Chapter 3: The Mean-spirited Princess

Yun Qian'ge buried herself beneath the quilt and wailed theatrically, “Aaaah! Sob, sob! I’m so ugly, my husband doesn’t even like me, and my reputation is absolutely dreadful! I used to compete in beauty pageants, you know—I even won the Asian beauty championship! My beautiful face!”

Yes, the one thing Yun Qian'ge could not bear was that her face had been disfigured. How was someone like her, who pursued perfection in everything and belonged firmly to the society of beauty worshippers, supposed to accept that?

Her ghostly howls seemed to shake the entire Princess’s Residence. Xiangcao’s hand trembled as she held the basin, while the maids and servants cleaning the garden worked with even greater vigor, terrified. The princess was behaving strangely today. They absolutely must not let her notice them.

Yun Qian'ge cried miserably, as though her heart and liver had been torn apart. Other people mourned lost love; she was mourning all the pride, money, power, and beauty she had possessed in her previous life.

She had shut herself away for two days. During that time, fragments of the former owner’s memories would occasionally flash through her mind like scenes from a film. Those must be the former owner’s memories. It seemed that by accepting this body, she had also completely merged with it.

While absorbing the memories, Yun Qian'ge had not missed one important detail: before the age of six, this body’s face had been perfectly clear, without a single blemish. Unless the spots had been caused by illness, they must have been inflicted by someone. She had not examined them carefully two days ago, but now it was time to take a proper look.

“Princess! Princess, something terrible has happened! Young Master Haoyu has poisoned himself!”

A maid in pink burst through the door, gasping for breath. She had clearly run there at full speed.

“Is he dead?”

Yun Qian'ge paused halfway toward the dressing table.

Wanqi Haoyu? The man she had forcibly brought into the residence? Because she had fallen into the water, their wedding had been postponed. By that calculation, he was her fiancé, wasn’t he? But since they had not yet married, couldn’t she simply call off the engagement?

The little maid froze, evidently startled by Yun Qian'ge’s attitude. Yet when Yun Qian'ge looked at her, she quickly lowered her head and replied, “Your Highness, not yet. Steward Xiang saved Young Master Haoyu. She sent me to ask how Your Highness wishes to deal with him.”

“Then can’t I simply refuse the marriage and send him back?”

The little maid found courage from somewhere. She was clearly terrified, so frightened that even her hands were trembling, but she still summoned the nerve to say, “Your Highness, since you brought Young Master Haoyu into the princess’s residence, his reputation has been ruined. If you break off the engagement, he will probably never be able to marry. Unless he wishes to be thrown into the pig cage, his only choice would be to become a nameless personal companion.”

“What is your name?”

“This servant is Dieyi.”

Yun Qian'ge nodded approvingly. “Very good. From now on, you will stay by my side as my personal maid.”

The little maid was dumbfounded. Having narrowly escaped disaster, her mind filled with enormous question marks. Wasn’t the princess notorious for hating disobedience and despising anyone who dared contradict her? Why would she want to keep Dieyi at her side?

“Because you’re interesting. I like your honesty. But if one day you stop telling me the truth, then…”

With malicious delight, Yun Qian'ge drew a finger across her throat.

Dieyi’s face went deathly pale once more. Sure enough… she was still the princess after all.

Laughing heartily, Yun Qian'ge walked outside and ordered the servants waiting beyond the hall to take her to Wanqi Haoyu’s separate courtyard. The guide’s fearful, timid manner reminded her of Dieyi. That girl looked about fifteen. Yun Qian'ge had been twenty-three when she lived in the twenty-first century, which meant that, by comparison, she was practically an elder sister.

A little girl who knew how brutal the former owner was and still dared to risk her life—how interesting.