Chapter 5 — Red Plum Blossoms in the Snow

Who exactly climbed into my bed in the middle of the night, claiming they wanted to have an affair with me? Do you dare repeat that claim in front of the Crown Prince and look him in the eye while you say it?

Xiao Cheng Ze’s face darkened, and he moved to step forward, but I reached out to stop him, stepping in front of Bui Minh Vien instead.

The year you climbed into my bed was coerced by my own mother; you knew that from beginning to end. You gave your tacit consent and played along because you were already enamored with Chu Tinh Dao. To marry her, you needed to use me, a legitimate daughter, as a stepping stone. As for what actually happened between us that night, you know better than anyone. Although I was blinded by my mother’s deceit at the time, I eventually realized the truth. When she forced me into that room, I fled immediately. Bui Minh Vien opened his mouth, a flicker of panic rising in his eyes.

But on our wedding day, you stood beside the old matriarch of the Bui family and watched them force me to drink medicinal concoctions without saying a single word. You knew full well the medical records were forged and that we had never shared any intimacy—how could I have possibly been pregnant? Yet, because you wanted to annul our marriage to wed Chu Tinh Dao, you silently condoned it all. Do you dare stand before everyone present here and swear upon your honor that none of this is true?

I threw his own challenge back at him. The private dining room fell into a deathly silence. Several noble scions exchanged glances, but no one dared to speak. Bui Minh Vien’s lips trembled, but he could utter not a single word in his defense. Xiao Cheng Ze walked to my side, took my hand, and laced his fingers tightly with mine.

Bui Minh Vien, I have recorded every piece of slander you just uttered against my consort. The debt between the Bui family and the Prince of Vinh Xuong’s estate will be settled in due time. Go home and tell your father to prepare his neck for the reckoning.

With that, he pulled me toward the door, then paused and turned back to add, Oh, and regarding Chu Tinh Dao, the one you hold so dear? By now, the old matriarch of the Bui family has likely already shipped her off to a remote estate to carry her pregnancy in isolation.

As the words left his lips, Bui Minh Vien’s complexion drained of all color. He stumbled forward as if to chase us, but was blocked by Xiao Cheng Ze’s guards, leaving him to watch helplessly as we left the teahouse. Once inside the carriage, the coldness on Xiao Cheng Ze’s face softened. He leaned against the side and tilted his head to look at me, his eyes full of pity. Do not take those pathetic words he spoke to heart.

I smiled and leaned against him. It is all in the past; it will never happen again.

Xiao Cheng Ze suddenly bowed his head to my ear, whispering as he kissed my cheek, When do you intend to visit your mother? She has already sent letters to the manor three times today.

The smile on my face faded, and I was silent for a moment before saying, Tomorrow. I will return to the Chu estate tomorrow.

Early the next morning, I did not ask Xiao Cheng Ze to accompany me and took only Luc Chi back to the Chu family residence. The Chu estate sat in a small alley in the eastern part of the city, a residence of three courtyards. Before I was married, my quarters were the most desolate room in the eastern wing; opening the window revealed the servants’ quarters in the back courtyard. It was cold in winter and stifling in summer—the worst conditions imaginable, while the best room was reserved exclusively for Chu Tinh Dao. I stepped inside, passed through the front courtyard, and happened to see my mother coming out of the main hall to greet me, her face wreathed in smiles.

Am Am, you’ve returned? Come inside and sit.

She reached out to pull me toward her, but I shifted away to avoid her touch. Her hand froze in mid-air, and her smile faltered, though she quickly recovered her composure. I have prepared tea for you, your favorite Biluochun, along with some pastries. The matters from a few days ago were my fault; can you forgive your mother this once?

I looked at her smiling face and was suddenly struck by a memory from many years ago. I was twelve, and because I refused to learn what she demanded, she had chased me across half the courtyard with a rod. I had hidden behind the rockery, weeping. When she found me, she grabbed my ear and cursed me as a wretched thing. But once she had finished venting, she softened her tone, held me, and said, Mother does this for your own good. You must become someone of worth.

Back then, I still loved her. She would cry for a while, complain of her hardships, and my heart would melt.

Is this all you called me here for today?

She nodded repeatedly, watching my expression with caution. I know I was wrong. You are the Crown Prince’s consort now; I will never dare treat you that way again.

Seeing that I did not show overt disgust, she finally revealed her true purpose. Your younger sister has been sent to the estate by the old matriarch of the Bui family. Can you intercede for her? She is but a fragile young woman, and she is pregnant. If she is cast aside like this, how is she to survive in the world?

I dropped the teacup in my hand, shattering it against the floor. Survive? You ask me how she is to survive? Did you ever consider how I was to survive all those years ago?

I had thought I was calm, but the grievances suppressed for over a decade surged in my chest, tightening my throat until I could barely breathe. You were a daughter once yourself; how could you do such a thing to your own flesh and blood? You clearly know how to be a mother to Chu Tinh Dao—why is it that you could never show even a fraction of that care to me?