After Becoming a Concubine, I Took Down the Princess - Chapter 1

In the winter of the ninth year of Shunping in the Great Ning dynasty, it was a day of heavy snow.

In the opulent palace, adorned with carved beams and painted rafters, behind layers of hazy curtains, a mother and daughter sat on a small couch padded with fox fur.

The mother was holding an incense stick and adjusting the incense ash in the burner nearby, while her daughter sat opposite her, her round eyes staring pitifully at her mother.

“Mother Concubine, will you come with me to the Imperial Garden to play in the snow?” The tender, pleading voice of the child was utterly heart-melting.

“Xiao Xiao, be good. How about letting Chang Zhi go with you? Your Mother Concubine is tired.” The woman’s voice was gentle and cool, carrying a hint of weariness, sounding genuinely listless.

The little girl, dressed in lavish clothes, immediately frowned like a steamed bun, clutching at her Mother Concubine’s sleeve and refusing to let go.

The imperial concubine wore a plain-colored dress with a slightly open neckline, faintly revealing a lotus birthmark on her collarbone.

Her hair was unadorned by pins, and her face was without makeup. Yet, she didn’t look impoverished; instead, she appeared delicate and vulnerable.

Her slender eyebrows furrowed slightly, and she parted her lips to summon a maid: “Chang Zhi, take the Princess outside.”

Upon hearing this, tears immediately welled up in the little girl’s eyes, but she dared not cry out loud, fearing she would annoy her Mother Concubine.

The maid named Chang Zhi stepped forward, gently removed the Princess’s fingers from the concubine’s sleeve, took out a handkerchief to wipe away her tears, and softly coaxed, “Be a good Princess. Chang Zhi will take you to catch little birds.”

Children are easily distracted. Hearing this, she indeed stopped crying. She curtsied to her Mother Concubine and ran out of the room to have people find bird feed and a basket.

The concubine watched her daughter’s retreating figure, and a single tear suddenly slipped from the corner of her eye. She waved her hand to dismiss the servants. Although she had complained of being tired earlier, she did not get up to sleep. The concubine merely leaned against the small couch’s table, resting her head on her hand, pretending to nap with her eyes closed.

Footsteps approached the door. The person did not announce themselves but walked straight in, carrying a box.

“Consort Lian, His Majesty has acquired a new painting and instructed me to bring it to you.” The one who entered was a small eunuch in black, with a high-pitched voice that was grating to the ears.

“Just put it on the table,” Consort Lian commanded in a low voice, without opening her eyes.

“But His Majesty specifically instructed this servant that you must open the painting yourself and view it properly,” the little eunuch said, holding the box with a (complimentary/fawning) smile on his face.

The room was extremely quiet, with only the charcoal burning in the brazier occasionally making a crackling sound.

The little eunuch’s smile was starting to freeze before Consort Lian slowly opened her mouth: “Bring it here.”

He hastily replied, “Yes,” bowed, and presented the box.

Consort Lian’s fingers, like green onions, extended and paused in mid-air. After a long moment, they finally descended and opened the box containing the painting.

The woman lying on the gold-threaded sandalwood bed suddenly opened her eyes, a layer of fine sweat on her forehead.

Eleven years had passed. She had not witnessed Consort Lian opening the painting that day, yet she always dreamed of the scene.

The woman casually picked up the handkerchief from beside her pillow to wipe away the cold sweat, then slowly drifted back into a dream.

She was just a dead person; she had nothing to fear.

In Yancheng, a small border town of the Great Ning dynasty, there was a successful restaurant called Fu Lai Restaurant. The proprietress had recently hired a very beautiful girl to be the bookkeeper.

“Yan Heng!”

The proprietress of Fu Lai Restaurant slammed a stack of account books onto the table, angrily shouting at the person dozing behind the counter.

Startled awake by the shout, the girl rubbed her sleepy eyes, looking bewilderedly at the fierce proprietress in front of her.

