The third year of Jinghe, the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month.
The Jing’an Marquisate was decorated with lanterns and colored banners. Today was the sixteenth birthday of the mistress, Su Manrou. Xiao Jingyuan was hosting a grand banquet for her, inviting all the dignitaries of the capital.
Meanwhile, Shen Miao, the mistress of the Marquis’s Mansion, was confined to the West Annex Courtyard, not even granted the right to attend.
“Madam, the Marquis sent someone with a message, saying…” Qing He bit her lip, not daring to look her in the eye. “Saying that Miss Su is to have her coming-of-age ceremony today, and he wants you to lend her your Phoenix Crown.”
The fingers Shen Miao was using to embroider a small garment suddenly halted. The needle pricked her fingertip, and a bead of blood seeped out, yet she seemed completely oblivious to it.
That Nine-Hui Four-Phoenix Crown was placed on her head by her mother’s own hands when she married. It was the glory of a legitimate daughter of the Shen family.
It was the symbol of her status as the Madam of the Jing’an Marquisate.
And now, he actually wanted her to lend it to a nameless, statusless mistress?
It felt as though a hand had violently squeezed her heart. Bitterness and grievance surged within her. Her body went stiff, and her fingertips trembled slightly.
“Did he… truly say that?” Shen Miao’s voice carried an imperceptible tremor. She lowered her head and continued to thread the needle, attempting to hide the stinging in her eyes.
“I am the legal wife he married with a grand procession of an eight-carrier sedan. That Phoenix Crown is part of my dowry and the regulation attire for the Madam of this Marquisate. By what right does he ask me to lend it to a mistress?”
Qing He hung her head, not daring to answer.
Shen Miao took a deep breath, suppressing her turbulent emotions. Word by word, carrying a final sliver of hope and defiance, she said, “Tell him, if he wants the Phoenix Crown, let the Marquis come and take it himself.”
Before her voice had even faded, there was a loud “bang” as the door was kicked open!
Xiao Jingyuan burst in, reeking of alcohol, his brow furrowed with impatience and violence.
Behind him, Su Manrou stood gracefully in a bright red wedding gown. The fabric and patterns were clearly regulations reserved only for a legal wife.
Looking at that stinging shade of red, Shen Miao’s face turned deathly pale in an instant.
“Shen Miao, don’t be ungrateful when given face.” Xiao Jingyuan sneered, his gaze sweeping over her with contempt. “Manrou is kind-hearted; she only said ‘borrow’ to preserve your dignity. Do you really think your position as the Madam of this mansion is set in stone?”
Su Manrou timidly took Xiao Jingyuan’s arm, leaning weakly against his shoulder while a flicker of triumphant provocation crossed her eyes.
“Sister, please don’t be angry. Brother Jingyuan only feels bad for me and wants my coming-of-age ceremony to be respectable… As the legal wife, sister, you should be more magnanimous.”
“Magnanimous?” Shen Miao suddenly looked up, her eyes reddening. Three years of endurance and grievance finally erupted.
“Xiao Jingyuan, I have been married into this Marquis’s Mansion for three years. I have observed the womanly virtues, honored the elders, managed the household, and handled the finances. When have I ever failed you?”
She pointed at him in fury. “But today, for her sake, you confine me to this cold courtyard and ignore my existence. Now, you even want to snatch my Phoenix Crown to give her status, and you’ve even let her wear the garments of a legal wife…”
“Xiao Jingyuan, where does that leave me? Where does that leave the Shen family!”
Her voice shook with tears, every word dripping with blood. It was a wife’s final confrontation and heartbreak toward her husband.
Xiao Jingyuan remained entirely unmoved, growing only more frustrated. “Presumptuous! Shen Miao, you dare to shout at this Marquis?”
“Manrou is a thousand, ten thousand times more gentle than you. If you dare to continue this unreasonable behavior, do not blame this Marquis for being unkind!”
