"Yunchu, you must win some glory for your mother. My life has amounted to nothing, and you are the only one I can count on."
"As a woman, the most important thing is to learn how to be gentle, charming, and clingy. You have to be as soft as water; only then can you make a man unable to tear himself away from you."
"As a mere dancer, the only reason I was able to marry your father and live a life of wealth is all thanks to these secret techniques. As long as you learn them and use them flexibly, I guarantee the rest of your life will be surrounded by gold and jade, filled with wealth and glory."
Although little Cui Yunchu did not understand what this meant at the time, she believed that whatever her concubine mother taught her must be right, so she took every word to heart.
"Mother," Cui Yunchu mumbled in her sleep, curling her lips. "You never told me that doing this would get me killed."
The glamorous woman sighed, appearing a bit sheepish. "If your mother really had such skills, why would your father have left the two of us behind in the imperial capital to fend for ourselves? I was just bragging. How could you actually believe it?"
"."
The sun was already high in the sky. Sunlight spilled into the room through the half-open window lattice. Cui Yunchu narrowed her eyes and slowly opened them to a slit.
It felt so good to be alive.
Xing'er entered the room to help her change and freshen up. In front of the bronze mirror, Nanny Zhang carefully handed her a brocade box.
"What is inside that you treat it like such a treasure?" Cui Yunchu tilted her head and looked over with a smile.
"The Thirty-Six Stratagems of Charming and Clinging! Miss, today you should learn the thirteenth stratagem: first pinch, second twist, third cry and complain. You can also review the previous twelve stratagems while you are at it, so you do not get rusty."
"." Cui Yunchu's face stiffened.
"This is what you spent a hundred taels of silver to buy with great difficulty, Miss." Nanny Zhang offered it to Cui Yunchu as if holding a precious treasure.
"Can you help me get that hundred taels of silver back?"
Cui Yunchu's eyes grew moist. A hundred taels! That was half a year's worth of her monthly allowance. She could have bought so many better things with it.
Xing'er said, "The shopkeeper said that once sold, items are non-refundable and non-exchangeable. We cannot return it."
Cui Yunchu rolled her eyes and kept rubbing her chest, trying to smooth out the stifled feeling in her heart.
"To learn the things in this booklet, first of all, Miss, you need to have striking beauty, flawless white skin, and a waist so slender it can be held in one hand."
As she spoke, Nanny Zhang opened the various bottles and jars on the dressing table.
Cui Yunchu was wrapped layer after layer like a kidney bean roll. Finally, some powder was brushed on to add a touch of color and embellishment.
Nanny Zhang said, "Look at your hands, Miss. They are white and slender, even more translucent than mutton-fat jade."
Cui Yunchu lowered her eyes. Her pale wrist rested on the edge of the table, her sleeve slightly rolled up, revealing a small section of tender skin that resembled the finest porcelain.
What was the use of being beautiful? In the end, she had still been killed by a sword through the chest.
The girl in the bronze mirror possessed fairy-like beauty, as soft as jade and delicate as a flower, breathtakingly captivating like snow gathered in the moonlight.
Cui Yunchu's appearance inherited eighty percent of her mother's features, especially that glamorous and seductive charm...
To put it more plainly, it was a courtesan-like vibe.
Ahem...
"Miss," Xing'er nudged Cui Yunchu's arm. "Old Madam Cui is waiting for you. Hurry and go inside."
Cui Yunchu snapped back to reality and gave a sound of agreement.
Old Madam Cui was the current head of the inner court of the Cui Manor. Her father's first wife had passed away over ten years ago, and her mother had also died young.
Truth be told, her father seemed to have a bit of a wife-cursing fate; not a single one of them had managed to stay alive.
An aged voice suddenly rang out from inside. "Yunfeng, you grew up by my side and have been carefully brought up. Your elder sister is different. Her concubine mother had a lowly background and limited vision, only teaching her the survival skills she used in the outside world. It is inevitable that she grew up a bit misguided. Grandmother will slowly teach her in the future."
"You should yield to her a bit and not stoop to her level. After all, you both share the same Cui surname. The Cui family only has you two girls. Blood is thicker than water; you should love each other and be of one mind."
"I know." Cui Yunfeng's voice was muffled and carried a hint of impatience.
"At the time, Grandmother shouldn't have left her to Concubine Zhou to raise. It ruined her upbringing. Ultimately, it was Grandmother and your father who were ill-considered and let her down."
"Grandmother, rest assured. As long as she does not push her luck, I will not do anything to her. She is my sister, after all."
Cui Yunchu felt as if a wad of cotton was stuck in her throat. Her eyes grew moist, and she was so moved that she almost choked up.
"Grandmother, Second Sister."
"Yunchu is here." Old Madam Cui's face was full of affection. Cui Yunfeng glared at her, snorted, and went to sit in the lower seat.
"It is already time for lunch. Are you finally willing to get up and pay your respects to Grandmother?"
"I caught a chill in the wind last night and had a terrible headache, so I woke up a bit late. I hope Grandmother will not blame me."
"." After saying this, Cui Yunchu pursed her lips, feeling a bit sheepish. Well, lying and playing the victim had become a habit.
Next time she did this, she would bite her own tongue off.
Cui Yunfeng glared in anger. "Your complexion is clearly very rosy..."
"Yunfeng." Old Madam Cui shot her a glance, then looked at Cui Yunchu with pity, asking after her health and showing her every care.
Cui Yunchu curled her lips. Her nose tingled, and she almost burst into tears.
Grandmother clearly knew she was just pretending, yet she still treated her like this...
"Grandmother," she sniffled, rushing forward in two or three steps to hug Old Madam Cui and act spoiled.
A flash of surprise quickly crossed Old Madam Cui's eyes.
This granddaughter had never been so close to her before. Not only that, but she had also harbored resentment because of her strict discipline and restrictions.
"What, aren't you going to call me a dead old hag anymore?"
"..." Cui Yunchu looked up in shock.
How did Grandmother know?
"Grandmother, what are you saying? How could your granddaughter ever say such a thing about you."
Cui Yunchu would naturally not admit it.
"You are lying again. I clearly heard with my own ears that you secretly cursed Grandmother behind her back as an old hag who refuses to die..."
"Second Sister," Cui Yunchu's voice was uncharacteristically gentle, but the gaze she cast back at Cui Yunfeng was cold and terrifying. "You misheard."
Cui Yunfeng was furious. "Two-faced, hypocritical, feigning compliance!!"
