Once it was decided that Wen Wan would marry the Third Prince, she stopped leaving the Wen residence. Everyone had their eyes on her—some were waiting to laugh at her missteps, others were looking for any excuse to ruin her chances and keep her from becoming the Third Prince's consort.
During that time, Wen Wan was deeply anxious and kept falling in and out of illness. It wasn’t until right before the wedding that she finally left the Wen residence.
The Wen family, fearing she would fall ill from confinement, let her go out and about to wait for the wedding day.
Before the wedding, she went to a temple to offer incense, and there she saw Lin En again. Lin En said, "Let me take you away." In that moment, Wen Wan desperately wanted to agree—to leave everything behind and run far away with him.
But they both knew it was impossible.
Wen Wan looked at Lin En and finally shook her head, telling him not to dwell on it anymore and to live well.
Lin En took off his mask, his expression dazed as he murmured, "Why him? He has everything I don't. Why did it have to turn out like this?"
Qi Junmu had the exact same face as his, yet he was a Third Prince who could marry the woman he loved — while he had nothing.
Lin En felt it was unfair. He asked Wen Wan if it wasn't unfair. In the end, he didn't even realize he was crying.
Seeing Lin En cry, Wen Wan wept too. She felt it was all fate.
That night, when she returned to the Wen residence, Wen Wan fell ill—and remained ill until her wedding day.
Wen Wan truly wanted to let go of her inner conflict and get along well with Qi Junmu. But every time she saw his face, she thought of Lin En.
It pained her—but that pain wasn't meant for Qi Junmu.
She could not let go of Lin En, yet for the sake of the Wen family, she could not afford to lose Qi Junmu's heart.
Some things, she thought, could be delayed one day at a time. She hadn't expected Qi Junmu to be so patient with her, without showing even a trace of pressure. And the more patient he was, the more a twisted sense of satisfaction grew in Wen Wan's heart.
Lin En could not hurt Qi Junmu—but she could.
After her marriage, Lin En would enter the palace from time to time. Everyone thought he came for Fuhua's sake—only Wen Wan knew he came for her. From an outsider's perspective, she could see clearly that Lin En was currying favor with the Empress Dowager to win her affection.
The relationship between the Empress Dowager and the Emperor grew worse, while her bond with Lin En grew stronger. The Empress Dowager said the Emperor was unfilial; by comparison, Lin En was the most filial son under heaven—and the easiest to control.
Sometimes, the Empress Dowager couldn't help but let the thought cross her mind: If only Lin En were the Emperor. Lin En would not oppose her, and her days would be far more comfortable.
Lin En noticed the Empress Dowager's shifting attitude and redoubled his efforts to please her, which only drove a deeper wedge between the Emperor and the Empress Dowager.
As time passed, Wen Wan began to vaguely discern what Lin En intended. She told him he was mad. He said he was indeed mad—he had long since grown tired of living behind a mask.
What followed came naturally. Lin En and Wen Wan were together. With Wen Wan's tacit encouragement, the Wen family and the Lin family grew even closer.
This was the imperial palace, and Wen Wan was the Emperor's most beloved, the only woman in his harem.
Lin En's face was identical to the Emperor's. Moreover, the Emperor was not always in the palace—when the weather turned hot, he would retreat to the summer villa, and occasionally he would travel incognito to observe the common people. Lin En, wearing that face, found many things far more convenient.
Wen Wan drugged the Emperor. At first, the calming incense contained nothing. The Emperor trusted Wen Wan deeply. Gradually, the poison was added. Wen Wan also replaced the imperial physicians by his side, and the Emperor grew even less suspicious.
Lin En had never been able to decide when to make his move—until Wen Wan became pregnant.
That was something that could not be hidden in the palace. If the Emperor learned the news, everything between them would be exposed. Wen Wan and Lin En decided to act as quickly as possible, and things went smoothly.
The Lin family held great power. Unable to endure Wen Wan's betrayal, and with the poison already ravaging his body, the Emperor suffered a stroke from sheer rage. It was Lin En himself who smothered the Emperor with a pillow. Wen Wan dared not do it—she could not bear the contempt, disdain, and mockery in the Emperor's eyes.
After the Emperor's death, Wen Wan informed the Empress Dowager and Lin Xiao. This could not be hidden from the Empress Dowager, and Lin En had no intention of hiding it. The Empress Dowager was shocked and distraught, but in the end, Lin Xiao's reassurance calmed her.
At the time, the West Frontier was in chaos, Qi Junzhuo had vanished, the Emperor had not held court for days, rumors were rife, and Prince Ying was poised to make trouble.
The Empress Dowager was forced to choose between saving her own honor and status. In the end, they covered up the Emperor's death.
Lin En, wearing Qi Junmu's face, sat on the dragon throne. Inside the palace, the Empress Dowager and Wen Wan worked together in secret. Outside, Lin Xiao took care of everything. It was all done quietly, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
The imperial physicians were all replaced. Qi Junmu was buried in an unknown place, without so much as a headstone.
Lin En and Wen Wan were openly together—one the Emperor, the other the Empress. The Empress Dowager believed the child in Wen Wan's womb was Qi Junmu's, and so turned a blind eye to it all.
At this point, it should have been the happiest of endings—but for Wen Wan, it was not.
The Empress Dowager still disliked Wen Wan. And now, the new Emperor, Lin En, no longer stood with her against the Empress Dowager. He had too many things to weigh.
Little by little, other beauties entered the harem. All four consort positions were filled, along with the lower ranks like zhaoyi and meiren.
[昭仪 (Zhāoyí): lit. Illustrious Lady, a senior consort rank, just below the Four Consorts.]
[美人 (Měirén): lit. Beauty, a mid-low consort rank.]
The palace was never lacking in beauties. Lin En's eyes could not stay fixed on Wen Wan alone—there were always younger, fresher faces entering the palace.
Lin En still loved Wen Wan, but for the sake of power, he was forced to neglect her.
Wen Wan had never endured such treatment. When Qi Junmu was alive, she was the only one. Now that he was gone, she had to fight for favor — and endure the Empress Dowager's scorn on top of it.
Wen Wan's health had always been poor. After giving birth, she could bear no more children.
The Empress Dowager found this unacceptable. She believed the child was Qi Junmu's, and she would never allow his child to become crown prince or heir.
Lin En and Wen Wan bore it all in silence. Wen Wan wanted to tell the truth, but Lin En refused to let her.
They all knew the Empress Dowager's nature. If Wen Wan's child turned out to be Lin En's, the Empress Dowager would never let Wen Wan live. Qi Junmu, after all, was still her son.
The Empress Dowager couldn't bring herself to harm Lin En, but she could certainly harm Wen Wan.
And so the days dragged on. Lin En found it unbearable to sit on the throne.
He was constrained by the Empress Dowager, constrained by the Lin family.
Nothing he said could be carried out until the Empress Dowager and Lin Xiao approved it. Bit by bit, it all started to feel meaningless to him.
Lin En drowned himself in wine and pleasure. He had thought that once he became emperor, he could do whatever he wanted. But instead, life as emperor was even worse.
The Lin family's power grew day by day. People said that if a Lin family dog so much as barked at someone, that person would have to kowtow and beg for forgiveness.
Lin En had been on the throne for three years when Qi Junzhuo rebelled with the North Frontier Army.
When he heard the news, Lin En was stunned. Back then, on the West Frontier, he had appeared before Qi Junzhuo in the guise of Qi Junmu, and while the man's guard was down, he had personally pushed him off a cliff. He never imagined that Qi Junzhuo had survived.
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