The spring sunlight filtered through the layers of gauzy curtains, bathing Qingge with a warm glow. Next to her was a copper hand warmer, yet a chill crept up her back. She sat there, calm and composed, as Mo Jingxi’s words echoed endlessly inside her turbulent mind.
Mo Jingxi had said that the groom was twenty-three, strikingly handsome, and the ideal husband figure of many women. He also mentioned that the man had quite a temperament…
Her master, Ning Wang, was also twenty-three. Born the seventh son of the reigning emperor, his status was eminent from the start, adorned with jade and gold from birth. At a young age, he was enfeoffed in the Yuning province and now ruled over it as Ning Wang. He was also renowned for his breathtaking appearance, which possessed the elegance and beauty of jade itself. It was said that at the age of fourteen, a court painter spent three days trying to paint his portrait, only to throw down his brush in defeat, lamenting that the Seventh Prince’s noble presence and innate grace were beyond the mortal strokes of his brush.
But even such a perfect prince was not spared from blemish, as Ning Wang was widely known for his arrogant and cold demeanor, along with his violent temper.
Qingge had been a secret guard for Ning Wang since she was fourteen and had been tasked with guarding him on numerous occasions. Each memory was a story in itself, and his temperament was too complex to be merely described as ‘difficult’ or ‘violent.’
In fact, being a secret guard was considered a good position. Children followed their parents’ status, and the offspring of sla∨e were doomed to a life of servitude forever, with no hope for advancement. That same fate would continue for their descendants, generations after generations, unless they were lucky enough to shed their sla∨ery status.
That was the plight of sla∨es. But orphans like Qingge, born with nothing, faced an even grimmer fate. For someone like her, gaining entry to the Qianying Pavilion and enduring rigorous training with the hopes of obtaining a regular household registration represented a miraculous opportunity.
But serving under Ning Wang was another matter altogether.
For instance, the cold poison in her body. The root of the matter happened on the day Ning Wang interrogated a traitor. She was keeping watch outside the water dungeon when, after Ning Wang emerged, he suddenly questioned her about her shift. That day, Baizhi, a colleague who was supposed to share her shift, had taken leave, and she had covered for him. When asked by her master, she simply answered truthfully.
To her surprise, Ning Wang looked extremely displeased, but she didn’t try to make any excuses as Ning Wang inquired further. Since Baizhi had left in a hurry, she genuinely had no idea and couldn’t answer the questions, leading Ning Wang to furiously accuse her of deceit and negligence. According to the rules of the Qianying Pavilion, he ordered her to be whipped a hundred times.
The whips were painful, but the real problem started when the wounds reactivated the residual cold poison in her body, leading to her current condition.
Ning Wang was the descendant of the imperial clan, his mother was the most favored Noble Consort Tan1, and his only full-blood elder brother was already the crown prince.
This noble man, arrogant and aloof, had never taken an interest in a woman.
So, it came as a surprise for Qingge that, in the short month after her departure, the emperor hastily arranged a marriage for Ning Wang, and the bride turned out to be Xiahou Jianxue, the legitimate daughter of the Xiahou clan.
Given the Xiahou clan’s status and lineage, the match was indeed a good one. But who knew that Xiahou Jianxue would secretly cause quite a stir…
Of course, this has nothing to do with Qingge. How many cuckolds Ning Wang might wear was not for her to worry about, especially since she had a more pressing issue to worry about.
What should she do now?
If she were to continue this switch and marry Ning Wang, she might as well die from the poison instead.
…
From the moment she learned about the identity of the groom, Qingge had been looking for an opportunity to escape. She had already received ten thousand taels from Mo Jingxi, which was not a small sum—as long as she was frugal, this money should last her enough for the rest of her life.
Her life was at stake; she had to run. However, the bridal procession led by Wen Zhengqing had arrived, making escape very difficult.
Though now a steward, Wen Zhengqing hailed from the Dragon Guards, tasked with protecting the imperial family. In his prime, he was famous as one of the capital’s six great martial masters, and he now served as one of Ning Wang’s right-hand men.
Had it not been for her poisoning, Qingge might still have dared to risk slipping quietly, even under Wen Zhengqing’s watch, but now she had no confidence.
