Thinking back on it now, she still couldn’t help but shudder.
On the contrary, beauty was what Wen Yunmian considered the best weapon. What did it matter if she couldn’t bear children? She could still restore her glory in the palace!
The Marquis finally turned his gaze to his second daughter. “Yunmian, which one do you want?”
Although he was asking her, Wen Yunmian knew that her father’s heart had always been biased toward Wen Leyan.
After all, love extends to the crow on the roof—Lady Meng was his beloved Equal Wife. How could he bear to see her daughter disappointed and heartbroken?
Wen Yunmian lowered her eyes calmly, neither competing nor contending. “Daughter chooses the Maomeidan.”
In the eyes of the Marquis and Lady Meng, this was exactly the kind of sensible behavior they wanted.
Wen Leyan raised her eyebrows triumphantly. Beauty was utterly useless. In this lifetime, she would be like Wen Yunmian, giving birth to multiple children and becoming an unshakable tree in the palace!
As they were leaving, just as Wen Yunmian was about to step over the threshold, she heard Wen Leyan sneer, “Sister, after taking the Maomeidan, your appearance will become even more captivating. Perhaps on the first night you attend the bedchamber, you’ll be the one carried to Chaoyang Palace. You must seize the opportunity well.”
Once they entered the palace, on the first night of attending the bedchamber, she would wait and watch Wen Yunmian’s downfall!
Wen Yunmian looked at her, puzzled, and finally watched her retreating figure with a faint smile curling her lips.
Lady Meng pulled Wen Leyan away. “Have you lost your mind? We agreed earlier that you would choose the Maomeidan. With your captivating beauty and the methods I taught you, why worry about not being able to capture a man’s heart?”
“But you chose the useless Shengzidan instead. I’ve already sent people to secretly inquire—the Emperor doesn’t have difficulty with heirs; he is impotent and incapable of producing offspring. Without a man to be intimate with, where will you bear children?”
Wen Leyan thought of her terrifying past experiences and couldn’t help but shudder.
In this lifetime, she would absolutely not take the Maomeidan!
But the Shengzidan was different.
Her delicate face lit up with anticipation for the future. That place with red walls and yellow tiles was the pinnacle of power.
“Mother, don’t worry. The Emperor can definitely have children. After entering the palace, I will seize every opportunity, continuously bearing children for the Emperor and stepping over all other women to rise to the top! And I will surely reach the highest position, securing an official title for you as well!”
Such a good life was meant for her, Wen Leyan, to enjoy.
She would wait for the day Wen Yunmian was imprisoned in the cold palace to die a miserable death!
For now, she couldn’t wait to enter the palace.
In the following days, the entire mansion was busy preparing for the two sisters’ entry into the palace. Maids and matrons were bustling about, with people coming and going constantly.
After taking the Maomeidan, in just one night, Wen Yunmian’s appearance became even more stunning. Her skin was as delicate as snow jade, like a peeled lychee, and her eyes were luminous and captivating. Whenever she appeared, everyone around her seemed to pale in comparison.
Even when she walked around the mansion in ordinary clothes, many servants and maids were left staring in awe.
Although the difference in her facial features wasn’t drastic, what made her stand out was her skin, hair, and slender, graceful figure.
It was as if all the flesh had grown exactly where it should.
Her figure was truly exceptional.
When Wen Leyan saw her, she gritted her teeth in frustration.
In her previous life, she had also become more beautiful, but her foundation wasn’t as good as Wen Yunmian’s, so she couldn’t compare to such alluring beauty. Now, seeing Wen Yunmian so stunning that it was hard to look away, the flames of jealousy surged within her.
However, the thought that she would eventually become the Imperial Noble Consort and later, when her son ascended the throne, the Empress Dowager, caused that anger to dissipate instantly.
No matter how beautiful she was, hadn’t her fate still been stolen away?
An auspicious day was set in the palace, and Wen Yunmian and Wen Leyan were to enter the inner court fifteen days later. The edict of enfeoffment arrived in the afternoon, and the entire Houfu knelt to receive it.
