Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Something has gone wrong.

My life is over.

Actually, in reality, I’m not the type of person who sleeps with random men, especially the kind who kill without batting an eye.

He was staring at me, and I felt like crying.

To be fair, he was quite handsome, though his skin was too pale-paler than mine, even. He looked almost like a woman, but his bare upper body was very muscular, which I actually quite liked.

I looked down at my own arm. Actually, I was quite sturdy too.

Even though he was paler and more muscular than me, I was better looking than him, so I suppose I won that round.

No, now was not the time for comparisons.

Cheng Xiu was staring at me with a sinister, cold gaze, yet a smirk played at the corners of his mouth. He spoke with a bizarre, mocking tone. “Fourth Miss Liang, please don’t cry. Lying here with a castrated man like me must indeed be a grievance for you.”

I had more urgent matters to attend to. Clutching the quilt, I sat up and turned to him. “Is there any water? I’m a bit thirsty.”

He remained silent for a moment before speaking in a dark, ominous voice. “…There are people outside looking for you right now. How do you plan to handle this?”

I couldn’t find my clothes, and I was too embarrassed to climb over Cheng Xiu’s body while naked. I licked my parched lips and gave a bitter smile. “Someone is trying to frame you. Can’t you think of something yourself?”

What could I possibly do? I couldn’t even find a single piece of clothing. How was I supposed to handle anything?

“Very well then, you shall marry me.” He flashed a venomous smile, as if he would drag me down to death with him if I dared to refuse.

This was clearly a setup to frame Cheng Xiu. As long as I spoke up and testified, he would be charged with being a fake eunuch and forcibly taking a woman of good standing. However, I would never be able to marry anyone else after that; the best-case scenario would be entering a convent to become a nun.

But looking at Cheng Xiu’s sinister eyes, I suspected that if I dared to testify against him, he would kill me on the spot.

Marrying him was one way out-at least it would save my life. But what if he mistreated me?

I was stuck between a rock and a hard place.

“This side hall hasn’t been searched yet. My Lord, please follow me,” a eunuch’s shrill voice rang out from outside.

Cheng Xiu immediately rolled out of bed. Only then did I realize he was wearing trousers. He hurriedly threw on his outer robe. Curled up under the quilt, I gave him a quick wink and immediately lay back down to feign sleep.

By the time the door opened, Cheng Xiu had finished dressing and was sitting calmly at a table far away from me.

“Godfather, why are you here?” the eunuch exclaimed in surprise. Then came the sound of approaching footsteps, followed by a sharp intake of breath. “This-this-this, how improper!”

Another cold, clear male voice spoke. “Eunuch Cheng, please explain yourself.”

“Godfather, your son truly didn’t know, truly didn’t know!” the eunuch cried out performatively, pinning the blame on Cheng Xiu before the latter could even say a word.

“Find someone to wake Fourth Miss Liang, and take Director Cheng into custody.”

Cheng Xiu spoke with great composure. “I hope Lord Ling investigates this matter thoroughly. Do not bring shame upon the Imperial Guard.”

“The Director need not worry.”

People left and others arrived. I kept up the act for a long time, finally opening my eyes slowly under the calls of several palace maids. After acting dazed for a while, I began to wail.

I put on my clothes, and shortly after, Lord Ling arrived. “Fourth Miss Liang, are you unharmed?”

I looked up at him, my eyes swollen from crying. “Thank you for your concern, Lord Ling. I am unharmed,” I replied, my voice hoarse.

Ling Jue had an excellent physique; the Flying Fish Robe he wore looked gallant and pleasing to the eye. Moreover, he was handsome, with sword-like brows and starry eyes-truly peerless. He was also a favored official of the Emperor, young and promising. Countless girls dreamed of marrying him; he was many times better than Cheng Xiu.

He said gently, “You only need to tell me everything you know in detail.”

I thought for a moment and whispered, “I drank a bit too much today, so I wanted to wander near the Imperial Garden to sober up. I don’t know what happened, but I suddenly fainted. When I woke up, I was here.”

My voice grew smaller as my face flushed red. “Fortunately, there was no one else here, and nothing bad happened. Otherwise… otherwise my reputation would have been ruined.”

Ling Jue hesitated, as if he wanted to say more, but ultimately asked, “Besides that, did you see anyone else? Speak boldly; the Emperor will surely see justice done for you.”
I shook my head blankly. “Is there anyone else?”

