When Si Huahuan slowly regained consciousness, she let out an involuntary groan. Immediately, a shadow fell across her vision.
She opened her eyes, her sight still somewhat blurry, and saw four faces leaning in close to look at her.
The Empress held a handkerchief in her hand, while Emperor Jiaping and Si Huarong stood by the bed, looking deeply concerned. Jiang Heshu asked, “Your Highness, are you feeling unwell anywhere?”
Jiang Heshu was the eldest grandson of Imperial Physician Jiang. As the elder physician was advanced in years, he had entrusted the treatment of Si Huahuan’s minor daily ailments to Jiang Heshu.
She shook her head gently, feeling weak and drained all over.
She hadn’t fainted purely out of anger. She had risen quite early that morning and was already low on energy. Then she had rushed about for most of the day, and finally heard that dreadful news. Being naturally frail, the sudden rush of anger and emotion had made her lose consciousness.
Emperor Jiaping stepped forward and patted her hand. “There, there. Father knows you are overjoyed to have found such an excellent match. But you must take care of your health; you cannot let yourself get so overexcited.”
Si Huahuan nearly choked on her own breath.
Where on earth had he gotten the impression that she was even the slightest bit happy?
She began to wonder if Xie Yun had somehow bewitched her father, making him so blindly biased in the young man’s favor.
She looked at the Emperor, and suddenly had a brilliant idea. She furrowed her brows, put on an appearance of someone still terrified by what they had seen, and spoke in a weak, trembling voice, “Father… I just had a dream…”
Emperor Jiaping leaned in quickly. “What did you dream of? Don’t be afraid, my dear. Father is here.”
She lowered her voice. “I dreamed… that Xie Yun rebelled and led troops to storm the palace…”
Her voice caught in her throat, as if she could not bear to go on. “And in the end… he… he killed me with his own hands.”
She blinked hard, but no tears came. So she pretended to wipe them away with her fingers, quickly glancing up to observe the Emperor’s expression. As she lowered her hand, she caught a look of suspicion in Si Huarong’s eyes out of the corner of her eye. Guilt made her bow her head again, rubbing her eyes back and forth with the back of her hand.
Hearing her words, Emperor Jiaping frowned, then said soothingly, “There is nothing to fear. Dreams are often the opposite of reality. Jingchu is not that kind of person.”
The Empress also hastened to comfort her. “Silly child, it was only a nightmare. Don’t frighten yourself over nothing.”
Si Huahuan lowered her gaze and placed a hand over her chest. “The dream felt so real. When I woke up, my heart was still aching faintly. Father, people’s hearts are hard to read, and nothing in this world is absolutely certain.”
Seeing that she still looked anxious and unsettled, the Emperor sighed inwardly.
This child… she was now making up wild dreams just to get out of the marriage.
“Ah! I haven’t finished reviewing my memorials for today!” Emperor Jiaping suddenly exclaimed, as if just remembering. “Zhenzhen, rest well. Ziyun, come with me to go over the documents.” With that, he hurriedly took Si Huarong and left.
Si Huahuan was left speechless.
What a clumsy performance.
It was obvious they didn’t believe her. She lay in bed, her mind racing with thoughts. After what felt like a long time, she pushed herself up with her arms and sat upright.
She came to a realization: you can run from your fate for a while, but you cannot run forever. Since the marriage was already decided, instead of dodging and delaying, she might as well agree to it.
Xie Yun was certainly counting on her to reject the marriage, planning to embarrass her publicly.
She was determined not to give him that satisfaction. Since he dared to marry her, she dared to marry him back. She would see exactly who made whose life miserable first.
Before long, she would make him kneel and beg for a separation.
She waved Yao Huang over and whispered something mysteriously into her ear.
*****
The next day, at the residence of the Marquis of Ming’an.
Head Steward Tao entered the main hall with a complicated expression and reported to Xie Yun, who was seated behind his desk, writing, “Marquis, a servant just came to report that someone has secretly slipped into the inner courtyard… specifically, near Jiaojiao’s enclosure.”
Jiaojiao was a puppy Xie Yun had picked up outside the hunting grounds the previous year. It had snow-white fur all over, except for its ears and tail, which were yellow.
At the time, Si Huahuan had laughed and said its ears and tail looked as if they had been scorched. Xie Yun had taken the name she teased it with, calling it Jiaojiao — meaning Scorched — and brought it back to the manor to raise after the hunt ended.
