“Father!” Si Huahuan stormed into the Zichen Hall in a fury. She held the imperial decree high in her hand, her fingers trembling as she confronted Emperor Jiaping. “You know full well that Xie Yun and I are irreconcilable enemies. Why did you bestow this marriage without even asking me first?”
Instead of becoming angry at her challenge, Emperor Jiaping smiled faintly.
“You two have known each other since childhood and have grown up side by side for decades. You could not be better matched. It is perfectly normal for children to bicker and argue; it is nowhere near as serious as being irreconcilable. Besides, has there ever been a time when Jingchu did not give way to you? Apart from him, who else could possibly endure your proud, willful, and arrogant temperament?”
Huahuan’s voice rose sharply. “Father, you are clearly favoring an outsider over your own daughter! I must ask you—am I truly your birth child, or is Xie Yun actually your son? Even if the General of Agile Cavalry rendered great service to you and to the Great Yue Kingdom, you cannot repay that debt by sacrificing your daughter’s entire life!”
“Kangle! How dare you speak to me in such a manner!” Emperor Jiaping stood up abruptly. “I have never considered using your marriage as a way to repay a debt. Furthermore, had it not been for the General of Agile Cavalry in years past, I would never have ascended the throne, nor would you be enjoying this life of luxury and freedom to do as you please. Do not ever speak such nonsense again.”
Huahuan’s chest heaved violently. She could not understand why her father, who had always spoiled and indulged her, was being so resolute and unyielding regarding this matter. “Why must it be him?”
The stern expression on Emperor Jiaping’s face slowly softened. “Jingchu holds deep affection for you and personally asked me for your hand in marriage. His words and actions all prove that his feelings for you are sincere. I have thought this through carefully, and for you, he is truly the best possible choice for a husband.”
Huahuan let out a snort of laughter, as if she had heard the greatest joke in the world. “He is a smooth‑talking hypocrite! All those things he said were nothing but lies to deceive you! Do you truly believe such high‑sounding, pretentious words?”
“It is not as if every good man in the world is dead and gone. There are plenty of handsome men everywhere. Why must I marry *him*, Xie Yun?”
The Emperor straightened his back, his demeanor changing back to that of an absolute ruler who brooked no defiance. “We will speak of this no more. The Ministry of Rites has already begun preparations for the wedding, and news of this has already spread everywhere throughout the capital. Once an imperial decree is issued, there is no precedent for recalling or withdrawing it.”
Seeing that her father had left absolutely no room for negotiation, Huahuan gripped the scroll tightly, turned on her heel, and stormed out without looking back.
*Xie Yun, you despicable scoundrel! First you snitch on me to my brother, then you go to the Plum Blossom Garden and ruin my fun. And now you have gone even further—just to make sure I can never be happy, you’ve come up with such a vile, underhanded trick!*
Emperor Jiaping watched her angry retreating figure and sighed.
*As long as it ensures my daughter’s happiness in the future, it is worth enduring a little misunderstanding or resentment now!*
*****
Huahuan kicked open the main gates of the Marquis’s residence. The guards stationed there dared not stop her or even try to block her path. Her fingers, clutching the imperial decree, were so tight they had turned white. Fire burned deep in her eyes as she grabbed a guard at random and demanded, “Where is Xie Yun?”
The guard replied in a trembling voice, “H‑he is… in the study…”
Huahuan knew the layout of the residence well and rushed straight toward the study. Xie Yun was leaning against his desk, casually flipping through a book. When she burst in, he didn’t even lift an eyebrow.
“Xie Yun!” She threw the decree down hard in front of him, her voice shaking with rage. “Have you gone mad?! If you find me so disgusting, there is no need to use such a despicable method to torment me!”
Xie Yun glanced down at the scroll, set his book aside, and slowly picked up his teacup to take a small sip. “Actually, I learned this approach from you. You always said it doesn’t matter what method you use, as long as it gets the result you want.”
His tone was light and casual, as if he were discussing the weather. Huahuan hated nothing more than this look on his face—the way he acted as if everything was under his complete control. With a sharp sweep of her arm, she sent the incense burner, ink stone, and brush rack crashing to the floor with a loud clatter. The celadon teacup was not spared either; it shattered into pieces, scattering tea water everywhere, while ink spilled across the polished tiles, leaving a messy, chaotic scene.
“You are utterly shameless and despicable! How dare you speak such rubbish nonsense to my father about holding ‘affection’ for me? Don’t you feel disgusted and sick just saying those words yourself?”
Xie Yun stood up, walked around the desk, and picked up the decree from the floor. He brushed off a few drops of spilled tea from the silk. “Not particularly. But if you want to hear it again, I suppose I could say it all over directly to you.”
Huahuan was speechless with fury. *How can a human being be this thick‑skinned and shameless?*
“The last time we met, we clearly agreed—we would go our separate ways and never interfere with each other again!”
Xie Yun replied calmly, “You may have agreed to that. I certainly never consented to it.”
