When Wei Ruxuan awoke, chaos had erupted in the residence of the Minister of Rites in the capital.
The minister’s eldest daughter was crying and shouting that she would never marry the Third Prince, Prince Qin. She wanted to marry the Fifth Prince and become his consort.
The Minister of Rites, furious, slapped her across the face. “The marriage has already been arranged. What nonsense are you screaming about?”
Wei Ruxuan wept, her face streaked with tears and snot.
The night before, she had dreamed. The details were hazy, but the ending was clear: this world was a book. In it, the male lead was the Fifth Prince, Xiao Jiashan, while the Third Prince, Prince Qin, was the villain.
In the original story, Wei Ruxuan married the ruthless, unfeeling Prince Qin. He ignored her completely, leaving her cold and untouched, never once laying a hand on her—or on any of the concubines in his household.
Prince Qin and the Fifth Prince were bitter rivals, locked in endless conflict. In the end, Prince Qin died on the battlefield. After the Fifth Prince ascended the throne, he ordered the slaughter of everyone in Prince Qin’s household. As Prince Qin’s principal wife, Wei Ruxuan naturally perished as well.
Knowing the ending, Wei Ruxuan swore she would never marry Prince Qin. She would marry the male lead, the Fifth Prince.
Madam Liu, the minister’s wife, had only this one daughter; her two sons were born of concubines. She cherished Wei Ruxuan as her very life.
Seeing her husband strike the girl, Madam Liu rushed to embrace her. “My child, were you plagued by nightmares last night? Why are you speaking such nonsense this morning?”
Wei Ruxuan sobbed, “I don’t care! I must marry the Fifth Prince! He’s the male lead! If I marry him, I’ll become empress!”
Neither Madam Liu nor the minister understood her talk of “male lead” and “female lead,” but the word “empress” rang loud and clear.
The minister, enraged, raised his hand again. “What foolishness! Matters of the imperial family are not for you to meddle in!”
Madam Liu shielded her daughter. “If you must strike, strike me! Better yet, kill us both, so you can frolic freely with your concubines!”
The minister trembled with rage. “She is like this today because you’ve spoiled her rotten!”
Madam Liu, born of noble lineage, had married down into the minister’s household. With her family’s support, her husband had risen swiftly in rank. For years, she had held sway in the household, indulging her daughter into a willful, pampered temperament.
Once the minister stormed off, Madam Liu wiped her daughter’s tears. “Xuan’er, what nonsense is this? You once admired Prince Qin’s looks, and your father and I worked hard to secure the imperial marriage decree. Why do you regret it now?”
Wei Ruxuan’s eyes brimmed with tears. “He can’t be emperor. The Fifth Prince can. I want to marry the man who will be emperor.”
Madam Liu tried to soothe her. “The emperor favors Prince Qin more. He has military achievements and has already been granted a princely title. The Fifth Prince has nothing. My dear, this cannot be undone.”
“I don’t want it! I don’t want it! I don’t want it!!” Wei Ruxuan screamed. “Mother, if you don’t help me marry the Fifth Prince, I’ll die! Prince Qin is a cruel monster!”
Madam Liu looked troubled. “Xuan’er, the Fifth Prince is already engaged to Miss Wen of the Duke Zhen’s household. She has come of age and will soon enter the capital for the wedding.”
A flash of resentment crossed Wei Ruxuan’s eyes. She barely remembered this Miss Wen, only that in the original story, the heroine married the Fifth Prince. He adored her, promised never to take concubines, and upon becoming emperor, made her his sole empress.
“She hasn’t married him yet!” Wei Ruxuan fumed. “Even if she does, I’ll enter the Fifth Prince’s household, even as a secondary consort!” She refused to believe she couldn’t push that woman aside.
Madam Liu clapped a hand over her mouth, stern. “What nonsense! A minister’s daughter, willing to be a concubine? What of your sisters’ prospects?”
Wei Ruxuan snorted. “I don’t care. I will marry the Fifth Prince!”
Though Madam Liu doted on her, she knew some things could not be trifled with. “This is impossible! It concerns the dignity of the royal family—such defiance is a capital crime! Do you think a mere girl can dictate to the emperor? Madness!”
“The Duke Zhen’s household gave their lives for the empire. Miss Wen’s father and brothers all died on the battlefield, leaving only her. If you steal her marriage, what will people say of us?”
Wei Ruxuan said nothing, but her heart seethed. Miss Wen only had this marriage thanks to her family’s sacrifice. Without the Duke’s glory, she would never have been the heroine. And Wei Ruxuan was determined not to accept it.
Wei Ruxuan refused to accept the fate laid out for her in the book. Since she already knew the ending, she would defy destiny itself and seize everything she desired. Her eyes flickered. “When will the Fifth Prince marry Miss Wen?”
Madam Liu, exasperated, replied, “Later this year. Miss Wen is already on her way to the capital.”
Wei Ruxuan pressed on: “Mother, do you know what kind of person this Miss Wen is?”
“How should I know? She left the capital when she was only four or five. I met her once—her name is Yanyu. A bright, well‑mannered girl, though frail and sickly since childhood.”
Madam Liu frowned. “Still, a child without a mother’s guidance, no matter how promising she seemed, who knows what she has become now?”
For generations, a young lady’s upbringing was paramount. Without a mother’s instruction, a girl was always considered inferior when it came to marriage.
Miss Wen’s mother had wasted away after learning of her husband and sons’ deaths on the battlefield. Out of pity, her grandmother took her to Ling City and raised her there. Yet, no matter how close, a granddaughter was still considered an outsider. Few in the capital knew how she had truly been raised.
Madam Liu curled her lip. “Just recently, Empress Zheng even told the Empress Dowager she didn’t trust Miss Wen to be the Fifth Prince’s principal wife, and wanted to add two noble concubines from prestigious families. The emperor disliked her scheming and rejected the idea.”