Chapter 3

5

I was about to kowtow in thanks when a clear voice rang out.

"Mother—"

A splendidly dressed young woman hurried in.

Behind her, maids and matrons called,

"Slow down, Your Highness! Be careful!"

The Empress's face immediately softened.

"What brings you here?"

"Didn't you say a flower banquet was boring and you wanted to go riding? Why have you decided to keep me company?"

The newcomer was the Third Princess.

Her birth mother had died early, and the Empress had raised her afterward.

She was pretty and sweet-looking, with large, shining eyes. Hugging the Empress's arm, she wheedled,

"I missed you, Mother."

"I heard there's a case being judged here. I want to listen too."

The moment she entered, the comments went wild.

[Our precious girl is here! A princess and beautiful too. She's winning at life!]

[Too bad she met the male lead too late. He was already engaged to the supporting girl.]

[No problem. The supporting girl's engagement will soon be broken for infidelity.]

[But… at this rate, why do I feel she won't be so easy to write out? Get out here, you rotten writer! How has the plot gone this far off track?]

I watched quietly.

Since the princess's arrival, Pei Lang hadn't taken his eyes off her.

And although she'd run to the Empress, her body unconsciously leaned toward him.

My heart sank.

The woman involved with Pei Lang was a princess!

This was bad.

I looked up at the Empress.

Sure enough, she seemed to have noticed something and sounded her out.

"This concerns a woman's reputation. I was going to ask the Court of Judicial Review to investigate."

Panic flashed through the princess's eyes.

"Mother! It's only a small matter. Why involve the court…?"

"In my opinion, there's no smoke without fire. Miss Xie may not be innocent!"

No one knows a child like her mother.

At the princess's reaction, the Empress immediately understood something.

Her expression cooled. She rose.

"I'm tired. Today's banquet is over. You may all leave."

The princess kept stealing glances at Pei Lang.

He gazed back with deep affection, as though he had a thousand things to say.

Separated by the crowd, they looked like a pair of ill-fated lovers.

Quite a few guests noticed something amiss and hurried to leave.

Full of troubled thoughts, I left too.

Pei Lang. Third Princess.

How was I to send you both to hell?

6

Back home, I immediately checked every servant in my courtyard.

Then I had Chuntao and her entire family sold away.

As she was dragged off, she cried for help and kept looking toward the gates.

Perhaps she still thought Pei Lang would really come to save her.

Unfortunately, she was bound to be disappointed.

Next, I hurriedly summoned my parents and younger brother.

I told them everything that had happened.

Father frowned deeply. Mother wept.

"What are we to do? That Pei boy used to seem so upright. Who could have known he'd now be involved with the princess…?"

She dared say no more and only looked at me anxiously.

My little brother waved his fists.

"How dare Pei Lang bully my sister! I'm furious!"

Father thought for a long time, his gaze grave.

"Xiao'er, what do you think?"

Warmth filled me as I looked at my family, all firmly on my side.

In the carriage home, I'd gone over the day's events again and again.

I pressed my lips together.

"We can't win a contest of strength against them."

"The Empress stands behind the Third Princess. If Pei Lang really is involved with her, they may well sacrifice me for the imperial family's honor."

"For now, we can only retreat in order to advance."

7

Three days later, news spread that the Xie family's legitimate daughter had vowed to spend three years in a temple.

From the streets and alleys to the court, everyone talked about it.

The Xies were an eminent family too. Without conclusive evidence, their daughter had been forced into a temple as a nun.

The Pei and Hong families immediately became the focus of public attention.

Pei Lang came to see me, but I refused to meet him.

He left a note.

"None of this was what I wanted. Please give me a chance to explain, Xiao'er."

I ignored it.

My parents personally went to the Pei residence to break the engagement.

Outside the gates, Mother said coldly,

"The Peis are far too exalted for us. Pei Lang falsely accuses his own fiancée of an affair. Our family truly isn't fortunate enough to enjoy such a marriage!"

The onlookers pointed at the residence.

"Look! Their young master talked his fiancée into breaking the engagement and becoming a nun!"