“You!” Huahuan stared at those peach‑blossom eyes of his, which remained so calm and composed. She felt an urge to tear him apart limb from limb.
Xie Yun’s expression finally changed slightly. His amber eyes locked onto hers, and suddenly he smiled. “Finally willing to look at me properly and directly? You’ve been hiding from me and avoiding me so thoroughly these past few days, I almost began to think you were actually afraid of me.”
“Afraid of you?” Huahuan scoffed disdainfully. “I simply find you annoying and tiresome.”
Xie Yun drew out the word slowly. “Oh? Well then… you are going to have to put up with me being very annoying from now on.”
Huahuan fell silent for a moment. Then she asked, “Wait a minute… don’t tell me you are actually genuinely in love with me, and deliberately used this excuse to go to my father and ask for this marriage decree?”
Xie Yun’s face froze for a split second, then he scoffed. “Don’t flatter yourself and get delusional.”
“Then why drag me down into the mud with you?” Huahuan ground out the words through clenched teeth. “There are noble ladies all over the capital who would be willing to marry you—enough to line up and circle the city walls twice! Yet you deliberately insist on making life difficult for me. You have ruined my chances of a good marriage, but haven’t you also delayed and ruined your own prospects? Why must we both lose and suffer?”
“You worry too much, Your Highness.” Xie Yun tilted his head and smiled. “Unless… could it be that you are afraid that if we live together and see each other every day, you might actually develop feelings for me…?”
He was already strikingly handsome, and when he smiled like that, he was dazzling to look at. But it only made Huahuan’s anger burn hotter than ever.
Her fingertips trembled with rage as she pointed at him. “Even if every other man in the entire world dropped dead and ceased to exist, I would never, ever feel anything for you!”
“Oh? Is that so? I don’t believe you.”
“Xie Yun!” Huahuan was thoroughly provoked. “Just you wait! We shall see exactly who makes life miserable for the other first!”
Xie Yun leaned casually against the edge of his desk and watched her with perfect ease. “I shall await that day with great anticipation.”
He watched her storm off in a huff, sweeping her sleeves angrily as she left. Only when her figure had disappeared did he lower his gaze, unroll the bright yellow silk scroll in his hands, and gently trace his fingertips over the two names written side by side on the decree.
Steward Tao, who had been hiding outside the door the whole time, stepped over the threshold. His eyes swept over the mess covering the floor, then looked at the Marquis, whose face was glowing with satisfaction and delight. He asked, “Did Your Lordship anticipate that the Princess would come, and therefore specifically instruct the gatekeepers to leave the main gate slightly unlatched?”
Xie Yun carefully rolled up the decree, placed it reverently inside an exquisite wooden box, and locked it securely. He answered with unshaken calm:
“Do I not know her character perfectly? As soon as she heard the news, she was certain to come looking for me. And with her temper, she was bound to kick the door open in her rage. I had them leave it slightly ajar so she could kick *that* and vent her anger first. Otherwise, I would have been the one to receive that kick.”
Steward Tao fell silent, unsure how to respond.
He looked up through the window at the clear, bright sky. He had a distinct feeling that the Marquis’s residence, which had been quiet and peaceful for over a decade, was about to become very lively and bustling very soon.
*****
Having hit a dead end with both her father and Xie Yun, Huahuan had no choice but to go find her brother, Si Huarong.
She pushed open his door. Huarong was in the middle of writing calligraphy. He was startled so badly by her entrance that his hand jerked, causing a large blot of ink to spread across the fine rice paper.
He lifted his head and saw his sister storming toward him, skirts held high, hairpins shaking wildly in her hair, and her cheeks flushed bright pink from fury.
“Brother!” Huahuan slammed the door shut so hard the whole room shook. “I refuse to marry Xie Yun!”
Huarong set down his brush and wiped a smudge of ink from his fingertips with a handkerchief, speaking gently. “Calm down and speak slowly. Be careful not to break the door.”
“Who cares if the door breaks or not!” Huahuan rushed to his desk and slammed both hands flat on the surface, making the brush rack rattle and shake. “Father says his words are sacred and irrevocable, and since the decree has already been issued, it is impossible to withdraw it. And Xie Yun refuses to let me off the hook or voluntarily break the engagement!”
Huarong walked around the desk and gently placed his hands on his sister’s shoulders. “Sit down first, and then tell me everything.”
Huahuan dropped into a chair. Suddenly, the rims of her eyes turned red, and her voice took on a tearful, wailing tone. “Brother, you have to help me… Xie Yun is deliberately making my life impossible. We aren’t even married yet, and he is already making me so angry I could die… waaaaah…”
She wailed loudly and dramatically, but not a single real tear fell despite all the noise.
Huarong knew this was one of his sister’s favorite tricks. Yet looking at her pitiful expression—eyes red, nose red, looking so wronged and helpless—he couldn’t help but soften his heart anyway. He sighed softly. “Do you truly hate him that much?”