“Is there a thief bold enough to break into the Marquis’ residence in broad daylight?” Xie Yun asked calmly, his hand never stopping its writing. “Catch the intruder and hand them over to the Capital Governor’s office.”
“It is not a thief,” Steward Tao said, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. “It is Yao Huang, the personal maid serving Princess Kangle.”
Xie Yun’s brush paused briefly above the paper, and he lifted his eyes to look at Steward Tao.
Steward Tao hesitated before continuing, “It seems Miss Yao Huang came… to steal the dog…”
He simply hadn’t believed it when the servants first told him, so he went to the inner courtyard himself. There he saw Yao Huang holding a large chicken leg right under Jiaojiao’s nose, luring the dog to follow her.
Steward Tao had even rubbed his eyes hard, thinking he must be seeing things.
Who would ever believe it? The dignified Princess Kangle had actually sent someone to steal a dog!
Steward Tao had served in the General’s household for years. As the most trusted aide of the General of the Flying Cavalry, he had remained in the capital to manage all household affairs. He had seen everything there was to see, but this was the most absurd thing he had ever encountered.
He had practically watched Xie Yun grow up, so he was well aware of the history of conflict and mutual dislike between the young master and the Princess. He simply could not fathom why the Princess would want to steal the dog.
Was she staging some kind of ‘holding the dog hostage to issue orders to the Marquis’?
But then again, the Princess was known for being willful and arrogant, respecting no one. Much less a mere dog… she wouldn’t torture Jiaojiao just to vent her anger, would she?
Xie Yun was stunned for a moment, then let out a soft, quiet laugh. “Let her steal. Let her take it. Order all the guards in the inner courtyard to withdraw and make sure Yao Huang succeeds in taking it without trouble.”
Since Steward Tao was usually the one who looked after Jiaojiao, they had formed a deep bond. He couldn’t help but ask anxiously, “Marquis, aren’t you worried about what the Princess might do to Jiaojiao?”
“The Princess may not understand Jiaojiao’s temperament, but Uncle Tao, surely you do?”
Xie Yun’s smile deepened, and a sharp glint flashed in his eyes. He held up three long, slender fingers and shook them confidently. “Within three days, she will be rushing back here, begging me to take the dog back.”
Meanwhile, Yao Huang was struggling hard to hold onto the rope, trying to stop the big, energetic dog from leaping out of the carriage. After a long, exhausting journey, she finally arrived back at Yong’an Palace.
“Your Highness! I have… retrieved the Marquis’ dog!”
Wei Zi was surprised. “That was fast.”
Si Huahuan clicked her tongue and replied lazily, “Retrieved? Nonsense. It is merely… borrowed.”
Yao Huang was excited, eager to claim credit. “I was lucky! I climbed over the wall into the inner courtyard and spotted it immediately. Before anyone noticed, I lured it all the way out the back gate with a chicken leg.”
“But no matter how solitary the Marquis prefers to live, the security in his manor was surprisingly lax…”
Si Huahuan picked up a piece of sweet rice cake between her fingers and stood up gracefully. Before she could react, a flash of white shot toward her like lightning.
“Woof!”
“Watch out, Your Highness!” Wei Zi cried out in alarm.
In the next second, the world spun around Si Huahuan. She was knocked violently to the ground by a heavy force.
She, the noble and distinguished Princess Kangle, had been pinned to the floor by a dog!
“How dare you! Get off!” She shouted furiously, reaching out to push it away.
But the dog was utterly delighted. It wagged its tail like a spinning rattle, and pressed its wet pink nose against her neck, sniffing all over her while panting hot, heavy breaths.
She was about to scream again when the dog suddenly lowered its head.
*Slurp!*
A wet, warm tongue licked heavily across her face.
For a moment, the air seemed to freeze.
“AHHHHH!” Si Huahuan completely lost her composure, her voice shrill and distorted. “Are you both useless? Drag this beast away from me right now!”
Yao Huang and Wei Zi rushed forward at once, positioning themselves between the Princess and the dog to separate them.
“I beg your forgiveness, Your Highness!” Yao Huang said frantically. “It suddenly bolted; I couldn’t hold it back in time…”
Si Huahuan could still feel the sticky residue of saliva on her face, and her hair was half undone. She ground her teeth in fury. “This dog has absolutely no manners! Truly, ‘like master, like pet’!”
