A Joyous Reunion

For the sake of Shen Lan, a courtesan who had kept her virtue, the Crown Prince proposed at a palace banquet that he marry two women as equal wives.

I refused to lower myself, and instead married Xiao Qing'an, the marquis who had loved me for years.

After our wedding, we treated each other with respect and shared a loving, harmonious marriage.

That was until I struggled to conceive, only to discover that the red agate bracelet he had given me was strung with red musk beads meant to prevent pregnancy.

And the white jade hairpin he had treasured in his study for years, promising it would be my betrothal gift, was engraved all over with orchids.

It turned out I was nothing but an obstacle he had cleared from his beloved’s path. He had endured humiliation and bided his time, using me to pave Shen Lan’s road to success.

Even I couldn’t stay blind to the truth forever.

One bowl of abortifacient soup, one divorce agreement, and Xiao Qing'an and I went our separate ways, each free to find happiness.