The girl’s features were exquisite, her eyes upturned, which, even without any expression, gave an unwarranted impression of alluring interest. She also had a small mole under her right eye, which contrasted with her fair skin and cherry lips. Anyone who saw her would surely call her beauty capable of overthrowing a kingdom.

“Look at this yourself! What kind of accounts are you keeping? Where did the silver go? I think you truly are just a pretty vase!” The proprietress flipped open a page of the account book, forcefully pointing at it with her finger, as if she wanted to poke a hole through the thick book.

Yan Heng took the book, her mind still fuzzy. Just in the moment she dozed off, she had dreamt of that little girl again.

She sighed, and just as she was about to check the accounts, the proprietress snatched the book from her hand again.

“You don’t need to look. This month, ever since you became the bookkeeper, the accounts have never balanced. Pack your things; I don’t have room for a great Buddha like you here!”

Yan Heng didn’t seem to mind. She stretched and stood up. After walking a few steps, she turned back and asked, “Proprietress, where can I find information the fastest?”

“What are you planning to do?” The proprietress was happy to see the scatterbrain gone and now had time for a casual chat.

“Hmm… I need to find someone. And they are from a wealthy family.” Yan Heng raised her left hand to smooth the stray hair falling across her cheek, revealing a very beautiful chain on her wrist.

The chain was clearly valuable, adorned with pearls and crystals whose names the proprietress didn’t know, strung together with gold links. It sparkled brightly even in the dim room. She couldn’t help but look twice, secretly marveling at this rare treasure.

“Speaking of wealthy families, why don’t you go to Yandu? All the rich people are there,” the proprietress suddenly remembered something.

“Those well-informed young masters and gentlemen love to go to the Xiwan Tower to listen to music and enjoy tea. Why don’t you try there? With your looks, you’re sure to become the top courtesan.”

Yan Heng didn’t need the proprietress to say more; she already knew what the Xiwan Tower was.

It was essentially a brothel, but more elegantly termed a place for drinking tea and listening to music. To put it plainly, it was a place for enjoying the company of women.

“Hey, Miss Yan, the Xiwan Tower is not a brothel. That place is actually a tea house, and the girls there are all of liangji (commoner status). Gentlemen can’t touch them even if they like them; they must be bought out (redeemed).” The proprietress explained.

“That is indeed rare,” Yan Heng said thoughtfully, resting one hand on the staircase railing.

“It is, isn’t it? If you have a skill and can outshine the rest, the Xiwan Tower will definitely take you.” The proprietress flipped through a few pages of the account book. The mistakes were so numerous that she couldn’t help but feel a surge of anger again.

“I’m telling you, Miss Yan, your arithmetic is really too poor…” The proprietress grumbled, about to lose her temper again, so Yan Heng feigned deafness and quickly slipped back to her room.

In the past nine years, Yan Heng had traveled all over the Great Ning dynasty but had never been to Yandu.

Finding a livelihood in a tea house was not impossible. She was fond of wandering, and in the nine years of traveling and searching, she had seen many local customs and people.

Moreover, the Xiwan Tower sounded quite refined, and with all the wealthy young masters inside, there must be someone who knew that girl.

Yan Heng immediately made up her mind: she would go to Yandu!

Yandu was the capital of the Great Ning dynasty. Its prosperity and bustling atmosphere went without saying. All the people coming and going at the Xiwan Tower were either rich or powerful.

“My, Young Master Qin, you haven’t been here for a while. Hong Meng has been holding her qin (zither) and waiting for you for days.” The madam, Yun Luo, was greeting a guest who had just entered the Xiwan Tower.

Yun Luo was actually not that old, looking only in her early thirties. But in a place never lacking beautiful women, she was inevitably overshadowed by the other girls.

The girl named Hong Meng, standing behind her, looked at Young Master Qin with a delicate shyness, her gaze so pitiful it tugged at the heartstrings.

Young Master Qin immediately embraced Hong Meng and went up to a private room on the second floor. As they walked, he said, “Wait until I discuss it again with my father. If I have the money, I’ll buy you out and take you home.”

