At that moment, Zhu Xinyan suddenly began regretting her decision, feeling she had acted far too impulsively.
Could it be that this prince suffered from some hidden ailment?
Otherwise, how could a man in the prime of his life have hands so cold?
She had already asked around before. In Prince Rui’s rear court, aside from the Princess Consort and the Secondary Consort, there were only two favored concubines—just four women in total.
Compared to princes of similar status, he had the fewest women by far.
Could it be because he already struggled to manage himself, so he feared biting off more than he could chew?
Lost in her wild thoughts, Zhu Xinyan somehow completed the entire concubine-taking ceremony.
Escorted by a crowd of maids into the inner chamber, she sat upon the bridal bed scattered with red dates and dried fruits, still feeling as though everything was unreal.
Especially after the bridal veil was lifted with a jade ruyi scepter and she finally saw Gu Zhanzhen’s face—a face handsome enough to transcend the mortal world—her heart instantly sped up several beats.
His refined brows and eyes, his elegant and moonlit bearing, his tall and slender frame…
Standing there coldly and proudly, he resembled a perfectly sculpted work of art.
So what if he happened to be lacking in that department?
She could just treat it as spending her life with a beautiful eunuch.
In her previous life, Zhu Xinyan had never even had a boyfriend, let alone any deeper experience, so she was unusually open-minded about such matters.
Gu Zhanzhen lowered his long lashes, shadows falling beneath his eyes.
Unlike their first meeting, although this woman resembled Fu’er greatly, she was only similar in appearance, not in spirit.
Fu’er had been reserved and restrained, her gaze gentle and calm.
She would never stare at him as openly and boldly as the woman before him now.
Gu Zhanzhen let out an almost imperceptible sigh.
As expected… merely a substitute.
The earlier flutter in his heart vanished instantly, replaced by disappointment. His expression turned colder still, and Zhu Xinyan’s unwavering gaze only irritated him further.
“Have you seen enough?”
Zhu Xinyan nodded shyly and nervously.
Gu Zhanzhen bluntly threw out a single word.
“Sleep.”
The maids and matrons stepped forward to help the two wash and change.
Once they climbed onto the bed, the crimson mandarin-duck curtains fell closed, and the lamps outside were extinguished.
Facing the arrival of her first time, Zhu Xinyan’s heart pounded like thunder.
Before she could mentally prepare herself, her undergarment was forcibly ripped away.
A large expanse of pale skin was suddenly exposed. She instinctively raised her hands to cover herself, but at that moment a warm breath brushed against her neck.
Electricity surged through her body instantly.
Uneasily squirming within the man’s embrace, she softly cried out,
“That tickles…”
The words curled sweetly around his ears, instantly tightening Gu Zhanzhen’s throat with unbearable desire.
“Bear with it.”
But the moment he said those words, he immediately regretted sounding so harsh and lowered his eyes toward the woman in his arms.
Just then, he caught sight of Zhu Xinyan’s bashful expression and those misty, watery eyes so much like Fu’er’s.
His heart instantly melted into water.
As passion deepened, he continuously murmured the name “Fu’er” against her ear.
The spring night was short.
Before they realized it, he had taken her three times.
The next morning, Zhu Xinyan felt as though her entire body had been crushed beneath a steamroller.
Everything hurt.
It was as if she had completely fallen apart.
Thankfully, the original owner of this body had apparently been quite experienced. If it had been her previous-life self fighting this battle alone, she would probably have collapsed from exhaustion.
Internally, she cursed every ancestor in Gu Zhanzhen’s family line.
Yet she still dutifully upheld the responsibilities of a concubine. When the man rose from bed, she endured her aching waist and forced herself to get up to serve him.
“There’s no need. Rest a little longer.”
Rarely showing consideration for women, Gu Zhanzhen unexpectedly stopped her.
Zhu Xinyan certainly wasn’t someone who insisted on suffering for no reason, so she shamelessly lay back down again with perfect peace of mind.
Knowing the master had awakened, the maids and matrons filed into the room one after another.
Leading them was a pretty maid dressed rather finely.
She first curtsied toward the prince, then turned and gave Zhu Xinyan only half a bow.
Though her etiquette was technically proper, her face openly carried jealousy and arrogance.
