chapter 2
chapter 2
“W-what penalty?”
My hand went instinctively to the imperial pardon token at my waist, and courage flooded back into me.
“Nothing serious. Just the execution of all nine clans.”
Splendid. One pardon token would not be enough.
“However…”
He leaned back and turned those peach-blossom eyes on me, making my heart tighten.
“Since you are about to become my empress, I can overlook the matter.”
“And if… I don’t become your empress?”
An awkward silence fell.
He lowered his eyes. The veins on the back of his hand stood out faintly.
“Then you had better start choosing burial plots for your nine clans.”
“Your Majesty, I actually want this marriage very much. Truly. I couldn’t be more willing.”
A wise person knew when to yield.
In the end, he sent me home. Before leaving, he told me his name.
“Qi Haoyan.”
It sounded strangely familiar, though I could not remember where I had heard it.
At last, our wedding day arrived.
Escorted by a grand procession, I entered the palace.
“Ah Zhao.”
Qi Haoyan lifted my bridal veil and gazed at me with smiling eyes. His red wedding robes made him look even more striking, and for a moment, I was dazed.
“Come. It is time for the nuptial wine.”
He handed me the cup, his face very close to mine.
I had always loved beautiful things. Faced with that face, I abandoned all thought and did whatever he asked.
Once the wine was gone, he leaned closer. His enlarged features were flawless, and my reflection filled those peach-blossom eyes.
“Ah Zhao…”
“Mm… D-don’t let your hands wander!”
I suddenly realized he had crossed a line.
Yet his eyes were full of innocence.
“We are already married. I trust Ah Zhao would never refuse me.
“You wouldn’t refuse me, would you?
“Ah Zhao…”
…
A seduction.
It had definitely been a seduction.
When I woke the next morning, sore all over, I finally understood I had been tricked.
How had I fallen for him last night?
I turned my head with difficulty and made out his tall, slender figure beyond the heavy bed curtains. His personal eunuch was helping him dress as they spoke in low voices.
“Has everything been handled?”
“It is done, Your Majesty. Rest assured, everything is proceeding according to plan.”
“Good. Within two months, we will uproot that malignant growth completely. Remember—keep it from the empress.”
Keep what from me?
I quietly pricked up my ears.
“Rest assured, Your Majesty. The duke’s household may command great power and prestige, but who could ever stand against Your Majesty?”
A duke’s household?
My eyes widened.
That was my family!
Could Qi Haoyan be planning to move against us?
What a bastard. Yesterday he had sworn he adored me; today he was plotting my family’s destruction!
I could not simply wait for disaster to strike. I had to do something.
To defeat an enemy, one first had to understand him. I would begin by learning what Qi Haoyan liked.
And I would start with someone close to him—Little Kangzi, the young eunuch he had assigned to me.
“Little Kangzi, do you know what His Majesty likes?”
“Need you even ask? His Majesty likes you best, Your Majesty.”
With that, Little Kangzi sprang to his feet, struck a dramatic pose, and began telling a story.
“As far as this servant knows, His Majesty kept an empty harem all these years solely because he was waiting for you.”
Waiting to kill me, perhaps.
“Even when he was still a prince, His Majesty constantly murmured your name and could scarcely eat.”
Had he already been planning how to deal with my family back then?
“In short, His Majesty’s love for Your Majesty will endure until death. If it were written as a romance, every pair of lovers beneath heaven would envy you.”
Thank you. You truly had a future as a professional storyteller.
I was numb.
After half an hour of talking past each other, I had learned nothing.
My only choice was to dig out the book Mother had slipped me before I left: Methods for Marital Harmony.
The first method was to express affection—for instance, by frequently bringing one’s spouse food.
That was easy!
I had often made treats for the Grand Tutor’s son when he lived at our estate.
I prepared a box of pastries with brisk efficiency and carried it to the imperial study.
Qi Haoyan sat behind his desk with a terrifyingly dark expression. Heaven, however, always favored the beautiful. Even scowling, he was handsome.
“Ah Zhao?”
The moment he saw me, his face brightened. He hurried over to welcome me.
“Why are you carrying that yourself? Are your hands tired?”
He set the box aside, then cradled my hands in both of his and inspected them as though they were priceless treasures.
“They’re red. Leave such work to the servants next time.”
“It’s nothing. I only made you a few things to eat.”
I quickly opened the box and gave him my most ingratiating smile.
“See if there’s anything you like.”
“If Ah Zhao made it, I will like it.”
The dog of a man hid his thoughts well.
Discovering his preferences would not be easy, but I had complete confidence in my cooking.
Just wait. One bite and he would be mine.