Most of the guests here preferred the private rooms on the second floor. Although the Xiwan Tower was not a brothel, spending all day in a “tea house” for pleasure with girls was still frowned upon. Thus, they would hide in the private rooms so others couldn’t see them.

However, there were still many guests in the main hall. A large platform was set up in the center of the hall, where beautiful women sang and danced. Some playboys enjoyed flirting with the girls openly, much to the disdain of the literati.

“Yun Luo, I heard a new dancer has arrived?” A guest in the hall stopped her, inquiring about the latest girl.

“Your news is quick indeed, sir. The girl has only been here for two days, and you already know. She’s scheduled to make her debut tonight,” Yun Luo chuckled, covering her mouth with a handkerchief.

“Then I’ll look forward to it!” The guest laughed heartily and then called a waiter for two jars of the most expensive fine wine, earning applause and praise from Yun Luo.

Yan Heng sat in her small room, and her assigned maid, Hua Zi, was dressing her hair and applying makeup.

“Although it’s your first time appearing, Miss, your beauty is definitely the best in our tower. Tonight, those young masters will surely have their eyes glued to you!” Hua Zi had a sweet tongue and flattered Yan Heng, who was secretly delighted.

After leaving the small town of Yancheng, it took Yan Heng three days to reach here.

As soon as she arrived, she rushed to the Xiwan Tower.

Yun Luo saw her exquisite beauty and dancing skills and readily accepted her into the Xiwan Tower, giving her a new name: Man Xiang.

“Miss Yu Yi is currently playing the qin. It will be your turn soon, Miss,” Hua Zi gently reminded her while placing the last hair accessory.

Yan Heng nodded, stood up, and went out the door.

Miss Yu Yi had just finished playing. She stood up with her qin, bowed slightly, and retreated behind the curtain.

For a moment, the stage was empty. The audience below looked at each other, one by one gazing around in confusion.

A drum roll suddenly sounded, startling all the guests in the hall. Before they could react, a woman in red descended from the ceiling. She held a red silk ribbon suspended from the beam and glided down from the third floor, like a divine fairy. Accompanied by the drumbeat, she lightly landed on the stage.

The woman’s steps were light, and she began to dance to the music. The red skirt fluttered with her movements, and beneath the gauze skirt was a long, graceful figure. The dancer’s face was covered by a string of pearls, making her features hard to discern.

This effect, like “holding a pipa (lute) and half concealing the face,” aroused the curiosity of the crowd. They all craned their necks, as if trying to scrutinize Yan Heng.

The bells tied around Yan Heng’s waist made a crisp sound with her movements, which, combined with the music, captivated the audience.

A guest below murmured in admiration, “This must be what the ancients described as ‘fluttering like a frightened swan, graceful as a soaring dragon’…”

By the railing on the second floor stood a refined-looking young master. He looked at the expressions of the people downstairs and let out a sneer: “Tacky.”

The man beside him agreed: “You are right, Young Master. They can’t even see her face, yet these guests are already itching to open their wallets to buy her out.”

Not far away, Yun Luo elegantly walked over, followed by two people.

“Young Master Yue, are these two your guests?” Yun Luo stopped in front of the two men, pointing to the people behind her.

The two were a man and a woman, dressed simply, clearly from ordinary families, completely out of place with the surrounding extravagance.

Young Master Yue nodded slightly, turned, and entered the room behind him first.

Yun Luo watched Young Master Yue’s retreating figure, shaking her head in amazement. Although the way he looked and dressed made him seem like a man, the experienced Yun Luo could tell at a glance that Young Master Yue was clearly a tall and slender girl.

She wondered why a girl would disguise herself as a man and come here. Yun Luo shook the handkerchief in her hand and turned back to entertain other guests downstairs.

In the private room, “Young Master Yue” poured herself a cup of tea and let out a long sigh.

After more than two years of investigation, she could only find this person in the end. When would her Mother Concubine’s case finally be resolved?

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