Breathing heavily several times, still feeling indignant, she yelled at the big dog, which was happily eating the rice cake off the floor, “And look how fat it is!”
This creature bore no resemblance at all to the small, pitiful creature she remembered seeing. She wondered what Xie Yun had been feeding it to make it grow so huge.
The great white dog barked twice, then circled her excitedly. Its fluffy tail curled high up in the air, brushing against her skirt. Its round, dark eyes were moist, and it panted rapidly with its tongue lolling out, looking at her with a completely ingratiating expression.
Si Huahuan glared at it, but the dog seemed completely oblivious to her hostility. It raised its front paws high, preparing to jump on her again.
Si Huahuan squeezed her eyes shut and hid behind Wei Zi, flailing her arms wildly in the air. “Ahhh! Go away!”
Yao Huang struggled desperately to pull on the rope around the dog’s neck, barely managing to stop it from leaping again.
This big dog stood as tall as a grown man’s waist, large and heavy. If it landed on her delicate Highness again, she might actually be seriously injured.
“Tie this dog up in the side hall,” Si Huahuan ordered. She wiped her face vigorously with a handkerchief, looking disgusted. “And do not give it anything to eat today.”
That evening, Si Huahuan washed herself from head to toe, scrubbing herself thoroughly several times, especially the cheek the dog had licked.
While wiping her face in front of the bronze mirror, she thought to herself: Hmph. Right now, that Xie Yun must have discovered his precious dog is missing and is probably frantic with worry. Even if he searches every corner of the capital, he will never find it.
Later, she would let it be known that she held his “dog hostage”. Then he would have no choice but to come and beg her.
*Beg her.* Just thinking about those two words filled her with immense satisfaction. She even hummed a cheerful tune as she applied her beauty cream and went to sleep.
In the middle of the night, Si Huahuan was sleeping soundly, wrapped in her silk quilt.
Suddenly, a harsh barking sound cut through the silence: “Woof! Woof, woof! Aroo～～～”
Si Huahuan jolted awake instantly, veins popping on her forehead in irritation.
This was already the third time!
The first time, she endured it, turned over, and went back to sleep.
The second time, she also endured it, gritting her teeth and stuffing balls of silk into her ears.
Now it had started howling again. This big, fat dog was simply relentless!
Si Huahuan threw off her quilt, slipped on her shoes, and didn’t even bother to put on her outer robe. She stormed towards the side hall, radiating murderous intent.
“Your Highness, it is cold at night…” Yao Huang, who was on night watch, quickly grabbed a robe from the clothes rack and hurried after her.
Si Huahuan ignored her. She reached the side hall and shoved the door open with a loud *bang*.
In the moonlight, the culprit—the big white dog—was squatting next to a pillar. Seeing her enter, it wagged its tail happily and barked twice more.
“Shut… up!” She pointed a finger right at its nose, speaking each word with intense emphasis.
The big white dog tilted its head, and its yellowish ears twitched twice, as if pondering her command.
Just as Si Huahuan thought it had finally understood its place, it suddenly lifted its head high and howled: “Arooooo! Woof, woof, woof! Aroooooo～～～”
It howled at the top of its lungs, louder than before, making all sorts of terrible, rising and falling noises.
This yellow-eared, braying monster!
Si Huahuan was so furious her vision blurred. She spun around, finding nothing suitable to grab nearby, so she snatched the outer robe from Yao Huang’s hands and threw it at the dog.
The high-quality silk garment floated gently and landed right over the dog’s head. Blocked from seeing, it pawed wildly at the fabric and began yelping even more miserably and loudly.
The servants of Yong’an Palace, woken up by the noise, huddled together in the courtyard, trembling. They listened as the Princess’s furious scolding and the dog’s chaotic barks rose and fell in a chaotic rhythm from within the side hall…
Already exhausted from lack of sleep, Si Huahuan’s head throbbed with anger and dizziness. Her vision swam, and she nearly lost her balance. Yao Huang quickly steadied her. Weakly, she ordered, “Go… go to the small kitchen and find something for it to eat…”
She simply couldn’t take it anymore. No matter what method she had to use, she needed to shut that damn dog’s mouth first.
She, the dignified Princess Kangle, had never bowed her head or admitted defeat to anyone. Yet this big, fat dog had become the very first to make her yield!