"You're looking much better today, Miss Zi-ning," Shujin said cheerily as she walked into her young mistress's room, carrying a fresh basin of water and a towel for the morning. She quickly set the basin down on the table and took out one of Zi-ning's favourite dresses from the wardrobe, made of the most opulent bright yellow silk brocade with intricate embroidery of flowers all over the skirt.

Zi-ning shook her head. "Bring me the maroon one, with the silver trim."

"The maroon dress? But you've always disliked that one," Shujin remarked, looking puzzled.

Zi-ning always had a penchant for brightly-coloured dresses because she liked attracting attention and believed that they made her stand out in the crowd. Even though her maids knew that those dresses with their garish embroidery only made their young mistress look embarrassingly unrefined, they had always known better than to openly say anything negative in front of her. It wasn't their place to say anything when Lady Min and the other ladies of the household always praised Zi-ning for her beauty whenever she showed up in one of those awful dresses.

Besides that, Zi-ning also loved wearing an excessively thick layer of make-up on her face whenever she went out, insisting that Shujin pile on the powder and rouge even though her skin was already naturally smooth and there was really no need for such excesses.

Surprisingly, Zi-ning asked for none of that today.

Instead, she opted for a light sprinkling of face powder and a lip shade that matched the deep maroon of the dress she had chosen.

"You look beautiful, Miss Zi-ning," Shujin said as she marvelled at her young mistress's reflection in the mirror.

It was almost as if she was looking at a completely different person from the one she had served all these years. The girl she was looking at now was regal and refined, her hair elegantly done up and held together with a simple white jade pin behind her head. Zi-ning had been born with delicate features that resembled her mother's, so all it took was the removal of those coarse and provincial layers that Lady Min had tricked her into putting on in order to reveal the true beauty beneath.

Zi-ning sat there for a couple of moments, staring at her own reflection in the bronze. This was who she really was, and this time round she would be facing the world with this face—not with the cheapened image that Lady Min had carefully fashioned for her.

"Get the horse carriage ready. I'll be heading in to town after greeting Grandmother," she said, standing up and heading for the door.

When Zi-ning reached the western annex of the Minister's manor, Lady Min, Lady Wan and their daughters were already there for the regular morning greeting, together with some of the minister's other concubines. As usual, the old madam of the household—Lady Sun—was seated at the head of the main hall, with her daughters-in-law and granddaughters sitting on both sides of her. The moment Zi-ning entered the hall, all eyes on the room shifted in her direction, and there was no shortage of stunned expressions on the faces of everyone present, including her own grandmother.

"Zi-ning pays her respects to Grandmother," Zi-ning curtseyed and greeted respectfully once she had reached the front of the hall.

"There's no need for such formalities," her grandmother said quickly once she had recovered from the momentary surprise, gesturing for her to get up, "you've only just recovered. How are you feeling?" There was no disguising the elation in her voice to see her precious granddaughter in front of her, with such poise and grace no less.

"Much better, thanks to Grandmother's concern," Zi-ning replied with an obedient smile. She slowly walked over to Meiyan, who was seated next to Lady Min in the chair that was typically reserved for her. The latter had obviously not expected Zi-ning to show up this morning and had unceremoniously been occupying her seat for the duration of her illness.

Seeing Zi-ning walk towards her, Meiyan's smile froze on her face. "It's wonderful to see you here this morning, Zi-ning," she said stiffly. "We thought you would be resting for a couple more days. You shouldn't be moving around so much since you've only just recovered."

"I've already been cooped up in my room for over a week and I've missed Grandmother, so I decided to come over at the earliest possible instance." With one simple sentence, Zi-ning had cleverly shown her filial piety towards the old lady, and the widening smile on the old madam's face reflected how pleased she was with what she had just heard.

"Since Zi-ning is here, Meiyan, you should return to your original seat," the old madam said. Although she had closed one eye and allowed Meiyan to shift her position in Zi-ning's absence, it didn't mean that their relative positions in her heart had shifted a single bit.

Sensing her daughter's reluctance, Lady Min immediately shot Meiyan a warning glare, one that didn't go overlooked by Zi-ning. Biting her lower lip with unwillingness, Meiyan got up from her seat and shifted into the empty chair one position down.

Zi-ning smiled and sat down in her rightful place without so much as a sideways glance in Meiyan's direction. If something like this had happened in the past, she would have just let Meiyan remained where she was and obediently taken the lesser seat out of respect for her older sister, but not anymore. This time it was a mere seat, but in future she would slowly claw back everything that belonged to her from Lady Min and Meiyan.

This was only the beginning.

"Zi-ning, you're looking very different today," Lady Wan, her father's second concubine, said from across the room, a smile on her ruby red lips. "Why the sudden change? I thought you never liked dark colours." Although she was smiling, everyone could sense the hidden barbs in her words.

