Chapter 1: The Choice

In the tenth year of Yuan Tong, the first snow of the season fell in Chang’an and lasted for several days. The slanting wind swept up snowflakes, making the glazed roof tiles ring with a delicate sound.

The wind lifted sand and snow, making Shen Quanyi struggle to raise her head, squinting unconsciously. The sky was shrouded in a mist as if wrapped in gauze.

The biting wind and snow swirling into her face made her hunch her shoulders and draw in her neck; all around, there were only faint sighs and murmurs.

The servants of Huaian Courtyard had long since busied themselves, their backs bent and occasionally straightening, but several pairs of eyes inevitably glanced toward Shen Quanyi, kneeling in the courtyard. The punishment had left her somewhat thinner, yet her delicate and striking beauty had not faded into haggardness—instead, she appeared all the more pitiable, fragile and charming.

She had been kneeling here for an hour. Shen Quanyi gritted her teeth and shifted her position slightly; her legs were already numb and aching.

She had always been susceptible to the cold, and by now she was shivering uncontrollably. Unable to hold back, she lowered her head to cough into her hand, her fair cheeks flushing red at once.

Perhaps the commotion was heard inside, for the curtain at the main hall’s entrance was lifted high, and a matron with a worried face hurried over, quickly helping Shen Quanyi up.

“My good girl, don’t resent her. Madam does everything for your own good,” the matron said with a sigh, though inwardly lamenting how mother and daughter had always seemed more like enemies than kin.

Despite the disturbance, the servants in the courtyard remained silent; it was clear this was not the first time Shen Quanyi had been punished in this manner.

They lowered their heads, holding their breath, and returned to their tasks.

Shen Quanyi stood, a wave of dizziness overtaking her. She opened her mouth, but her dry, hoarse throat could not form words, so she merely clenched her frozen fingers in silence.

After a moment, forcing herself to calm down, she moved her numb tongue and spoke with difficulty, “Madam Cui, my mother—”

But before she could finish, Madam Cui frowned and interrupted her, “Young lady, forgive me for speaking out of turn, but matters of marriage are always arranged by one’s parents. Madam has worked tirelessly for your future; please don’t mistake her motherly intentions.”

On hearing this, Shen Quanyi let out a cold laugh. Madam Cui continued to comfort her, but a harsh voice from within the house rang out, “Fool! Get in here, now!”

At the command from within, Madam Cui gripped Shen Quanyi’s hand and led her inside, whispering for her to mind her tone.

Shen Quanyi lowered her gaze and said nothing. Snow had settled in her hair, the damp locks clinging to her forehead, lending her a disheveled look.

Stepping inside, warmth enveloped her at once. The room was filled with a faint scent of incense. She looked up, and through the gauzy curtain, she could vaguely make out a lone figure.

Madam Liu had given birth only ten days prior and was still weak. With the cold weather, she could not bear a trace of chill. The doors and windows were tightly sealed, a floor heater was lit, and several braziers burned with lively flames, sparks crackling and dancing in the air.

Shen Quanyi could barely stand, half supported by Madam Cui. Once she climbed onto the heated kang, she knelt opposite her mother, Liu Shi, enduring the pain in her knees and keeping her back straight and resolute.

Liu Shi reclined against a soft pillow. Despite having just given birth, her cheeks were fuller, and even past thirty, her elegance remained undiminished. At this moment, she opened her eyes slowly, her beautiful phoenix-shaped eyes lifted in a way that carried an unspoken sense of interrogation as she gazed at Shen Quanyi.

Her scrutiny was unrestrained, as if seeing Shen Quanyi clearly for the first time. If she felt any dissatisfaction, it was contradicted by her daughter’s exceptional beauty, which rivaled her own.

Without a trace of cosmetics, her jade-like face was smooth as cream, her willow brows delicate as mist, her fair complexion tinged with the green of spring, and her almond-shaped eyes shone with hidden light, now carrying a colder brilliance from wind and frost.

Liu Shi lowered her gaze, her tone icy, “It’s your grandmother’s weakness that raised you by her side and taught you to be weak as well—such a waste of the face I gave you.”

“Yes, I am not as capable as you, Mother,” Shen Quanyi replied, her lips curving in a faint, mocking smile as she met her mother's gaze. Her eyes brimmed with irony, yet her heart was filled with sorrow. She had lost her father young; after only a year of widowhood, her mother Liu Shi had remarried into the Wang family.