“General Liang and Madam Liang will be here shortly to keep you company.” Seeing that he could get nothing out of me, Ling Jue simply gave up, turned around, and strode away.

A moment later, my father and mother arrived. My father’s face was ashen with rage as he scolded me for my lack of propriety, while my mother held me and wept.

I pretended to be confused. Between sobs, my mother told me that the news of me being found in a room with Cheng Xiu while undressed had already spread. Fortunately, that dead eunuch had proven his innocence, but it was I who would suffer for it…

My mind was racing, wondering exactly how Cheng Xiu had proven his innocence.

I knew he was a real eunuch because, while I was getting dressed, I realized there was no so-called ‘red drop’ on me; I hadn’t even been touched. But if he had truly been forced to drop his trousers to prove it, wouldn’t that have been a massive humiliation?

I waited until nightfall before Ling Jue walked in, his expression unreadable. “General Liang, His Majesty summons Fourth Miss Liang.”

This wasn’t my first time seeing the Emperor.

He was advanced in years and often neglected state affairs. Power was split three ways: the Eastern Depot, the Imperial Guard, and the Regent Prince. These three factions were constantly at each other’s throats in their struggle for authority.

In the great hall, the Emperor announced in front of everyone that he intended to bestow a marriage between Cheng Xiu and me, asking if we were willing.

“Fourth Miss Liang, if you are unwilling, you may speak freely,” he said in a kindly tone, yet I felt something was off.

I glanced up at Cheng Xiu and replied with poise, neither humble nor arrogant, “Director Cheng has shared His Majesty’s burdens for many years and is deeply loyal. The ancients said that one should marry for virtue rather than beauty, and the same applies to a woman choosing a husband. I am willing to marry a man of loyalty and righteousness.”

Cheng Xiu knelt down without a word. “This servant is also willing. Fourth Miss Liang is a celestial beauty; to be able to marry her is this servant’s good fortune. This servant thanks Your Majesty for your profound grace.”

The Emperor seemed quite pleased, though I couldn’t fathom why. There was something peculiar lurking within his smile.

Belatedly, I realized it was malice.

The malice of a superior toward an inferior; the malice of the whole toward the broken.

After the Emperor retired, many people in the hall looked at the two of us with eyes full of schadenfreude. I silently straightened my back.

Since I was a child, I never liked losing, and I liked people making a mockery of me even less.

Besides, what kind of joke was this?

They were merely venting their spite.

Cheng Xiu’s expression was grim as he turned to leave, but I called out to him with a bright smile. “I’ll be waiting for you! Hurry up and come marry me.”

Cheng Xiu stared at me motionlessly, his gaze like that of a venomous snake. After a long silence, he nodded. “Fine.”

On the way back that night, Zhao Wangjian intercepted me before I could board the carriage, his eyes bloodshot. “Liu Niang, come with me. I’ll take you far away from here.”

I smiled at him, half-jokingly and half-seriously. “The Emperor has bestowed the marriage, and I am perfectly willing. Director Cheng is also willing to marry me. This is a good thing; don’t go ruining my good prospects.”

The sons of officials passing by looked over with mocking, uncomfortable glints in their eyes. They looked down on me, and they looked down on Cheng Xiu.

“If anyone else in this world wanted to marry him, they likely wouldn’t have my good fortune,” I sneered, nimbly flipping myself onto a horse and speaking with head held high.

“Mother, I’m riding back!” Keeping my back straight, I expertly mounted my father’s horse and galloped gallantly back to our manor.

None of them had the courage of Liang Yinliu.

***

The Dungeon.

Cheng Xiu had just personally dealt with the godson who framed him. He asked with genuine interest, “She said it was ‘good fortune’?”

“Reporting to the Director, Fourth Miss Liang did indeed say those words.” Lu Daoyuan had been by Cheng Xiu’s side for a long time, but even now, his scalp tingled with dread as he answered, fighting back a strong wave of nausea.

Cheng Xiu couldn’t help but let out a laugh.

She still didn’t understand what it meant to be a eunuch. Then again, she was only seventeen-so young. How could she possibly look that far ahead?

When she finally realized the predicament she had fallen into, she certainly wouldn’t use the words ‘good fortune’ so optimistically.

She would surely weep and scream to leave, only to find there was no escape, watching her life waste away in such agony.

What exquisite despair that would be.

Cheng Xiu was already beginning to look forward to seeing that look of despair on her face.