"Looks so respectable. Rotten to the core!"

"Pah! An eminent family? A family of excrement, more like!"

Madam Pei was both ashamed and furious.

"What are you staring at? Haven't you anything to do?"

With a bang, she slammed the gates.

My brother also paid beggars to spread Pei Lang's disgrace through every street and alley.

The Pei family's reputation couldn't have stunk any worse.

8

Hong Jingxing's calculations failed too.

He smashed a pile of dishes at home in fury, then his family locked him up.

The imperial household remained remarkably silent.

Someone submitted a memorial accusing Pei Lang. The Emperor gave no response.

As for me, I spent my days in the temple quietly copying sutras and reciting the Buddha's name.

Some people pitied my plight.

I pretended not to hear.

Life was peaceful now. If religious retreat could give my family a way to avoid disaster, I was quite willing.

Besides, after so many years together, Pei Lang could still treat me like that.

I'd lost all hope in marriage.

But the tree longs for stillness while the wind blows on.

I'd never imagined Hong Jingxing would have the nerve to seek me out.

9

Dressed entirely in red, he barged into the temple's rear courtyard.

He ignored the novice monk trying to stop him.

I looked at him coldly and told the novice to leave us.

"What are you doing here?"

He waved his fan and grinned.

"Beauty, it pains me to think of you spending your days with only a temple lamp and Buddha for company. I've come especially to visit."

Hidden guards were protecting me, so I wasn't worried.

"I don't need your visits. The sight of you makes me sick."

His expression changed.

"Beautiful as you are, you can say some unpleasant things."

I looked straight into his eyes.

"Could you really not tell whether the woman that night was me?"

I watched his face carefully.

For an instant, his pupils widened. Then he quickly recovered.

"Ha! It was so dark. How could I see clearly?"

"Beauty, I know you want to oppose me. But you're no longer engaged. Why not come with me…?"

I understood.

I stepped closer.

"You know perfectly well you can't marry me now."

"But don't you want to marry the person who really did spend that night with you?"

His expression shifted.

He dropped the flippancy and spoke seriously.

"You know who's behind her too, don't you?"

I smiled faintly.

"An ant trying to shake a great tree looks ridiculous. But some people have sat so high for so long that they've forgotten that a swarm of ants can bite them to death."

"Besides, do I look easy to bully?"

"I'm only retreating for now, keeping out of sight until the time is right."

He studied me seriously for a long while, then nodded.

"So confident, little beauty?"

"Very well. If you really accomplish something, I'll lend a hand."

"I don't like being manipulated either."

We discussed matters for a long time before he left.

I heard that on his way home, a group of men appeared from nowhere, threw a sack over his head, and beat him up.

I'd hired them.

Being unable to deal with him for now didn't mean I couldn't have someone beat him to vent my anger.

11

The Flower Festival.

People came and went in an endless stream.

Even the temple grew lively.

I didn't join the festivities. I stayed in the rear courtyard, copying sutras.

The abbot hurried in and pulled me outside.

In the main hall, maids and matrons lined both sides.

The Third Princess stood in the center, arms folded, splendidly dressed and haughty.

I bowed my head in greeting.

"Long life to Your Highness, long life!"

She snorted and didn't tell me to rise.

Pearl-studded shoes embroidered in gold entered my lowered gaze.

A toe lifted my chin, slowly forcing my head up.

I raised my eyes.

She looked down at me.

"Eldest Miss Xie, how have you been finding these days in the temple? With nothing but lamps and Buddha for company, have you reflected on your sins?"

The comments began again.

[Our girl's so cool!]

[Exactly. Give that homewrecker a beating!]

[Wait. If I remember correctly, the supporting girl has already broken up with the male lead? And the heroine's still hunting her down?]

[What do you know? She's a true black lotus. I love a vicious heroine!]

[Our poor girl hasn't seen the male lead in ages. She's sick with longing. Of course seeing the supporting girl makes her angry! If she'd admitted her guilt earlier, he wouldn't have been confined, and our girl would already be with him~]