[Female Lead Loves Only Wealth and Status] [A Master of Pretending] [Push and Pull Early On] [His Undivided Favor Later]
When Wen Wu first transmigrated into the Fourth Prince's manor, her allowances were withheld, her maid betrayed her, Lady Li openly picked on her, and the princess consort smiled with a knife behind her back. Everyone in the manor was waiting to see her make a fool of herself.
Wen Wu refused to give them the satisfaction.
She had a clear goal: cozy up to the Fourth Prince first, then walk away once she'd made enough money.
She was a born actress, so convincing that even she believed her own performance.
Step one: show up in the garden right on cue for a “chance encounter,” then deliberately fall in front of him. “This concubine lost her footing. Next time, I'll fall farther away so I won't delay Your Highness.”
Then she'd grind ink for him, prop her face in her hands, and gaze up at him with shining eyes. “This concubine's handwriting is terrible. Would Your Highness teach me in person?”
Pouting, teasing, acting sweet, she found all sorts of ways to get close to him. She knew exactly what she was doing: keep a firm grip on his favor, and her fortune would be secure.
At first, Yinzhen thought of her as a playful little cat. While the others fought bitterly for his favor, she competed without hiding it.
Later, when others made things difficult for her, he quietly stood up for her. When they schemed against her, he uprooted them completely. When she became pregnant, he spent every day with his ear pressed to her belly, listening for movement. She pushed his head away, but he didn't even look up. “I'm listening to my daughter.”
Wen Wu kept up the act and continued working out her schemes.
But as time passed, the way he looked at her changed, as if he were watching prey caught in a net.
Her heart gave a jolt, and she started backing away. He gave her a faint, knowing smile. “What are you hiding from?”
She laughed awkwardly. “This concubine isn't hiding.”
He cornered her against the wall. “Wen Wu, I know you want my money. But do you know what I want from you?”
She shook her head.
He leaned close. “I want you.”
Wen Wu could no longer work out her schemes.
She'd been acting, but it seemed he'd taken it seriously.
Was it still too late to run?