“Unkind?” Shen Miao laughed. “Hahaha… ha…” She laughed until tears fell, her heart sinking completely into an abyss of ice.
Three years of devoted love, three years of sacrifice—all of it had been given to the wrong person.
She looked at the “perfect” couple before her.
She saw the undisguised loathing for her in Xiao Jingyuan’s eyes.
The last spark of affection burned into ash.
Shen Miao raised her hand to wipe the tears from the corners of her eyes. When she looked up again, her gaze held nothing but cold resolution.
She slowly stood up and pulled a tightly sealed secret letter from beneath her pillow.
This was evidence intercepted by the Shen family’s merchant caravan three days ago—ironclad proof of Xiao Jingyuan’s private dealings and treason with the Northern Di.
“Xiao Jingyuan, your heart and eyes are full of her. You can’t bear for her to suffer even the slightest grievance…”
Thud—
She slammed the secret letter down onto the table. The paper made a sharp sound that caused both of their expressions to shift.
Shen Miao looked up, her gaze like a blade, speaking one word at a time, each laced with frost: “Then have you considered who will pity you, a criminal who has colluded with the enemy and betrayed the country—a crime punishable by the execution of nine generations?”
Xiao Jingyuan’s eyes narrowed as he stared at the secret letter on the table.
Shen Miao’s voice was frigid as she continued, “Xiao Jingyuan, do you want to confess to this letter yourself, or shall I personally deliver it to the Emperor? Let the whole world see what kind of shameful business you, the Marquis of Jing’an, have been hiding!”
Xiao Jingyuan’s expression shifted several times before finally settling into a sinister sneer. “Do you think you can threaten this Marquis with a single forged letter?”
“Forged?” Shen Miao sneered, pulling a stack of banknotes from her sleeve. “Then are these bank drafts from the Northern Di banks also forged?”
“Are these records of secret meetings with the border generals also forged?”
With every sentence she spoke, Xiao Jingyuan’s face turned a shade paler.
Seeing Xiao Jingyuan’s reaction, Su Manrou suddenly shrieked. She clutched her stomach and collapsed to the ground. “Brother Jingyuan… my stomach hurts so much… the baby… our baby…”
Xiao Jingyuan panicked instantly. He scooped her up and rushed outside.
Before leaving, he turned back and glared at Shen Miao with sheer malice. “If anything happens to Manrou or the child, I will make you pay with your life!”
Shen Miao stood still, watching their frantic departure. She slowly placed her hand over her flat stomach.
She was also pregnant. It had only been a month; she had only found out today.
But Xiao Jingyuan’s words just now were like a bucket of ice water poured over her head—so, Su Manrou was also pregnant.
He had long ago…
Long ago ignored her existence.
“Madam…” Qing He stood by her side, whispering comfort. “The Marquis is only temporarily blinded. He will see how good you are.”
Shen Miao waved her hand dismissively, looking drained. “I want to be alone for a while.”
Qing He looked at her with concern but eventually left in silence, gently closing the door.
Shen Miao sat there from dawn until dusk.
In her hands was the small garment she had prepared for her unborn child, but she no longer had the heart for it.
…
The West Annex Courtyard.
Standing at the door, Qing He wanted to enter several times but feared disturbing her mistress.
As she hesitated at the entrance, she suddenly saw a dark shadow approaching. Once she recognized the figure, she fell to her knees in terror. “Mar—Marquis.”
Xiao Jingyuan didn’t even look at her. He pushed the closed door open with a heavy hand.
Shen Miao, who was sitting blankly at the dressing table, looked up at the sound.
Xiao Jingyuan strode toward her. He yanked her up from the stool, his large hand gripping her waist as he pinned her against the wall. His voice was as cold as ice. “Shen Miao, you certainly hid your depths well.”
In their three years of marriage, he never knew his wife possessed such capability, holding his secrets in her hand.
If he hadn’t pressured her today, when would she have revealed it?
Or would she have handed it directly to the Emperor?