"Sister Nanzhao, everything is my fault. I couldn't control my feelings. I have already secretly committed myself to Lord Lu, and I am carrying his child. I beg you to be generous and let me have this marriage. As for the marriage to ward off the Seventh Prince's ill fortune — could you please marry him in my place?"
My legitimate elder sister, Shen Biwei, who usually feared stepping on ants when she walked and required her maids to lay down silk before her, such a delicate noble lady, was now kneeling on the tile floor with no regard for her dignity, clinging tightly to my skirt, weeping pitifully.
The matriarch of the Marquis's household, who was also Shen Biwei's biological mother, Lady Wang, sat to one side with a cold face. She picked up her teacup and slowly brushed away the floating tea leaves.
"Nanzhao, since your sister has already compromised herself with young Master Lu, our Marquis's manor cannot have a shameless daughter. He is but a destitute scholar. Just let her have him. As for the Seventh Prince's manor, that is a marriage bestowed upon Biwei by the Emperor. Someone must go. You are a concubine's daughter. You usually eat the food of the household and use the resources of the household. Now is the time for you to repay that debt."
Father also frowned, waving his hand impatiently. "So, it is decided. Tomorrow, go to the government office and exchange the marriage horoscopes."
Looking at Shen Biwei, whose eyes were red from crying on the ground, yet whose eyes could not conceal a look of wild joy and scheming, the corners of my mouth could barely suppress rising.
My legitimate sister had beaten me to it. She had thrown herself at the poor scholar's feet, insisting on marrying him at all costs, forcing me to give up my betrothal to her, and wanting me to take her place in marrying the prince whose legs had been crushed — a crippled, violent man whose marriage was meant to ward off ill fortune. Looking at the wild joy she could not hide in her eyes, I knew right then that she, too, had been reborn.
She thought that in our past life the scholar became Grand Secretary simply because he was destined for greatness. But she did not know that in our past life his rise to Grand Secretary was fought for inch by inch by me. While that crippled prince she feared like a tiger was the future ruler of the world.
So, that was it. She had been reborn, too.
In our past life, Shen Biwei, as the legitimate daughter of the Marquis's household, naturally married the man who held immense power in court but was crippled in both legs and violently tempered, the Seventh Prince, Xiao Jingyan. While I, an unfavored concubine-born daughter, was haphazardly married off to Lu Yanzhu, a destitute scholar who was so poor at the time that he couldn't even scrape together the travel expenses to the capital for the imperial examinations.
How proud Shen Biwei had been back then. On her wedding day, she held my hand and said with eyes full of pity, "Sister, that destitute Lu family can't even afford a bowl of white rice. You will have to suffer a lot after you go there. I am going to the prince's manor. Although the prince's legs are injured, this immense wealth and honor is something you could never wish for."
But what was the result? Not only was the Seventh Prince Xiao Jingyan's disability never cured, but his temperament became increasingly twisted. At every turn there would be killing and bloodshed. Shen Biwei suffered endless torture in the prince's manor, finding life worse than death. Ultimately, unable to endure the influx of concubines and the endless domestic violence, she actually eloped with a guard. She was dragged back by Xiao Jingyan and had her legs beaten and broken alive.
On my side, by contrast, after I married into the Lu family, I rolled up my sleeves to wash dishes and cook, using my embroidery to fund Lu Yanzhu's studies. I stayed up late under the lamp to analyze for him the essays he could not write. I ghostwrote and polished them in his name, ran around to build relationships with his mentors, and blocked the constant difficulties from his awful relatives for him. In just six years, Lu Yanzhu won first place in three successive imperial exams, rising rapidly through the ranks. At only twenty-eight years old, he became the Grand Secretary of the imperial court, and I became the most envied first-class noble lady in the entire capital.
I will never forget the day I received my title in my past life. Covered in wounds, Shen Biwei had crawled all the way back to the capital, begging from the mass graves. Hiding in the crowd, she watched me sitting in the eight-carrier sedan chair. Her eyes, as I passed by in absolute glory, were filled with venomous envy and regret.
She must have been thinking, all the way until her death: If only she hadn't disdained the poor and loved the rich back then. If only she had married Lu Yanzhu, then the Grand Secretary's wife, the one receiving all the attention and envy of the world, would have been her.
So heaven let her live another life, and she couldn't wait. She didn't even hesitate to make up a lie about being pregnant out of wedlock, ruining her own reputation just to snatch this high-potential man back into her hands. She thought that as long as she married Lu Yanzhu, she could sit back and enjoy the fruits of my labor, becoming the Grand Secretary's wife of her dreams. At the same time, she could naturally push that living terror, Prince Qi, onto me, letting me suffer the broken legs and the painful death in her place. Killing two birds with one stone.
Her scheme was so loud I could hear it from miles away.
"Sister, I beg of you. Can you really watch your sister die?"
Seeing that I remained silent, Shen Biwei cried even louder, but her hand tightly gripped my wrist, as if terrified I would back out. I pulled my hand back from her tight, red-marked grip, used a handkerchief to gently dab at nonexistent tears, and knelt before the matriarch with a thud. My tone was sorrowful, yet resolute.
"Since sister and Master Lu have already consummated their love, how could I steal another's beloved? Besides, Prince Qi is still of royal blood. To be able to ease my sister's worries and repay the Marquis Mansion's debt of gratitude is Nanzhao's blessing. This exchange of marriages, Nanzhao accepts it."
Hearing my compromise, Shen Biwei instantly stopped her fake wailing. She stared intently at me as if trying to detect a hint of resentment or anger on my face. But not only did I have none, I was actually exceptionally calm. A trace of mockery flashed across her eyes. She was probably laughing at me in her heart, thinking I was an easy target to be manipulated.
"My good sister, I will remember your kindness for the rest of my life."
Shen Biwei turned her tears into a smile and came over hypocritically to pull me up. I rose with the gesture, dusted off my knees, and said in a gentle tone, "Sister, you must be joking. Since you love Lord Lu so deeply, I wish you two a harmonious marriage. Locked together forever — growing old together in marital bliss."
Let go of the urge to help others and respect their destiny. Since she wanted to pick up that pile of useless mud, I would not stop her. In fact, I would even hand her a shovel overnight.
She had no idea that in our past life Lu Yanzhu's rise to Grand Secretary did not rely on his own talent at all, but rather on my careful planning and calculated steps. He is notoriously incompetent at everything. A useless freeloader who excels only at living off women. Without me, I'd like to see how Shen Biwei will mold this worthless pile of mud into the Grand Secretary of the Great Xuan Dynasty.