Chapter 3 — The Man Who Couldn't See My Face

He stared fixedly at the young servant's face, as if trying to decipher whether these words were true or false. After a long moment, a faint, disbelieving smile touched his lips.

Stop acting. Yesterday, with my own eyes, I saw that the Prince Regent's bride was merely a decoy procured by Ling Yi.

She is simply furious with me for mistakenly welcoming the wrong bride yesterday, which is why she is putting on this sullen act.

Go inside and tell her that today I have prepared the betrothal gifts in full. Even the Eastern pearls bestowed upon the Xu household by His Majesty and the Empress have been brought here, enough to preserve her dignity entirely.

The servant realized it was impossible to reason with Xu Yanqing, yet they could not simply remain locked in this stalemate at the entrance. Left with no alternative, he hurried off to report to Madame Shen. When Madame Shen finally stepped out, the street outside the Shen residence was already densely packed with onlookers drawn by the commotion.

Weren't both young misses of the Shen family married off yesterday? Why is there another wedding ceremony today?

This man also appears to be a son-in-law of the Shen family, yet he stubbornly insists on taking the second young lady as his concubine.

Is he attempting to marry both sisters at once? To think he could actually conceive of such an absurd notion.

Xu Yanqing remained utterly intoxicated by his own joyous expectations, paying no heed whatsoever to these murmuring crowds.

Mother-in-law, your son-in-law has come to welcome Ling Yi.

Madame Shen, fully aware of the stark reality, had no desire to lose face before such a vast assembly.

Step inside, and we shall speak.

Scarcely had he taken his seat when Xu Yanqing blurted out, unable to contain his impatience:

Where is Ling Yi? Why is she not here?

Madame Shen offered a placating, hollow smile.

Son-in-law, you have already married Ling Chang, so why continue to harbor thoughts of Ling Yi?

Xu Yanqing knitted his brows tightly, his expression a mask of profound perplexity.

Mother-in-law, did we not already settle this yesterday? My feigned confusion over the brides was merely a stratagem so that Ling Chang would not be forced to wed that living Yama.

Afterwards, we would find a means to annul that union, allowing me to take Ling Yi home as my concubine.

Unrattled, Madame Shen leisurely took a sip of her tea.

Ling Yi has already been married off. Dismiss such delusions from your mind, and treat Ling Chang with the kindness she deserves.

Xu Yanqing bolted upright from his chair as if struck by lightning.

Mother-in-law, why are you now joining in on Ling Yi's deceptions?

The auspicious hour is nearly upon us. I swear to you upon my honor that I shall treat both sisters with equal devotion, sparing neither from hardship.

Madame Shen set her teacup down with a deliberate clatter, gazing at him with unyielding coldness.

The marriage between Chang'er and the Prince Regent was decreed by His Majesty himself. To break this union is a crime equivalent to deceiving the sovereign; who could possibly bear such a burden?

Xu Yanqing stared at her in utter disbelief, his eyes swimming with incomprehension.

Mother-in-law, do not jest with me. There are no outsiders in this room.

Did Ling Yi not provide a substitute to take her place yesterday? You need only formally adopt that decoy as your foster daughter, and it will no longer be considered treason.

Seeing that Xu Yanqing remained stubbornly blind to reality, Madame Shen invoked the absolute authority of an elder.

You may be the new son-in-law of the Shen family, but that does not grant you the license to act with reckless impunity.

Such treasonous and blasphemous talk of substitutes, I shall pretend I never heard. Take your men and your betrothal gifts back at once, and go pay your respects to Chang'er.

Faced with Madame Shen's ironclad resolve, a cold wave of panic finally began to grip Xu Yanqing's heart.

Do you mean to say Ling Yi did not use a substitute? Then the person I saw yesterday...

He left the sentence unfinished, terrified to the core of what it implied. If that woman yesterday truly had been Ling Yi, then was not everything already beyond salvation? Madame Shen watched his utterly shattered demeanor, a surge of deep resentment rising within her chest.

The person you saw yesterday was indeed Ling Yi.

Impossible. She clearly discarded the jade bracelet I gave her; how could it possibly be Ling Yi?

Her heart belongs to me alone. She would never, absolutely never, consent to marry another.

He muttered these words while stumbling backward.

I must go find her this very instant.

Abandoning the main hall, he strode directly toward the secluded quarters where Ling Yi had resided. Yet upon arrival, he found the doors flung wide open, several maidservants squatting upon the floor to sweep away the dust.

Where is the second young lady?

Recognizing the intruder as Xu Yanqing, the maids hurriedly dropped into a collective curtsy.

The second young lady has already been wedded and left the estate. We are merely clearing out her chambers.

These few casual sentences struck him like a bolt from a clear blue sky, robbing his legs of their strength and nearly sending him to the floor. Pushing past the maidservants, he plunged into her bedchamber. The interior furnishings were painfully sparse, consisting of nothing more than a plain wooden table and a meager vanity—a world away from the luxurious chambers of Ling Chang. Suddenly, words spoken to him long ago echoed sharply in his mind.

The next time you play the fool and mistake me for another, look closely at the arrangement of the room. My quarters are adorned in the dark tones that elder sister despises, and my possessions are few. That is how you will be able to tell us apart.

Beyond these things, he recalled the simple garments and unadorned hairpins I wore before leaving the household—every single detail chosen precisely because they were styles his elder sister detested. A young woman at the very peak of her youth and yearning for beauty, yet out of a desperate desire for him to recognize her, she had denied herself adornment, praying that one day, he might finally see her. But in the past, those thoughts had never crossed his mind. Only now, upon learning that I had truly wed the Prince Regent, did the truth crash over him in blinding clarity. Leaning against the window frame, he buried his face in his hands and wept with a wretched, shattering grief. When Madame Shen hurried over, this was the exact scene that met her eyes.

Yanchev, there is no need for such sorrow.