Volume One, Chapter 12: How Could She Resist Such Temptation?

Xu Miaoyan trembled in fright, and the tabby cat cradled in her arms seized the chance to escape.

“You… when did you arrive?” Turning around to see Lu Changqing, Xu Miaoyan felt as if the sky was collapsing. “No, wait, let me explain!”

It was over. How could she have been so careless? Lu Changqing had overheard everything she said to the cat.

“Explain what? I heard it all!” Lu Changqing strode onto the promenade, his mood conflicted as he looked at the woman before him. “How could you lie to me? You nearly made me look like a heartless husband who killed his wife!”

“I shouldn’t have deceived you, but I had my reasons,” the young girl stepped forward and took his hand, tears streaming down her cheeks like rain, her sobs heart-wrenching. “Years ago, when I was gravely ill with a fever and near death, I received guidance from the heavens. It was the will of fate that compelled me to do this—not my true intention…”

Years ago, while delirious from the fever, she had seen a noblewoman adorned with a golden hairpin inscribed with Sanskrit and a handsome gentleman exchanging vows in a wedding ceremony.

A voice whispered in her ear: “Do you see her? That woman is born with the destiny of a phoenix. If you kill her, wealth, honor, and a devoted husband will be yours, along with the admiration of the people and boundless power.”

How could she resist such temptation?

“No matter what, you shouldn’t have lied to me!” Lu Changqing’s anger softened as he saw her tears, his nose tingling. “I give you my true heart, yet you concealed such a huge matter from me!”

“It’s my fault, but I envied the lady too much. Lu Lang, please forgive me,” Xu Miaoyan nestled into his embrace, hiding her face as she wept. “I will never covet the lady’s things again, whether it be her fortune… or her man.”

Silence fell beneath the corridor, broken only by the wind rustling through the passage and the woman’s soft sobs.

“You say you coveted her man?” Lu Changqing’s anger and sense of justice had mostly faded, and his heart pounded wildly like a startled deer. He cupped Xu Miaoyan’s face, eager to confirm her feelings. “But… haven’t you always rejected me?”

“I…” Xu Miaoyan was momentarily at a loss for words, cheeks flushing crimson. “We are uncle and niece-in-law, and without formal betrothal or marriage yet. If I agreed, I fear you would disdain me.”

“How could I ever disdain you? You are pure and noble; I am the one unworthy of you.” Lu Changqing’s heart blossomed with joy, and in that instant, he cast aside all propriety and honor, pressing a deep kiss upon the girl’s tender lips.

The deer antler wine already stirred his desires beyond control, and with Xu Miaoyan intentionally seeking to please him that night, entwining around him like a serpent, the two forgot all else—whether as wife or concubine—and did not part until dawn.

The cries of women echoed through Pine Sound Residence, each wave louder than the last.

Outside the tall walls, the fierce wind had ceased, and the crimson plum blossoms on the trees wilted and lost their color.

Fang Qianxue sat alone by the window, holding a letter sent by Fang Jue. After long contemplation, she finally made up her mind.

Her grandfather had once predicted that within thirty years, the Ming Emperor would meet an untimely end due to internal and external strife in the Great Yong Dynasty.

Once her phoenix-born fate was exposed, all those vying for the throne would swarm toward her. Her grandfather had sealed her powers to prevent her from being caught in the political storm, instructing her to stay far from the eye of the power struggle and live a peaceful life.

But her grandfather had not foreseen that Lu Changqing, who had once almost knelt at the Fang family’s doorstep, would become so cold and indifferent.

Now, her only hope to save herself and her two children was to step directly into the heart of the storm.

“Madam, why are you awake so early?” Cui Shuang entered carrying a lantern, noticing the candle on the desk had gone out. “I will fetch water and come help you wash up.”

After finishing her washing, Fang Qianxue casually wrote a letter: “Deliver this yourself to Lord Yan and tell him it’s a matter of utmost urgency.”

“Yes, ma’am!” Cui Shuang dried her hands and accepted the letter. “I will go at once.”

***

“Mother! You need to talk to Second Sister-in-law. She’s so stingy she won’t even buy me a few new dresses. No wonder Second Brother looks down on her,” Lu Wanrou, dressed in a powder-blue brocade gown—the latest fashion—complained. “If she doesn’t pay back Jinxiu Workshop’s debts, then the housekeeper’s authority will go to Eldest Sister-in-law!”

“Nonsense! The Xu family has not even formally married in, what household affairs can she manage?” Chen frowned, eyeing her daughter’s new clothes and jeweled hair ornaments. “Why are you dressed so gaudy like that?”

“There’s a banquet at the Princess’s mansion this afternoon. Jin Zhi invited me as her companion, and the young marquis is going too. Shouldn’t I dress nicely?” Lu Wanrou’s “young marquis” was Jiang Xu, son of Marquis Jiang Tianxing of Liaoyuan, who had been a hostage in the capital since childhood.

“Hmph,” the matriarch snorted. “You think dressing like that will make the young marquis look at you any more?”

Lu Wanrou had no right to attend the Princess’s banquet, but she had managed to mingle among the noble ladies by constantly attending to Du Jin Zhi, the daughter of the Minister of Personnel, serving tea and smiling.

Chen knew her daughter well; if the young marquis took any special notice of Lu Wanrou, she would not have returned home so early.

“Mother! The young marquis is very busy. There was trouble in the southern border today, and he spent the whole day talking with the prince consort and others,” Lu Wanrou nestled into Chen’s arms, pouting. “But last time, he did speak to me—and very kindly too!”