In May, late spring had just passed, and the weather became unbearably scorching with impatience.

The fierce sun beat down upon the lands of Yanjing. Street vendors hid beneath the shade of trees. In such sweltering weather, young masters and misses from wealthy households were too impatient to venture out and suffer under the blazing sun. Only the laborers and poor workers, carrying cool rice wine soaked in well water, toiled tirelessly through gambling dens and tea houses, hoping that those exhausted and thirsty would spend five copper coins for a bowl. With that money, they could buy an extra bag of rice, cook two more pots of porridge, and survive three more days of hard labor.

At the eastern corner bend of the city stood a brand-new residence. Its plaque hung extremely high, with four golden characters written in the center: “Zhuangyuan Jidi” (Top Scholar’s Residence). This gleamed brilliantly—it was the mansion and imperial plaque bestowed by Emperor Hongxiao to the new top scholar, representing the highest honor. If a scholar received such a plaque, the entire family should weep tears of gratitude to their ancestors.

A brand-new residence, an imperially-bestowed plaque, servants bustling back and forth through the courtyard—yet despite the blazing summer sun outside, inside the residence it felt eerily cold. Perhaps ice blocks had been moved in to dispel the heat, but the deeper one walked toward the wall-side of the courtyard, the colder it became.

In the last room against the wall, three people sat outside the door. Two young maids in thin pink dresses and a plump middle-aged woman—before the three of them on stools sat a stack of red-skinned melon seeds, a pot of sour plum drink. They ate while gossiping idly, appearing even more comfortable than their masters.

The leftmost maid glanced back at the window and said, “It’s so hot, the medicinal smell in this room can’t even dissipate. It’s unbearable. I really don’t know when this will end.”

“Little hussy, talking about the master behind her back,” the older woman warned. “Better watch out or the master will skin you alive.”

The pink-clad maid didn’t take it seriously. “How could that be? The master hasn’t come to Madam’s courtyard for three months already.” Then she lowered her voice further, “That incident caused such a huge scandal. Our master is being compassionate and righteous. If it were someone else…” She pursed her lips again. “If you ask me, she should just end it herself. At least that would preserve her reputation. Living on like this, isn’t she just dragging others down?”

The woman was about to speak when the other maid also said, “Actually, Madam is quite pitiful. Born so beautiful, talented and learned, with such a gentle temperament. Who knew she would encounter such a thing…”

Though the three lowered their voices, the summer afternoon was too quiet, and they weren’t far away. So every word, every sentence, transmitted clearly into the ears of the person inside the room.

On the daybed, Xue Fangfei lay on her back, tear stains half-dried at the corners of her eyes. Her face had grown thin recently, but rather than appearing haggard and lackluster, it made her look even more pitifully fragile with illness, possessing a heart-stirring, soul-shaking delicate beauty.

Her appearance had always been beautiful; otherwise, she couldn’t have earned the title of Yanjing’s foremost beauty. On her wedding day, some idle young masters in Yanjing had ordered beggars to jostle her bridal sedan. Her veil fell off, her delicate face like a flower, causing people on both sides of the street to stare transfixed. At that time, before she married far away to the capital, her father Xue Huaiyuan—the county magistrate of Tongxiang in Xiangyang—had worried, “Ah Li is too beautiful. I fear Shen Yurong won’t be able to protect you.”

Shen Yurong was her husband.

Before Shen Yurong became the top scholar, he was just a poor scholar. Shen Yurong’s family lived in Yanjing, and his maternal grandmother, Old Madam Cao, lived in Xiangyang. Four years ago, when Old Madam Cao passed away, Shen Yurong and his mother returned to Xiangyang for the funeral, where he met Xue Fangfei.

Tongxiang was just a small county in Xiangyang city. Xue Huaiyuan was a minor official. Xue Fangfei’s mother had died from complications during childbirth when giving birth to Xue Fangfei’s younger brother, Xue Zhao. After Xue’s mother died, Xue Huaiyuan never remarried. The household was simple, with only Xue Fangfei and her brother depending on their father.

