Chapter 1

Chapter 1

It was our wedding night.

Wei Zhao stumbled into the bridal chamber, drunk and swaying. Everyone in the manor could see that he was unwilling.

He didn’t bother to hide it, either. His face was flushed with intoxication, but his eyes were terrifyingly cold.

He hated me.

But I didn’t care in the slightest.

I-Princess Chang’an Zhao Ziyu-am currently the new favorite of Huajing.

I spent eighteen years praying for the nation’s blessings, wasting my youth in a Buddhist temple. Now that I have returned in glory, the Empress grants my every wish.

Even Princess Kangle, who has been favored by the Empress for fifteen years, has to yield to my prominence.

What could a mere Wei Zhao do to me?

But looking at that face, I really couldn’t bring myself to be angry.

Wei Zhao was handsome, with swordlike brows and star-bright eyes, graceful as an immortal. Keeping such a sight in the manor was pleasing to the eye.

Wei Zhao stepped up to me and gave a cold laugh.

In a fit of unrestrained anger, he yanked off the outer layer of red wedding finery. Underneath, shockingly, was a white mourning robe-so white it hurt to look at.

He was my husband, yet he wore mourning clothes. He was plainly hoping I would die…

Matron Zhang’s face changed as she snapped,

“Imperial Son-in-Law, how dare you be so rude?”

I lifted a hand, signaling Matron Zhang to be silent.

I said evenly, “You fancy Kangle?”

“You already know the answer!”

Wei Zhao ground his teeth. With the wine in him, he had probably decided to throw everything to the wind.

“If it weren’t for you, the one marrying me here tonight would be Yun’er.”

Oh.

Right.

This Princess Manor had originally been prepared for Princess Kangle Zhao Yun’er.

But now that I’ve returned, the Princess Manor belongs to me.

I smiled.

Stealing what belonged to someone else felt so good.

No wonder my Imperial Father back then not only seized the Late Emperor’s throne, but even seized the Late Emperor’s Empress.

My Empress Mother was once Huajing’s greatest beauty, the kind that made two princes fall for her.

The Late Emperor had been first, sweeping her away.

But my Imperial Father, though the latecomer, came out on top. He not only killed the Late Emperor and sat the throne himself, he also took his former sister-in-law and changed her status, keeping her at his side as his rightful Empress.

It wasn’t that I didn’t know Wei Zhao and Kangle loved each other. Even if I had known, what I did today was nothing more than following the Late Emperor’s example.

The Wei Zhao in front of me was Huajing’s number one beauty.

Back when I was at Yunchu Temple, I’d already heard his name.

I hadn’t cared then. Only after meeting him did I realize how shallow I’d been.

He really was beautiful.

A pity his brain wasn’t.

No wonder he became the discarded pawn of the Wei Family.

Of course, if I said that to Wei Zhao, he probably wouldn’t believe it even if you beat him to death.