“…By the Mandate of Heaven, the Emperor decrees…”
Bai Li had just regained a hint of consciousness when this theatrical-sounding voice reached her ears.
“Big sister, big sister, wake up! We have to kowtow and give thanks!”
Her younger siblings, huddled beside her, quietly tugged at her arms. In front of them, her parents and grandparents had already bent down, foreheads to the ground, and begun kowtowing.
Bai Li kowtowed in a daze, then followed her family as they were led into a large hall, guarded at the door by sword-bearing guards.
She looked up blankly at her family members—some were quietly weeping, some complaining, some offering comfort.
Then she saw this body’s parents—General Bai Zongren and his wife Li Mingyue—and couldn’t help covering her mouth, nearly crying out in shock.
Alike!
So alike!
They looked exactly like her parents from her previous life!
Bai Li had originally lived in the apocalypse. One moment she had been fighting zombies in the Apocalypse, and the next she had arrived at General Bai’s Residence in this place called the Great Zhou Kingdom, she had transmigrated into Bai Li, the fifteen-year-old legitimate daughter of General Bai’s household.
Her father, Bai Zongren, had fought on the battlefield for many years, peerless and invincible, known as the Invincible General, his might shaking all directions.
But because his achievements overshadowed the emperor’s, he had incurred the emperor’s suspicion. The emperor found an excuse to make him hand over his military tally[1]Military tally (兵符): A token of military authority used in ancient China to command or mobilize troops. Depending on the period and form, it could also be known as a tiger tally (虎符) jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_3454541_1_1').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_3454541_1_1', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], }); and disband the Bai Family Army.
Then, three days ago, a memorial arrived accusing Bai Zongren of secretly colluding with an enemy nation, accompanied by letters exchanged with a neighboring country.
The emperor, seizing the opportunity, sentenced Bai Zongren to the punishment of implicating three generations of his clan—confiscation of property and exile.
Ha!
What “lenient treatment”? Clearly, the emperor wanted to strip Bai Zongren of his power while keeping him alive, so that when war broke out again, he could be sent back to the battlefield to continue risking his life for the emperor. It was all a scheme.
The emperor got to keep both the reputation and the benefits!
Such an obvious setup—Bai Li was certain that not only her whole family but everyone in court could see through it. There was no need for her to say more.
What she was thinking about now was the original owner’s death.
When the imperial edict of confiscation and exile arrived, all the family members of the residence came out to receive it.
It was at that moment that someone had shoved her hard from behind. The jujube she was chewing hadn’t even been spat out, and she had successfully choked to death, allowing her soul to take over.
Thinking of that culprit, Bai Li swept a cold, menacing gaze around. Behind her, her cousin Bai Yue visibly shrank back in guilt, not daring to meet her eyes.
Was it her?
Searching the original owner’s memories, she found that the original owner had always treated this cousin as her closest confidante, telling her everything and letting her take anything she liked.
Look at the seven-colored tassel hairpin on her head now, and the brocade silks she wore—they were gifts her father had set aside from the emperor’s rewards for her, but her cousin, who had come to her room to play, had taken a fancy to them at first glance and asked for them.
Heh, mere material possessions. She wouldn’t be wearing them much longer anyway—she couldn’t be bothered to quibble over them.
But the matter of her pushing her… At the time, the force had been tremendous, as if the person had pushed with all their strength. It was absolutely not an accidental bump.
Though she didn’t know her motive, the fact remained that she had caused the original owner’s death.
This matter wasn’t over. She would settle accounts with her later.
Li Mingyue looked up and saw her daughter’s poor complexion. Thinking she was worried, she came over to comfort her.
“Li’er, don’t worry. Your marriage to the Zhao family has long been arranged. The Zhao Residence will surely come to fetch you today for the wedding. There’s still time for everything.”
Bai Li knew that right now they were waiting for the people from the palace. Only after the property confiscation was complete could they set out on the road of exile—it would take until at least the afternoon to finish.
There was still most of a day to go.
The Zhao family?
