Prologue: The Bastard

While the Master of the Ning family went to check on his daughter, a guest waited in the reception room. He sat facing the main entrance, a guard and a eunuch alert on either side. His posture boldly spread, displaying his unwavering confidence along with his crotch to anyone who may enter.

Those brave enough to examine the fabric between his legs would find it riddled with legendary creatures embroidered in gold. The depiction of a 4-clawed dragon was particularly striking, giving away his royal identity; a first-rank Prince.

Troubled, he fiddled with something in his hand, glancing at the door from time to time.

"What's taking her so long?" he frowned. In the time spent waiting, he'd already finished 3 cups of tea, now on his fourth. Earlier, the Old Master of the Ning house had been unable to sit still and ran out looking for his daughter himself. Since then, another cup had gone by, and neither father nor daughter was in sight. Zhao Jin tapped the table impatiently.

"Should I check?" the Guard asked. Zhao Jin looked back without replying. He weighed his thoughts for a moment, then raised his hand, dismissing the guard with a flick.

"Understood!" The guard exited the room in a military fashion.

After he left, the pressure in the room seemed to increase by the second. Unresigned to just waiting in silence, the prince resumed fiddling with the jade thumb ring. Tapping echoed throughout the hall, the sound striking fear into the servants' minds.

(For those who may be unfamiliar, the knock of jade on lacquered hardwood struck eerily similar to that of a temple block. The same ones the monks use while praying to the Buddha.)

What should've been a calming sound could no longer be interpreted the same way, as the longer Zhao Jin waited, the quicker he tapped, and the faster the servants muttered the prayers in their hearts. Flustered by his master's incessant movement, the Eunuch spoke,

"Don't worry, Master. I'm sure she's taking the time to prepare herself to be as beautiful as possible in order to meet you." The Eunuch tried soothing his temper.

Kneeling behind the screen, Xia'er trembled at the prince's impatience. Each tap sounded more ominous than the last as if urging her death. She had offended the kitchen's Momo, and so was sent here to serve tea to the living devil; Prince Jin, Duke of Yanping, Zhao Jin.

He was the late Emperor's brother, an infamously wild-tempered prince, quick to anger, unruly, and someone who quite possibly had killed his last wife. No one in their right mind wanted to serve this kind of master, so she was forced to come as punishment.

Trying to distract herself from the intimidating presence, the maid pressed her forehead to the floor. She clenched her eyes shut, fantasizing the possibility of burrowing into the ground, escaping to freedom. A few moments later, she opened them and found she hadn't moved an inch. Xia'er lifted her head slightly to feel the lumps imprinted on her face from the woven patterns on the carpet. In the meantime, the room had settled into a stifling silence.

Zhao Jin stopped tapping, his mood completely ruined by virtue of the Eunuch's constant attempts at conversation. Thankfully, after being ignored on multiple occasions, the Eunuch got the hint that his master wanted to be left alone. Instead of waiting beside his master, he confined himself to stand unceremoniously in the corner, his hands folded at his chest.

The atmosphere was finally eased when the Ning family's Old Master entered the room.

Glancing through the side of the screen, Xia'er stole a glimpse at her esteemed master. His temples were grey. Deep wrinkles formed valleys between his brows from years of overwork. After running around his manor looking for his daughter, his clothes were in disarray. Despite the haughty status he enjoyed, at this moment, Master Ning seemed like a prisoner being forced to the guillotine as he walked in haggardly with the Guard behind him.

"I deserve a thousand deaths for the poor hospitality I've shown. It's just that my daughter is so particular about her appearance…" Master Ning trailed off.

Even he didn't believe his own excuse. Looking around the room for some confirmation, the old man locked eyes with the Guard, who was whispering something in his master's ear. A sense of unease filled the old man's stomach as he watched Prince Jin's expression turn from annoyance to a dangerous smirk. An ignorant voice cut through the tension,

"Just as we had assumed! But your daughter must hurry. My master doesn't have all day," the Eunuch interjected.

"Of course of course! She's here. Ah-Ning is..."

"Old Master, the Miss is waiting behind the screen," Begonia informed in a suppressed whisper. Ning Wan had entered through the side door, startling Xia'er with her sudden appearance.

"She's here! Thank heavens- ahem. Would the Duke like to see my daughter right away?" Instead of a response, Zhao Jin stared straight into Master Ning's eyes, took off his thumb ring, and set it on the table.

"This is her betrothal gift. The wedding's in 3 days." His actions were so sudden, that Master Ning barely had the time to sputter out his thanks before the domineering prince was out of earshot.

Storming to the wing room, he threw aside the screen, exposing the women concealed behind it. Shamelessly, Zhao Jin scanned through the girls, before staring fixedly at Ning Wan. The maids dropped to their knees. Ning Wan flinched at the prince's barbaric actions but nonetheless bowed her head in a proper greeting, looking down at his cloud-patterned boots as they slowly stepped toward her.

"You," he spoke softly, controlling his anger. "You dare-"

"What don't I dare?" Lifting her head, Ning Wan stared back in defiance. With a bitter smile, Zhao Jin nodded.

"Indeed, there isn't anything you don't dare to do. As expected of my wife."

"I'm not your wife-"

"Not yet."

"Never will be."

"You've accepted my proposal."

