Chapter 1
When I was sixteen, someone from the Wang household came to bring me home to discuss my marriage.
The steward bowed, practically glowing with excitement.
“This is an extraordinary honor! Countless daughters of noble families dream of such a match without ever obtaining it. Once you enter the palace, Eldest Miss, you will be empress, mother of the nation, above ten thousand people…”
I drank my tea quietly. When he finally wore himself out and paused for breath, I smiled and pushed the other cup toward him.
“Tell me, Steward, do you think that because Yizhou is so remote, we country folk have never heard of His Majesty’s illustrious reputation?”
He froze.
His right hand stopped halfway to the cup.
The new emperor was the late emperor’s third son.
He had reigned for barely a year, yet tales of his depravity had spread from north to south.
People said he was vicious and unpredictable. One moment he would be smiling as he bestowed jewels; the next, he would fly into a rage and order the recipient dragged away to be flayed and dismembered.
There were also plenty of rumors that his claim to the throne was illegitimate—that he had murdered his father and brothers to obtain it.
Just how bad was his reputation?
If a child cried at night, you only had to say His Majesty was coming and would eat any crying children. Even the most stubborn little wailer wouldn’t dare make another sound all night.
As for this business of choosing an empress, the new emperor had grown tired of his elderly ministers’ remonstrances and had already drawn his sword to kill someone. The imperial blade left a red line across Grand Tutor Chen’s neck…
Then the young emperor suddenly thought of something.
“If I remember correctly, Grand Tutor, your granddaughter has reached marriageable age. Since you’re so eager for me to marry, why don’t I marry her?”
At last, a crack appeared in Grand Tutor Chen’s expression of grim resolve.
“Your Majesty! My granddaughter is already betrothed!”
But the new emperor seemed to have discovered something vastly entertaining.
A pleased, low laugh rose from his chest.
“Betrothed? What difficulty does that present? Kill the man, and the betrothal is gone.”
At those words, the commander-in-chief dropped to his knees. The grand tutor’s granddaughter was engaged to his youngest son.
Naturally, the new emperor wasn’t going to change his mind because the commander-in-chief begged him. But as his gaze swept over the ministers who had discreetly relaxed around him, he suddenly burst into a malicious laugh and tossed his sword aside.
“Let us all share the fun!”
He ordered the ministers to stand in a row with pomegranates balanced on their heads. Then he covered his eyes with white silk and took up a bow. Whoever had his pomegranate struck would supply the new empress.
After shooting out the Minister of Revenue’s left eye and piercing General Zhongwu’s right ear, the young emperor finally hit the pomegranate on my father’s head—Grand Chamberlain Wang Shao.
The officials felt as though they had been pardoned from death. My father carried the decree home looking as though someone in his family had died.
My stepmother cried for two days. My younger sister fainted three times. Only then did they finally remember:
“There is still our eldest legitimate daughter in Yizhou.”
I gave the steward a thin smile. “My father and Lady Li sent a mere steward to fetch me? Aren’t they taking me rather lightly? And what about Grandmother? She was driven out of the capital all those years ago. Shouldn’t the grand chamberlain and his wife, who have neglected his own mother ever since, come here to kneel and beg her forgiveness?”
The muscles in his face twitched twice. He straightened.
“Eldest Miss, you would do better to accept the offered cup than be forced to drink it. The master has already submitted your birth details. I will bring you home even if I must tie you up!”
I smiled at him and held out my hand.
Yuanyuan slipped a broadsword into it with practiced ease.
Up went my hand. Down came the blade.
The square table before us split in two.
“What did you say? I didn’t quite catch it.”
The steward trembled. “I-I shall write to the master at once.”