Volume One, Chapter One: The Night of the Bridal Chamber.

The wedding candles flickered, casting wavering shadows through the crimson drapes, while the sounds of consummation within the chamber rang out unabashed, even drowning out the rhythmic creaking of the bed. At length, a slender, jade-like hand parted the red canopy.

"Prepare the bath."

The voice, languid and soft with satisfaction, was directed at Shen Yuan, who knelt by the bedside. Tonight marked the third time Princess Jingwan had called for water. She seemed intent on flaunting her affection and intimacy with the prince consort.

Yet such displays no longer wounded Shen Yuan. She had served as a bondmaid in the princess’s residence for a full year—at the lowest rung, bound by a death contract. During these days, she had suffered at Xiao Yunyan’s hands in countless ways; a single misstep meant eating pig slop and receiving beatings.

Sometimes, when Xiao Yunyan was in a foul mood, she would have Shen Yuan’s legs bound and suspend her over the lake. Holding the end of a long rope, Xiao Yunyan would watch as Shen Yuan plunged into the water, thrashing desperately to survive, only to be hauled out when she was on the brink of death.

But before she could take a breath, Xiao Yunyan would throw her back into the icy water, again and again, until she finally lost consciousness.

Xiao Yunyan called it “the joy of angling.”

A human life, to the royal family, was nothing more than a toy for their amusement—worth even less than a pig or a dog.

“Are you deaf? Didn’t you hear Her Highness’s orders? Today is the princess’s wedding night—who are you sulking at, with that dead face? Go fetch water for the bath, and see that you serve Her Highness and the prince consort properly!” With that, Xiao Yunyan’s chief maid kicked Shen Yuan square in the chest.

Shen Yuan toppled to the floor, her back striking the sharp corner of a sandalwood table, but she seemed impervious to pain. Silently, she rose and went to fetch the water.

After her bath, Xiao Yunyan reclined gracefully on the bed. Chu Yuning, however, remained at ease in the bath, eyes closed, resting.

The maids busied themselves with attending to Xiao Yunyan’s slumber, and soon only Shen Yuan was left in the inner chamber.

Leaning in the tub, Chu Yuning suddenly opened his eyes and fixed them on Shen Yuan, lowering his voice to call, “Yuan Yuan.”

Shen Yuan acted as if she hadn’t heard, standing woodenly with her back to him at the door.

“Yuan Yuan, I was appointed top scholar by imperial decree, and then the emperor himself bestowed this marriage upon me. To defy such an order is a capital crime. Marrying Xiao Yunyan was not my choice. We have known each other for over ten years—don’t you believe in the bond between us? The one I have always loved is you.”

Chu Yuning’s eyes shone red with suppressed emotion.

Shrouded in steam, his handsome features appeared even more captivating. He had the refined air of a scholarly youth, the kind that made young girls’ hearts flutter.

But Shen Yuan’s heart had long since ceased to flutter.

A year ago, she had knocked on the Drum of Appeal with their betrothal contract in hand, accusing Chu Yuning of concealing their engagement and marrying the princess—a crime without pardon. But he accused her of forging the contract, and she was beaten nearly to death with fifty strokes at the magistrate’s office.

Afterward, she was stripped of her status and forced into servitude—the lowest maid in the princess’s household, subject to the abuse and whims of even the lowliest servant.

For all these days, she had served at Xiao Yunyan’s side, existing solely for her amusement and torment. Even on their wedding night, she had to stand by, fetching water, pouring tea, and attending to their every need.

Born a commoner, Shen Yuan knew she could never prevail against such people.

But she refused to resign herself to fate.

She turned, stepped toward Chu Yuning, and asked, “You claim the one you love has always been me—is that true?”

“I swear to heaven, not a word is false!” Chu Yuning raised three fingers, his gaze clear and sincere. “Yuan Yuan, as long as you obey and endure for now, once I gain power, I will bring you into my household. All you must do is be patient a little longer…”

Before he finished, a golden hairpin studded with pearls plunged into his chest.

