1
“Your Highness, Uyển…”
When Phúc An arrived, I was roasting sweet potatoes in the courtyard.
Someone suddenly called out to me, and I hurriedly hid the sweet potatoes behind my back.
Phúc An stood outside the door, too afraid to come in. She could only stammer out a greeting.
“Princess, what brings you here so late at night? Is something the matter?”
I stepped over and looked down at her, my tone distant and cold.
Phúc An seemed frightened by my tone and shrank back a little, but she still summoned the courage to look at me.
The girl bit her lip and said, one word at a time, “Phúc An wants to stay with Your Highness, Uyển…”
Looking at the childish yet earnest face before me, I couldn’t help bending down to give her gaunt cheek a gentle pinch. My voice was both cruel and mocking:
“Hasn’t your mother told you? She and I are sworn enemies!”
2
After Hiền Phi died, Princess Phúc An, her daughter, became a hot potato nobody wanted to handle.
She hadn’t died of illness or been murdered like the other consorts. Hiền Phi was punished for her family’s transgressions, and it was the Emperor himself who ordered her death.
Naturally, no one in the entire imperial palace wanted to raise the daughter of a disgraced consort.
The Empress asked consort after consort, but deliberately left me out.
I was terribly upset. I felt the Empress was deliberately shutting me out.
What a miserable palace family!
My personal maid, Thúy Trúc, gave me a scornful look. “Your Highness, if Princess Phúc An were left with someone as irresponsible as you, that really would be a miserable palace family.”
Well, everyone in the palace knew that Hiền Phi and I had never gotten along.
If her daughter fell into my hands—me, the notorious villain—there was no need to imagine how things would end.
The Empress cared more about her reputation than anything else. If she really handed the princess over to me, people would whisper that she was jealous and couldn’t tolerate a child.
And yet now Phúc An had come straight to me of her own accord, saying she wanted to be raised under my care.
Did I look that kindhearted? Generous enough to raise the child of my sworn enemy?
I waved a hand, intending to have Thúy Trúc take the princess back.
But suddenly, someone tugged at my sleeve.
A small, slightly cold hand took hold of mine, then slowly tightened its grip, as if steeling itself.
I impatiently looked down, putting on my fiercest expression to frighten this child who didn’t know her place.
After all, my fearsome reputation had spread far and wide. Even the palace dogs got out of my way when they saw me.
And yet, somehow, Phúc An still held on to me with unshakable resolve.
Her eyes were clear and innocent, yet held a hint of stubbornness.
“Your Highness, Uyển, Mother said you were her very best friend. She said you’d never abandon me.”
“Let your mother go…”
Luckily, Thúy Trúc clapped a hand over my mouth in time. Otherwise, I would’ve nearly cursed in front of the child.
Lately, I’d taken to vegetarianism and praying to Buddha to cultivate my character, but Tạ Thư Nhiên had angered me so badly that I’d nearly broken my vow.
Even though she’d been dead for several days, just thinking about her still gave me goose bumps.
What a menace!
She fought with me while she was alive, and even in death she wouldn’t leave me in peace. Now she wanted to dump this burden on me?
As if!
“Your Highness, Uyển…”
“What now?”
I snapped impatiently.
Phúc An pressed her lips together, looking as though she were about to cry.
She was already adorable, and that expression made her even harder to resist.
“Your Highness, why are you being so harsh? The princess is just a child.”
Thúy Trúc gave me an accusing look, then hurried to scoop Phúc An into her arms and soothe her gently.
“Your Highness, Uyển… Phúc An knows she’s a burden. It’s understandable that you’re afraid…”
The little girl sniffled as she secretly watched me with her big, beautiful eyes.
Ridiculous! I didn’t even give the Empress the time of day. Why would I be afraid of a little girl?
“All right, come in.”
As I passed the fire where the sweet potatoes were roasting, I crouched down. The golden flames reflected in my eyes, flickering brightly and warmly.
Like a little animal, Phúc An cautiously edged over and crouched beside me. The fragrance of roasted sweet potatoes drifted through the freezing, snowy air.
I sniffed and tilted my head toward her. “Want a roasted sweet potato?”
3
Phúc An threw herself into eating the roasted sweet potato, crumbs all over her hands and mouth.
This child was nothing like her mother, who was always putting on airs.
I remembered clearly how fussy Tạ Thư Nhiên was. She’d even cut a bite of pastry into tiny pieces and spear them with a toothpick before she’d eat it.