Seeing her brother’s resolve weakening, Huahuan immediately grabbed his hand as if he were a lifeline thrown to a drowning person. She looked up at him with wide, round eyes, blinking rapidly.
“Brother, please go talk to Father. Just tell him… tell him that Xie Yun is not a good man whom I can entrust my life to. You spend every day with him and know him best; Father will certainly believe what you say!”
Huarong couldn’t help but smile. “Nonsense. Father watches Jingchu’s conduct and character closely every day as well; he knows exactly what kind of man he is. I cannot go slander an innocent person. That would be wrong.”
“I don’t care about that!” Huahuan stamped her foot fiercely. “You are my own flesh‑and‑blood brother! If you won’t help me, are you just going to stand there and watch me die at his hands?!”
“Now you are speaking nonsense again. What is this talk about dying?” Huarong knew he could never win an argument against her. He had no choice but to nod and agree. “Fine, fine, fine. I will go speak to Father.”
Huahuan’s eyes lit up instantly, and the tearful act vanished completely. “Really? Brother, you are the best person in the whole world!”
She jumped up, grabbed his arm, and shook it back and forth. “Go right now! Go immediately!”
Huarong gently pulled his arm free, looking helpless. “At least let me change my clothes first.”
It took only the time it takes to burn a stick of incense before Huarong returned from the Zichen Hall. He had barely stepped through the doors of his own palace when his sister came rushing out to meet him, holding up her skirts, jade pendants and bracelets jingling with every quick step.
“Well? How did it go? Did Father agree to withdraw the order?” Huahuan asked urgently.
Huarong pressed his lips together. “Father said that Jingchu is actually helping him solve a difficult problem… and regarding this marriage…”
He hesitated and stalled. Huahuan widened her eyes, waiting anxiously and expectantly for him to continue.
“Yesterday, news somehow leaked out. By early this morning, word of the marriage between you and Jingchu had already spread throughout the entire capital. It was precisely because of this widespread rumor that Father formally issued the decree.”
The hope on Huahuan’s face crumbled away little by little. “And so…?”
“Father is in a very difficult position. As the saying goes, even a team of four horses cannot catch up to or take back a spoken word. How much more so for the Son of Heaven? His words are law, and once a decree is issued, there is absolutely no way to recall it.”
“I am certain Xie Yun deliberately spread those rumors just to force me into submission!” Huahuan fumed. “Otherwise, how could something discussed behind closed doors inside the Zichen Hall spread across the whole capital in less than a single day? What a shameless, despicable man!”
*Is that all that useless scoundrel is capable of doing? Spreading lies and rumors about me all over the city every single day!*
Suddenly, realization dawned on her.
*From the very beginning, this was a trap laid step by step by Xie Yun. First, he leaked news about my visit to the Plum Blossom Garden and colluded with the Censors to impeach me. That made Father anxious and troubled, creating the perfect opportunity for him to spout that ridiculous nonsense about ‘affection’ and get Father to believe him.*
*Then he leaked the news about the proposed marriage before it was even official, making it public knowledge so that there was no going back. That way, Father would definitely not withdraw the decree, and I would have no choice but to swallow my anger and accept it for the sake of the royal family’s dignity and reputation.*
No matter how willful or arrogant she was, she would never go so far as to disregard or destroy the prestige of the Imperial Family.
“Jingchu is not that kind of person,” Huarong said softly.
Huahuan felt as if she were about to faint from frustration caused by her brother. He was so gentle, so simple and kind, and completely without guile or scheming thoughts.
Huarong had completely inherited their mother’s temperament: a noble, gentle, refined gentleman, pure of heart and flawless as jade.
Huahuan, on the other hand, took entirely after their father. She had boundless energy and confidence, and having been spoiled, indulged, and “educated by example” by Emperor Jiaping since childhood, she had always been allowed to do exactly as she pleased without restriction. This was how she had developed her arrogant, overbearing, and willful nature.
Despite coming from the same parents, their personalities were as different as fire and water. Yet far from being incompatible, they surprisingly got along very well.
Huarong didn’t know how else to comfort her. He turned to the servants nearby and ordered, “Bring the midday meal.”
Huahuan blinked, confused. “?”
“Brother… how can you possibly think about eating at a time like this?”
*I am currently being roasted over a fire, cornered and trapped on all sides! And here he is, still in the mood for lunch!*
Huarong blinked back at her calmly. “It is time for the midday meal.”
Huahuan felt a surge of bitter frustration rising in her throat. She could endure it no longer. “Brother! Fine then—go ahead and eat by yourself!”
With that, just as furiously as she had arrived, she turned and stormed out of the palace, skirts held high.
She decided not to go see her mother. The Empress had a soft, yielding nature. If she had failed to change her father’s mind, going to her mother would be utterly useless and make no difference.
She returned to the Palace of Eternal Peace and sat thinking for a long time. Finally, she called Wei Zi over and asked, “Which temple near the capital is the most accurate when it comes to divining marriage and destiny?”