A fine rain fell throughout the Qingming season as the Third Prince walked along the flagstone path of Linhan Palace, treading over rain-soaked weeds. Not far away stood a solitary grave, where a beautiful woman lay sleeping beneath the earth.
The Third Prince had once promised to select an auspicious place for his mother consort and build her a distinctive private residence. Thus, Consort Mu became the only imperial consort in the palace to possess two residences. Before others, she basked in unparalleled glory, but in her heart, she had always known perfectly well that this palace had not been built for her.
It had been built for another woman. The Third Prince had personally arranged and tended to many of the sights within it. That woman was named Lin Yue, and twenty years ago, she had married Grand Tutor Mu.
Lin Yue had been born in the riverlands south of the Yangtze. Gentle by nature, well-read, and courteous, she was the niece of the local county magistrate. Her marriage to Grand Tutor Mu had been arranged by her parents, but after meeting him, Lin Yue genuinely fell in love with the elegant and extraordinarily handsome young scholar.
In an age when relationships between men were commonplace, Grand Tutor Mu likewise became the object of countless people’s pursuit. His striking appearance in his youth attracted no shortage of trouble, and the Emperor was among those captivated by him.
The Emperor had once promised Grand Tutor Mu that, should he agree to enter the imperial palace, he would be granted high office and noble rank. Grand Tutor Mu declined with tact. It was not that he had no interest in Longyang; none of those men were the person he desired.
Lin Yue never dreamed of competing for even the slightest place in his heart. She asked only to live her days in peace. Merely catching an occasional glimpse of Grand Tutor Mu was enough to leave her content.
Grand Tutor Mu’s concubine was named Mu Wan’er, the younger sister of Consort Mu. He later took another woman into the manor as well. That woman never left her room, and even the servants of the household never once saw her until the very end.
She and Lin Yue became pregnant at the same time and gave birth to sons almost simultaneously. Yet Grand Tutor Mu rushed directly to the secluded woman’s room and carried away the horrifyingly ugly Mu Xueshi. The other infant, an equally beautiful and endearing young boy, was secretly sent into the imperial palace, where he became a sacrifice in Consort Mu’s struggle for power.
The woman who had never left her room died there shortly after giving birth to Mu Xueshi. Rumors therefore spread that she had hidden herself because she was monstrously ugly; otherwise, how could she have borne a son who brought such disgrace upon the family? Some bolder servants, however, claimed to have seen her and said that her beauty was beyond comparison.
Mu Xueshi was adopted by Mu Wan’er. Two days later, Lin Yue died under mysterious circumstances, and the “daughter” she had supposedly given birth to was likewise adopted by Mu Wan’er. From the day Mu Xueshi was born, he believed Mu Wan’er to be his biological mother and believed his own younger sister to be Mu Yuanqing, the daughter born to Consort Mu. As Mu Yuanqing was the biological child of Mu Wan’er’s elder sister, she naturally received greater care. Mu Xueshi, meanwhile, was ugly, and everyone in the manor—including Mu Wan’er—treated him with cold indifference.
The Third Prince had grown up within the imperial palace. It was said that the Emperor had taken an immediate liking to him at first sight and had doted on him ever since. This was not merely because the Third Prince was exceptionally handsome, but because he bore a certain resemblance to Grand Tutor Mu, whom the Emperor had admired for so many years.
The Third Prince, however, had never cared for any of that favor. Perhaps it was the will of Heaven, but from the moment of his birth, he had remembered Lin Yue’s face. Even after many years had passed, Lin Yue remained the only person in his heart.
At the time, Linhan Palace had not yet been built. The area was merely an ordinary stretch of grassland, and following it to the end would bring one to the eastern palace wall. Possessing a child’s curiosity, the young Third Prince was always wondering what kind of world lay beyond those walls. He secretly began digging a crack at the base of the wall. As the days and years passed, the opening gradually widened until it became a small hole large enough for him to crawl through.
Only after squeezing through did the Third Prince discover that nothing lay outside but open pastureland. Beside the hole knelt a mutilated woman, her entire body blackened. The moment she saw him, she hurriedly tried to crawl away on her maimed hands. The Third Prince recognized his birth mother at a glance and tottered after her on his small legs.
That period became the only truly happy memory of the Third Prince’s life. Although Consort Mu’s persecution had left Lin Yue disfigured beyond recognition, the familiar scent of her body and the instinctive feeling of closeness allowed him to recognize her immediately.
Consort Mu and Mu Wan’er had once ordered their men to drag Lin Yue into the wilderness, cripple her entire body, and beat her unconscious. Believing she was already dead, they intended to burn her corpse to ashes. But just as the fire was lit, torrential rain began to pour. Consort Mu’s subordinates had no patience to remain in the storm and abandoned the scene without permission in order to seek shelter.