Unlike Lady Min, who took special care to put on a warm and caring image, Lady Wan never bothered with such acting. Perhaps that was why she lost the position of official wife to Lady Min, despite being the younger and prettier of the two. Still, being the only other lady of the household with a child to her name, Lady Wan still commanded significant respect in the Han manor.

"I look so pale and haggard, and I'm still shaken from the incident," Zi-ning replied wistfully. "If I wore the same bright colours like I used to, I would probably look like a joke. Besides, I'm already sixteen this year—I think I'll leave the bright colours for those who are younger, like Meisi."

Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Lady Min's face twitch awkwardly when she heard her reply, and a flash of anger also appeared on Lady Wan's face. Saying that she looked like a joke was a direct attack on the former, who had always encouraged her to wear bright, garish colours and praised her for it, while adding on that she would leave the bright colours to Meisi was a snipe at Lady Wan, whose only daughter also had liking for loud and colourful attire despite her mother's best efforts at transforming her into an elegant lady like Meiyan.

Old Madam Sun however, noticed none of the colourful expressions on her daughters-in-law's faces. Instead, she smiled and nodded at her granddaughter in approval. "Indeed, girls your age need not wear clothes that are too bright. Muted tones are much better."

The only ones who wore clothes the shades of the rainbow were the courtesans at the brothels and girls of low births who sought to attract the attention of men, so such dresses were typically frowned upon in upper society. The old madam had long disapproved of her Zi-ning's choice of clothing, but out of her love for the girl she had always reluctantly let the child have her way. Still, she had always worried that Zi-ning's penchant for tacky clothing would pose some problems for her when it came to finding a husband in future. Looking at Zi-ning now, it seemed as if her worries were unfounded.

"The queen's spring gathering is approaching. You should get a few new sets of clothes made for the occasion. All the important families in the capital will be attending, so you must ensure that you are at your best."

The hidden message in the old madam's words was clear. Occasions like these when the upper echelons gathered were not merely for enjoyment and casual chatter, it was also an opportunity for the wives of royalty and important officials to observe the young ladies of the various households so as to identify suitable wives for their sons. As such, many young ladies would go to great extents to ensure that they showed their best image at these events. With luck, perhaps the queen herself would be impressed by them, earning them the title of princess consort to one of the princes.

At previous such occasions, Zi-ning had always been the ugly duckling beside Meiyan, serving only to highlight her older sister's grace and beauty. Also, her arrogance and crassness had earned her quite the negative reputation among the other families, all of which she had been oblivious to in her previous life. Instead, she had been ever thankful to Meiyan for always staying by her side and occasionally standing up for her when the other young ladies threw rude comments her way. On hindsight, she now knew the real reason why Meiyan always kept her close by. Without her as a point of comparison, Meiyan's poise and refinement would be far less outstanding.

"I don't think I'll be able to go for the queen's celebration, Grandmother," Zi-ning said, much to everyone's surprise.

"Why is that?" Old Madam Sun asked, a slight furrow appearing across her forehead.

"Although I'm feeling much better I'm still far from recovered. Just thinking about what happened still makes me a little scared," Zi-ning said quietly, a sorrowful expression appearing on her slightly pale face. "I would like to seek Grandmother's permission to go to the Taishan temple for a period of time to recuperate." With Minister Han frequently away from the manor on official matters, the old madam was the de facto head of the household in his absence, which meant that Zi-ning's request needed her approval.

As expected, her grandmother's frown deepened. "Taishan is so far away and isolated. It's far from a suitable place for a young girl like yourself. If you need the space and quiet to recuperate, you can just stay indoors and no one will disturb your peace."

"Each time I walk past the pond in the manor gardens can't help but recall what happened. If I continue to stay here, I'll constantly be reminded of the incident and not be able to recuperate well."

"But still..."

"Madam, although Taishan is some distance from the capital, it's still only a couple of days by horse carriage. Compared to the other temples, Taishan is far quieter and more peaceful, which could be good for Zi-ning's recovery. Look at the poor girl," Lady Min said, placing her hand over Zi-ning's, "she still looks so pale compared to how she was before. It breaks my heart to see her like this."

Although Zi-ning wanted nothing more than to pull her hand away from Lady Min, she resisted the urge to do so. Instead, she put a small smile on her face. There was no need to make things ugly now, especially not when she was still severely lacking in what she needed to take her revenge. She had expected this reaction from Lady Min since the woman would only be more than happy to get her out of her sight.

"Grandmother, I know you can't bear to send me so far away, but I really think that some time away from home will do me good. I'll recuperate well and pray for the family while I'm there, and I promise I won't be away for long."

The old madam sighed, then nodded her head. "If that's what you feel is best, then so be it. Bring a few more servants and guards along with you to Taishan, and come back home immediately if you miss home, alright?"

"Yes, Grandmother."

She would definitely come home eventually, and when she did, everything would be different.