Lin Yao’s legs were still weak as Nanny Rong supported her toward a courtyard adjacent to the Princess Consort’s. This was to be her new residence.
“Lady Yao, get a good night’s rest,” Nanny Rong said curtly. “You will begin serving the Prince tomorrow.”
She summoned two maids, Xiao Tao and Xiao Ju, to attend to her. The two girls were indifferent. Over the past six months, they had seen many women like Lin Yao—they came in a flurry of hope and left just as quickly. Some arrived convinced they would become phoenixes overnight, only to offend the Prince and be cast out within days. Others met even darker ends.
To them, this new “Lady Yao” was no different from the rest.
However, even with the lukewarm service, Lin Yao found the life here far superior to the Lin estate. The food was hot, the clothes were warm, and the maids prepared hot water for her bath. It would have been a perfect life if not for the looming task of seducing the Prince.
That night, Lin Yao tossed and turned. Fear and despair initially gnawed at her—this manor felt like a den of wolves. But then, she thought of her past life. Back then, she had navigated a total disaster of a marriage and orchestrated a rise to become the wife of the Grand Secretary. The Gu family had only fallen because she had been so heartbroken that she chose to let everything burn.
In this life, she had simply become lazy and complacent. Now, facing a corner, she realized she wasn’t at a dead end yet.
The Prince was a devout Buddhist who shunned women, but she hadn’t tried yet. Who was to say she couldn’t pull him back into the mortal realm? With her mind made up to cast aside her pride and try, she finally drifted into a deep sleep.
Meanwhile, at the Gu household, newlyweds Gu Yulan and Lin Shu were waking up.
Their wedding day hadn’t been as pleasant as Lin Shu expected. The Gu house was more dilapidated than she had imagined, and Gu’s relatives were uncouth, trying to impose rural wedding pranks on her. When she refused, her mother-in-law made snide remarks, implying Lin Shu had practically begged to marry into their family.
Gu Yulan had comforted her, though secretly, he felt a twinge of disdain. He had originally set his sights on the fourth sister, Lin Yao—that woman was a true temptress. He had dreamed of her ever since laying eyes on her. However, Lin Yao had been cold to him, while Lin Shu had been eager and proactive, so he had simply “gone with the flow.”
She’s the one who threw herself at me, so why is she putting on airs? he thought. But remembering she was his teacher’s favorite daughter, he suppressed his annoyance and coaxed her into bed.
At dawn, Gu Yulan usually rose early to study. Even during his period of mourning for his father, he had never been lazy. But today, with a warm beauty in his arms, his resolve wavered.
“Oh, just rest a bit longer,” Lin Shu whispered. “You’re so brilliant, Husband, you’ll surely pass the exams next year anyway.”
In that moment, a blurred memory flashed through Gu Yulan’s mind—a faceless woman urging him to get out of bed, telling him that ten years of hard study were meant for one moment of success and that he mustn’t be slothful.
“Husband,” Lin Shu continued, “those other scholars can’t compare to you even with ten years of study. Talent is more important than effort. With your gifts, you’re destined to become a high-ranking official or even a Marquis.”
Gu Yulan shook his head, clearing the hazy vision. Lin Shu always told him he was a genius. He already had a high opinion of himself, and her flattery made him feel invincible. Why work so hard? With my brains, the top spot in the Imperial Exam is practically mine. He settled back into the blankets, his conscience clear.
Prince Yu’s Manor (Yuwang Fu).
Lin Yao slept until noon. When she called out, Xiao Ju came in to help her dress. Xiao Ju was skilled in makeup and hair, and as she looked at Lin Yao’s reflection, she gasped.
“My Lady, you are truly beautiful.”
Looking at Lin Yao’s eyes—which seemed naturally designed to enchant—and her breathtaking figure, Xiao Ju wondered if this woman might actually be the one to make the Prince break his vows. Even as a woman, Xiao Ju felt her heart flutter.
Lin Yao smiled and slipped her some silver. “Tell me about the Prince.”
Xiao Ju, being talkative, spilled everything. The Prince lived in the Wuju Courtyard (The Courtyard of No Attachment). The main hall had been converted into a Buddhist temple where he spent his days chanting and studying sutras. Over the years, the Emperor, the Empress, and the Princess Consort had sent a steady stream of women there. Not one had been touched. Lin Yao’s current room had seen over a dozen predecessors.
“I’ve served many, but none were as beautiful or as kind as you, My Lady,” Xiao Ju said.
“Have you seen the Prince?”
Xiao Ju shook her head. “I’ve been here three years and never seen him. But I’ve seen his personal attendant, Chang Feng. He’s been with the Prince for ten years and is the only one who can get close to him.”
Lin Yao realized that if she wanted to reach the Prince, she had to get on good terms with Chang Feng. That afternoon, she carried a food box filled with pastries toward the Wuju Courtyard.
On her way, she was stopped by an old woman who looked familiar—someone she had seen in the Princess Consort’s courtyard yesterday. The woman pressed a sachet into Lin Yao’s hand.
“Lady Yao, the Princess Consort sent this for you. The Prince likes this particular scent.”
“Please thank the Princess for me,” Lin Yao replied, tucking the sachet away.
The old woman left, but she didn’t head for the Princess’s quarters. Instead, she took a series of turns and entered a different courtyard—one belonging to a woman of noble but plain appearance: Xu Yanshu.
Xu Yanshu was the Empress’s niece and had been obsessed with Prince Yu for years. Her parents had initially refused to let her marry him, fearing she would live as a “living widow” due to his celibacy. But after Lin Sianwan was made the Princess Consort, Xu Yanshu had thrown a fit, threatened suicide, and eventually forced her way into the manor as a Side Consort (Ce Fei).
She hated Lin Sianwan for “stealing” the primary position. Now, hearing that Sianwan’s younger sister—a “vixen” by all accounts—had arrived, her hatred flared.
“My Lady, the sachet has been given to Lady Yao. She suspects nothing,” the old woman said, bowing.
“The Prince loathes that scent. It drives him into a rage,” Xu Yanshu sneered. “The Prince is mine. Only I will bear his children. These Lin women think they can compete with me? In their dreams!”