Within a year of that marriage, Liu Shi bore a daughter. Gossip outside ran rampant. Liu Shi had left the Shen household without a backward glance, never considering what trials her children would face after she was gone.

Shen Quanyi closed her eyes briefly. Survival in the Shen household had been difficult; if not for her grandmother’s protection, she and her brother would not have lived this long.

“Why the pretense? It’s only because Wang Cu was unwilling to be a concubine that you suddenly remembered your insignificant daughter.”

Shen Quanyi lifted her head slightly, stubbornly confronting her mother. Inside, she felt a bitter ache; for all her bravado, she was still young, and a sense of grievance welled up within her. Her mother favored her younger half-sister. She wanted to say more, but a sudden itch in her throat made her cough violently.

The atmosphere grew tense. Outside, footsteps sounded. A maid entered, bowing as she brought hot tea. Shen Quanyi accepted the cup, and after a sip, her coughing eased. The maid collected the cup and quietly withdrew.

All these years, there had been few such quarrels. Parents always maintained authority before their children—how could a child question her mother?

Liu Shi’s anger flared, her brows arched sharply. She sat up, ready to strike, but paused at the sight of Shen Quanyi’s pale face. Instead, she scolded fiercely, “Insolence! Where are your manners? It is not your place to question me. You are my child—I have the right to make decisions for you!”

“How short-sighted you are. If you can enter the Eastern Palace, what does it matter if you are a concubine? Besides, you have already lost favor with the Eastern Palace steward. This is no longer for you to decide, whether you wish it or not.”

Shen Quanyi’s defiance wore away Liu Shi’s patience. Looking at her eldest daughter, born of her first husband, Liu Shi’s eyes gradually filled with distaste.

She had been proud from a young age. Even after her first husband’s suicide, she never weakened, relying on her own abilities, and remarried into the renowned Wang family.

Yet the children she bore with her first husband, aside from their looks, inherited none of her temperament.

“Madam, you mustn’t get upset,” Madam Cui interjected, having been waiting outside but now hastening in as the quarrel escalated.

She entered respectfully, first offering ginger tea to Shen Quanyi, then moving behind Liu Shi to gently support her, helping her steady her breath.

After drinking the ginger tea, Shen Quanyi breathed shallowly, bent forward to hug her knees, her eyelids heavy. Suddenly, she slumped forward. Madam Cui hurried over, feeling her forehead and exclaiming, “Oh heavens, on a day this cold, after kneeling so long, she’s burning with fever.”

Madam Cui ordered someone to fetch the physician, then had the maids carry Shen Quanyi to the side room to change her clothes.

Liu Shi watched in silence, not uttering a word. For a long time, she gazed at the sleeping Shen Quanyi and murmured, “She doesn’t understand that all I do is for her good... She’s my daughter. I’m not wrong. I do this for her sake!”

It was unclear whether Liu Shi spoke for Shen Quanyi to hear or to convince herself. Madam Cui, who had served Liu Shi for many years, paused in her gentle ministrations. Even she felt that Liu Shi was too harsh with her daughter.

“Do you think I’m partial?” Liu Shi suddenly asked, sensing Madam Cui’s thoughts. Her tone was calm, betraying no emotion.

Madam Cui’s hand faltered, but she suppressed her feelings, bowing slightly. “Madam must have her reasons. I would not dare to presume.”

Her reply was flawless. Liu Shi smiled faintly and did not press further. “And where is Ce’er?”

At the mention of her newborn son, Liu Shi’s tone softened. This son had not come easily. In her three years with the Wang family, she had borne only a daughter in her first year, making her anxious. As a remarried woman, without a son, how could she secure her place?

Fortunately, though over thirty and having suffered much, she finally had a son.

“He’s with the wet nurse, just nursed, and now asleep,” Madam Cui replied, breathing an inward sigh of relief.

“See to Yi-jie’s needs. Tomorrow, the Eastern Palace will come to fetch her. There must be no mistakes. Tell her to behave, or her ailing grandmother may not survive the winter.”

Liu Shi’s words made Madam Cui’s heart skip a beat. She bowed in assent, but as she looked up, she met Liu Shi’s gaze—her dark eyes were deep and unfathomable, like two bottomless wells.

Madam Cui quickly lowered her head, not daring to look further, as if she would fall into an endless abyss.