Chapter 14

Chapter 14

I closed my eyes, my knuckles whitening as I gripped my hands, a cold smile curling at the corners of my lips.

Of course!

I should have realized long ago that all of this was Kangle’s arrangement.

Kangle’s methods weren’t particularly sophisticated, but Wei Zhao wasn’t exactly a brilliant man either. It was a fool’s errand for me to expect him not to fall into her trap.

And yet, I had actually believed he had been driven to fall off the cliff because of my provocation.

Since Kangle had gone to such lengths to arrange this, I would give her exactly what she wanted.

I gave a cold shout: “Surround the cave and seize that pair of dogs inside for This Princess!”

“…”

The crowd hesitated, faltering in their steps.

Without a word, I took the lead and marched inside.

The interior was decorated with exceptional warmth, resembling a newlywed’s bridal chamber. Hearing the commotion, Kangle poked her head out from behind the red mandarin duck curtains. Her cheeks were flushed pink, her posture soft and timid. Seeing me, however, she didn’t panic; instead, she pulled Wei Zhao close to her as if asserting her ownership.

“Chang’an, what’s done is done. Give up-ah!”

I drew my sword and pressed the tip against Kangle’s throat.

Kangle’s rosy complexion turned deathly pale in an instant.

“Zhao Ziyu, what are you doing? Whatever is wrong is my fault alone. She and I are truly in-” Wei Zhao stood up, shielding Kangle with his body.

*Slap!*

I struck Wei Zhao across the face.

“You’ve forgotten what I said again, Wei Zhao. Do you really think I don’t dare to kill you?”

“Get dressed and follow me to the palace!”

Kangle panicked.

Wei Zhao panicked as well.

They had been certain I would swallow this bitter pill in silence to save face. They hadn’t expected me to be so shameless as to make a public scene of it.

“I’m not going to the palace! I won’t see Imperial Father and Empress Mother! Men, pull her away!”

At Kangle’s command, the people hiding in the shadows finally swarmed in, surrounding me.

The tip of my sword trembled slightly, carving a thin trail of blood onto Kangle’s snowy-white neck.

“Choose: walk out with your clothes on, or walk out naked.”

I looked at Kangle as if she were already a corpse.

In the end, Kangle chose to leave with her clothes on.

The sky had cleared outside.

I bound Kangle and brought her back to the palace, the onlookers’ eyes darting over her in shock. She looked ready to die of shame atop my horse, while Wei Zhao was dragged behind us. After being dragged the whole way, he looked half-dead.

Once we reached the palace, countless palace maids and eunuchs swarmed forward to rescue Kangle. She stared at me with a venomous gaze.

“Zhao Ziyu, I want you dead.”

“Fine. Let’s see who dies at whose hand first.”

I strode forward with my head held high, slammed my sword onto the ground, and went to see Empress Mother.

With such a massive commotion accompanying our return, Empress Mother naturally knew everything. Her face was ashen as she looked from Kangle to me, trembling with rage. She slammed her hand on the table and stood up, delivering a harsh slap to my face.

“Chang’an, you have disappointed me too much!”

“Disappointed you in what way?”

I clutched my face, staring at her coldly. I should have felt heartbroken, but at this moment, I felt nothing at all. I stepped closer and whispered into her ear.

“Are you disappointed that I am not Imperial Father’s child?”

I-Princess Chang’an-Zhao Ziyu.

The reason Imperial Father loathed me so much was that I was not his daughter, but the daughter of the Late Emperor.

Years ago, when the Late Emperor died, Empress Mother was already pregnant. She hid this from Imperial Father and shared his bed, leading him to believe the child she carried was his own. Unfortunately, some things cannot be faked. For instance, the palace midwives could tell at a glance that I, supposedly born premature, was actually a full-term infant.

How could such news be kept from Imperial Father?

I don’t know how Empress Mother convinced him not to kill me. Regardless, I survived, though I grew up in a Buddhist temple and survived countless assassination attempts.

Empress Mother’s face filled with shock, and she stumbled back repeatedly. Tears welled in her eyes as she looked at me as if I were a demon.

“Chang’an-”

I also slowly backed away, wanting to leave this place without another word. When masks are stripped away layer by layer, eventually, even the bond between mother and daughter ceases to exist.

“I don’t want Wei Zhao anymore. Since Kangle likes him, I’ll bestow him upon her. I will send the divorce papers shortly. I hope Empress Mother will fulfill Kangle and Wei Zhao’s wishes.”

I retreated to the door, turned around, and left without hesitation.

“Chang’an-Ziyu-”

I heard Empress Mother’s heart-wrenching cry, a voice filled with immense pain. But it might have been my hallucination, for I was also in so much pain that my entire body felt numb, leaving me speechless.

Returning to the Princess Manor, my fingers trembled as I wrote a letter of divorce. I handed it to Matron Zhang to present to the palace. As long as Imperial Father and Empress Mother applied their seals, the matter would be set in stone, with no possibility of reversal.

I collapsed onto my bed and pulled up the covers, yet I still felt a chill that seeped into my bones. I looked at the clay figurine on the table, my thoughts drifting in a daze.

*I’m sorry, Ah Ze.*

*I can’t keep the Wei Family’s ship afloat anymore.*

*All I can do is try my hardest to make sure it doesn’t sink too quickly…*