Volume One, Chapter Five: She Is Far Less Important Than You in the Palace

Not long after the Pei family departed, Madam Yu—Pei Yueshu’s mother-in-law—arrived. She wept bitterly, invoking the fate of the entire household. Pei Yueshu, weary of the lamentations, repeatedly assured them she would enter the palace, then sent word to have her escorted away. No matter what choice she made, the Yu family would neither be grateful nor forgiving; only hatred awaited her.

Once Madam Yu returned to her courtyard, her true colors immediately surfaced. “I knew that fox spirit had been involved with that man from the start. My poor son—you haven’t even been buried, and she’s already eager to remarry. I truly grieve for you!” She sat on the bed, pounding her chest in despair.

“Mother, I told you before, we shouldn’t have listened to my brother marrying that fox spirit into our family. Now, our household is utterly ruined because of her!” Miss Yu Youxin, the fifth daughter of the Yu mansion, also gritted her teeth in anger nearby.

“Iris, will you be sending everyone away tonight as well?” a servant asked, presenting nourishing medicinal broth.

Pei Yueshu nodded. “Tell them I’ll be waiting in the courtyard for Hechuan tonight and do not want to be disturbed.”

Iris nodded in agreement. After that, no servant dared linger in the Mingyue Residence.

Late into the night, heavy breaths echoed from the side chamber. Pei Yueshu turned her face away, biting her pillow, unwilling to meet the gaze of the man beside her.

Suddenly, she gently shook her head, a soft moan escaping her throat.

Huo Chi lay bare, his once rigid hair tousled by Pei Yueshu’s hands, now cascading over him, lending a wild, untamed air. He leaned against her, breathing heavily, his eyes fixed on her pale, moonlit skin. Unfortunately, he dared not leave any marks.

Grasping her smooth shoulder, he grew more fervent. When finished, a faint fingerprint remained.

Neither spoke; only their prolonged breaths filled the draped chamber.

Huo Chi did not rise, half-reclining against her. Knowing this aided conception, Pei Yueshu made no move to send him away.

Tonight, she was more cooperative, likely a result of the Yu family’s earlier visit. After all, the two noble dukes’ households were not so easily erased by the emperor’s will—though this was merely an excuse.

Abandoning a daughter-in-law and a daughter to gain immense benefits was indeed tempting.

Huo Chi had originally thought that Pei Yueshu, as the eldest legitimate daughter of a duke’s household and a refined lady, was merely using her body to entrap men, shallow at heart. Now he perceived the difficulties she faced.

“Do you know the origins of the Empress and the three favored consorts in the palace?”

Pei Yueshu did, but now, she ought not to.

“The Empress hails from the Ji clan of Runan. Xiao Xuanyu ascended the throne only with their support.

The Noble Consort comes from the Xiang clan of Yiyang. The Xiang and Ji clans have long been at odds; they will never allow a ruler with Ji blood to sit the imperial throne.

The Virtuous Consort is the daughter of Xiao Xuanyu’s own people but is merely a figurehead, never favored.

The Pure Consort is from the Huo family of Wolinxi, sent in by the Ho clan seeking a share of power.

But rest assured, I am not on good terms with the Ho family, and she is far less important than you in the palace.”

Pei Yueshu blinked softly.

The Great Jin imperial harem followed strict clan-based ranks: one Empress, three consorts—Noble, Virtuous, and Pure—followed by nine concubines, twenty-one attendants, and eighty-one lesser wives.

The rest were insignificant; only these four were either born of great clans or the emperor’s confidantes, thus immovable.

Otherwise, Pei Yueshu would not have sought out Huo Chi.

“Are you worried about me?”

She looked at him, her eyes shimmering with lingering desire.

Huo Chi’s Adam’s apple bobbed slightly; he forcibly changed the words on his tongue, speaking coldly, “I’m worried you cannot protect my son.”

“Fine, then have the young master assign me a few men.”

Pei Yueshu looped her arms around his neck like a loving wife, whispering intimately.

His gaze shifted, darkening. He rose from her, naturally breaking her hold.

“You will encounter them once you enter the palace.”

He retrieved his clothes from the floor, dressed, and left without looking back.

Pei Yueshu scoffed, understanding Huo Chi’s change was merely to further his own ambitions. She knew well what her true status was.

After bathing, Pei Yueshu sank into a deep sleep on her bed.

When she woke, another person was in the room.

“Don’t recognize me?”

Xiao Xuanyu sat in a yellow rosewood armchair just a few feet from the bed.

Pei Yueshu propped herself up. Without the memories of the past three years, she truly wouldn’t have recognized this face.

Everyone knew the seventh prince was neglected by the late emperor. Since adulthood, he immersed himself in the classics, seldom interacting with others or attending court banquets.

After his ascension, she had constantly worried about her husband on the battlefield, remaining secluded at home, praying for him.

Thus, Pei Yueshu had only seen him as a child; the current sovereign’s imposing presence was vastly different.

She remained silent for a long moment; Xiao Xuanyu did not grow angry, instead wearing an unusually gentle expression.

“Wasn’t your illness fully healed? Why have you slept so long?”

Xiao Xuanyu was strikingly handsome, with slightly upturned phoenix eyes, a high nose, and thin lips tinted like cherry blossoms.

With his looks and status, speaking so tenderly to a young woman might steal her soul.

Yet Pei Yueshu tightly gripped the dagger hidden beneath her pillow.

In the previous life, she only met him after entering the palace.

“Don’t be nervous. I won’t do anything to you. I just happened to pass by your noble residence and thought to stop in.”

He smiled reassuringly.

His recklessness was evident; Yu Hechuan had not yet been buried, yet he hastened to see her, overjoyed by news that Duke Yu had been summoned to the palace.

This exquisite peony was now plucked into the imperial court.

Recalling four years ago at the hunting grounds, the woman had ridden freely, clad in dazzling bright blue riding attire, radiant and captivating.

Especially after learning her identity as the duke’s daughter, Xiao Xuanyu immediately desired to marry her.

But alas, the Duke of Pei lacked vision.

Otherwise, Pei Yueshu would have been his empress, not a widow whose husband died on the battlefield and was taken into the palace as his concubine.

Pei Yueshu lowered her eyes; the torment of those three years surged in her heart, setting her entire being aflame.

She fully understood Xiao Xuanyu’s intentions.

He was a petty man, vindictive and unforgiving.

His treatment of her was merely to conquer her, to gain a measure of pride.

During those three years, she remained cold to him.

When he found no way, he allowed the harem’s consorts to scheme and torment her in hopes she would submit.

But she could not yield. Once Xiao Xuanyu obtained what he desired, he would discard her, and both her family and Hechuan’s would face ruin.

In this life, she had to hold the balance, keeping his desire to conquer perpetually alive to secure what she wanted.

Pei Yueshu blinked, tears streaming down her cheeks. She grasped the dagger beneath the pillow and suddenly plunged it into her own heart.