Chapter 6 "Don't cry, your brother's here."...
After listening to the Prime Minister's wife's words, and adding the bits and pieces of information she had overheard from Xiao Chongheng, Ling Zhenli sorted out the current royal family relationships in her mind.
In the past, the court was in chaos and the throne was unstable. Emperor Gaozong favored Empress Yang Wan and even deposed Empress Xue Yuan for her. Empress Xue died in a temple in depression. It was because of this that Emperor Gaozong and Empress Wan promised to make Xue Run the crown princess in order to compensate the Xue family.
Emperor Gaozong's four sons and one daughter were all born to Empress Wan. Empress Wan was very ambitious and, in order to seize power, she repeatedly framed her eldest son, Crown Prince Zhanghui, and her second son, Crown Prince Duanhuai.
Despite the persecution of his children, Emperor Gaozong still favored her and, before his death, entrusted the reins of government to Empress Wan, hoping she would assist his remaining sons.
After his third son, Pei Lian, succeeded to the throne as Emperor Xuan, the real power of the court was still in the hands of Empress Dowager Yang, formerly known as Empress Wan.
Emperor Xuan, Pei Lian, doted on his Empress Chen, which brought continuous honor and promotions to the Chen family. However, the Chen family was just a butcher family. This displeased Empress Dowager Yang, who joined forces with other officials and powerful figures to depose Emperor Xuan and install his fourth son, Pei She, as Emperor Rui.
Empress Dowager Yang wanted Emperor Rui to make her niece empress, but Emperor Rui insisted on making his most beloved woman empress, who was also the mother of the current crown prince. However, that woman was a prisoner of war captured by Emperor Rui when he was a prince, and her status was lowly. This angered Empress Dowager Yang, who then fabricated a crime against the woman and ordered her to be executed. Emperor Rui was heartbroken, and Empress Dowager Yang thought he was too weak, so she poisoned him. Later, with the strong support of the ministers, Empress Dowager Yang ascended the throne and became Emperor Wen.
In his later years, Emperor Wen's power gradually slipped into the hands of his daughter, Princess Wuyang, Pei Jing; Chancellor Xue Wenmian; and General Chen Rao. However, Emperor Wen appointed his nephew Yang Xiande as Crown Prince and his grand-nephew Yang Chengxiu as Crown Grandson, intending to pass the throne to the Yang family. This prompted the princess and General Chen to lead a coup. At that time, Prince Pei Xuanlin single-handedly stormed into the capital, killed Emperor Wen to avenge his parents, and helped his uncle Pei Lian regain the throne.
Emperor Xuan and Empress Chen Hui had only one daughter, Princess Jin'an. So Emperor Xuan adopted his nephew Pei Xuanlin, who had made great contributions in assisting him to ascend the throne, and made him the crown prince.
What Ling Zhenli needs to do is to play the role of Xue Yingyue, the eldest daughter of the prime minister, marry the crown prince as a concubine, and one day, when she gains power, take revenge on the powerful princess Pei Jing.
"Remember, no matter how shameless you were taught by Zuixianlou in the past, you must pretend to be pure and innocent when you go to the East Palace, as if you have never been with a man. Only in this way will the Crown Prince favor you and treat you well in the future, dedicating power and money to you."
Upon hearing this, Ling Zhenli bit her lip tightly. Although the Prime Minister's wife spoke in a stern tone and used harsh words, she was telling the truth.
Men's love for women's chastity is an age-old truth.
Looking at Ling Zhenli's face in the mirror, Cui Yuerong thought of her daughter more and more, and tears welled up in her eyes. She wondered how her daughter was doing now.
Seeing the Prime Minister's wife in tears, Ling Zhenli suppressed her earlier rudeness and quickly tried to appease her:
"Madam, please don't be sad. If Sister Run is watching from heaven, she would definitely want you to live a good life from now on..."
Realizing she had lost her composure, Cui Yuerong quickly wiped away her tears and stubbornly said:
“My Run’er is unlucky. You are a blessed person and have the opportunity to rise to a high position and live a life that everyone envies. From now on, you should not go out. Stay here and listen to the teachings of the nannies. Your days are numbered.”
After saying this, the Prime Minister's wife did not linger any longer, leaving herself alone in her boudoir.
In the days that followed, the Prime Minister's wife found all the teachers who had taught Xue Yingyue her skills in the past. Now, with only two months left until the wedding, Ling Zhenli had to imitate Xue Run well in a short time. Fortunately, she came from an official family and had learned a lot in order to please Xiao Chongheng at Zuixianlou. What she had to learn now was not too difficult for her.
Every night, Xue Haoting would visit her boudoir and personally "instruct" her.
The candlelight illuminated the entire room.
Ling Zhenli stood in the center of her boudoir, looking flustered. Her fingers unconsciously twisted the hem of her dress, almost crumpling the silk fabric.
“Raise your head.”
Xue Haoting's order came from behind.
Ling Zhenli bit her lower lip and slowly raised her face.
Xue Haoting's eyes immediately saw her face, which was half similar to Xue Yingyue's, but at this moment, her similar eyebrows and eyes were filled with resentment and fear.
Xue Haoting's fingers touched Ling Zhenli's cheek, and the icy touch made her tremble.
"Now you know why I brought you home, you look a bit like my sister Ahri."
He murmured, his thumb tracing her lips, "What should you call me?"
“Brother…” Ling Zhenli’s voice was barely audible. She felt a little ashamed and said through gritted teeth, “It’s late. You should go back and rest.”
"What did you say? You want me to go back?" Xue Haoting suddenly chuckled, as if he had heard a joke. His fingers tightened abruptly, pinching her chin until it hurt. "You're nothing but a dog of the Xue family now. You have to do whatever I tell you to do. Don't think you're something special."
