08 The Battlefield of Women (Part 1)
After the man in black left, Young Master Ximen resigned himself to playing the carefree prince again, spending every night making love with Liu Hanxue as usual. Perhaps Liu Hanxue was too engrossed in the act and never noticed the faint indifference and disdain hidden in his eyes.
It was a sunny afternoon. Young Master Ximen, taking a rare break, leisurely hummed a tune and read a book in his study, stealing a half-day of peace. Little did he know that this was just the beginning of a nightmare.
A group of women in the backyard of the Prince's mansion, having somehow gotten a break, were overjoyed to hear that the Prince was taking a day off. They dressed up in their finest clothes and brought stews to see the Prince.
Looking at the six women standing before him, each dressed more revealingly than the last, one flirtatiously offering to feed him chicken soup, another deliberately acting coquettish and trying to snuggle into his arms, and even more outrageous, one of them pulled his hand to touch her soft breasts, then blushed shyly. This made even the young Marquis Ximen, who was used to frequenting brothels, slightly stunned, and he had a strange feeling that this was some kind of brothel rather than a royal residence. Why were all the women in the backyard so thirsty, their eyes so blatantly lustful, as if they wanted to devour him alive?
If this were a brothel, he would have welcomed such a reaction, even finding it amusing. But this was in the Prince's mansion; it felt utterly bizarre. He couldn't help but get goosebumps all over and wanted to run away, but he was already surrounded by six lustful women, their clothes torn open, the chaotic scene spiraling out of control. Just as the young Marquis Ximen was about to erupt in anger, he was interrupted by a furious voice.
"Stop it, all of you! What kind of behavior is this? Have you all become prostitutes? Do you even remember your place? As the wives and concubines of a prince, you behave so wantonly. Where has your dignity as women gone? You are all utterly disgraceful! Go back and copy the 'Precepts for Women'. Those who haven't finished copying it are not allowed to leave the house!"
The roar successfully stopped the women's actions. The four women of lower rank slunk back to be punished by copying the "Precepts for Women." The two concubines of the same rank as Liu Hanxue exchanged a glance before leaving, glaring at Liu Hanxue resentfully, but there was nothing they could do, since Liu Hanxue was the one in power.
Upon seeing Liu Hanxue suddenly appear, a cold glint flashed in the eyes of the young Marquis Ximen, and a feeling of disgust welled up within him. He couldn't help but sigh: "Just escaped one tiger's mouth, only to fall into another." Alas, how tragic his fate was. He vowed that when that damned Prince Xiaoyao, Ye Xi, returned, he would make him pay for it.
Young Master Ximen, true to his reputation as a two-faced man, possessed profound skills. Though inwardly displeased, he showed no sign on his face. Instead, he seemed extremely grateful for Liu Hanxue's appearance, giving her a thankful look that made Liu Hanxue's heart flutter with joy. Meanwhile, the Carefree Prince returned to the master bedroom to change his clothes.
At this moment, Liu Hanruo walked in and exchanged pleasantries with Liu Hanxue, seemingly unintentionally:
"I originally wanted to discuss the Double Ninth Festival banquet with the Prince, but I didn't expect to witness such a good show. My sister is really quite impressive. She is even more impressive than me. It seems that I should learn more from my sister, so that I won't be bullied by those restless wives and concubines who are always thinking about climbing the social ladder and have no way to fight back."
"Sister, what are you saying? They are not wolves or tigers. As long as we sisters are of one mind, why should we be afraid of them!"
“Oh, sister, you don’t know, there’s a saying that it’s easy to dodge a spear in the open but hard to guard against an arrow in the dark. The wolves and tigers on the surface are extremely fierce, but they are all in the open and easy to guard against. But those treacherous villains who seem to be very close to you as sisters, but who don’t know how they want to harm you behind your back, are hard to find and you have no way to guard against them. It is often these kinds of people who are the fatal wounds.”
"Does your sister mean to imply that she doubts her younger sister?" Liu Hanxue's eyes reddened, and she was on the verge of tears.
"Oh dear, sister, you must know we've been sisters for over ten years. How could I possibly doubt you? I was just teaching you not to be deceived by those hypocritical and treacherous people," Liu Hanruo quickly clarified, smiling as she said, "Don't cry, sister. If people see this, they'll think I've bullied you, and who knows what they'll say about me. If they portray me as a heinous villain, I'll be wronged. Alas, rumors are a terrible thing!"
"Sister, if you are upright, you have nothing to fear. Rumors stop with the wise. As long as you haven't done anything wrong, why should you care about what others think!"
"I understand. So, my sister's meaning is that as long as she hasn't done anything wrong, everything else is irrelevant. Very well, I'll immediately send word that my sister secretly met with a man in the middle of the night and is pregnant with an illegitimate child..."
"Sister, you can't say things like that. If word gets out, I'll be unable to defend myself and won't be able to face anyone!"
"As my sister just said, rumors stop with the wise, and I believe no one will believe them, so you can rest assured, sister."
"elder sister…"
"Little sister, let's put aside the rumors for now. Let me tell you a story, and I think it will inspire you."
Long ago, in a wealthy family, the inner courtyard was harmonious and free of any strife. Coincidentally, a concubine shared the same name and even a similar air with the principal wife. The two became fast friends, like sisters. Remarkably, they both became pregnant at the same time, even their due dates were on the same day. Tragically, the principal wife passed away after giving birth to a daughter, while the concubine, having given birth to a daughter, took the principal wife's place. From then on, both daughters became legitimate offspring.
Time passed day by day, and the two daughters grew up together. The elder sister was kind-hearted and cherished her younger sister like a treasure. However, while the younger sister appeared to be very affectionate towards her sister, she secretly harbored jealousy that her sister was more beautiful than her. One day, she finally hatched a wicked plan. She secretly had her maid buy aphrodisiacs from a brothel and put them in her sister's tea, hoping to ruin her sister's reputation. Unexpectedly, the tea was also drunk by a prince who was visiting that day.
And so, the incident occurred. When the person behind it was discovered, the younger sister readily confessed, claiming that her older sister had forced her, because the older sister had always been in love with the prince. The older sister was heartbroken and pressed her for answers. The younger sister, weeping, revealed that she had always loved the prince and that the aphrodisiac was originally intended for herself, but her sister had mistakenly taken it. Now that the deed was done, she knelt and wept, begging her sister not to reveal the truth. The older sister, unable to bear it, reluctantly agreed. From then on, the label of "wicked woman" followed her everywhere.
Not long after, an imperial decree was issued, and the elder sister became a princess. The younger sister cried and said that the backyard of the royal palace was full of troubles and that she was worried about her sister. She said she wanted to disguise herself as a maid and go to help her sister. The naive elder sister thought that her younger sister was genuinely worried about her and agreed with tears in her eyes.
Within a month of marriage, the elder sister suffered endless neglect and constant humiliation, while the younger sister quickly rose to become a concubine, gaining favor and power, getting whatever she wanted. From then on, the younger sister no longer respected her elder sister, and even intensified her actions, repeatedly plotting against her and trying to kill her—a relentless and deadly struggle!
"Sister, the story is temporarily over. How did you feel? Did it feel familiar, like you'd seen it before, as if it were telling us many secrets unknown to outsiders?" Liu Hanruo smiled sarcastically. "Sister, if you were the older sister in the story, what would you do? Would you rebel and seek revenge, or wait to die?"
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