Xiao Changning gazed at the empty street, her fingertips tracing the handkerchief over and over again. She kept her breathing light, afraid she might miss his call.
The hour of midnight had long passed. She frequently looked up at the sky, where the waning moon had vanished into the clouds, much like Yuan Yanchen’s persistently absent figure.
Anxiety sprouted like bamboo shoots after rain, winding tightly around her heart.
Ali watched the gradually lightening sky. “Princess, let’s go back. It will be dawn soon.”
Xiao Changning’s lips parted and closed. “Let’s wait a little longer. What if something happened on the way?”
“What could have happened? Vice Minister Yuan simply didn’t want to come,” Ali muttered, as if speaking the truth. “At this point, can’t you see it clearly, Princess? Why deceive yourself?”
Xiao Changning bit her lip, her delicate nails digging deep into her palms. The pain brought a slight calm, but it couldn’t suppress the unease in her heart.
Yes, she had known the outcome from the start, yet she stubbornly refused to give up. Only by hitting the wall did she finally feel the pain.
Ali fell silent. If she wanted to wait, then they would wait a little longer.
Xiao Changning’s legs had long gone numb from standing. A bone-chilling cold spread from her feet to her heart. She knew her Yanchen brother would not come.
I was clinging to a final illusion. Now that it’s shattered, from now on, I am only a palace consort of Beiyuan. I will never think of him again!
Once the heart is dead, there will be no more delusions.
Her eyes grew hot, and tears fell uncontrollably. She clenched her lips tightly until she tasted a faint metallic tang of blood.
In a shadowy corner of the alley, Yuan Yanchen stood clad in black, hidden in the darkness.
He watched that graceful figure—from her initial excitement, to her growing anxiety, and finally to the lifeless stillness now. Every second felt like needles piercing his heart.
His eyes churned with bitterness and helplessness. Behind him were the lives of his clan; before him was the beloved he yearned for. He couldn’t even take a step closer or utter a single word.
Xiao Changning watched the rising sun and spoke hoarsely, “Let’s go. Back to the mansion.”
Before leaving, she threw away the token of their love—a wooden carving of her that Yuan Yanchen had made with his own hands.
Yuan Yanchen picked up the broken carving and followed her from a distance, all the way to the Crown Prince’s Mansion.
Before Xiao Changning could even enter, her father’s curses reached her ears.
The Crown Prince stood glaring, and with a sharp “smack,” he slapped her. “You unfilial daughter! Where did you run off to?”
A metallic sweetness spread in Xiao Changning’s mouth, yet her cheek felt no pain at all.
The Crown Princess stopped the Crown Prince from raising his hand again. “Stop it!”
The Crown Prince was furious. “If you had run away, everyone in this mansion would have lost their heads!”
“Guards!”
The trembling guards stepped forward.
The Crown Prince’s hand shook with anger as he pointed at Xiao Changning. “Lock her up. Guard her day and night.”
“No one is to see her without my orders!” The Crown Prince glanced sideways at the Crown Princess, a clear warning in his eyes.
Xiao Changning was escorted by the guards and locked in her chamber.
She sat quietly on the floor, oblivious to the “clanging” sounds outside as the doors and windows were sealed shut.
Xiao Changning silently repeated to herself: Tomorrow morning, I will leave the city.
“I am worth nothing in his heart. All those vows and promises are nothing compared to his clan.”
The morning sun bathed the earth in light, and the azure sky was cloudless.
Xiao Changning dressed in the wedding gown like a puppet on strings. With blurred vision, she gazed at the intricate embroidery on the garment. “When I embroidered this wedding dress, I was filled with anticipation for the ordinary days ahead—brewing tea at dawn with Brother Yanchen and grinding ink by lamplight.”
Her fingers trailed downward, brushing over the twin lotus flowers. “How beautiful. I would regret it for half a day if I made even a single stitch wrong.”
But now, Xiao Changning was to wear it and marry another man. She raised the round fan in her hand and, surrounded by the wedding entourage, stepped out the door and boarded the sedan chair leaving the city.
Tears silently streamed down, soaking the red silk and extinguishing her last lingering delusion.
Amidst the clamor of gongs and drums, onlookers crowded both sides of the streets. Faintly, she seemed to hear her mother’s weeping and the grateful kowtows of the common people.
Murong Yao, the Emperor of Beiyuan, had already led his army and waited outside the city gates, with prisoners of war in tow.
The soldiers, clad in black armor, stood in dense, dark formations like bloodthirsty bats.
Xiao Changning stood at the city gate, looking back at the old locust tree stripped bare of its leaves. A bitter smile curled at the corner of her lips.
“Open the city gates!”
As the command echoed, the rusted iron gates swung open with a thunderous groan.
The wedding escorts watched, their legs trembling. The tyrannical emperor—if he were displeased, would he simply offer them as sacrifices to the banners?
“Just send me off here. I’ll go out on my own.”
Clad in red and holding the round fan, Xiao Changning walked toward the outside of the city without looking back. She stepped onto the Langqiao, where the river shimmered coldly, and the biting wind chilled to the bone.
Murong Yao narrowed his eyes, surveying the land shrouded in yellow sand. Suddenly, the flash of red caught his attention.
A smile crept onto his originally stern face. He nudged his horse and darted forward in a swift motion.
“Whoa~”
Murong Yao halted before Xiao Changning, his piercing eyes fixed on her like a hunting eagle.
“Princess Changning, long time no see.”
Xiao Changning, her face hidden behind the round fan, lifted her eyes. In that instant, it felt as though they had met somewhere before.
“Hey.”
Seizing the moment of inattention, Murong Yao swept her up into his arms. Xiao Changning sat sideways on the horse, struggling with all her limbs.
Murong Yao held the reins with one hand and wrapped his other arm around her waist. “Keep struggling, and I’ll throw you off this horse.”
“Tyrant!” Xiao Changning muttered under her breath, reluctantly falling silent. She pressed her lips together and clenched Murong Yao’s armor tightly.
Murong Yao heard her clearly, but now that she was in his grasp, wasn’t she entirely at his mercy?
Xiao Changning glanced at the bound prisoners at the front of the formation, then looked up at Murong Yao’s jawline. “I’ve done everything as Your Majesty demanded. Can you release them now?”
Murong Yao looked down at the beauty in his arms, reached out, and gripped her chin, planting a deep kiss on her lips. As their lips met, he felt the faint tremor in Xiao Changning’s throat before releasing her.
“Since you’ve been so obedient, I will naturally keep my promise.”
Hearing his words, Xiao Changning slowly let out a sigh of relief.
“Forward!”
At his command, the Beiyuan soldiers cheered in triumph, following Murong Yao as he turned back.
The prisoners brought for the exchange were released.
Upon reaching the military camp, Murong Yao carried Xiao Changning into the tent. Without delay, he shed his excess armor, leaving only his dark inner garments.
Xiao Changning, who had stumbled onto the bed, was terrified. Clutching her dress, she stared at him defensively.
Murong Yao looked at her appearance, feeling only a parched throat and unbearable discomfort. He drank a pot of wine, then tore Xiao Changning’s clothes to shreds, carelessly tossing them to the ground.
“Annoying things.”
With that, he gripped Xiao Changning’s chin, forcing her to look at him, as his domineering kisses fell upon her densely.
“Mmm~” Xiao Changning pushed with all her might, but against Murong Yao, it was utterly futile.