Chapter 1: The Day of Leaving the Palace, Granted to the Grand Eunuch

"Wan Tang, the ten‑year term is up; you are to leave the palace."

"I have specially begged the Emperor to grant you a marriage."

Xu Luoyan smiled sweetly, opened the rosewood box on the table, and revealed the bright‑yellow Imperial Decree.

Ten years within the palace walls will finally break free from this sea of suffering.

Wan Tang knelt on both knees, lifted both hands, and waited for the Imperial Decree to fall.

Xu Luoyan slightly furrowed her brows, yet smiled: "Look how impatient you are."

Holding Wan Tang's hand warmly, she said, "When you leave the palace, the Imperial Decree will be read, adding joy upon joy."

With the Emperor granting a marriage, that husband's family will not dare to slight you.

Xu Luoyan's voice, like a silver bell, rang in the ears.

When the husband's family was mentioned, Wan Tang blushed.

She was originally the biological daughter of the Grand General of the Nation, and a half‑sister of Xu Luoyan.

Her mother was the daughter of a disgraced official, quietly raised by her father in the mansion until her birth, when the matriarch discovered her. Afterwards the mother was sent to Zhuangzi Village, and she was placed beside Xu Luoyan as a maid.

On the eve of Xu Luoyan's entry into the palace, the matriarch summoned Wan Tang.

She said she was given ten years; if she could help Xu Luoyan ascend to the rank of Noble Consort, then when she leaves the palace she would adopt her as an adopted daughter.

Marry the Grand General's daughter to Rong Ruo.

If Xu Luoyan meets any misfortune in the palace, she will be sold to a brothel, letting her taste the feeling of being slept with by a thousand men.

A bastard daughter, she had no other choice. Finally, with only a month left of the ten‑year term, she also elevated Xu Luoyan to Noble Consort, achieving success and retirement.

Suddenly a buzzing filled her ears, and countless words drifted past her eyes.

【What a fool, treating the Noble Consort as an older sister.】

【She truly believes that Imperial Decree is to marry her to Rong Ruo! In fact, it was Xu Luoyan who said she and the Grand Eunuch Li Dehai were mutually in love, and begged the Emperor for a marriage decree for them.】

【On the day she leaves the palace, a small sedan chair will carry her into Li Dehai's residence.】

Clenching her fingers tightly, Wan Tang felt terrified and uneasy, trying to calm herself.

What appears in her mind?

She repeatedly examined the text and, in horror, discovered that she seemed to be merely the first supporting female character in a TV drama.

And those Barrage are the so‑called words spoken by the audience.

No!

Wan Tang frantically shook her head.

The Barrage kept refreshing wildly.

【I've seen the preview; Wan Tang is about to go offline, dying a very tragic death.】

【Li Dehai is a physically disabled person, yet he brings men home every day, sitting beside them watching Wan Tang being humiliated.】

【Wan Tang dies from a vile disease, wrapped in a straw mat, thrown into the mass‑burial hill, fed to wild dogs.】

Tears fell in a steady stream.

Wan Tang could not believe this—this is her future?

She forced herself to stay calm, and when night fell, she quietly slipped into Xu Luoyan's boudoir.

At this moment, Xu Luoyan went to the Imperial Study to deliver lotus seed soup; the room was empty.

Summoning courage, she opened the box.

On the bright‑yellow Imperial Decree, bold and powerful seal script read:

The lord's affection and the concubine's desire, I have fulfilled this doomed pair of lovebirds, granting marriage to Li Dehai and Wan Tang…

"Snap!" The Imperial Decree fell to the ground.

Wan Tang felt her mind go completely blank.

Those Barrage were all true.

She hurriedly gathered the Imperial Decree as footsteps sounded at the door.

Their eyes met; Xu Luoyan's eyes held a smile, but Wan Tang could not hide the misty haze in her own eyes.

"Why are you here?" Xu Luoyan's tone shifted, already showing displeasure.

Wan Tang hurriedly wiped away her tears and said, "Brother Rong Ruo likes crabapple; I personally embroidered a crabapple belly‑band."