Xue Fangfei had reached marriageable age. Her appearance was too exceptional, and young masters and great households from far and near came to propose marriage. Even Xue Huaiyuan’s superior wanted to take Xue Fangfei as a replacement wife. Xue Huaiyuan naturally refused. Having lost his own mother young made Xue Huaiyuan especially doting toward his daughter. Combined with Xue Fangfei being obedient and clever, Xue Huaiyuan had never shortchanged her in food or drink from childhood. Whatever was within his means, he gave Xue Fangfei the best. Thus, although the Xue family was merely a minor official’s household, Xue Fangfei had grown up even more precious than daughters of great families.

For such a daughter, held like a pearl or treasure in the palm of his hand, Xue Huaiyuan worried over her marriage prospects. Great households certainly offered fine clothes and jade-like food, but unfortunately, such lives lacked freedom. Xue Huaiyuan had taken a liking to Shen Yurong.

Though Shen Yurong was a commoner, he possessed exceptional talent and a handsome appearance. Rising to prominence was only a matter of time. However, this meant Xue Fangfei would have to follow Shen Yurong and marry far away to Yanjing. There was another concern—Xue Fangfei was too beautiful. In Tongxiang, Xue Huaiyuan could protect her, but Yanjing had countless noble princes. If they harbored ill intentions, Shen Yurong might not be able to protect her.

Nevertheless, Xue Fangfei ultimately married Shen Yurong, because she liked him.

After marrying Shen Yurong and coming to Yanjing, although her mother-in-law acted harshly and she suffered many grievances, Shen Yurong treated her with tender consideration. Thus, those dissatisfactions dissipated like smoke.

Last spring, Shen Yurong passed the top scholar examination and paraded through the streets on horseback. The emperor personally bestowed the residence plaque, and soon after he was appointed as a secretary in the Palace Library. In September, Xue Fangfei became pregnant. Coinciding with Madam Shen’s birthday, double happiness arrived. The Shen family hosted a banquet and invited Yanjing’s nobles.

That day was Xue Fangfei’s nightmare.

She truly didn’t know what had happened. She had only drunk a little plum wine at the banquet before feeling drowsy. In a daze, she was helped back to her room by maids to rest… When shrill screams awakened her, she found a strange man in the room, while she herself was disheveled. Her mother-in-law and a crowd of female guests stood at the door, looking at her with mockery, disgust, or schadenfreude.

She should have been utterly ashamed, and indeed she was. But no matter how she explained, word still spread that the new top scholar’s legitimate wife had committed adultery before a roomful of guests.

She should have been divorced and expelled from the household, yet Shen Yurong surprisingly did not do so. She suffered a miscarriage from excessive worry. While lying in bed, she heard that Xue Zhao had rushed to Yanjing because of this incident, but before reaching the Shen residence, he encountered bandits at night and was killed, his body dumped in the river.

Hearing this devastating news, she dared not transmit this message back to Tongxiang. Forcing herself to hold on, she saw Xue Zhao one last time, arranged his funeral affairs, then fell gravely ill. For the next three months—three entire months—Shen Yurong did not come to see her once.

She lay on her sickbed, thoughts in turmoil. Did Shen Yurong harbor resentment in his heart and refuse to see her? Or was he deliberately giving her the cold treatment to vent his anger? But the longer she lay there, combined with fragments of words from the servants, she gradually understood some things. The truth was always more unbearable to witness.

Xue Fangfei struggled to sit up from the daybed. The bowl of medicine placed by the bed had already grown cold, emitting only a bitter fragrance. She leaned halfway over and poured the medicine from the bowl into a pot of begonias on the table. The begonias had already withered, leaving only pitiful bare branches.

The door opened with a creak.

Xue Fangfei raised her head. What entered her vision was the corner of gold-brocade robes.

The young woman wore luxurious clothing, her eyebrows slightly raised, carrying several traces of arrogance. Her gaze fell on the medicine bowl in Xue Fangfei’s hand, and an expression of sudden understanding floated onto her face as she smiled. “So that’s how it is.”

Xue Fangfei calmly set down the bowl, watching the visitor enter the room. Two sturdily-built servant women closed the door. The gossiping maids and servants from outside had disappeared at some point. Only the continuous cicada chirping transmitted through the silent air, agitated as if something was about to happen.