As in her previous life, the enfeoffment remained unchanged: Wen Yunmian was appointed as Yun Changzai, while Wen Leyan became Lady Le.
In addition to the enfeoffment, the palace also sent Matrons to teach them the rules.
Having been the Empress Dowager for so long, accustomed to a high position and surrounded by flatterers and sycophants, Wen Yunmian had long forgotten the etiquette required of newcomers. Thus, she studied diligently under the Matrons.
On the day of their entry into the palace, before dawn, the two were carried away in a sedan chair. Before departure, Wen Fuan and Lady Meng saw them off outside the gate.
Wen Yunmian stepped silently into the sedan chair, listening as Wen Leyan confidently assured Wen Fuan and Lady Meng that she would become the Emperor’s most favored woman. A cold smile curled at the corner of Wen Yunmian’s lips.
A loser in the palace struggles of her past life, did she think that by reliving it, she could change her fate?
As long as Wen Yunmian was here, the Imperial Palace would never be Wen Leyan’s domain.
Lifting the sedan curtain, Wen Yunmian gazed into the distance at the red walls and yellow tiles hidden within the mist, indistinct and hazy. As they drew closer and the view became clearer, the melancholy in her heart grew more palpable.
When the sedan reached the palace gates, her personal maids Yun Yang and Yun Fei helped her alight, where a young eunuch was already waiting.
Looking at the small side gate before her, Wen Yunmian’s expression turned solemn. Having walked through the main gate of the palace for half a lifetime, entering through a side gate now felt strangely unfamiliar.
Wen Leyan gazed at the grand and imposing main palace gate, a flicker of greed and desire in her eyes.
How wonderful—in the future, her son would allow her to enter through the main gate in all her glory!
Wen Yunmian was taken to her prearranged residence. She was to live in Qi Xia Gong, where Rong Fei resided, with the eastern Palace Quarters, Peony Pavilion, as her dwelling.
During her time as Empress Dowager, the Emperor, to show his filial piety, had connected the eastern and western Palace Quarters of Qi Xia Gong with the main hall, merging them into one grand palace. He had also enshrined a Buddha statue there, turning it into a place where palace servants came to pay respects and offer incense.
Now, seeing the residence she had first entered the palace with, she couldn’t help but feel a sense of disorientation.
Everything was arranged exactly as before.
Yun Yang observed calmly, but Yun Fei gasped in awe again and again, unable to get enough of the sight. “The palace is so magnificent!”
The principal occupant of Qi Xia Gong was Rong Fei, who disliked causing trouble. In the days leading up to attending the bedchamber, Wen Yunmian found herself quite at ease.
According to the rules, portraits had to be sent to the Emperor before attending the bedchamber. Wen Yunmian deliberately made her makeup appear somewhat plain.
When she removed her makeup, Yun Fei was stunned. “Mistress is truly beautiful, far more so than with today’s makeup. With light and elegant makeup, Mistress looks even lovelier. Why did you apply such heavy makeup for the portrait earlier?”
It was… not as pleasing as she looked now.
Wen Yunmian smiled, setting down the comb as she gently arranged her cloud-like hair. Her jade neck was as smooth as porcelain, radiant and captivating. “First restrain, then reveal—that is the key to making a lasting impression.”
They were all newcomers; whoever left a deep impression on the Emperor would seize the opportunity.
On the night of attending the bedchamber,
Wen Yunmian indeed became the first to have her plaque flipped by the Emperor.
Newcomers were already thorns in the eyes of the various concubines, and with this, all the attention was monopolized by Wen Yunmian.
She knew full well it was unwise, yet if she wished to gain favor and become someone the Emperor would remember fondly, she had to seize this excessive spotlight tonight.
Because tonight was spectacular, and it was easier for her to shine.
The Emperor was not one to focus on appearances; he would never choose someone to attend the bedchamber simply because they were beautiful.
In her past life, it was Wen Leyan, but in this life, it was her turn. So, the one selecting the portraits could not possibly be the Emperor.
It had to be that… old acquaintance!