"I only pricked my finger, and blood dripped onto the crabapple."

"Brother Rong Ruo has a cleanliness obsession, afraid he'll get angry."

"So I want to ask the Empress again for some silk thread."

Upon hearing this, Xu Luoyan's smiling eyes carried a barely perceptible hint of sarcasm.

"I know you love making Rong Ruo miserable."

She stepped forward, grasped Wan Tang's hand: "But he… won't mind those things."

Wan Tang stood there, fixed.

The Barrage came again.

【Of course he wouldn't mind, because Rong Ruo has never liked Wan Tang.】

【The person Rong Ruo loves most has always been Xu Luoyan. Serving as an Imperial Guard is also to protect Xu Luoyan.】

【Promising to marry Wan Tang was merely to give Xu Luoyan a loyal dog, willingly doing her bidding.】

【Not only that, the day Wan Tang marries the Grand Eunuch is also the day of Rong Ruo's grand wedding.】

【He only marries the prince's daughter, to consolidate Xu Luoyan's power.】

A chill surged from her feet up to her mind, making Wan Tang's heart tremble with cold.

Indeed!

Only she, the fool, is still immersed in the joy of having her sister's love and being able to leave the palace to marry the one she loves.

She lifts her hand to wipe away the tears.

At her mother's deathbed, she instructed Wan Tang to bury her hatred and appease her father.

Now, she, just as at six years old, hides all emotions within her heart.

Feigning sorrow, she says anxiously, "Will he mind that I'm not a virgin?"

She is so terrified.

Xu Luoyan is the same, raising her hand and delivering a slap.

Her voice is sharp: "Do not bring up this matter again!"

With swollen cheeks, Wan Tang lowers her head; her face hidden in shadow, yet a cold smile appears.

Why not mention it?

Because the unclean person is not her, but Xu Luoyan.

Xu Luoyan's face bears an unhideable hatred.

She turns her back, refusing to look at anyone.

When she speaks, her voice is again delicate: "Sister, you know, I cannot control my emotions."

"I struck you; you won't blame me, right?"

Once, she was the sister who gave her hope; Wan Tang believed her unconditionally.

But now…

Wan Tang covers her face with one hand, looks up and smiles: "Of course not…"

How could she blame her good sister?

After all, her good sister is the very culprit who sent her into the palace, yet still plays the role of bestowing kindness.

She truly believed before that Xu Luoyan's treatment of her was sincere.

Until she was placed on the dragon bed with a bowl of beauty potion.

Now the lofty Noble Consort still refuses to let her go, and even intends to grant her… to a eunuch.

Wan Tang smiles, rises slowly, and when she entered the palace, she truly wanted, as her mother said, to endure patiently until she could leave the palace for a peaceful life.

But why does her good sister not let her go?

"Look at you, only thinking about marriage in your heart."

"Don't you think, after you leave, how will I alone face the scheming intrigues of the Imperial harem?"

A trace of sorrow flickers in Xu Luoyan's brows and eyes.

Wan Tang hurriedly says, "Your Majesty, favored above the six palaces, now who dares to provoke you?"

"Indeed." Xu Luoyan's brows show a hint of smugness.

She glances at Wan Tang, says lightly, "The Emperor will come to Jingren Palace tonight; hurry and prepare."

"It's still those same things; I want the Emperor; once he arrives, I won't want to leave."

Leaving the room, Wan Tang's steps seem to tread on floating clouds.

Thinking she could end so desolately—what a dream!

Wan Tang smears her fingertip, wipes away the last tear, and touches the ugly makeup on her face.

She will prepare properly, but what she prepares now differs somewhat from before.

While massaging Xu Luoyan's feet, she altered a few acupoints.

After pressing the final acupoints, Wan Tang silently leaves the room.

She wipes off the ugly makeup, changes into a mint‑green sheer long dress she has never worn, and walks out of Jingren Palace.

I wonder whether, when the thing Xu Luoyan cares about most is taken away, she will feel even a hint of regret?