After Mu Wanyun agreed to be the substitute bride, the Mu Family immediately became a whirlwind of activity for the wedding. Red silk was draped everywhere, and at the entrance to Lv Wu Courtyard, even the lanterns were adorned with the 'double happiness' character.
A tailor came with a measuring tape to take Mu Wanyun's measurements and alter the wedding gown. It took only three days for the gown to be tailored to her size.
When the maids brought the wedding gown to Lv Wu Courtyard, Mu Wanyun watched as the vast expanse of embroidery on its back glittered under the light. It was a testament to the gown's incredible luxury.
Mu Wanyun thought of the gown from her own wedding. It was the same one A Niu's wife had worn when she married into the village. Hearing that Mu Wanyun was to be wed, she had sold it to her for just ten cents.
'Ten cents... that probably wouldn't even be enough to buy a single sash for this gown.'
After Mu Wanyun changed into the wedding gown, the servant girls attending to her were all left breathless.
'She has the same face as the Eldest Miss, so why does the Second Miss seem even more breathtaking in this wedding gown and makeup?'
When Mu Qingyun entered the room and saw Mu Wanyun in her wedding gown, a flicker of inexplicable fear showed in his eyes.
Mu Qingyun composed himself and said, "The wedding is in three days. For these next three days, you are to focus on learning the proper etiquette. Wanruo's former head maids will stay by your side. Do not, under any circumstances, let the truth slip out in the Princess Mansion."
Mu Wanyun said, "Yes."
...
Lu Jingxing and his party, disguised as foreign merchants, entered Chang'an City. They were subjected to a lengthy inspection at the city gates before finally being allowed inside.
Today was an auspicious day. Although a sense of panic hung over Chang'an, everyone knew His Majesty's time was short. During the year-long period of national mourning that would follow, all banquets and celebratory events, including weddings, would be forbidden. Thus, an unusually large number of weddings were taking place today.
After entering the city, Lu Jingxing saw several wedding processions. One, in particular, was incredibly lavish, a procession so grand it seemed to stretch for miles. Armed guards cleared the path for a carriage, draped in red cloth and pulled by four white horses.
The wind lifted the red silk gauze of the carriage, offering a glimpse of the bride inside. Her hair was styled in a high, cloud-like chignon and adorned with a rare set of pearl ornaments. She held a wedding fan to hide her face.
Lu Jingxing thought the woman's figure looked vaguely familiar, but after recognizing the groom at the head of the procession, he didn't spare her another glance.
The groom was none other than the son of the Eldest Princess, Prince Jian.
Prince Jian, mounted on a red horse at the front, spotted the disguised Lu Jingxing in the crowd at once. A flicker of joy crossed his face, and he tightened his grip on the reins.
'It's been five years,' he thought. 'Imperial Brother has finally returned to Chang'an.'
After being helped from the carriage by the matchmaker, Mu Wanyun entered the gates of the Princess Mansion. Once she was inside and in position, an official from the Ministry of Rites and a supervising eunuch from the palace read the marriage certificate aloud. After the certificate was read, it was time for the wedding ceremony.
Just as the official chanted, "First bow, to Heaven and Earth!", Mu Wanyun threw down her wedding fan, knelt before the Eldest Princess, and declared, "Princess, I am not Mu Wanruo! I am the Mu family's second daughter, born of a concubine. Mu Wanruo has eloped with another man, and Duke Wei's Mansion forced me to take her place..."
A maid beside her hastily dropped to her knees. "Eldest Miss, what nonsense are you spouting? Princess, this is the Eldest Miss of Duke Wei's Mansion. Everyone knows that the Mu family's second daughter died in Yangzhou City years ago.
"Our Eldest Miss suffered a serious illness recently and has been somewhat addled ever since..."
Mu Wanyun looked at the woman seated before her. She was over forty, yet impeccably preserved. The Eldest Princess took a delicate sip of her tea and asked, "You claim to be the Duke Mansion's second daughter, not Mu Wanruo. Do you have any proof?"
Mu Wanyun replied, "Princess, you can send someone to inquire in the village outside Yangzhou City. I have lived there since I was a child. Mu Qingyun only recently brought me back to Chang'an. I would not dare to utter a single falsehood before you, Princess."