Xue Fangfei said, “Princess Yongning.”

Princess Yongning smiled. When she smiled, a pearl the size of a thumb on her hairpin swayed, its lustrous gleam almost dazzling to the eye.

One pearl from the South Sea equals ten thousand acres of fertile land. Imperial relatives always used the finest things. They lived in silk and jade, never tasting human suffering, possessing everything others dared not imagine in their entire lives. Yet they still coveted others’ belongings, even going so far as to steal and rob.

“You don’t seem surprised at all,” Princess Yongning said with curiosity. “Could it be that Brother Shen has already told you?”

Brother Shen—she called him so intimately. Xue Fangfei felt a sweetness rise in her throat, nearly unable to suppress it. After a moment, she said lightly, “I’m waiting for him to tell me in person.”

Xue Fangfei was not foolish at all. Xue Huaiyuan had taught her to be very clever. Since falling ill, since discovering she was under house arrest with her every move monitored, she had connected everything, including the cause of Xue Zhao’s death, and sensed something was wrong.

She had extracted information from the servant women and finally learned the truth.

Shen Yurong had become the top scholar, achieving success at a young age. His status was no longer what it once was. Though she, Xue Fangfei, possessed both talent and beauty, she was ultimately just the daughter of a county magistrate. Shen Yurong had caught Princess Yongning’s eye. Perhaps they had already been carrying on an affair in secret. In any case, she, Xue Fangfei, had become an obstacle and needed to make way for this golden-branched, jade-leafed imperial princess.

Xue Fangfei recalled the day of the incident, the day Madam Shen hosted the banquet. Princess Yongning had also been among the crowd. Recalling it now, she could even remember a trace of triumphant smile at the corner of Princess Yongning’s lips.

Thus the truth became clear.

“Brother Shen is soft-hearted,” Princess Yongning sat down in a chair without much concern, looking at her. “This princess is not a cruel person either. Originally, I wanted to grant you fulfillment, but who knew you would refuse to accept fate gracefully.” She swept a glance at the medicine bowl on the table and sighed. “Why must you do this?”

Xue Fangfei couldn’t help but laugh coldly.

A bowl of medicine every day—she had long since noticed something wrong and poured all the medicine into the flowerpot. They wanted her to “die of illness” so Princess Yongning could marry in smoothly and naturally. But she refused. Xue Huaiyuan had told her from childhood: until the very last moment, never cut off your own path to survival. Moreover, why should she? Why should she voluntarily go to her death after this pair of adulterous lovers had schemed and framed her? Absolutely not!

Xue Fangfei’s voice carried endless mockery. She said, “Stealing another’s marriage, harming the original wife, murdering one’s wife and heir—this princess’s ‘good intentions,’ Fangfei has learned well.”

Princess Yongning’s anger flared instantly, but a moment later, she calmed down again. She stood, walked to the table, and picked up the pot of withered begonias. The begonia pot was only palm-sized, delicate white porcelain carved with intricate patterns, exquisite and lovely. Princess Yongning toyed with the flowerpot, smiling as she said, “Do you know how your younger brother died?”

Xue Fangfei’s spine stiffened instantly!

“Your brother was quite a character, just a bit too hot-blooded and impetuous,” Princess Yongning said, admiring her expression. “He actually managed to investigate and discover something was wrong with this matter. He even found some evidence and said he would file an imperial complaint, nearly implicating even this princess.” Princess Yongning patted her chest as if somewhat frightened. “He was clever too, finding the Magistrate of the Capital at night. But he didn’t know that the Magistrate and I are on good terms. He immediately informed me of this matter.” Princess Yongning spread her hands, opening her mouth with regret. “What a pity. So young, and this princess thought his literary and martial talents were both considerable. If not for this, he might have had a destiny of honoring his wife and sheltering his descendants. What a pity.”

Xue Fangfei nearly ground her teeth to dust!

