Break My Engagement, Lose Your Life

This was the third time I had seen my father since my mother died.

The first time, I was nine and had already been living with my maternal grandparents for two years.

He said to me, “The Seventh Princess has lost her mother too, just like you. Would you go to the palace and keep her company?”

The second time, I was thirteen, and my stepmother was four months pregnant.

He said to me, “Your mother’s pregnancy is precarious. Would you ask the Empress to send her a trustworthy palace physician?”

The third time was today, at the Empress’s birthday banquet.

He said to me, “You’re already nineteen, yet the House of Xinling keeps delaying any discussion of the wedding date. Clearly, Wei Zhe has no affection for you. A person ought to know her own worth. Don’t humiliate yourself. Let us end the engagement with the House of Xinling.”

Wei Zhe, who had set his heart on my younger half sister, said, “I know Miss Jiang’s maternal family is the illustrious Xie clan, while Zhu’er’s maternal grandfather is only a humble seventh-rank county magistrate. They can hardly be compared. But I, Wei Zhe, do not need my wife’s family to bolster my prospects.”

Later, when the entire Wei family was exiled thousands of miles away, Wei Zhe mocked me for lowering myself to marry a mere palace guard.

I smiled and said, “Lu Cheng naturally cannot compare with the heir of Xinling. But I, Jiang Bunian, do not need my husband’s family to bolster my prospects.”