The Princess, in a fury, smashed her teacup on the floor. "The audacity of the Mu Family! To hold me and Prince Jian in such blatant disregard! This marriage was decreed by His Majesty himself. For the Mu family to dare commit the grave crime of deceiving the monarch... Guards! We are going to the palace!"
Her words had barely faded when a palace attendant rushed in. "Princess, His Majesty summons you, the Prince Consort, and Prince Jian to the palace immediately."
The Princess frowned slightly at the news and ordered the matrons of the household to have Mu Wanyun thrown into the Princess Mansion's private dungeon.
The private dungeon was in the dim basement. As soon as Mu Wanyun entered, she was hit by a sour stench. Once inside her cell, she caught sight of rats skittering across the floor in the candlelight and screamed in terror.
Outside, she could hear the voices of the matrons.
"His Majesty must really be on his last legs. Summoning the Princess so urgently... who knows what's about to happen to the state of affairs?"
"I say, the sooner things change, the better. For the past six months, has Chang'an even felt like Chang'an? The streets have been deserted for ages."
"I wonder who will win. The Mu Family, or the deposed Crown Prince whose whereabouts are unknown."
"It's all the same no matter who takes the throne."
In her cell, Mu Wanyun certainly didn't feel it was all the same. 'I've betrayed the Mu Family,' she thought. 'If they succeed in helping Prince Rong ascend the throne, my death is certain.'
'That young maid from the Mu family just said that the second daughter was long dead, having perished in Yangzhou.'
'So the Mu Family never even acknowledged my existence. They treated me as if I were already dead! All because I was born to a concubine? But Mu Wanyan is also the daughter of a concubine!'
Mu Wanyun suppressed the fear in her heart. She knelt, clasped her hands in prayer, and whispered, "Bodhisattva, protect me. Bodhisattva, please, you must help the deposed Crown Prince ascend the throne!"
'That is my only chance of survival.'
Mu Wanyun lost track of the days and nights she spent in that cell. The dungeon was underground, devoid of sun and moon. A matron would bring food, but never at a fixed hour.
Mu Wanyun leaned in the corner, waiting for the dust to finally settle outside... waiting for the day she could once again see the sun.
...
「The late Emperor was buried, and the new Emperor ascended the throne.」
Mu Qingyun, seeing things through to the bitter end, mobilized the Jiangnan troops and raised an army in rebellion, seeking to install Prince Rong as emperor.
But his army was completely suppressed by the Yangzhou Military Governor's forces before it even left Jiangnan.
The House of Duke Wei, which had flourished for four dynasties since the founding of Daqi, was sentenced to the ultimate punishment: execution of the entire clan. Evidence of the Mu Family's crimes was brought to light, one piece after another.
Prince Rong was beheaded, the formerly deposed Empress of the Mu clan committed suicide, and the vast Mu Family collapsed. Not a single male was spared, while the women were enslaved, sold off as government courtesans, or forced into the Imperial Music Office.
The confiscation of the Duke Wei Mansion's assets took more than two full months...
Two months after his ascension, Lu Jingxing ended the period of national mourning. Chang'an had been desolate for too long; if the stagnation continued, the lives of the common people would only grow more difficult.
As soon as the mourning period was lifted, a minister submitted a memorial proposing an imperial consort selection.
The words "consort selection" reminded Lu Jingxing of an old score he had yet to settle—the humiliation of being cuckolded. 'I'd love to see the look on her face,' he thought, 'the woman who wrote that letter of separation and abandoned her "lowly husband." I wonder how much she'll regret it when she sees that I've ascended the throne!'
Lu Jingxing summoned Prince Jian, who was handling the asset confiscations, and ordered, "Go and bring me Mu Qingyun's concubine."
Prince Jian looked at Lu Jingxing with curiosity. "Imperial Brother, what do you want with Mu Qingyun's concubine for? Wait, that's not right... he doesn't have any concubines!"
Lu Jingxing replied, "No concubines? I mean the woman Mu Qingyun brought back from Yangzhou a few months ago."
A look of dawning horror crossed Prince Jian's face. "I knew I was forgetting something... I completely forgot about the Mu family's second daughter in the private dungeon! It's been two months... surely nothing's happened to her, right?"
...
Mu Wanyun had no idea how long she had been locked away. All she knew was that if she remained imprisoned much longer, she was going to go mad.