The capital.
Lu Qingwan walked like a ghost through the rendezvous point.
From last night until now, she finally had to accept that she had transmigrated to a dynasty that did not exist in history.
The original owner was also named Lu Qingwan and was the legitimate daughter of the Marquis of Zhaolie in the Great Gan dynasty.
Yesterday was supposed to be her wedding day with Prince Chen, Feng Qingheng, but she was tricked by her illegitimate sister, Lu Siwan, to Xiangguo Temple, where her purity was ruined. Lu Siwan then took her place on Prince Chen's wedding palanquin.
Lu Qingwan could have returned last night to stop this farce, but she didn't want to be Princess Chen.
With the "scum man" and "bitch" having already consummated their relationship, her own affairs would be much easier to handle.
Seeing the exquisite and luxurious canopy carriage approaching, she pinched her thigh, squeezed out some tears, and limped towards the horse.
"Your Highness, save me!"
Someone suddenly rushed out into the middle of the road. The coachman quickly reined in the horses, causing the person inside to be jolted.
"What's going on? Have you injured His Highness... Eldest Sister, why are you here?"
A woman in a crimson royal consort's attire, adorned with numerous pearls and jewels, lifted the carriage curtain and looked at Lu Qingwan in astonishment.
"Eldest Sister, where were you going? We couldn't find you yesterday, so I had no choice but to take your place on the wedding palanquin.
His Highness was just looking for you and was furious. Hurry and apologize to His Highness, perhaps he will forgive you!"
Her voice was gentle and her tone was worried, yet every word was a declaration of ownership.
And she was pushing all the blame onto Lu Qingwan without any regard for the truth.
Lu Qingwan sneered inwardly, but her face remained innocent as she said, "Didn't you, younger sister, take me to Xiangguo Temple to pray for blessings? Why did you leave me alone?"
"Eldest Sister, are you perhaps confused? Yesterday was your and His Highness's wedding day. I was busy preparing for the wedding, so how could I have taken you to Xiangguo Temple to pray for blessings?"
"Enough, Lu Qingwan. You can't even remember your wedding date. What else can you do?"
The carriage curtain was lifted, and a man poked his head out, his face filled with impatience. "It was your wedding yesterday. You were naughty and broke your promise, and Wan'er has already wedded this King on your behalf.
For Lord Lu's sake, I will personally report to the Emperor and grant you the position of a secondary consort.
Get into the carriage behind and follow this King to the palace immediately."
Scum man. On the second day after a wedding, princes and nobles of the Great Gan dynasty would go to the palace to offer tea and express gratitude, bringing with them fine gifts received during the wedding to be returned to the national treasury.
Initially, this was a way for young noblemen to curry favor with the Emperor, ostensibly to thank him for his patronage, and it later became a custom.
Even the original owner, a known idiot, knew this. Lu Qingwan couldn't believe Feng Qingheng didn't.
The carriage behind was filled with goods. He wanted her to ride in a cargo carriage. The scum man was confident that Lu Qingwan would not refuse.
He still wanted to enjoy the pleasures of multiple women, and calling it a secondary consort was nothing more than a concubine. The thought of her being a concubine was a daydream!
Lu Qingwan said angrily, "Feng Qingheng, don't push me too far!
I know you never wanted me to be your princess, but you can't insult me like this!"
"Pushing you too far?"
Feng Qingheng leaned out of the carriage with half his body visible. "If you hadn't forced Lord Lu to use the threat of going to war to pressure the Emperor into granting us this marriage, do you think this King would have married you, a good-for-nothing?
Since you are so unappreciative, don't even dream of this secondary consort position. Coachman, go!"
Saying that, he dropped the curtain and left.
"This is what you've forced me to do!"
Lu Qingwan cried out tragically, then pulled out a hairpin from her head and forcefully stabbed the horse's hindquarters.
"Hiss!"
The horse let out a cry of pain and bolted forward, its hooves kicking up dust.
"Your Highness, save me!"
"Lu Qingwan, you good-for-nothing, I'll kill you!"
From inside the carriage came Lu Siwan's panicked cries for help and Feng Qingheng's enraged roar. Lu Qingwan, looking bewildered and helpless, exclaimed in alarm, "I, I didn't mean to. They forced me!"
Saying that, she covered her face and fled.
Marquis of Zhaolie's Residence, Wanju.
As soon as Lu Qingwan entered the courtyard, a young maid rushed to embrace her. "Miss, where have you been? This servant was so worried!
It's all this servant's fault. Knowing that the second young lady had ill intentions, I still couldn't stop you from going to Xiangguo Temple, which caused you such a great loss and allowed the second young lady to snatch Prince Chen!"
The young maid had grown up with the original owner and was loyal. Her concern was genuine.
Her small face was puffed with anger as she spoke, as if she wanted to bite Lu Siwan.
"Don't be afraid. He's just a scum man. If he's been snatched, he's been snatched. We don't want him anymore."
Yue'er blinked, wondering if she was dreaming. Her miss said she didn't want Prince Chen anymore and called him a scum man?
Miss liked Prince Chen so much. The marriage that she had finally obtained, and now it was snatched by the second young lady, yet she didn't seem too sad?
However, Prince Chen had never treated Miss well, so it was a good thing that Miss didn't like him.
Yue'er nodded, her heart aching. "Miss, you're injured. This servant will fetch a doctor to treat you."
"No need. It's just superficial wounds. I can handle them myself. Don't alert Madam Lan.
Bring some hot water. I want to wash up."
It was only the second day after the wedding, and the Marquis's residence was busy preparing for the return visit. Lu Qingwan, the legitimate daughter, had disappeared, and besides Yue'er, no one had gone out to look for her.
Lu Qingwan had slipped in through the back door unnoticed, and no one had yet realized she had returned.
But it was fine. She was exhausted and had no energy to deal with those ghosts and monsters.
Lu Qingwan sat before the vanity. They all said Lu Qingwan was a love-struck good-for-nothing, and her appearance was worse than a hideous monster. She wanted to see just how ugly she was.
Taking a look in the mirror, Lu Qingwan almost died on the spot. "My god, is this human or ghost?"
In the mirror, the face looked like it had been slathered with several layers of foundation, as white as a ghost.
Her eyebrows were dark like two short fire pokers, and her lips were painted with blood-red lipstick that extended to the corners of her mouth, making her look like she had just eaten a child.
Her clothes were pure white, without a single speck of impurity. Because she heard that Feng Qingheng liked white, the original owner's wardrobe had never contained clothes of any other color since.
"Seriously, even Sadako would have to bow down to you!"
Just as Yue'er brought the water, Lu Qingwan couldn't bear it and vigorously wiped her face. She finally felt refreshed!
Looking in the mirror again, she discovered that there was a birthmark on the original owner's right cheek, the size of a baby's palm.
The original owner was already self-conscious because of this birthmark, and Lu Siwan had deliberately tricked the original owner into dressing up like Sadako. This is how the reputation of an ugly woman was cemented.