My elder sister forced me to become a concubine; I was reborn and remarried into the emperor's

Wei Nanxun was almost startled by the sudden voice, but thankfully it was a woman's voice, which made her tense nerves relax a bit.

Perhaps not hearing her reply, the person outside paused for a moment, then said, "If you feel uncomfortable, Miss, I will leave your clothes here and help you with your washing and grooming after you have changed."

This arrangement couldn't be more considerate; it showed her respect and eased the awkwardness.

She quickly replied, "Thank you."

But the voice that came out startled even herself; it was so husky and alluring that it was immediately obvious what had happened, which made Wei Nanxun's face turn bright red.

Fortunately, she was alone in the room, and the woman seemed not to have heard her, saying, "Miss, you are too kind. This is what our master instructed. If you need anything, just let me know."

With that, she put down the clothes and retreated to the outer room.

master?

It turned out that person had given the order. He was so thoughtful, even taking her feelings into consideration.

This reminded Wei Nanxun of her past life, where Pei Yuyan undoubtedly liked her and spent most of the month staying with her.

He was also very lustful, and would make love many times every night. However, he had to go in and out of the imperial study every day. Fearing that the emperor would find out and reprimand him for his indulgence, he would only come every five or six days. As the desires accumulated, he would become even more intense.

Sometimes, when the emperor summoned her at the last minute, he would leave without hesitation, leaving her like a broken and discarded doll, unable to move, naked and at the mercy of the palace maids.

She could clearly feel herself being helped up and wiped down. Warm cloths gently caressed her neck, chest, and groin, covering her red and purple marks, even her most private areas. No matter how gentle the maid's movements were, they still made her tremble all over.

The palace maids' gazes, a mixture of mockery and envy, made her feel that she was not some favored concubine of the crown prince, but rather a prostitute in a brothel, available to anyone.

But at that time she was really out of her mind, thinking that Pei Yuyan loved her, and that she was just being too sensitive and overthinking things. She put all her discomfort aside and immersed herself in his affection.

It was only at this moment, with a small action, that she realized how foolish she had been.

A stranger, unaware of her identity, knows to respect her, yet her bedmate does not.

No, he wasn't unaware, he just didn't care. After all, who would care about the feelings of a plaything?

Wei Nanxun gave a self-deprecating laugh, which only strengthened her resolve to leave.

She steadied herself and carefully got up, but her legs were still very sore and weak. In addition, she had a wound on her leg that she had poked herself, making it a little difficult to walk. She instinctively hissed when she landed.

She dared not let anyone see her, and gritted her teeth to endure the pain as she picked up the clothes. To her surprise, she found that the dress was even thoughtfully prepared, in a style that was almost identical in color to her previous one.

Apart from a slight difference at the neckline, even she herself couldn't tell the difference at first glance.

This gave Wei Nanxun a sense of warmth and also made her more curious about this person.

But this wasn't the time to think about that. She hurriedly changed her clothes and, just as she rounded the screen, saw someone standing by the door.

The woman was tall and looked to be under thirty. She had a clean and elegant appearance and was dressed in a light blue dress, a standard palace maid's attire.

In her previous life, Wei Nanxun had many palace maids serving her, but most of them wore either pink or green palace dresses. Even her elder sister, who was the Crown Princess's head palace maid, wore cyan. She had never seen a blue one, which made it clear that this palace maid was of high rank.

Wei Nanxun paused for a moment, then immediately gave her a curtsy. Even a seventh-rank official in front of the prime minister's gate has a higher status than a concubine's daughter from the Duke's mansion, let alone a palace maid.

The other person looked slightly surprised. She had thought that this girl was so beautiful and had such wicked thoughts that she must be a difficult person to please, and she didn't want to talk to her anymore.

Unexpectedly, when we actually met, I realized I had misunderstood.

She quickly put down the hot water in her hand: "How can this servant accept such courtesy from you, Miss? You are injured, so please sit down quickly. Our master specifically instructed me to apply medicine and wash you up."

"No need to trouble yourself, thank you..."

“Miss, just call me Lingxi. How can serving such an honored guest be considered troublesome? Besides, it would be inappropriate for you to go back like this.”

Wei Nanxun then realized that she hadn't thought things through. Yes, her disheveled appearance and injured hands and feet would definitely arouse people's imaginations.

She feared owing favors more than anything in her life. Last time, Pei Yuyan saved her, and she repaid his kindness with her freedom for the rest of her life. But now she had to accept this favor, and she had nothing to repay her benefactor with.

"Then thank you very much, Miss Lingxi. And thank you, thank you, thank you, your master."

With a palace maid of such rank by her side, what could this benefactor possibly be?

As she bit her lower lip and lost in thought, Lingxi was already applying medicine to her. Even though Lingxi had seen a lot in the world, she couldn't help but slow down her movements when she saw her wounds, afraid of hurting her: "Miss, this is a scar removal ointment. I will apply it for you once, and you will have to apply it every day when you get back."

She couldn't help but sigh, "You're being too hard on yourself. A young lady's body is precious. You're not married yet, and it wouldn't be good if you had a scar."

Wei Nanxun's eyes welled up with tears at this sudden concern, and her voice became slightly nasal: "I am just a concubine's daughter, not precious at all. But even if I am as worthless as grass, I don't want to let those people mistreat me. At worst, I will never marry in this life."

"I don't plan to get married either."

She spoke that last sentence very softly, as if she were talking to herself, yet it was exceptionally resolute.

Such a young girl, with such a delicate appearance, yet possessed the courage to utter these words, making Lingxi look at her with newfound respect: "Please rest assured, young lady, you have simply been framed. Our master has already..."

As she spoke, she realized she had said the wrong thing and immediately changed her tune: "Our master is a gentleman and would never tell anyone about this."

Wei Nanxun was preoccupied and didn't notice anything wrong with what she said. She was only thinking about how her benefactor, even if they hadn't consummated their marriage, were still implicated. What would he think of her...?

Her medicine was quickly applied, her hair was restyled, and she drank a bowl of calming soup, finally feeling much more awake.

Just as she was about to ask Lingxi for directions back, she saw that someone was already waiting for her outside the door: "Miss Wei, let's hurry up and go."

"us?"

"Yes, you can't find the way. If you run into someone on the way, you'll have to talk to them. It's best if I take you back."

Wei Nanxun also thought this was the best option, but upon hearing that the arrangement wasn't Lingxi's own idea, he realized he would owe her a favor again.

Oh well, the debt is already owed. I'll just do my best to repay it in the future.

Wei Nanxun sighed and was about to follow Lingxi out, but as soon as he stepped out the door, he heard the sound of a book turning from his right rear.

She subconsciously turned to look and discovered that there was a bamboo curtain hanging directly opposite where she had just applied the medicine. She could vaguely see a tall figure sitting behind the bamboo curtain.

The window was half open, and a gentle breeze caused the bamboo curtain to sway.

Her beautiful almond-shaped eyes widened slightly as she saw the person behind the bamboo curtain, dressed in a dark blue robe with gold trim. Although she couldn't see clearly how many claws the dragon on his shoulder had, she was certain that he wore a gold belt around his waist.

While she was in a daze, she suddenly felt a pressure coming from all directions, making it hard for her to breathe.

And a burning, sharp gaze fell directly on her face.