"Climb onto my bed, and smile for his sake," the man sneered as he shoved her. "You think I was born to entertain your honors?" Su Tang spat, teeth showing. "Do as you're told," Shen Yunxuan said without looking at her. His voice was smooth, practiced. He held the imperial pamphlet like a trophy. "Read it then. Announce what you've bought with my name," Su Tang said. "Marquis Shen's new rank is the result of family merit, loyalty, and—" Shen's voice slid into courtly flourishes. "—and a wife who bent her back while he climbed." Su Tang finished. The hall froze. Su Ningyan's laugh rang sharp as a blade. "Entertaining," she said. "You should have learned your place a long time ago." "Silence," the marquis elder snapped. He looked at Su Tang and smiled like he kept secrets. "Enough drama. Mingling is over." "True daughter?" a cousin mocked. "This is rich. Which servants planted her story this time?" "Tell us," another voice called. "Were you a maid first, then promoted? Or born with a silver spoon and lost it?" Su Tang took a step forward. "I was married in good faith," she said. "I made a home. You swapped me like coin." Shen's smile sharpened. "She misstates the situation." He raised the proclamation, voice clear. "The prince rewards those who serve the realm. My ambition serves the realm." "Save your sermons," Su Tang said. "You used me in the dark, then praised me in