A fire broke out in the Yongning Hou Mansion, and the eldest daughter-in-law's dowry disappeared. The sixth concubine, Shen Hengzhi, knelt in front of the ancestral hall, with blood oozing from the whip marks on her back. The mistress smashed the tea cup and said, "Concubine in charge of the business? Are you worthy?" She lowered her head and said nothing, but twirled a strand of blood-stained hair on the fingertips of her sleeves. That night, the mistress's most beloved nun suddenly knelt in front of her door and presented her with the key to the warehouse and the deed of sale to the servants of the house. Shen Hengzhi learned the art of puppetry - tying up paper figures, tying hair, and dripping blood. But every time she controls someone, their lifespan is shortened by one year. What's even more frightening is that the higher she reaches, the less she feels about Gu Yanzhi's smile. The sick and scheming prince held her cold fingertips and said, "You use puppetry to seize the power of the family, and I will use the power of the court to protect you. In troubled times, you and I are one husband and wife, living and dying together." When her aunt and her maternal family wanted to depose her, Shen Hengzhi finally smiled. She lit the last paper man on fire - this time, she wanted to control the entire court.
The wind in the twelfth lunar month felt like a knife on my face.
Shen Heng huddled at the corner of the corridor, watching Shen Yu not far away surrounded by maids admiring the plum blossoms. My sister-in-law's fox fur collar is trimmed with a ring of firefox fur, and that ring alone is enough to last her for three years.
She lowered her head and looked at her cotton-padded jacket - there was a patch on the collar, which Qinghe had sewn by candlelight last night. The stitching was rough, lying there like a centipede. The cuffs were frayed, revealing the yellow cotton wadding inside.
"What are you doing hiding there, third sister?" Shen Yu's voice floated over, with a smile, but it made Shen Heng's back tighten.
She lowered her eyes and clenched her cuffs with her fingers. The dinner Qinghe brought back from the big kitchen yesterday was cold. She made a fuss in the middle of the night.
