In the first year of the Jing’an era, at the Empress’s birthday banquet.
The lingering notes had yet to fade from the great hall when Lu Jiaojiao’s fingertips finally lifted from the strings of the qin. A wave of applause and praise immediately swept through the hall.
She lowered her head and modestly lowered her eyes, appearing perfectly obedient, while inwardly calculating as quickly as possible when she could return to her seat. The elaborate palace dress and the heavy jeweled hairpins on her head were practically making it hard for her to breathe.
She came from a family of military commanders, yet she played the qin exceptionally well—a talent renowned throughout the capital.
Just as she was preparing to quietly step away, the Empress’s smiling voice rang clearly down from the phoenix throne, carrying unmistakable warmth and concern:
“Your Majesty’s servant has watched Jiaojiao grow into such a fine young lady. She has reached the age for marriage as well. Marquis Yongning, has your family already chosen a suitable match for her?”
Lu Jiaojiao’s heart gave a violent jolt. Almost instinctively, she immediately lowered herself, her broad sleeves concealing the fist she had clenched in an instant.
What was going on? Why had the Empress suddenly taken an interest in her marriage?
Marquis Yongning, Lu Sheng, sitting below, was clearly taken aback as well. He immediately rose and respectfully replied:
“Your Majesty, in answer to Her Majesty the Empress… my daughter… has not yet… been promised to anyone.”
The Emperor, who had been quietly observing everything from his dragon throne, stroked his beard and laughed. His voice was deep and resonant, carrying a knowing tone as his gaze shifted toward the other side of the banquet:
“Minister Huo, if I remember correctly, your youngest son, Huo Shiran, is about the same age as the Lu family’s daughter. He is unmarried as well, is he not?”
The Marquis of Wu’an, Huo Tingyuan, who had been called upon, hurried forward and bowed.
“Your Majesty is wise. My son… indeed has yet to marry.”
In an instant, Lu Jiaojiao felt the gazes of everyone in the great hall converge upon her and the equally frozen figure seated diagonally across from her.
She could clearly feel Huo Shiran’s gaze upon her, sharp as tangible needles that sent a chill down her spine.
Everyone in the capital knew that the Third Miss of the Yongning Marquis’s residence, Lu Jiaojiao, and the Young General of the Wu’an Marquis’s residence, Huo Shiran, were sworn enemies who had been incompatible from the very beginning.
From the days when they were little enough to run around in split-crotch pants and had beaten each other black and blue in the military camp over a wooden sword, to last year’s palace banquet, when they publicly traded barbs over a plate of ruyi pastries, it had been more than a decade since the two could meet without either arguing or fighting. If they ever managed not to quarrel, that would be the truly unusual thing.
The Emperor seemed completely unaware of these “glorious accomplishments.” He laughed heartily.
“Excellent! Excellent indeed! Now that the borders are peaceful, both Minister Huo and Minister Lu are pillars of the court, having rendered great service to the realm. These two children are of similar age, from well-matched families, and have known each other since childhood. Such a bond is truly rare. Today, taking advantage of the joy of the Empress’s birthday, I shall personally arrange their marriage. I hereby betroth Lu family’s Jiaojiao to Huo family’s Shiran, forging a beautiful match. It will also serve as a gesture from the Empress and me to comfort and honor the hearts of our two meritorious ministers!”
“A bond”? “A beautiful match”?
Lu Jiaojiao felt as though a bolt of lightning had struck her squarely on the crown of her head. Her ears rang, her vision blurred, and she nearly lost her balance.
She instinctively raised her eyes, only to meet Huo Shiran’s equally stunned and flustered gaze.
His usually arrogant and unruly face now held nothing but absurdity and disbelief.
Where exactly did the two of them have any “rare bond”?
They clearly had more than a decade’s worth of “blood feud” between them!
Where had the Emperor and Empress possibly gotten the idea that they were secretly in love?
The hall fell silent for a moment before erupting into an even more enthusiastic chorus of congratulations. Everyone wore smiles as though this truly were a match made in heaven.
In a daze, Lu Jiaojiao followed her father and the members of the Huo family in kneeling to give thanks for the imperial decree. Her knees struck the cold floor, yet she felt nothing.
She could sense Huo Shiran nearby, his movements stiff and mechanical, like a puppet being controlled by strings.
After returning to her seat, Lu Jiaojiao forced herself to maintain a composed expression, but her fingertips trembled faintly inside her sleeves. Her nails were almost digging into her palms.
When she looked up, she saw Huo Shiran surrounded by his fellow officials, all congratulating him. His face was livid, his lips tightly pressed together. He looked exactly like someone who had just swallowed a fly whole.
Sensing her gaze, he abruptly turned his head.
Their eyes met.
There was not the slightest hint of romantic anticipation between two people about to become husband and wife. There was only the same shock, fury, and a sense of humiliation and helplessness at being forcibly bound together by fate.
The warm, festive atmosphere of the hall seemed to freeze between them.
But in the very next moment, the shock and anger in Huo Shiran’s eyes receded like a tide. In their place came a realization that sent a chill down Lu Jiaojiao’s spine—and something else…
Amusement.
It was as though he had suddenly thought of something extraordinarily entertaining.
His tightly pressed lips slowly relaxed, and the corners of his mouth rose against his will, eventually forming an absolutely wicked, provocative smile.
He even raised an eyebrow slightly. His eyes conveyed one unmistakable message—
“Lu Jiaojiao, you’re done for.”
“Damn you, Huo Ironhead!!!”
A furious curse exploded in Lu Jiaojiao’s heart. Her blood surged so violently that she nearly lost control right there and then.
She had given him that nickname years ago, simply because the idiot had practiced “iron head kung fu” as a child and once smashed her favorite porcelain doll. His head had been as hard as an iron lump!
And judging by the expression he was wearing now, he had clearly thought of all the ways he could legitimately torment her and make trouble for her in the future!
The sounds of silk and bamboo instruments began drifting through the hall once more. The banquet continued, cups were raised and exchanged, and the atmosphere remained lively.
Only the two of them seemed to have been cut off from the rest of the world, trapped in a silent battlefield where only they could sense the smoke of war between them.
It was over.
Lu Jiaojiao’s head buzzed incessantly, with only those two words spinning wildly through her mind.
She and Huo Shiran—this lifetime—were truly, completely…
Going to be at each other’s throats until death.