The soft breeze of May carried willow catkins across the sky.
Nanny Qian’s sleeves were still damp and soapy as she shoved open the creaking door of the servants' quarters.
"You lazy wench!" She ripped back the yellowing hemp curtains. "The whole estate is in an uproar outside!"
Weimo opened her eyes abruptly. Her heart pounded with shock; her thoughts, hazy from the remnants of a dream, struggled to coalesce. She didn't know what day it was.
Seeing that she was awake, Nanny Qian grabbed her arm and dragged her out. "Were you having a wet dream? Get moving and protect your mistress!"
Weimo looked closely at the woman before her. Nanny Qian? Hadn't she been beaten to death by her mistress while they were still at the Prince's estate? How could she be here?
Dizzy from being dragged, Weimo steadied herself and looked around. Spiderwebs hung from the mottled beams, and a shaft of sunlight pierced through the half-open window, revealing dust motes dancing in the morning air.
"Nanny, what day is it today?"
"What kind of madness has possessed you?" Nanny Qian wiped her hands on her trousers and pressed a palm to Weimo's forehead. "The wedding is tomorrow. The inspectors sent by the Empress have already arrived. Lady Zhao has smashed three tea bowls and is screaming that she wants to cut off her hair and become a nun!"
The wedding? Su Wanzhao was already Empress; who was she marrying?
Weimo’s gaze darkened. The suffocating sensation of being gutted alive still lingered in her chest, tightening her throat. She stared at her own pale hands—no blood-stained nails, no calluses worn down by the stone floors of the cold palace. The crescent-shaped scar on her arm, once carved by Su Wanzhao with a golden hairpin, was now smooth and flawless.
It wasn't that Su Wanzhao was marrying someone else. It was that she… she had been reborn.
Outside the window, crabapple blossoms were in full bloom, their delicate, sweet scent drifting to her nose. In her previous life, it was on just such a beautiful spring day that Su Wanzhao had come to the Desolate Willow Palace in her phoenix robes, her crimson-painted nails digging into Weimo's pregnant belly.
"How could the child of His Majesty and me have the blood of a lowly slave flowing through its veins?"
She had leaned into Weimo’s ear, the tassels of her phoenix crown brushing against her face. "Go to hell. As long as you are alive, I cannot sleep soundly."
Weimo’s frail body trembled. She had deflected so many hidden arrows for Su Wanzhao, drunk poison for her, and endured countless floggings. She had held her and wept, only for Su Wanzhao to turn around and give her to Zhao Yan as a bed warmer, saying, "Weimo, only you can help me capture the Prince’s heart."
She had exhausted her life’s blood to push Su Wanzhao onto the throne, never once desiring any involvement with Zhao Yan. She had ghostwritten for her, taught her to play the zither, coached her on how to read people to please her husband, and used her own wealth to win the hearts of the people, crafting a reputation for benevolence that made Su Wanzhao shine.
And in the end, after she had torn all their enemies to pieces and made Zhao Yan love Su Wanzhao to the bone, she herself had been butchered in the cold palace. It was only after Zhao Yan ascended the throne and summoned her for a rare night that she had accidentally become pregnant. As a slave, how had she been guilty of anything?
Weimo gripped the hemp blanket until it wrinkled, her fingers instinctively pressing against her flat lower abdomen. Her poor, seven-month-old child… Su Wanzhao had gouged the baby out and ground it into meat paste!
The memories of her past life felt so ridiculous now! She realized that only by holding power in one’s own hands could one truly protect oneself and dictate the lives of others.
When she opened her eyes again, the sharp, raw hatred had faded into calm. Since she had been granted a second chance, she would reclaim every bit of the brilliance Su Wanzhao had stolen. She would become the woman of Zhao Yan—the future Emperor—and hold power firmly in her grasp. She would make Su Wanzhao taste the bitterness of losing everything.
Amidst Nanny Qian’s urging, she nimbly put on her rough hemp dress. "Nanny, you said the inspectors to verify the mistress have already arrived?"
"Indeed!" Nanny Qian pushed her forward incessantly. "If you don't go now, be careful your mistress doesn't beat you to death!"
Weimo held her back, took out a handkerchief, scooped up some lime powder from a corner—meant for rats—and offered a faint, sweet smile. "Thank you for waking me, Nanny."
Stepping out, the air was filled with the chirping of birds. Su Wanzhao was a concubine's daughter from General Pingnan's Estate. After her parents and brothers died on the battlefield, the Empress had betrothed her to Prince Jinlan, Zhao Yan. However, Zhao Yan's biological mother, Consort De, was deeply dissatisfied with this daughter-in-law who lacked any backing, and she had intentionally sent people to verify her chastity as a form of humiliation.