As she straightened up, she even viciously glared at Zhu Xinyan.
This maid was named Mingyu, one of the four senior maids who had served Gu Zhanzhen since childhood.
The other three had already reached marriageable age and been released from the residence to wed.
Only Mingyu remained at his side.
Because of this, Mingyu believed herself favored and had grown increasingly arrogant, acting as though everyone ranked beneath her.
Especially this newly arrived concubine—without noble birth, without family backing, and even a twice-married woman.
Yet she monopolized the prince all night and had water called three separate times.
Mingyu was so jealous she nearly went mad, and from that moment onward she deeply resented Zhu Xinyan.
Naturally, she showed no pleasant expression toward her, merely restraining herself somewhat due to the prince’s presence.
After deftly helping Gu Zhanzhen dress, Mingyu surprisingly did not follow him out and instead remained behind.
Facing Zhu Xinyan still lounging on the bed, she sternly scolded,
“Now that Concubine Zhu has entered the residence, you should learn the rules here and keep your eyes open for work. As a concubine, how could you simply lie there while the master rises and let servants come in to attend him while you merely stare blankly?”
Earlier, Zhu Xinyan had already sharply noticed Mingyu’s fleeting look of disdain.
She had even inwardly sighed at how she had done absolutely nothing yet still managed to gain a romantic rival first thing in the morning.
Since she had already chosen the life of a concubine, she had mentally prepared herself for household scheming.
She simply hadn’t expected the first person to target her would be a mere maid.
Moreover, throughout last night’s activities, Gu Zhanzhen had continuously called her “Fu’er.”
From that moment on, Zhu Xinyan understood clearly why she had been chosen.
Nothing more than the classic “seeing someone else in her shadow” substitute-lover scenario.
Given her laid-back personality, she actually thought this arrangement suited her well. It saved her the trouble of painstakingly trying to cultivate affection and secure a place in the man’s heart.
She already had a feeling that relying on this rare bit of sentimentality would allow her to live very comfortably in the residence.
So in the face of Mingyu’s provocation, Zhu Xinyan didn’t even bother taking her seriously.
Instead, she casually replied,
“When exactly was I staring blankly? I was clearly sleeping with my eyes closed.”
Mingyu had intended to overpower her verbally but instead got choked speechless by Zhu Xinyan’s utterly illogical response.
Before she could think of a comeback, Zhu Xinyan suddenly walked right up to her.
After taking several exaggerated sniffs, she pinched her nose with one hand while fanning the air with the other.
“What is that smell? Didn’t you brush your teeth this morning?”
Then she ordered the nearby maids,
“Hurry and open all the windows to air out the room.”
The moment those words fell, suppressed laughter rustled through the chamber alongside the creaking sounds of windows being opened.
Mingyu had just suffered one subtle humiliation only to lose face again immediately afterward. Furious, she stomped hard on the floor.
“A mere concubine dares act arrogant? We’ll see how long you can stay smug.”
As she stormed out, she nearly collided headfirst with Qiao’er, who was entering.
Taking the chance to vent her anger indirectly, Mingyu snapped,
“Blind fool!”
Getting cursed at first thing in the morning left Qiao’er utterly baffled.
Pointing at Mingyu’s retreating figure, she loudly exclaimed,
“Miss, is that woman sick in the head?”
“Don’t mind her.”
Zhu Xinyan sat before the vanity and asked,
“How did Li’er sleep?”
Jiang Li originally had a wet nurse, but since the woman also had young children at home and wouldn’t be allowed to freely leave after entering the residence, Zhu Xinyan decided not to bring her along and instead rewarded her with some silver.
There were many servants attending the courtyard now, but since she wasn’t familiar with any of them yet, she didn’t trust them enough and had Qiao’er continue watching over Jiang Li for the time being.
Qiao’er accepted a wooden comb from a maid and replied,
“He’s still not used to the new environment and didn’t sleep very soundly. He’ll probably adjust after a few days.”
The mistress and servant chatted casually for a while longer before Zhu Xinyan’s makeup was completed.
Seeing it was nearly time to pay morning respects, she left Qiao’er behind to look after Jiang Li and headed alone toward the main courtyard.
Unexpectedly, along the way, she attracted countless curious gazes.