Chapter 1 — Sacrificed by the Heir: Reborn as Yue Zhaoyue to Avenge Sixteen Years of Injustice

I surrendered my virtue to save the life of Xie Linchu, yet he remained stubbornly convinced that I had orchestrated the entire affair out of a covetous desire to become his noble consort. Years later, when northern rebels laid siege to the city, they demanded the consort be offered as a sacrifice to secure their retreat. Xie Linchu merely smiled, inclined his head, and answered with a single word:

"Agreed."

He claimed I had stolen everything that rightfully belonged to my elder sister, and that the time for restitution had come. He had me bound to the city gates, left to suffer as countless arrows pierced my flesh. He possessed a hundred strategies to break the siege, yet he chose this, insisting that this end was merely the harvest of the wind I had sown. I jolted awake from the nightmare. A group of people hovered around me, their faces etched with complex expressions. My mother sat at the edge of the bed, weeping silently, while my father stood by, his face as dark as a storm, refusing to utter a word. For a moment, I was dazed. Had I not already died? I raised my hand and struck my own face twice; my cheeks burned instantly. Mother hurried to grab my wrists, and Father bellowed:

"You shameless creature! Do you even know the meaning of disgrace?" His roar sent a tremor through my body, and the agonizing, tearing pain from my lower limbs dragged me cruelly back to reality. I had been defiled. Memories flooded back like a broken levee: I recalled Xie Linchu, overcome by an aphrodisiac, pinning me behind the silken curtains and forcibly taking me. Even as he used me to purge his own torment, he had whispered my elder sister's name over and over.

Xie Linchu arrived to visit me. To call it a visit would be a stretch; it was more an inspection. He promised that he would see to it that the wretched maid who dared to lace his drink would die without a burial plot, claiming he would vent my anger for me. I leaned back against the daybed, staring at his refined, noble face—staring until my vision blurred and tears began to trace lines down my cheeks. For a rare moment, a flash of guilt flickered in his eyes, and he picked up a handkerchief to gently dab away my tears. I could not reconcile the youth standing before me with the man who would one day heartlessly condemn me to a death by a thousand arrows. Yet, in my dreams, his cruelty, his loathing, and his utter contempt were as vivid as if they were happening this very moment. I wept inconsolably until Xie Linchu’s patience wore thin, the handkerchief in his hands crushed into a ball.

"I know you are aggrieved. Rest assured, I have already petitioned the Prince; whatever you desire, take your time to consider."

His words were truly interesting. A woman who had lost her purity for his sake—he knew better than anyone what kind of compensation could possibly address such humiliation; he simply did not wish to provide it. And so, he cast the burden of resolution back onto me. Perhaps he never dreamed that a Shen Zhaoyue, who had always been gentle and timid, would one day dare to beg the Eldest Princess for a decree of marriage.

Before Xie Linchu had finished a single cup of tea in my room, my elder sister heard the news and rushed over. During the days I had been bedridden, she had never once come to visit. My elder sister’s hatred for me was so blatant she didn't even bother to conceal it. Yet, no one in the family blamed her, for they all whispered that it was I who had caused her to drift away from home years ago. According to her account, when we were eight, she had snuck out of the manor because I craved honey cakes from the south side of town, and when Mother refused to buy them, I had goaded her into going. That was how she came to be abducted by human traffickers. But I had never even liked sweets. Father would say, "What child doesn't love honey cakes?" And Mother would add, "You must treat your elder sister better." Everyone took it for granted that I owed a life-long debt to her.

I could feel everything that was meant for me slipping away, bit by bit. At first, it was a jade pendant, a bolt of silk. Then, it was my father’s regard and my mother’s biased affection. And finally… the youth who once swore that he would marry no one but me began to watch my elder sister, his gaze wandering further and further away.

When my sister arrived, Xie Linchu was still wiping my tears. She immediately pulled him away and punched his chest. "Xie Linchu, have you no need for me anymore?"

My sister was utterly lacking in propriety, yet it was exactly that which Xie Linchu adored. "What are you babbling about? Aren't you afraid of hurting your hand?" He smiled as he caught her hand, his voice overflowing with indulgence.

"I heard everything from Mother. She said you and Shen Zhaoyue… the Eldest Princess intends to bestow her upon you as your wife." My sister bit her lip and sobbed. She was always radiant, and when she cried, she appeared even more pitiful and endearing. Xie Linchu held a finger to his lips, signaling her to lower her voice. His eyes drifted over my face as he said, each word deliberate:

"The Second Young Lady once saved my life; this great kindness is beyond repayment, and I will certainly reward her fittingly, but anything more than that is impossible."

Anything more than that is impossible. In the eyes of Xie Linchu, my virtue was not even worth mentioning. I had known Xie Linchu for six years. I remembered every sliver of partiality he had once shown me.