Chapter 3

Chapter 3

The reflection in the pond shattered in an instant.

The bright moon shifted across the corridor.

I gazed at the Evening Magnolia on the branch, my mind drifting back to the banquet that had just occurred.

Yan Ci was still the young general I remembered: arrogant, cold, and aloof.

It wasn’t until I rejected his marriage proposal that he showed a flicker of annoyance.

“Rest assured, I wouldn’t go so far as to actually marry you.”

As I was reminiscing, a cold sneer suddenly rang out by my ear.

“That idiot.”

A chill crawled up my spine.

I whipped my head around.

At the end of the corridor, where the light began to fade, stood a figure.

His skin was pale, his pupils pitch black. Under the moonlight, he cast no shadow.

No, I realized, he wasn’t human.

He was a vengeful spirit who had crawled out of the ashes-someone that the great fire of my past life had failed to burn away completely.

An icy breath brushed against my neck.

He called out to me with a beaming smile.

“My wife.”

“Ah…”

I let out a soft, gentle sigh.

What a pity.

Yan Ci leaned in with a faint, mocking smile. I could even feel the frigid aura emanating from him.

“You look disappointed?”

“I am.”

I curved my eyes and spoke in a soft, melodic whisper.

“It’s a pity I couldn’t burn the General to ashes. Instead, I’ve left you to return and face me in this half-dead state.”

The night wind suddenly picked up. Yan Ci gently caressed my face.

“You are my lawfully wedded wife. Whether in the Yellow Springs or the world of the living, I will naturally be where you are.”

News of my rejection of the marriage proposal spread throughout the capital within three days.

The rumors grew more and more outrageous as they circulated. Eventually, they morphed into claims that “Miss Xue (the second daughter) disdains Young General Yan” and “Miss Xue (the second daughter) has long been involved in a secret affair.”

The Xue Family’s status was not high; my father was merely a fifth-rank official in the capital.

All my mother had ever wanted in her life was for me to marry into a respectable family.

“The Yan family is such a prestigious household. So many people would do anything to form a connection with them, yet they can’t.”

“And then there’s you-rejecting the proposal in public and even mentioning some ‘beloved’…”

My mother wiped away her tears. “Tell me, who is this man?”

I lowered my gaze. “There is no such person. I simply do not want to marry Yan Ci.”

My mother’s tears fell even harder, as if I had committed a grave sin.

But what had I done wrong?

My only mistake was not wanting to marry someone I didn’t like, and who didn’t like me back.

I had simply started my life over, and I was unwilling to live that kind of life again.

At dusk, the phantom manifested.

“See? Who would dare to marry you now?” Yan Ci mocked.

“Even if you start over, you still have no choice but to pick me.”

He had been following me for many days now. He was nowhere to be found during the day, but he appeared as soon as night fell.

Sometimes he stood under the corridor; sometimes he sat on the roof beams.

More often than not, he would press himself against my back like this, whispering incessantly.

I didn’t care.

He didn’t even have a physical body. He was nothing more than a wandering, lonely ghost.

His greatest ability was merely stirring up that gust of ghostly wind at the night banquet.

I shot back with a biting retort, “Pick you? You’re already dead, while I am still alive. As for who marries me, you needn’t trouble yourself.”

I had struck a nerve. Yan Ci stared at me intently.

“You rejected the marriage in open court. He won’t let you off.”

I began to laugh softly.

Had that fire burned his brain as well?

If he wanted to see a joke, he should look in a mirror.

“Are you talking about that little thing?”

“I’m waiting.”