The Emperor’s Beloved Ugly Girl

3. The Dowry Maid (1)

Translator: Iris Guo

“You think you are still the noble daughter of the promising Co-Chancellor? Right now, your father is just a junior government official of Sub-Six Rank, plus implicated by the deposed Crown Prince. What kind of life are we living? Always on tenterhooks, afraid that there won’t be tomorrow! At the moment, there is no room for you to be so childish! Did it ever occur to you that if you disobey the Emperor today, tomorrow our family will all be tied up to the execution ground? We’d be very lucky if we were beheaded. Perhaps the Emperor will flare up and decide to tear us asunder by five carts or put us to death by dismembering our bodies!”

Duan Rulan was shocked by Mrs. Duan’s imposing manners. She fell down and started to weep again.

“Lan’er, our hands are really tied,” Mrs. Duan’s voice softened again. She gently patted her daughter on the shoulder, helpless and tired. “Lan’er, I know this is hard for you, but what else could we do? Now Imperial Concubine Zhao is favored by the Emperor. I’m afraid that it won’t be long before the Emperor passes the crown to her son, so we should act dutifully and cautiously, especially at this moment, otherwise we would dig our graves!”

“But, mom…” Duan Rulan was so desperate and sorrowful that she cried and fell into Mrs. Duan’s arms.

…

It was past 11 p.m. when Mrs. Duan finally cuddled Duan Rulan to sleep. Mrs. Duan went back to her room with red eyes, only to find her husband sitting on the edge of their bed in a trance. Duan Chenghong had not been roused from a daze until he heard the door open. Looking at Mrs. Duan’s sad face, he could not help sighing, “Has our girl figured it out?”

Mrs. Duan wiped her tears and nodded, as she came over and sat next to Duan Chenghong. The originally well-maintained lady, who had been exhausted over the past few months, had no longer borne her age. She paused for a while and choked with sobs, “Lan’er is having such a great grievance…”

“Whatever. Since ancient times, winners have taken all. There’s nothing more to say.” Although he said so, Duan Chenghong’s eyes were filled with regrets.

Two years ago, the Crown Princess Ding, the deposed Crown Prince’s wife, died of illness. At that time, to fawn upon the Prince, Duan Chenghong made great efforts to get his 14-year-old daughter engaged with the Prince. When his daughter came of age, the Prince would marry her. Relying on the engagement, the Duan Family also gained a foothold in the government. In recent years, Duan Chenghong had been smug about what he had done to his daughter and the Duan Family, but such a horrible accident occurred unexpectedly and ruined everything.

It was like a bolt from the blue.

“Our daughter will leave the day after tomorrow,” sighed Mrs. Duan, “We used to prepare a lot of dowries for her, but now our family… I’m afraid we can’t even give her a decent wedding dress. Our daughter has been privileged and very proud since she was a kid. If she didn’t get a dowry maid, how could she live the rest of her life?”

After a while of silence, Duan Chenghong murmured, “Send A’Chou to NingGuTa with Lan’er as her dowry maid.”

“But… She…” Mrs. Duan was astonished and lowered her voice as well. “But isn’t she Imperial Concubine Zhao’s spy? I don’t quite trust her with Lan’er. What if she harms our daughter?”

“These days I’ve been observing her objectively and I don’t think that she is ruthless. At worst, she will only tip Imperial Concubine Zhao off.” said Duan Chenghong.

“How terrible would that be!” Mrs. Duan said anxiously, “If there is an eavesdropper and informer with our daughter every day, wouldn’t her every move be reported to Imperial Concubine Zhao? Isn’t her life even tougher?”