How had she raised the girl to be like this… so wild?
I hadn’t intended to raise Phúc An.
She was nothing but trouble, and I didn’t want to invite that kind of headache.
I’d planned to take her away first thing tomorrow morning. No, I should dump her straight on the Empress.
After all, she was the most sanctimonious person in the palace.
Then I’d take Phúc An to the Empress’s chambers and have a good cry at her door.
That’s right. I’d do just that.
But the next day, Phúc An seemed to have guessed what I was thinking and refused to step outside, no matter what.
“Does Your Highness, Uyển, not want Phúc An anymore?”
“Did Phúc An do something wrong? I can change, I promise. Please don’t abandon me, Your Highness, Uyển…”
The little girl cried so hard her voice went hoarse.
Beside us, Thúy Trúc chimed in:
“Your Highness, the princess is so pitiful. Let’s keep her here.”
“When I changed the princess’s clothes last night, I discovered she was covered in bruises…”
“This palace is full of sycophants who prey on the weak. It hasn’t even been a month since Hiền Phi died, and the princess has already been neglected and mistreated.”
Thúy Trúc looked as if she were about to cry, too.
The two of them, one big and one small, made such a racket that my head hurt, so I gave a perfunctory nod just to end it.
Tạ Thư Nhiên, even dead, you still won’t leave me in peace!
4
To put it plainly, Tạ Thư Nhiên and I had been enemies for generations.
The short version is that her maternal grandmother and mine both fell for the same man, a top scorer in the imperial examinations.
Tạ Thư Nhiên and I had disliked each other from the moment we entered the palace.
She thought I was arrogant and conceited, and looked down on everyone.
I, on the other hand, thought she was a sanctimonious hypocrite, putting on a pious act that made her unbearable.
In short, we simply couldn’t stand the sight of each other.
The imperial harem was a brutal battlefield.
A bunch of sheltered young ladies, spoiled since childhood, were forced to compete over one man, trying every which way to snatch a little favor from one another.
Tạ Thư Nhiên faked being ill eight times to steal the Emperor away from me.
I deliberately twisted my ankle in the imperial garden and blocked her path five times.
Compared with all the secret scheming, Tạ Thư Nhiên and I were the most openly sworn enemies of all.
The entire imperial harem knew that Tạ Thư Nhiên and I were at odds.
So when word spread that Princess Phúc An was staying in my palace, the entire harem was eager to see what would happen.
And the first person who couldn’t sit still was the Empress.
5
The Empress arrived while Phúc An and I were sitting in the sun outside the courtyard.
The child was so pale it was obvious she wasn’t in good health. Children need plenty of sun.
At the cry of “The Empress has arrived,” a woman in a sapphire-blue court robe entered slowly, supported by her attendants.
Behind her came a group of consorts eager to see the commotion, each one dressed in dazzling finery.
I rose lazily and offered a perfunctory salute.
The Empress kept her usual dignified, gentle smile. “There’s no need for such formalities, Noble Consort.”
Then she turned her head and pretended she had only just noticed Phúc An. “Oh, why is Phúc An here?” she exclaimed in surprise.
Phúc An obediently saluted the Empress. “I wish Your Majesty, Mother Empress, good health.”
“Phúc An, get up. Come here and let Mother Empress hold you.”
Watching her clumsy performance, I couldn’t help rolling my eyes.
“Your Majesty, the Empress, if you have something to say, just say it. There’s no need to beat around the bush.”
“What are you saying, little sister? I only thought it was fate that brought you and Phúc An together.”
“Why not let her stay with you and raise her in name, then?”
This time, I was the one who lost my composure.
But the Empress didn’t give me a chance to refuse. She immediately turned to Phúc An and asked, “Phúc An, do you like the Noble Consort?”
“Phúc An likes Your Highness, Uyển.”
“Then from now on, will you stay with Noble Consort Uyển?”
The Empress certainly was something. A few words were all it took to decide Phúc An’s fate, right in front of the other consorts.
That way, if anything happened to the child later, no one could blame her.
After the Empress left, I propped my chin on my hand and looked at Phúc An, my voice carrying a hint of warning:
“Kid, if you want to stay in my Chiêu Hoa Palace, you’ll have to follow the rules here.”
“The first palace rule: you must stay ten meters away from me.”
With that, I ran off at once, as if a pack of tigers and wolves were chasing me.
Raise a child?
Feed her three meals a day and make sure she’s full—surely I couldn’t starve her to death.