Chapter 6

After nightfall, Wei Jing stumbled into Liu Yingying’s room, his face flushed and reeking of wine.

I gently closed the door. From the other side, I could faintly hear her sweet, coquettish laughter.

Grating, but hardly worth my concern.

I returned to my own chamber.

By the flickering candlelight, a young scholar sat timidly on the edge of my bed, head bowed, not daring to meet my eyes.

His name was Su Yuwen.

He had refined features and the slender bearing of a green bamboo. His plain blue robe only enhanced his scholarly good looks. Compared with Wei Jing, whom wine and women had worn down, he was a hundred times better.

I had chosen him myself.

He was handsome, strong, and clever in the way of a man who had studied the classics.

Most importantly, I had bought him for two taels of silver when he was ten. He had grown up at my side, and I could trust him.

I slowly began to undress. In the wavering candlelight, our shadows blurred together, hinting at an intimacy that was not there.

He looked up. A flicker of alarm crossed his eyes, and then he quickly lowered them again.

I stepped closer and said softly, “There’s no need to be shy. This isn’t about affection. I only need to… borrow your seed.”

His throat bobbed. At last, he nodded.

I reached out and blew out the candle.

6.

A few months later, the imperial physician confirmed that I was pregnant.

I leaned against Su Yuwen’s chest and took his hand, tracing a few words across his palm.

Then I placed that hand on my belly and asked gently, “Yuwen, for our child, would you be willing to do anything?”

He lowered his eyes. A vast sorrow flickered across them.

But his voice was firm. “I was born your servant, my lady. For the child—and for… you—I would do anything.”

I smiled, leaned close to his ear, and whispered, “Good. Then, just as we agreed… go die.”

His body trembled. Tears welled in his eyes.

In the end, he answered with only one quiet word.

“All right.”

Then he bowed to thank me and turned to leave without hesitation.

The next day, word came from the eastern part of the city: an unknown scholar had fallen into the river and drowned, disappearing as quietly as if he had never existed.

Autumn’s eyes were red as she rushed in, choking back sobs.

“Madam, Su Yuwen was devoted to you for so many years. How could you be so cold and heartless?”

“Heartless?” I gave a cold laugh. “How many women have died for love since time immemorial? If I let love soften me today, tomorrow I’ll die because of it.”

Borrowing a man’s seed to conceive a child was one thing. Keeping the baby was essential; leaving behind even the smallest loose end was not an option.

I reclined on the bed, laid a hand on my belly, and spoke in a languid voice.

“Since ancient times, men have never been trustworthy. In all the world, I trust only the child in my womb. The rest of them are merely ladders for me to climb. Why should I care what happens to them?”

Autumn was stunned. Tears streamed down her face, but she did not dare say more.

I closed my eyes. Still, Su Yuwen’s clear, bright eyes lingered in my mind.

He had been born to a courtesan and spent his life despised by others.

He had once lost seven copper coins and was hung up by the brothel guards, then whipped dozens of times in public.

I couldn’t bear to watch. I paid those seven coins and bought him.

From childhood, he had been wholly devoted to me. His adoring eyes had always followed me.

Seeing how Wei Jing tormented me, he had willingly offered his life, letting me wield him as a blade.

He had once said:

“To be of use to you, my lady, is Yuwen’s good fortune. Even if I die ten thousand times, I will have no regrets.”

As he spoke, he knelt and bowed until his forehead struck the floor again and again.

I trusted him. That was why I had kept him by my side.

But I was cautious. I would never leave myself vulnerable over a man.

Now that he had served his purpose, I cast him aside like a rag.

The wind rose outside, making the candle flame flutter.

I felt neither sorrow nor joy.

7.

When news of my pregnancy spread, the Wei matriarch was overjoyed. She kept murmuring, “Our ancestors have blessed us,” and hurried to open the storeroom. She personally chose an exquisite Hetian-jade Guanyin who grants sons and presented it to me.

The jade Guanyin gleamed like water, its carving so delicate that anyone could see it was priceless.

The Wei matriarch held my hand tightly, her eyes full of comfort.

“Mingzhu, you’ve given the Wei family an heir. At last, the weight on my heart has lifted.”