"I don't recall ever doing something so foolish."

"The Second Miss of the Ning House got engaged to Prince Jin right after her divorce from Chancellor Lu- excuse me, Mister Lu. It's been the talk of the capital for the last 3 years. Don't tell me you didn't know, Second Miss Ning."

"Her!" Ning Wan pointed to a maid beside her.

"That's the Second Miss."

"What do you mean?"

"She's the Second Miss, not me. You're mistaken."

"I won't marry anyone except you."

"Any daughter of the Ning clan can be accepted into the imperial family, except for Ning Wan. She cannot and will not be wed again." Zhao Jin opened his mouth to retaliate, but Ning Wan continued.

"She's been married once. She didn't mourn at her ex-husband's funeral but celebrated with splendor. That makes her impure and unvirtuous."

"I don't mind." Zhao Jin dismissed her arguments.

"She is 34 years old, has had 3 children, and is unable to bear more."

"I don't need you to continue my lineage."

"But Your Highness forgets that this is the marriage of the imperial family. The court will not allow this."

"I can change their minds." He continued to be stubborn. Unfazed, Ning Wan pulled out her ace.

"I'm a wild woman who's shown my bare feet outside. Tomorrow, tunes about me will be sung in teahouses and brothels everywhere. Lavacious poets will write fantastical erotica with my name. Are you really willing to be a cuckolded husband?"

This was indeed an issue that Zhao Jin could not swallow. He glared back wordlessly.

Ignoring him, Ning Wan turned to the maid she pointed to earlier.

"Child, what's your name?"

"Replying to Miss, it's Xia'er."

"From this day on, your name is Ning Wan'er. You are the Second Miss of the Ning family." Ning Wan declared. Taking out a wad of paper from her sleeves, she held them high, revealing the pre-signed adoption papers.

"This is proof of approval from my father, the family head. We just need your fingerprint and the matter will be settled." Ning motioned to her maid.

"But Miss-" Xiao Li, who had been waiting at the side, pressed her hand on Xia'er's shoulder, denying her the opportunity to protest. She took out a box of rouge, forcing the girl's thumb in the red powder, then on the paper in one swift motion.

"You bitch!" Zhao Jin could only look on helplessly.

"This lowly peasant wishes a hundred blessings on the new couple, hoping you have long lives and many children." That was the last straw. Zhao Jin's expression was darker than the bottom of a wok. He looked around the room frantically.

"Ning Zuo! Get over here!" The Prince tried to call for the master of the Ning family who was nowhere to be seen. Knowing his daughter's plans, he'd left long before, running as if there was oil on his feet.

"With such a reliable son-in-law to depend on, Master Ning has gone to the Ministry of Personnel to submit his retirement papers." The Eunuch informed meekly. His impeccable sense of timing redirected Zhao Jin's wrath on himself.

"You ignorant, useless fool! Guard, execute him!" Frightened by their master's burst of violence, both the Guard and the Eunuch sank to their knees.

"My Lord, please rethink your decision. This Eunuch was provided to you by the Grand Empress Dowager. Killing him would be…"

"Master, I've followed you for 6 years. Please-"

"My Lord, you mustn't." Begonia pleaded as well. Knowing that he wouldn't be able to kill this Eunuch today, Zhao Jin relented.

"Get out of my face." At the cue, the Eunuch scrambled onto his feet and dashed out of the room. It was a close escape for the Eunuch, but with Prince Jin's bloodlust unsatisfied, others were less lucky.

"Kill her."

With a stifled cry, Begonia's head dropped to the ground, her body following after. A few strands of her hair caught in the sword's path drifted down like a dissipating soul.

Kneeling on the ground with Xia'er in one arm and covering Xiao Li's mouth with the other, Ning Wan didn't move to avoid the mess. Blood pooled at her knees, her bright red dress now stained dark, soaked in a deplorable metallic stench. Her eyes were locked on the Guard, who was cleaning his blade on the edges of Begonia's robes.

"Get rid of it." Zhao Jin waved dismissively. Begonia's detached head had rolled a few feet away, spurting blood onto the collapsed screen with widened eyes. The Guard collected both parts, dragging the body towards the doors.

"She was my maid." Ning Wan whispered. Disturbed by the sudden violence, her voice went hoarse.

"So?" He crouched down to hear her reply.

"She was your daughter's nursemaid."

"So?" Zhao Jin matched her volume. Straightening up, he flared his sleeves and adjusted his disorderly clothes before making his way out. At the door, he turned around,

"I'll send a carriage in 3 days. Ning Wan, if I see that girl on my wedding night, you'll be responsible for her life." He left the threat hanging in the air as he departed.

The girls stayed kneeling until he turned the corner. Once he was out of sight, Ning Wan let go of the maids, relaxing her strained arms. Xiao Li collapsed to the side, trying to regulate her erratic heartbeat. Xia'er keeled forward, dry heaving.

Ning Wan looked at the girls in sympathy. Patting their backs, she was reminded of the look on Zhao Jin's face when she mentioned his daughter. Was it disgust? Discomfort? It was an expression she'd never seen on him before.

'Daughter… Zhao Jin's daughter. He's afraid... ' Realizing with a start, she turned to Xia'er,

"I have a way for you to live a long life of comfort and luxury. Will you hear me out, Second Miss Ning?"