Chapter 1: Overnight White Hair Without Worries

  Gu Qingjin opened her eyes in a daze, and the pink canopy that entered her line of sight made her feel a sense of disappointment. She was disappointed with herself for waking up again. Hadn't she died yet?

  She had already given up on life, why not let her die? Anyway, she was in this state, how much longer could she last? Then, her eyes became dull again, with the dead air of self-loathing and impending death. Her body felt weak, and she fell into a deep sleep once more. Perhaps next time, she really wouldn't wake up. In the last moment before she fell asleep, she wondered if she would return to her old world if she died.

  But when she woke up again, she still saw the pink canopy on the bed, the room was empty, and the mandarin duck was not in the room. She lay quietly on the bed listening to the gossip of two little maids outside.

  Only one of the little maids spoke up, "The sixth king's wife from next door has come to our king's wife again. The sixth king's wife and our king's wife have a really good relationship. I just saw the master and the sixth king's wife walking out of our king's wife's place together, with a faint smile on their faces. I've never seen the master look so gentle before. It seems that the sixth king's wife is really capable, every time she comes to our mansion, it seems like she can always make our king's wife and the master's mood much better than usual!"

  "Really? Did Grandfather smile? That's impossible... But I also noticed that when Grandfather faced the Sixth Princess, he didn't have his usual cold expression..."

  "Hush, don't speak nonsense. The Sixth Princess is our master's brother's wife and the elder sister of the one lying in this room we're serving now. However, what you said is right. When Master looks at the Sixth Princess, his expression is not normal, it's as if he's being pressed by a cold air."

  "Right? I'm telling you, listen to me. I heard that the Sixth Princess was originally supposed to be our master's concubine, but she secretly ran out of her house before marriage and confessed to our master, causing a scene in front of the Emperor. It's really embarrassing for our family. I heard that the one we're serving is actually the legitimate eldest daughter of the Duke of Anji, while the Sixth Princess's father is just the younger brother of the Duke of Anji, a fifth-rank official who was demoted and sent away. All because of what happened between our master and her before marriage, which angered the Emperor and led to the Duke of Anji being stripped of his title, and his wife being divorced. But she was smoothly given to our master as a concubine by the Emperor, saying that a concubine in an ordinary family is just a nameless, low-ranking servant girl. It's really pitiful for the Duke of Anji and his wife to have such a daughter, it's like they're cursed with bad luck for eight lifetimes!"

  And her cousin, who is now the sixth princess, was given to the sixth prince as his official wife by His Majesty. You say that a noble duke's daughter would rather not be the legitimate wife and instead... It's truly humiliating herself!

  "Shh, keep your voice down. If the one lying in the room hears you, you'll be in trouble. You know that person is also quite favored by our grandfather."

  "Pfft, what's so special about her? The first two years after she got married were still passable, but now... do you think grandfather still dotes on her like before? If he really loved her, would he be so careless with her body every time they're together, hastily doing that thing in bed and then leaving without a care? I think grandfather only spoils her in bed. Who lets someone treat them like a prostitute, letting us take advantage of her at will? You don't know, but I secretly saw..."

  Gu Qingjin couldn't help but let out a loud cough after hearing the conversation outside, her anger and frustration boiling over. She had never imagined that in other people's eyes, she was just a lowly woman who relied on her body to gain the meager favor of that man.

  And as for the matter of Father being stripped of his title, it was clearly because Father botched the task assigned by the Emperor and incurred the Emperor's wrath that he was stripped of his title. How could it be that she was implicated?

  The two little maids outside heard her loud cough and hastily stopped making noise, pushed the door open and came in, looking at Gu Qingjin who was half sitting on the bed, exchanged a glance with each other and said, "Mrs. Jin, you're awake?"

  Qing Jin looked at the two maids who came in and asked her with a hypocritical tone, without any fear, and she was extremely angry in her heart. She picked up a vase and wanted to throw it at the two maids, but unfortunately, she had no strength in her hand and the vase fell to the ground in front of the bed, shattering into pieces.

  Those two maids saw Qing Jin's actions and still didn't understand what was going on. Seeing the vase fall to the ground, they sneered at Qing Jin with a smile, "Madam Jin, why bother doing such things yourself? Just give us orders and we'll do it for you." Seeing Qing Jin's trembling finger pointing at them, they weren't afraid and continued, "Right, I forgot that Madam Jin loves to humiliate herself like this."

  "Get out... Get out of here..." Qing Jin shouted at the two maids with all her might.

  "Get out, you think you're still the favored Madame Jin from back then? If it weren't for the princess's orders, why would we be unlucky enough to serve a lowly concubine like you? You really think you're the favored Madame Jin? You're just a shameless, self-abasing..."

  "This lady is still the half-owner of this third prince's mansion, and you two are just lowly servants sent by the princess to serve this lady. This lady can deal with you two easily, do you think anyone will stand up for you? The princess?" Her words carried a chilling and murderous intent, she was a noblewoman who wouldn't be insulted by two insignificant maids even if she were to sink into the mud.

  The two maids were intimidated by Qingjin's tone, thinking of their status, they immediately became afraid in their hearts and no longer had the previous arrogance. They hastily lowered their heads and humbly said, "We know we're wrong, Mrs. Jin, please spare our lives, we'll leave now." After finishing speaking, they ran out as if there was a ghost behind them seeking their lives.

  Seeing the two maidservants go out, Qing Jin struggled to get up from bed and walked laboriously to sit in front of the dressing mirror. She looked at the pale and haggard woman in the mirror, who no longer had any of her former beauty, now showing signs of aging. She stared blankly at the mirror, suddenly discovering many silver threads among her hair. She laboriously plucked out those silver hairs, vaguely remembering that they hadn't been there yesterday. In just one night's time, she had grown so many white hairs. So it was true that people could turn white-haired overnight. She forced a faint smile in front of the mirror.

  That smile, however, was no longer the charming and captivating one of her former days. Instead, it appeared eerie and frightening on her pale and haggard face, which seemed to have aged overnight. Had she really grown so old in just one night?