Zhao Yuntian?
No. She didn’t want to get married.
“Mother, I’m fine.”
As the two of them were talking, someone arrived outside.
“Who is Bai Li? Come out—the Zhao Residence is here to fetch you!”
The guard at the gate announced it but did not come in.
Everyone in the Bai Residence looked at Bai Li with envy—the lucky one who was about to escape this sea of suffering.
Amid all those envious gazes, Bai Li caught one gaze that carried a piercing, bone-chilling coldness.
She turned to look, and unsurprisingly, its owner was Bai Yue.
How ridiculous!
Bai Li shrugged and was pushed out the front gate by her mother.
Outside the gate, an eight-carrier sedan chair stood waiting, with more than a dozen trunks and chests lined up on either side of the entrance.
When she came out, a tall horse adorned with a cluster of red flowers came forward, carrying a handsome young man in a red robe.
He did not look at Bai Li. Instead, he first stepped forward and bowed deeply to the supervising eunuch, announcing in a clear voice:
“I am Commandant Zhao of the Zhao Residence, come as promised to wed Miss Bai Li. I ask Eunuch Li to grant us this courtesy.”
Eunuch Li took the marriage invitation, examined it, then waved his hand and said in his shrill voice, “Proceed!”
“My thanks, Eunuch!”
With that, he urged his horse a few steps forward until he was before Bai Li, looking down at her from above.
Bai Li glanced up and saw contempt in his eyes, his whole body radiating coldness. He looked nothing like a groom—more like a debt-collecting ghost from the underworld.
Seeing that she was unmoved, Zhao Yuntian frowned slightly.
“You, step aside. I have some matters to discuss with you.”
Hah, ordering people around. Who did he think he was?
Bai Li rolled her eyes and didn’t move an inch.
“You—”
With commoners watching at the gate and officials of the court looking on, Zhao Yuntian had no choice but to dismount. He tossed the reins to his attendant, grabbed Bai Li’s arm, and pulled her aside.
“Listen carefully. Today I’ve come as promised to marry you, so you’d better know your place. Later, put on the wedding dress obediently and get into the sedan chair.
When we reach the gates of the Zhao Residence, you and A-Zi will enter at the same time, with no distinction of rank.
From now on, in name you are the principal wife, and she is the secondary wife. You are not to slight her!”
“So why should I marry you?”
A principal wife entering the gates at the same time as a concubine—how would the principal wife ever hold her head up afterward?
What a thing for him to come up with!
“Do you have any other choice?”
Zhao Yuntian’s tone was one of condescension, his eyes full of disgust.
“Since you already have someone you love, why marry me at all?”
“Because…”
Could he admit that his A-Zi was of common birth and couldn’t even produce a decent dowry?
Whereas the Bai family, though their property had been confiscated, had prepared the dowry in advance, and it would not be seized—an arrangement the Emperor had tacitly approved.
Bai Li read between the lines and guessed that his purpose in marrying her was her dowry.
“Heh. And what if I refuse?”
“Our marriage was arranged by our parents and matchmaker. It’s already settled. You don’t get to throw a tantrum now.”
Zhao Yuntian grew anxious and grabbed both her arms, unconsciously using force.
Bai Li hissed in pain. In one swift motion, she broke his grip, caught his wrist, and twisted his arm behind his back.
Zhao Yuntian reacted quickly, turning with the movement and trying to pull her into his arms.
Bai Li drove an elbow into his chest. The blow forced him to release her, and before he could recover—slap! slap!—she struck him twice across the face.
“Bai Li!”
Slapped in front of everyone, Zhao Yuntian lost face completely, his face flushed crimson, and he glared at her as though he wanted to tear her apart.
“Li’er, how could you…”
Li Mingyue, who had been waiting at a distance to let the young couple have their private moment, never expected the two of them to actually come to blows—and that her daughter would even strike the groom.
This was serious now. The people from the Zhao Residence all glared furiously at Bai Li, looking as though at Zhao Yuntian’s single command they would rush forward and seize her.
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