Weimo walked slowly to Su Wanzhao’s door, where the sound of breaking porcelain echoed from within.
"Don't come any closer… Where is Weimo? I want Weimo!" Su Wanzhao’s voice trembled.
"Lady Su, show some restraint and avoid physical suffering. This old servant is in a hurry to report back to the palace."
Weimo paused outside. These two nannies claimed to be here for an inspection, but in reality, they were hiding silver probes in their sleeves intended to ruin Su Wanzhao’s innocence. In her past life, Su Wanzhao had been violated, and on her wedding night, she had tearfully accused Consort De, which only made Zhao Yan despise her and turn away. He hadn't stepped foot in Hongni Courtyard for years. From then on, they had lived in humiliation, as if in purgatory.
Weimo flicked her fingertips. She still needed to use Su Wanzhao’s status as Princess Consort to climb higher; she could not tear their relationship apart just yet.
Stepping over the threshold, she saw the thinner nanny dragging Su Wanzhao by the arm toward the bed. The floor was covered in shards of celadon and spilled rouge, looking much like the dried blood in the cracks of the cold palace's stone floor.
"Weimo!" Su Wanzhao ran to her, her hair disheveled, her silver undergarment slipping off one shoulder to reveal a tiny red mole on her arm. "They… they want to destroy my innocence…"
Weimo felt as though a lifetime had passed. The current Su Wanzhao was still an innocent-looking girl who only knew how to hide behind her and cry.
"Mind your tongue, Lady Su!" The thin nanny sneered. "Rumors in the city say Lady Su is no longer a virgin. Consort De, out of concern, specifically sent me to verify your purity. How can you call that destruction?"
Su Wanzhao bit her lip, too terrified to speak.
"The Nanny is right." Weimo calmly stepped in front of Su Wanzhao and curtsied. "How could my mistress not understand the Empress's care?"
The thin nanny squinted at her. "You are a sensible servant. Then advise your mistress well; can an arm ever win against a thigh?"
As she spoke, the two women sat arrogantly in the guest chairs, their gazes cold and malicious.
Weimo lowered her head in agreement and turned to dress Su Wanzhao in her outer jacket. "Mistress, do not be afraid. It is just a routine check. The two nannies will certainly not let you suffer any wrongs."
"No…" Su Wanzhao trembled like chaff in the wind, clutching Weimo’s hand tightly. "I have never promised myself to anyone; how could I not be pure? If they speak nonsense like commoners, how will I… how will I face the Prince? It is clearly Consort De who… harbors evil intentions!"
Weimo was in high spirits; she did not interrupt Su Wanzhao’s insolent words about the Empress as she had in her past life.
"Preposterous!" The thin nanny slammed the table. "The Empress is the Prince’s mother and the head of the four consorts. Why would she harbor evil intentions toward an orphan like you! Such slander is an offense against your superiors and warrants a flogging!"
Weimo heard it clearly—the sound from the nanny's sleeve when she struck the table was undoubtedly the silver probe. Su Wanzhao turned deathly pale, grabbing Weimo’s sleeve and daring not to say another word.
"My mistress is just frightened and confused." Weimo shielded her from the nanny’s sight and quietly slipped the handkerchief of lime into Su Wanzhao’s sweat-damp palm. "Go ahead. The Empress will surely be delighted by you."
Su Wanzhao stared blankly for a moment before trembling and hiding the handkerchief in her sleeve. Weimo pulled her before the thin nanny. "Nanny, please don't be angry. My mistress will cooperate with the inspection."
"If you had been this obedient earlier, you wouldn't have had to suffer!" The thin nanny scolded with her hands on her hips. "Why haven't you gotten onto the bed yet?"
Once Su Wanzhao lay down as instructed, Weimo retreated behind the screen in silence. The lime dust was potent, and she did not want a single speck on her. In her past life, she had shielded her mistress until her own skin was torn and bleeding; in this life, she would not suffer even the slightest injury for Su Wanzhao again.
A moment later, the two nannies began shrieking from inside, "What is this substance you've thrown?!"
Su Wanzhao stumbled out, crying, "Weimo! Save me!"
Seeing the women squinting through the stinging dust, Weimo’s heart burned with immense hatred. The thirty lashes she had endured for her in the previous life felt like they were burning on her back again. She wanted to pick up a jagged piece of porcelain and slit the girl's fair throat right then and there!
But now… it was not yet the time.
She suppressed the surging emotions, grabbed Su Wanzhao’s wrist, and bolted toward the door. She had to find Zhao Yan. As long as she could find the silver probe in the nanny's sleeve, the crisis would be resolved. She knew he was currently in the estate.
"Are you injured?"
Before they could even round the rockery in the courtyard, they collided head-on with Zhao Yan in his black robes.
Weimo froze. *Hm? Why is he here so early this time?*