To make matters worse, this bridal procession included three hundred personal guards from Ning Wang Manor, all experts trained by Wen Zhengqing himself.
As such, in the days that followed, Qingge remained on high alert. On one hand, she continued to impersonate Xiahou Jianxue under the supervision of Luo Momo, while on the other, she looked for opportunities to escape.
Paying close attention to the rotations of Wen Zhengqing’s men, she finally discovered a loophole she could exploit and quietly made plans to flee under the cover of the night.
Unexpectedly, just as she was about to enact her plan, an unfortunate event occurred.
Ning Wang Manor received intel that the Yellow Sect rebels planned to cause trouble during the grand wedding. Consequently, the manor sent three secret guards from the Qianying Pavilion to ensure the safety of the bride.
‘Three secret guards…’
Qingge simply watched as her former comrades arrived one by one, standing guard by her side. She quietly lowered her eyes, silently abandoning her plans to escape.
Secret guards undergo many stages of rigorous training, often competing against each other. It was safe to say that Qingge had sparred with most of Qianying’s secret guards and thus was well aware of their capabilities and strength. She knew that could not best them in her current state.
Had she not been poisoned, perhaps she could have relied on her lightness skill, unmatched in Qianying Pavilion, to sneak away. But now, with her skills diminished by the poison, she could not expect to escape safely under the watch of three secret guards.
Her greatest hope now was simply not to be exposed. If initially, she was completely confident in her disguise as Xiahou Jianxue, now, with her former comrades watching over her, the chief steward Wen Zhengqing outside, and the imminent meeting with her master, His Highness Ning Wang, her confidence had dropped to near zero.
But the person she was actually most afraid of was not among them—it was Ye Min, the head of the Qianying Pavilion.
Ye Min, the one who had shaped her into who she was now, and the only person who knew the true face of ‘Qingge.’
‘This face must never be revealed to Ye Min.’ Qingge instinctively raised her hand to her forehead. Although the secret guard ‘Qingge’ and ‘Xiahou Jianxue’ did look alike, when she had not engaged in this impersonation, the resemblance was merely a coincidence and nothing more—she had never done anything wrong. But from the moment she agreed to Mo Jingxi’s offer, this true face of hers became a flaw, a clue that would easily arouse Ye Min’s suspicions.
That meant she now had to perfectly play the role of Xiahou Jianxue under the scrutiny of her former comrades, Wen Zhengqing, Ning Wang, and Ye Min—without being exposed.
If exposed, she didn’t know what might become of the Xiahou clan and Ning Wang, but she would definitely be the first to be eliminated. Escape would be impossible. Even if she did manage to flee, she would be hunted by the secret guards of the Qianying Pavilion for the rest of her life.
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Translator’s Note:
Now that AerialRain is taking more novels, we re-arrange the release schedule. Don’t worry, we only shifted the release days, it’s still twice a week schedule.
Monday & Thursday: Daughter of the Dao and Devil Venerables, Transmigrated into the Genius Cannon Fodder’s Aunt, Three Years After Falling Off a Cliff
Tuesday & Friday: After Transmigrating Into the Cannon Fodder Real Daughter The Plot Changes, The Healer Demands Payment!, Wake Up Male Lead You Belong With the Female Lead!
Wednesday & Saturday: His Secret Guard, Marrying the Short-Lived Villain
Sunday: Extra releases and sponsored chapters
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Click this page for advanced chapters TOC.
- The ranks of imperial concubines fluctuated across Chinese history, yet their significance endured due to their crucial roles in overseeing the inner court and influencing imperial succession, where heirs were ranked not only by birth order but also by the status of their mothers. Generally, the Empress (皇后) stands on the top as the Emperor’s only legal wife, followed by the Imperial Noble Consort (皇貴妃; Huangguifei), Four Consorts which are Noble Consort (貴妃; Guifei), Shu Consort (淑妃, Shufei), De Consort (德妃 Defei), Xian Consort (賢妃, Xianfei). Not all dynasties had an Imperial Noble Consort, and in its absence, the Noble Consort led the four consorts, second in position only to the empress.