Xue Zhao! Xue Zhao! She had long suspected there was more to Xue Zhao’s death. Xue Zhao had studied martial arts under a boxing master in Tongxiang and was clever from childhood. How could he die at the hands of bandits! But she never imagined the truth would be like this! It seemed her brother, seeking justice for her, had uncovered the connection between Princess Yongning and Shen Yurong. Full of righteous passion, thinking he had found an official to report to, who knew that officials would protect officials—the enemy was the official himself!

She said, “Shameless! Shameless!”

Princess Yongning’s willow-leaf eyebrows stood on end as she coldly mocked, “What good does your noble character do you? You’ve stayed in this room day after day without going out. You probably don’t know about your father’s news. This princess specially came to tell you—your father has now learned of your disgraceful conduct and knows your brother was killed by bandits. He was angered to death!”

Xue Fangfei froze, crying out, “Impossible!”

“Impossible?” Princess Yongning smiled. “Why don’t you go out and ask the maids whether it’s possible or not!”

Xue Fangfei’s mind fell into chaos. Xue Huaiyuan was indifferent to fame and fortune, serving as Tongxiang’s county magistrate with integrity his entire life. He was clearly a good person. How could he end up in such a state—an elderly parent sending off his children, even angered to death? Xue Fangfei dared not even imagine Xue Huaiyuan’s state of mind upon learning of this.

This truly was: those who commit arson and murder wear golden belts, while those who repair bridges and roads leave no corpse behind!

Princess Yongning spoke for a long time and seemed impatient. She casually set the pot of begonias on the table and signaled for the two servant women to come forward.

Xue Fangfei realized something and called out loudly, “What are you going to do?”

Princess Yongning’s smile carried satisfaction and triumph. She said, “You, Xue Fangfei, are of noble character, unmatched in talent and beauty. Naturally, you cannot bear the accusation of adultery. These past months you struggled bitterly. Although Brother Shen treated you as always, you couldn’t forgive yourself. Taking advantage of Brother Shen’s absence from the residence, you hanged yourself.” Then she laughed lightly. “How about that? This explanation preserves your dignity, doesn’t it?” Her expression changed again, becoming somewhat vicious. “If not for Brother Shen’s reputation, this princess wouldn’t let you off so easily!”

“How dare you? How dare you!” A surge of rage rose in Xue Fangfei’s heart, but before she could move, those two servant women already moved to restrain her.

“This princess and Brother Shen are truly in love, but unfortunately you exist. Naturally this princess cannot tolerate you. If you were the daughter of a great household, this princess might have to go through some trouble. Unfortunately, your father is merely a small county magistrate. Among Yanjing’s countless prefectures and counties, your Xue family is nothing but grass. In your next life, before reincarnating, remember to consider carefully and be born into a wealthy family.”

Despair suddenly arose in Xue Fangfei. She refused to give up, clinging to survival, grasping at any chance to turn the tables. She hadn’t cut off her own path to life, yet she couldn’t fight against the oppression of power, couldn’t fight against the hierarchy of high and low, noble and base!

Lifting her eyes, she seemed to see a familiar figure outside the window, vaguely recognizable as her bedside companion.

Hope sprang anew in Xue Fangfei’s heart. She called out loudly, “Shen Yurong! Shen Yurong, treating me this way—heaven will not allow it! Shen Yurong!”

The figure outside the window swayed and seemed to flee in avoidance. Princess Yongning cursed, “What are you standing there for? Do it!”

The servant women pounced forward. Snow-white silk wrapped around her neck. That silk was as smooth as a beauty’s skin—tribute from the Zhao family of Songjiang sent to the palace annually, one bolt worth a thousand gold pieces. As Xue Fangfei struggled, she thought that even the weapon for murder and arson was this precious.

Princess Yongning stood three feet away, coldly watching her struggle like dying fish, mocking, “Remember this—even though your appearance is peerless, your talents unmatched, you are ultimately just the daughter of a minor official. For this princess to crush you—is as simple as crushing an ant!”

That pot of begonias was knocked over in her struggle, falling to the ground and shattering. The soil in the flowerpot exuded a bitter fragrance. The withered branches tumbled out, the painted decorations broken beyond recognition.

In the fourth month of the mortal world, all the fangfei blossoms fall away.