The Great Jin Dynasty, eighteenth year of the Chengping era, the seventh day of the twelfth lunar month.
The first snowfall of winter blanketed Shengjing.
By the time the Jiang family’s wedding procession turned into the alley outside Jing Prince’s residence, a thick layer of snow had already settled on top of the bridal sedan.
The steward leading the way barked sharply, “Keep your eyes open! This is a fortune-bringing bridal sedan. If the bride gets hurt, do you think your lives are enough to pay for it?”
Inside the sedan, there wasn’t a sound. There were none of the sobs expected from a bride on her wedding day.
The matchmaker accompanying the procession leaned closer and called through the curtain, “Third Miss? Third Miss, we’re almost at the prince’s manor. Please don’t throw a tantrum now. If we miss the auspicious hour, everyone will suffer for it.”
Still, there was no response.
Unable to resist, the matchmaker lifted the curtain slightly to peek inside.
A young woman sat quietly within. She wore a brilliant red wedding gown, though her bridal veil had yet to be lowered, revealing a fair, delicate face. One by one, she flipped copper coins through her fingers while softly murmuring to herself.
A chill ran down the matchmaker’s spine. She quickly dropped the curtain, inwardly cursing the bad omen.
Inside the sedan, Jiang Zhaoxue looked up at the roof overhead. Through the howling wind, she could hear the sound of weeping.
Ever since they had entered this alley, seven or eight tangled strands of yin energy had been coiling around the main gate of Jing Prince’s residence.
Tonight’s wedding was bound to be far livelier than she had expected.
She lowered her gaze, slipped the copper coins back into the pouch hidden in her sleeve, and touched the small mole on her earlobe.
The old blind man at the abandoned temple had once told her it was a **Life-Sealing Mark**. Those born with the ability to see beyond the mortal world were fated to have fragile lives. Without sealing that fate, they would never survive to adulthood.
When the Third Madam of the Jiang family gave birth to her, she suffered a fatal hemorrhage during labor.
Just one month later, her father fell from his horse.
The midwife who had delivered her tumbled into a dried-up well and was pulled out the following day—her body already cold.
The Jiang family declared that she had been born under an evil star.
On her first birthday, they sent her away to the abandoned temple outside the city, where she was left to fend for herself. From then on, they never visited her, never asked after her, and never even mentioned her name during holidays or family gatherings.
The fact that she had survived until today was nothing short of a miracle.
Unfortunately, even a life as resilient as hers could not withstand a single marriage decree from the Jiang family.
This year, she had come of age, yet no one in the Jiang family remembered.
What they did remember was that Jing Prince was critically ill. The Imperial Astronomical Bureau declared that a woman with an extraordinary fate was needed to ward off his misfortune through marriage. The old Madam Jiang searched through the family genealogy from beginning to end, and only then did she remember this granddaughter.
Jiang Zhaoxue instinctively reached for the sachet hidden at her waist.
Before she left, the blind old Daoist had stuffed it into her hands.
“The Jiang family is using my life to force you, so just go. Your master won’t die that easily. The hexagram says your opportunity lies within Jing Prince’s residence in Shengjing. Amidst nine certain deaths, there is a single thread of hope for you.”
With reddened eyes, Jiang Zhaoxue asked, “What kind of opportunity?”
The blind old man closed his eyes and gave no answer.
The sedan chair came to a stop, and chaos erupted outside.
The matchmaker cried out in a shrill voice, “The sedan has arrived! The sedan has arrived! Quickly, help the bride out of the sedan\…”
The next moment, someone came rushing out in a panic.
“Wait! Wait! His Highness has coughed up blood again!”
The old maid standing beside the sedan froze for a moment before instinctively stepping back. Several servant girls stood in the snow, holding the wedding basin and red silk ribbons, completely at a loss.
With the wedding meant to dispel misfortune ending up like this, everyone knew it was an ill omen.
Clutching her handkerchief, the matchmaker wiped the sweat from her brow in anxiety.
“What is the meaning of this? The auspicious hour has already arrived, and the bride is at the gate. How can the manor be in such disarray?”
The prince’s elderly steward hurriedly cupped his hands in apology.
“His Highness’s condition suddenly worsened. The imperial physicians are still inside treating him.”
“So is this marriage happening or not?”
With a swish, the curtain of the sedan was lifted from within.
Jiang Zhaoxue stepped out of the sedan herself.
The matchmaker saw this and became so anxious that she stomped her feet.
“Third Miss, the veil! The veil! Oh my! How can there be a bride who lifts the curtain and gets out of the sedan chair herself?”
Jiang Zhaoxue ignored her. She raised her head and looked at the plaque above the entrance of Jing Prince’s residence. A layer of gray energy covered the plaque, indicating that someone inside had tampered with things.
She withdrew her gaze and turned to ask the old steward, “Where is he?”
The old steward was stunned. “What?”
“Your prince.” Jiang Zhaoxue spoke directly. “Is he still breathing?”