Chu Yuning grunted, eyes wide with disbelief, following the line of the hairpin upward to Shen Yuan’s face, twisted with hatred.

His expression changed drastically. “Shen Yuan! Why are you doing this?”

“Why? For the ten years I was blind to your true nature! For risking my life to gather herbs on sheer cliffs! For scrimping and saving to support your studies! For letting my devotion go to waste! For your ingratitude! Chu Yuning, you deserve to die!”

Clutching the hairpin she’d hidden in her sleeve while undoing Xiao Yunyan’s coiffure, Shen Yuan drove it into Chu Yuning with all her strength, desperate to pierce his heart.

The commotion drew people from outside.

Xiao Yunyan, draped in a gauzy sleeping robe, hurried into the chamber, her face darkening at the sight.

Chu Yuning, panicked, shoved Shen Yuan away. “Your Highness, she was the one who seduced me! I rejected her, and in her spite, she tried to kill me! She wants to murder me!”

“Xiao Yunyan! Your wonderful husband just promised to take me as his concubine! He told me to stay quietly in this household, and once he rose in rank, he’d make me his favored consort—sharing him with you, Your Highness!”

Blood spattered Shen Yuan’s face. She collapsed beside the tub, a mad smile curling her lips as she looked at Xiao Yunyan.

“So what if you’re a high and mighty princess? In the end, you’re no different from me—both falling for a despicable, hypocritical man!”

“No! You’re worse than me! All you know is how to hate and torment me, but you don’t even have the courage to expose his true nature! And you still married him, eyes wide open! Xiao Yunyan, you’re truly foolish!”

“Impudence! How dare you address Her Highness by name? That’s treason!” The chief maid lunged forward, pinning Shen Yuan to the floor.

Chu Yuning, ignoring his wound, anxiously explained to Xiao Yunyan, “Your Highness, don’t listen to her nonsense! If I’d truly said such things, would she have attacked me? She’d be overjoyed, not murderous! You must believe me!”

Bright red blood spread across the water, the golden hairpin still embedded in Chu Yuning’s chest. Xiao Yunyan watched, eyes narrowing.

“Seize this wretched maid who dared seduce the prince consort!” At Xiao Yunyan’s command, the guards rushed in, dragging Shen Yuan from the floor.

She did not resist.

At the fifth watch of the night, beneath a starless, moonless sky, Shen Yuan was bound hand and foot and thrown beside the Quiet Heart Lake.

By the shore, a pig cage prepared for slaughter awaited. The old matrons shoved Shen Yuan inside and rolled it toward the water.

Xiao Yunyan, swathed in a white fox robe, gazed at her coldly.

“You say I’m beneath you? How laughable! You’re a criminal slave—how could you possibly compare to me? And you dared covet my prince consort?”

“Your life exists only because I allow it. If I command your death, you won’t live another moment.”

With a flick of her hand, the matrons kicked the cage, sending it plunging into the lake.

Past the winter solstice, the lake’s water was bone-chilling, biting as if frozen. The frigid waves crashed over Shen Yuan, devouring her like a beast with bared fangs.

Cold—so unbearably cold…

Her body struggled involuntarily, but the more she fought, the more water she swallowed. She tried to open her eyes, but the world had already blurred.

All she could hear was Xiao Yunyan’s laughter from the shore.

“Husband, look—doesn’t she thrash in the water just like a drowned dog? Truly pitiful! Doesn’t your heart ache for her?”

“Your Highness is wise and discerning! Such a vile woman, who dared seduce and charm her master, deserves nothing less than to be drowned! Your Highness needn’t pity her!”

Since entering the princess’s residence, Shen Yuan had always known she would one day die in this sunless place. The only thing that kept her alive was the hope of killing Chu Yuning with her own hands.

If only that hairpin had been a sharper blade—if only she could have ended him with a single blow!

She was not resigned.

In her fading consciousness, Shen Yuan swore: if there were another life, she would kill Chu Yuning and Xiao Yunyan herself! She hated them—hated this world!