Chapter 1

“Huiyin, have you chosen a husband? Are you still insisting on marrying Zhou Yanzhi?” My Father Emperor’s voice echoed through the hall.

A sharp pain in my knees pulled me back to reality. I lowered my head. “I, your daughter, volunteer for the political marriage with the Southern Kingdom.”

The Southern Kingdom’s emissaries had requested one of our princesses. The only ones of suitable age were myself and Jiang Lingyi. My father had intended for me to choose a husband from the capital, but back then, my eyes saw only Zhou Yanzhi.

Taking the heavy imperial edict in both hands, I kowtowed once more before turning to leave the Golden Throne Hall.

Outside, a fine rain was falling. Zhou Yanzhi was still waiting at the bottom of the steps, his clothes completely soaked.

Seeing how drenched he was, I instinctively raised a hand to brush the moisture from his robes. But he sidestepped my touch. His gaze fell upon the bright yellow scroll in my hands, and his face changed in an instant.

He abruptly lifted the hem of his robe and knelt in the rain, his voice urgent. “Your Highness! I implore His Majesty to retract his order! The Seventh Princess has a willful nature; she is by no means a suitable choice for a political marriage…”

Gazing at his familiar, handsome profile, a bitter taste rose in my throat. I forced it down. “Zhou Yanzhi, you’re kneeling to me… for her?”

He bowed even lower, his forehead touching the cold stone steps. “I would not dare! It is only that the Seventh Princess has been frail since childhood. If she were to marry so far away in the Southern Kingdom…”

“If she goes, she’ll die?” A small, hoarse laugh escaped my lips. “So you think I am the one who is suitable?”

Zhou Yanzhi looked up sharply. “That is not what I meant at all! I only wish to find a solution that satisfies everyone! I am willing to lead an army to push back the Southern Kingdom!”

I knew what he was thinking. He believed that because my mother died in childbirth while delivering Jiang Lingyi, I hated her to the bone. He thought I would surely take this chance to strike at her while she was down. The dark circles under his eyes told me he hadn’t slept for nights, tormented by this matter of the political marriage.

In my past life, I would have used this moment to throw myself into his arms and demand he promise to stay with me. But now, I just felt exhausted, body and soul.

I withdrew my gaze, my tone indifferent. “I’ll grant your wish. Jiang Lingyi will not go.”

Relief washed over Zhou Yanzhi’s face. As he stood, he finally noticed how haggard I looked. He instinctively took out a handkerchief to wipe my face, but I moved away.

His hand froze in mid-air.

I offered a slight smile and handed him the edict. He was about to unroll it, but I pressed my hand over his. “Wait two weeks. Look at it then.”

I stared at him for a long moment, then straightened my back and turned to leave.

“Your Highness!” he cried, grabbing my wrist. His voice was laced with the urgency of a promise. “You don’t need to worry. I will marry you.”

A tear slipped silently from the corner of my eye. Marry him? What was the point? The one he loved was, and always would be, someone else.

Over the years, I had watched him transform from a high-spirited youth into a grim and calculating court official. He could orchestrate a massacre with a smile, but after Jiang Lingyi’s death, he never truly smiled again.

It took dying once for me to finally understand.

Some love is simply not meant to be.

This time, it would be my turn to grant him his wish.