The Mute Concubine

Gu Ran was a noble young lady from Jiangnan. While returning to her hometown with her family, she became separated from them and fell into the hands of bandits.

Luckily, Crown Prince Xiao Yan was passing by to suppress the bandits. He rescued her and protected her virtue.

The shock left Gu Ran unable to speak, and she couldn't remember her own past. Xiao Yan brought her back to the Eastern Palace, where she became a concubine without a title.

Outsiders said that the Crown Prince had gone to Jiangnan and returned with a slender, naturally seductive courtesan.

Since she bore some resemblance to the woman who was the Crown Prince's beloved, he kept her by his side and cherished her like a precious jewel, never leaving her at night.

But only Gu Ran knew that Xiao Yan was cold-hearted and rigid about the lines of rank. He showed even the slightest tenderness only in bed.

Gu Ran depended on him and asked for nothing more, hoping only to live out her days in peace as a well-behaved substitute.

She never expected to become pregnant a year later, only to have an abortion potion placed before her.

Soon, word spread through the palace that the Crown Prince's favorite concubine had miscarried and both mother and child had died. From then on, the heir to the throne wasted away and grew ever more cold and gloomy.

Back home with her family in Jiangnan, Gu Ran heard the news and scoffed. She wouldn't believe a single word of such nonsense.

Two years later, Xiao Yan returned to Jiangnan to revisit the place. At a banquet hosted by the governor of Jiangnan, he saw again the face that had haunted his dreams and occupied his thoughts day and night.

But this time, she was no longer helpless, lonely, timid, and frail. She was the picture of a celestial beauty, naturally graceful and exquisite.

Xiao Yan's blood surged. He swept aside his wine cup and rushed toward her. "Where have you been, A Ran? I've searched everywhere for you."

Gu Ran merely curtsied gracefully and replied in a calm voice, "Your Highness must have had too much to drink."

Theme: Whether life is easy or hard, live on bravely