, Suning passed Nanny Tao and gently pushed open the door before entering.
The two red dragon-and-phoenix wedding candles had nearly burned down; only tiny flames still flickered.
Suning gazed at the candles, soon to burn out, and couldn’t help feeling a pang of envy.
If only this were her wedding night with the Fifth Young Master.
Carrying a copper basin, she walked toward the blackwood screen with cloud carvings and a gauze backing. Her gaze drifted over Li Buyan’s back through the screen.
Her eyes shifted slightly, and she caught sight of a young woman’s shy, radiant smile. The bride, new to married life, had a rosy face and looked utterly happy.
A flicker of jealousy rose in Suning’s heart. If Tao Fuyun had never appeared, this should have been her wedding night with the Fifth Young Master.
She quickly composed herself and bowed respectfully. “Young Master, I’m here to help you wash and dress.”
That voice—
Suning!
Suning, who had joined forces with Yuan Qiaoyan to set the fire that killed Fuyun and her child on the day she went into labor!
Fuyun’s bright eyes fixed on the blackwood screen. Through its thin gauze, her fierce, piercing gaze fell upon Suning, hatred and murderous intent filling her eyes.
Her poor child had not even opened his eyes to see the world before he was killed.
Suning had taken both Fuyun’s life and her son’s. That debt had to be repaid!
“There’s no need to come any farther.”
Fuyun’s voice was calm, yet carried an unapproachable authority.
“That wouldn’t be right. I still need to help both of you wash and dress.”
Suning suppressed her displeasure and answered Fuyun reluctantly.
She was nothing but the daughter of a minor official of the lower fifth rank[11]In traditional Chinese imperial administration, officials were commonly classified into numbered ranks, often divided into upper and lower grades. The fifth rank was below the highest levels of … Continue reading jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_3740374_1_11').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_3740374_1_11', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], });, a country bumpkin from Yongzhou who had married into the prestigious Duke Ying’s household. Now she wielded her meager authority as if it were an imperial command, daring to order around Suning, a first-class maid[12]A senior grade within a wealthy household’s servant hierarchy, indicating greater status or responsibilities than ordinary maids. It was not an official government rank. jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_3740374_1_12').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_3740374_1_12', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], }); who had served the Young Master since childhood.
That wretched Tao Fuyun had used shameless methods to seduce the Fifth Young Master and bewitch him. He had turned down a perfectly suitable highborn lady to marry her, resulting in a match so unequal in status.
“Suning, whatever the Young Madam says goes,” Li Buyan instructed unhurriedly. “From now on, the Young Madam will be in charge of everything in Hibiscus Courtyard.”
Suning murmured her assent, her resentment growing. “Yes.”
Unwillingly, she backed away with the copper basin and set it on a nearby stand.
“Cao’er, come here,” Fuyun called from behind the screen.
Cao’er answered with a smile. “Madam, I’m coming.”
Cao’er was sixteen, with her hair arranged in twin loops and a fresh, pretty face. Hearing her young mistress call, she was about to enter the inner room when she caught sight of Suning’s aggrieved, resentful expression.
She gave Suning a disdainful look and a soft snort. Cao’er couldn’t stand servants who coveted their master yet showed no respect for the mistress of the household.
The Young Master was the Tao family’s son-in-law, her young mistress’s husband. He wasn’t someone just any cat or dog could set their sights on.
Seeing Cao’er’s smug, triumphant expression, Suning was furious and resentful—but she couldn’t show it.
Cao’er glanced at Suning, who was disgruntled and powerless to do anything about it, and felt a satisfaction she could hardly describe. She passed through the screen and entered the inner room.
Suning glared at Cao’er’s retreating back, her hand clenched into a tight fist inside her sleeve.
Once she became the Fifth Young Master’s concubine[13]In traditional Chinese households, a concubine was a recognized secondary partner whose domestic status was subordinate to that of the principal wife. The rights and treatment of concubines varied … Continue reading jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_3740374_1_13').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_3740374_1_13', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], });, the first thing she would do was teach Cao’er a proper lesson.
Li Buyan emerged. He wore a deep blue brocade robe patterned with swirling clouds and a pair of cloud-ascending boots, his shoulders broad and waist narrow, his face as fair as jade and his bearing distinguished.
He truly was a graceful young man, straight as a solitary pine, radiant as a jade tree in the breeze.
Suning was almost spellbound.
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