Chapter 2

Chapter 2

In the end, however, I did marry down to Wei Jue.

Prince Xin had been reported for treason, and the Wei Family was implicated. According to the law, their property was to be confiscated and the family exiled.

Wei Jue found a way to seek help through the Grand Princess.

When I was a guest at the Grand Princess’s Mansion, he suddenly appeared and performed a sword dance.

That dance was powerful and resonant, as agile as a swimming dragon and as graceful as a startled swan. Between his broad, sweeping movements, a magnificent aura emerged.

Before, Wei Jue had been nothing more than a beautiful painting in my heart.

Now, that painting had come to life.

As soon as the dance ended, he knelt on the ground, silent.

He was clever.

If he had spoken then, it would have been a clumsy move.

He waited for my decision, waited for me to struggle with my own inner desires.

The Grand Princess chuckled in my ear. “Such a rare specimen is hard to find in this world. If he hadn’t been betrothed to you once, he would have been mine long ago. Do you want him or not?”

I asked him, “Where is your childhood sweetheart?”

His body shifted slightly. “She no longer has any connection to this subject.”

I had heard that the Lu Family had severed ties with the Wei Family as soon as the trouble started and moved their entire household away.

Now, Lord Lu was working hard to secure an official post in the provinces, hoping to leave the capital to avoid the fallout.

His little sweetheart, Lu Qingshuang, had already broken off their engagement.

He had been jilted twice.

Even for a man, his reputation could not withstand such a blow.

Furthermore, what reputation did the Wei Family have left now?

I walked up to him and said slowly, “Though This Princess has always been headstrong and reckless, I only act that way in my personal affairs. Treason and corruption are matters of state; This Princess will not use them for private gain. If the Wei Family is innocent, Father Emperor will naturally restore your honor. If the Wei Family is not innocent, you should accept your fate willingly. You have enjoyed much wealth and status, and you must pay the corresponding price. Your face is beautiful, but it should not be used as a bargaining chip.”

Having said my piece, I brushed my sleeves and left.

Not long after, the investigation revealed that the Wei Family had merely sent a gift to Prince Xin’s birthday banquet and had no close dealings with him. Thus, the Wei Family was restored to its former status, once again becoming close officials to the Emperor and prominent figures in court.

I only heard that the relationship between the Lu Family and the Wei Family was never mended.

Later, I was ambushed while traveling, and Wei Jue saved me.

When he was struck by a long sword, he collapsed into my arms.

I asked him why he saved me.

He said it was to repay the kindness of saving the Wei Family.

I fell silent.

Did he not believe me, or did he not believe his own father?

But amidst the flash of blades and shadows of swords, there was no time to explain these things.

He was sent for medical treatment.

As I undressed to bathe, the jade pendant that fell from my robes was stained with Wei Jue’s blood, which was absorbed completely by the jade.

I remembered the words of the priest at Changfeng Temple: “Your Highness is destined to face a romantic tribulation. After the tribulation, the world will naturally become vast and open, and you shall act according to your heart.”

It seemed Wei Jue was my tribulation.

If that was the case, I would simply cross it.

When Wei Jue woke up, I asked him:

“To repay a life-saving debt with one’s body, or to repay it some other day-which do you choose?”

“This subject believes the title of Prince Consort would suit me just fine.”

He smiled warmly, and my heart fluttered.

This tribulation did not seem so difficult to overcome.

But I was wrong.

A tribulation is a tribulation, after all.

Just because it is covered in a beautiful sugar coating does not mean one can ignore its bitterness.

I have been married to him for three years.

The constant conflicts between mother and daughter-in-law, sisters-in-law, the childhood sweetheart, and old friends have exhausted what little affection we had.

Yesterday, he said he wanted to go out of the city to clear his head.

I reminded him that the roads would be slippery in the rain and to be careful.

He gave a brief response and left the Princess’s Mansion in a hurry.

It turned out that going out to clear his head was true, but he was traveling with a beauty.

If the heavens hadn’t opened my eyes, I still wouldn’t know that I had been cuckolded.

Perhaps I had been lost in thought for too long.

Seeing my gaze fixed on Wei Jue’s hand tightly gripping Lu Qingshuang’s, Ning Sheng knelt heavily and explained, “The Prince Consort’s grip is too tight; your subordinate cannot separate them. Perhaps the imperial physician has a way.”

The imperial physician moved to step forward.

I raised my hand.

“No need. This is fine.”

I ordered the two of them to be carried into the room, leaving only Daoist Wushang from Changfeng Temple.

“Master, begin. Draw his soul out for This Princess. I want him to see with his own eyes what the world he perceives is truly like.”