Volume 1, Chapter 1: Three Years After Marrying as a Substitute Eunuch

It was New Year's Eve in the Great Zhou Dynasty, a day meant for family reunions.

Mei Gongxue was wolfing down half a moldy steamed bun. A rat scurried over, trying to snatch the crumbs on the ground, but she kicked it away without hesitation.

"Mei Gongxue, the legitimate daughter of the Marquis's Manor has come to fetch you!" The jailer's keys clanked loudly.

Her heart jolted.

The legitimate daughter of the Marquis's Manor? That must be her twin sister.

Years ago, it was supposed to be Mei Xianghan who married that filthy eunuch, but in the end, she was the one who took her place.

Gongxue was only ten when her father found her and brought her back. She still remembered the anticipation that filled her heart when she first entered the Marquis's Manor, believing she finally had family she could depend on.

Yet, the looks her older brothers gave her were distant, tinged with a faint disdain. They seemed to dote far more on her younger twin sister, Mei Xianghan, who looked exactly like her.

Gongxue did not lose heart. She tried to be cheerful and pleasing, eager to fit into this home.

But everything changed after the Grand Eunuch, Zhao Zhang, brought about their father's death.

That day, in her grief, Mei Xianghan had rushed to a tavern and publicly denounced Zhao Zhang as a castrated dog and a lowly servant. But once she calmed down and feared his retaliation, she lied and claimed her name was "Mei Gongxue"!

Zhao Zhang, then at the height of his power, did not show his anger. Instead, he turned around and petitioned the Emperor for a decree to marry the Marquis's legitimate daughter.

Gongxue wept endlessly upon hearing the news. She refused to marry a eunuch—why should she be the one to suffer the consequences of Xianghan's reckless impulse?

But her eldest brother said, "Xiang's health is fragile. You are the older sister; you must carry this burden!"

Her second brother said, "The Marquis's Manor is currently in a precarious state. We cannot afford to offend Zhao Zhang. We can only wrong you for now!"

Her third brother said, "He's just a eunuch, it's not like he can actually... do anything to you!"

Even her sworn brother, whom she had secretly admired since childhood, only looked at her with a complicated expression and said, "Once we find a way to eliminate Zhao Zhang, we will bring you back immediately!"

Only then did Gongxue realize that to this family, she was someone who could be sacrificed.

"What are you lingering for? The Third Young Master drove the carriage here himself. It seems the Marquis's Manor still treats a married-out daughter like you quite well!" The jailer's sarcastic remark pulled Gongxue back to reality.

After all, once a woman married a eunuch, her maternal family would usually avoid her like the plague.

Gongxue stood up numbly. After changing out of her prison garb, she saw a man and a woman waiting outside the prison gates.

The man stood tall and straight, his navy blue robe fluttering in the wind, carrying the distinct, heroic bearing of a military officer.

The woman was beautiful, her figure as delicate as a weeping willow. Even in the depths of winter, her cheeks were flushed rosy, radiating a sweet, charming innocence.

Looking at the face so similar to her own, Gongxue shrank back slightly, instinctively touching her own sallow, dry cheek.

Heavy snow fell continuously, and the snow on the streets had long since mingled with the dirt, turning into a muddy slush—just like her, so soiled that her original appearance was unrecognizable.

Once, the servants in the manor always struggled to tell the twin sisters apart.

But now, surely no one would ever mistake one for the other again.

Three years had changed too much.

Suppressing the bitter ache in her chest, Gongxue stepped out of the shadows with a cold, indifferent expression.

"Sister!" Mei Xianghan walked over with a smile, warmly and affectionately taking her arm. "Third Brother and I have come to take you home!"

Home?

Gongxue froze slightly. She took a step back to pull away. She wanted to call her "Little Sister," but she could not bring herself to say it.

"Second Young Lady!"

Tears immediately welled up in Mei Xianghan's beautiful eyes, as if she had suffered some great injustice. "Is Sister still blaming me? Are you unwilling to forgive me?"

She, too, loathed Zhao Zhang to the bone for causing their father's death. The thought of her sister being tormented daily by a eunuch filled her with endless self-reproach.

At this moment, Mei Changgong stepped forward to shield her behind him, then looked at Gongxue with a complicated expression. "Xiao Xue, don't be like this!"

He remembered when she was first brought back to the manor by their father. No matter what she faced, she was always so positive and optimistic.

Just because he had casually mentioned that the water for his tea was poor, she had woken up two hours early to gather dew for him, then smiled at him shyly.

But now, how had she become so... numb and distant?

Mei Changgong frowned slightly, but softened his tone. "It is the New Year. In light of the Marquis's Manor's contributions to eradicating the eunuch faction, His Majesty has granted you a special pardon to leave prison."

Gongxue pressed her lips together. The muscles in her face seemed frozen by the bitter cold, devoid of any vitality. "Oh."

Mei Xianghan eagerly approached again, trying to pull her. "It's cold outside. Let's get into the carriage!"

Gongxue shuddered, instantly pulling her hand away and tightly covering the scar on the inside of her wrist.

Mei Xianghan was devastated by the rejection. Tears fell silently as she turned and ran away crying.

Gongxue suddenly wanted to laugh. Was she the one who felt wronged?

For the past three years, she had married Zhao Zhang in her sister's stead, living a life worse than a beast's!

She had hoped every day that the Marquis's Manor would send someone to take her away from that hell—hoping by day, yearning by night, crying out their names even in her dreams.

Until the Zhao residence was raided and she was imprisoned along with them, enduring half a year of torture, not a single person from the Marquis's Manor had ever come to see her! Never!

Only when she thought she was forgotten by the world and had abandoned all hope did they descend from the heavens to play her heroes!

On what grounds did Mei Xianghan believe that shedding a few cheap tears would earn her forgiveness?

Mei Changgong tried to stop the weeping Mei Xianghan but failed. When he turned to look at Gongxue again, his face was filled with anger. "How can you be so ungrateful?"

Gongxue raised her gaze.

Mei Changgong was startled by the dead, hollow look in her eyes, but his anger did not fade. "It was indeed wrong of Xiang to use your name back then, but she has been wracked with guilt for the past three years, constantly worrying about you! Today is New Year's Eve, and she came all this way just to fetch you. She has already apologized. What more do you want? We are all family—do you want her to atone with her life?"

"Besides, Xiang grew up by Father's side and shared a deep bond with him. Upon hearing that Father was murdered by villains, it was only natural for her to act on impulse. You couldn't possibly understand that kind of bond!"

With that, fearing that Mei Xianghan might do something foolish in her grief, he hurriedly drove the carriage after her.

Gongxue watched this familiar scene play out calmly.

It had always been this way. No matter what conflict arose between her and Mei Xianghan, her brothers would always stand on the other side.

If she had heard such words in the past, she would have been heartbroken. But now...

With a loud bang, a firecracker exploded overhead like a sudden clap of thunder.

It was the New Year. A group of children dressed in red cotton coats ran past, laughing and playing amidst the noise, their faces bright with festive joy.

Her ears ringing from the noise, Gongxue stood awkwardly in the crowd, instinctively wrapping her thin, old coat tighter around herself.

Laughter and chatter echoed all around her, but she was deaf to it. To her, the bustling marketplace was nothing but a desolate wasteland. Moving her feet slowly, she walked mechanically toward the direction of the Marquis's Manor.

A child running past accidentally bumped into her. Having starved for so long, she had no strength left and tumbled to the side.

A hand steadily caught her, and a familiar male voice sounded, "Xue, be careful!"