What kind of thing was that to say?
Wasn’t she cursing the prince to die?
The old steward endured it because she was the new bride of the day and replied, “His Highness is in the main courtyard.”
Jiang Zhaoxue immediately lifted her foot and walked inside.
“Stop her!” The matchmaker panicked. “The ceremony hasn’t been performed yet! She hasn’t stepped over the brazier! This goes against the rules!”
Without even turning her head, Jiang Zhaoxue left behind a sentence.
“He is about to die, and you’re still worrying about rules. People of Shengjing really have plenty of time on their hands.”
The old steward did not stop her. He stared at that red figure walking ahead, and for some reason, he had a feeling that this new Princess Consort might truly be able to pull the prince back from the brink of death.
Servants knelt all over the ground, while imperial physicians guarded the door of the inner room, each one wearing a solemn expression.
The moment Jiang Zhaoxue entered, a maid suddenly rushed out toward her, carrying a basin of bloodied water, nearly colliding with her.
The stench of blood rushed into her nose. She frowned and immediately realized that the smell was caused by someone using medicine to force the blood out.
She continued walking inside, but a middle-aged woman at the doorway reached out to stop her.
“Who are you? How can this place be entered recklessly?”
The old steward hurried forward and quickly explained.
“Princess Consort! This is the Princess Consort who has just entered the manor today!”
Everyone inside the room turned to look over.
The woman was none other than Granny Cui, the steward in charge of Jing Prince’s residence. Upon hearing this, she was first delighted, but then she began sizing up Jiang Zhaoxue.
She was too young and too thin. She didn’t look blessed with any signs of good fortune at all.
But at this moment, there was no longer any room for choosing.
Granny Cui gritted her teeth and stepped aside.
“Princess Consort, please come quickly. The imperial physician said that His Highness this time\…”
“Don’t say such unlucky words. I can try to save him.” Jiang Zhaoxue interrupted her and coldly scolded, “Hearing you say that is annoying.”
Jiang Zhaoxue walked to the bedside and finally saw the legendary Jing Prince, Xiao Chenghuai, who was said to be on the verge of death.
The man lay on the bed, his complexion extremely poor. Blood stained his thin lips, and his slender wrist hung outside the embroidered quilt.
Everyone in the room thought he looked like a dead man.
Jiang Zhaoxue stared at him, examining his facial features one by one.
The young servant attending beside the bed had red-rimmed eyes.
“Princess Consort\… is His Highness really not going to make it?”
Jiang Zhaoxue took the copper coins hidden in her sleeve back out, placed them in her palm, and quickly calculated.
He wouldn’t die. Moreover, his destiny was actually extremely noble.
Jiang Zhaoxue placed her fingers on his pulse. After a moment, she turned to look at the imperial physician.
“Who prescribed this medicine?”
The Imperial Hospital’s Chief Physician was surnamed Zheng. Being questioned publicly by a young woman made his expression turn unpleasant.
“The prescription was decided after this old man discussed it with several colleagues.”
“You discussed it quite thoroughly.” Jiang Zhaoxue looked at him. “A whole room full of people joined hands to prepare the prince’s funeral arrangements.”
Chief Physician Zheng was so furious that he slammed his hand on the table and shouted angrily.
“How dare you!”
Jiang Zhaoxue had no interest in arguing with him. She turned her head and asked Granny Cui, “Where is the kitchen?”
“What does the Princess Consort need? This servant will go get it.”
“No, not you.” Jiang Zhaoxue scanned the room, then pointed at the most inconspicuous little maid standing inside. “You go. Get a handful of glutinous rice, a bowl of well water, a raw egg, and a pair of scissors.”
The little maid was stunned. She looked at the other stewards present, but her feet did not move.
Chief Physician Zheng only found it absurd.
“His Highness is seriously ill. What do you need these things for?”
“To save his life.”
Granny Cui also felt uneasy in her heart, but things had already reached this point. What harm could there be in trying?
She immediately gave the little maid a push.
“Go quickly!”
Jiang Zhaoxue returned to the bedside. She bent down, pulled open Xiao Chenghuai’s eyelids to take a look, then lifted the embroidered quilt and looked at the soles of his feet.
The centers of his feet had turned bluish. Someone in the room had cast a Soul-Suppressing Curse on him.
This curse was meant to take a person’s life, which meant the person who cast it was not very skilled, but their heart was extremely vicious.
No wonder the ritual to bring him good fortune through marriage had reached this point—one person was sent in, and one person collapsed.
This marriage\… The Jiang family had used her to block their own dead end, while the prince’s manor had used her to gamble with his life. Everyone was good at scheming, but unfortunately, they had all calculated wrong.
She lowered her head and looked at that pale, lifeless face on the bed.
This man could not die. If he died, it would be too much of a loss.
It had not been easy for her to come to Shengjing. She couldn’t just enter the manor and lose her backer immediately.