Ling Zhenli's eyes reddened with pain, but she dared not struggle.
She knew that the opportunity for revenge was given to her by the Prime Minister, and offending Xue Haoting would not do her any good at the moment. Thinking of her parents' tragic deaths and her own miserable life, Ling Zhenli understood her situation and knew that she had to endure it.
Feeling bored, Xue Haoting let go of her hand, turned around, and took out a light pink dress from the cabinet.
He threw the dress in front of her. "Put it on."
Ling Zhenli stared at the scattered clothes on the ground, feeling as if a thousand-pound boulder was pressing on her chest.
Through their interactions, she sensed that Xue Haoting harbored ulterior motives towards his younger sister, Xue Yingyue, and was now using her as a substitute for her.
So she deliberately avoided looking at the dress and said, "How can I wear Sister Run's clothes?"
The next moment, Xue Haoting grabbed her hair, forcing her to look up at him, his eyes cold as if he wanted to kill.
"What did you say? You can't wear it? Then why don't you take off what you're wearing right now?"
Pain brought tears to Ling Zhenli's eyes, and her remaining dignity made her unwilling to wear the clothes on the ground, so she trembled as she tried to untie her own clothes.
Xue Haoting looked at her coldly, his eyes as deep as an ancient well, filled with disgust.
When her outer garment slipped down, revealing her plain white inner garment, Xue Haoting swallowed hard. Just as he was about to remove the last piece of inner garment, he suddenly reached out and pressed down on her shoulder.
Xue Haoting's fingers traced her collarbone as he leaned down and whispered in her ear, his breath warm against her neck, his words gentle, "Now, call me brother."
Upon hearing this, Ling Zhenli stiffened, her nails digging deeply into her palms.
She knew what Xue Haoting wanted to hear: he wanted her to call him in Xue Yingyue's tone. She originally wanted to be stubborn to the end, but she was worried that continuing would anger Xue Haoting.
It's just a matter of calling him "brother," and I've called him that quite often during the day.
"elder brother."
Speaking softly, Xue Haoting's eyes instantly filled with lust.
He pushed Ling Zhenli down onto Xue Yingyue's embroidered bed, his heavy body pressing down on her.
"Say it again!" he commanded, roughly tearing open her clothes with his fingers.
"No...no..."
Ling Zhenli was treated violently and couldn't help but cry. Humiliated, her tears slid down her cheeks and disappeared into the brocade quilt.
He stopped kissing her when he saw her tears.
He propped himself up, staring at her tear-streaked face, his eyes momentarily dazed.
"Ah Li," he whispered, wiping away her tears with his thumb. "Don't be afraid, don't cry, your brother is here."
His tenderness was intentional, meant to humiliate Ling Zhenli's stubbornness.
This gentle illusion lasted only a moment.
When his palm covered her soft breasts, Ling Zhenli clearly saw the lust and madness that had rekindled in his eyes.
"You are not Ahri." Xue Haoting's voice turned cold as he continued his insults, his movements becoming hard and cold. "You are her substitute."
Her nickname was actually Ah Li, but she didn't dare tell Xue Haoting.
When the tearing pain struck, she could only bite her lower lip tightly to keep herself from crying out.
Xue Haoting's actions were utterly merciless, as if he were merely venting some long-suppressed emotion.
After a long while, her vision blurred, and she could only see the curtains above her head shaking violently.
“Look at me,” Xue Haoting grabbed her chin, forcing her gaze away, “and see who I am.”
Ling Zhenli was forced to look directly into his eyes, which were filled with desire, and the darkness within them terrified her.
Xue Haoting felt only possession and desire for her.
...
When everything was over, as Xue Haoting got up to tidy his clothes, Ling Zhenli was curled up in the corner of the bed in pain, barely covering her body with her torn dress.
She dared not move or cry; only by curling up did she feel a sense of security.
Xue Haoting stood by the bed, looking at her indifferently.
"From this day forward, you will be waiting for me every night." He spoke calmly, as if giving a trivial order. "If you dare to spread this around..."
He didn't finish speaking, but Ling Zhenli understood the unspoken words. She understood the principle of being under someone else's roof.
She nodded blankly, her throat so dry she couldn't make a sound.
Xue Haoting turned to leave, but Ling Zhenli timidly grabbed his clothes.
"Contraceptive...contraceptive soup..."
The pain of losing her child was unforgettable, and besides, she truly had no feelings for Xue Haoting; she didn't want to get pregnant.
Xue Haoting found it laughable, snorted coldly, and forcefully shook off her hand, mocking, "You drank cold medicine when you went to the brothel, and you drank even more medicine after sleeping with your previous men, right? Do you think you can still get pregnant?"
Upon hearing this, Ling Zhenli, who had initially only felt wronged for being a stand-in, was heartbroken. Her heart ached with pain and bitterness, and her mouth tasted sour.
He's right. The doctor also said that her body was riddled with wounds after the miscarriage, so how could she possibly be a mother?
Xue Haoting was about to leave, but then stopped in front of the door.
He turned to look at her, his eyes filled with complex emotions.
But he left after only two seconds.
The sound of the door closing was particularly jarring in the quiet night, and Ling Zhenli finally let herself cry silently.
Her hands trembled as she touched the spot where Xue Haoting had injured her, but the pain made her quickly pull her hand back.
After a long while, moonlight shone through the window screen, casting dappled shadows on the ground. Ling Zhenli stopped crying, and the room fell silent.
In a daze, Ling Zhenli touched her face.
It's not hard to guess that it was because of her face that she caught Xue Haoting's eye, that the Prime Minister took her home, and that she had the means and opportunity to take revenge.
It seems that this face brought her both good fortune and misfortune.
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