Chapter 6

Chapter 6

After Gong Qiuyue left, the capital seemed to settle into a state of calm.

Even my father grew too sluggish to scold me, turning his attention instead to finding me a husband.

I had endured two broken engagements, and my reputation was tarnished. However, I was still a legitimate daughter, and that carried at least some utility.

He continued his search among the imperial relatives, intending to find a provincial vassal king or a prince to marry me off to. After all, the rumors of the capital wouldn’t reach the distant provinces; any amount of idle gossip would eventually crumble before the vastness of the mountains and seas. To him, the man only needed to be of noble status; as for his character or appearance, those were not factors worth considering.

In that case, finding a match was easy.

One day, my father spoke to me with feigned earnestness, telling me he had secured a fine marriage for me with the Prince of Anling’s household. He hoped that once I arrived, I would quickly bear children to secure my position as the primary wife.

I lowered my eyes, my voice cold and detached.

“I have heard that the Prince of Anling is the same age as you, Father, and has over a dozen grown sons. You want me to be his successor wife-to be a stepmother to men older than myself? Do you no longer care for your reputation?”

“Hmph! You are the one who has defiled the reputation of the Grand Preceptor’s Mansion! This is already the best marriage I can find for you. It is not for you to question it.”

My father slammed his teacup down, his anger flared.

I looked up at him.

In his youth, he had been handsome, a dragon among men.

I heard that during the palace examinations, the late Emperor had been quite conflicted about whether to award him the title of Zhuangyuan or designate him as the Tanhua.

In the end, his appreciation for talent won out, and he was officially appointed as the Zhuangyuan.

He had once been diligent and sincere, wanting to plead for the people’s sake. He had once been selfless, selecting talents for the imperial court.

But at some point, everything changed…

I only remembered that in my previous two lives, he had stirred up trouble in the court and extorted the common people, causing my fortunes in the inner palace to rise and fall like a stray dog.

Later, when I held the reins of government and initiated reforms, he was the greatest obstacle I encountered.

So, I made an example of him.

In this life, I didn’t care how he treated me.

Only occasionally would I remember how, when I was a child, he used to hold me and call me his “Guai Guai.”

It was to the point that when I became the Empress Dowager, I kept a snow-white lapdog and named it Guai Guai as well…

Father actively coordinated with the Prince of Anling’s household. It wouldn’t be long before the marriage negotiations officially began.

Liu Cui was so anxious she cried.

“Miss, why is your life so bitter?”

Bitter?

Not really.

I had lived through three lifetimes. In a sense, I had attained a form of longevity. Compared to many others, I had come out ahead.

Liu Cui gritted her teeth. “Miss, what if the First Prince doesn’t come to propose?”

I fell silent for a moment.

If he didn’t come, it meant I couldn’t enter the game in the capital.

Then I would just have to marry the Prince of Anling. I heard his household was very wealthy; when the time came for a rebellion, I should be able to buy quite a lot of grain and fodder.

“Don’t think about it. Just embroider a few more handkerchiefs.”

They could be used to wipe away tears or sweat. Either way, they would be useful.

Liu Cui let out a long sigh of helplessness and obediently went to embroider.

She really was a good girl.

That evening, my father summoned me to say that my marriage had been settled and told me to prepare for the wedding with a calm mind.

I asked, “Is it the Prince of Anling or the First Prince?”

His expression turned grim.

I had my answer.

“It seems it is the First Prince.”

He suddenly erupted in fury and slapped me across the face.

“You truly are a calculating creature, seducing and flattering the First Prince. Did you intentionally ruin your engagements with the Sixth Prince and the Ninth Prince? How can you be so self-degrading?”

As he moved to strike me again, I caught his wrist and looked up, staring at him with a frigid gaze.

“Watch your words, Father. No matter how lowly the First Prince may be, he is still the Emperor’s legitimate son. How is marrying him ‘degrading’ for your daughter?”

“You ungrateful wretch! You dare treat me like this? Do you still have any respect for me as your father?”

“Didn’t you stop acknowledging me as your daughter long ago? As for how my engagements were truly ruined, Father, do you really not know?”

He pressed his lips together, saying nothing.

I threw his hand aside, feeling only a sense of weariness.

He knew. He was just pretending not to know.

In my first life, when I killed him, I had asked him why he seemed to become a different person the moment my mother died.

At that time, his head was covered in blood and he was in a wretched state, yet his expression was filled with extreme malice.

“You cursed your mother to death. You made me a widower. Every time I think about how we could have lived a life of marital bliss if not for you-how you separated us between life and death-I wish I could…”

In my daze, I didn’t hear the curses that followed…

I only thought: *So that’s it. That is the reason he hates me.*

That year, a Taoist priest passed by our gates. My mother was curious and invited him in to read our fortunes.

While playing in the streets, I had seen that priest harrassing a woman, so I spoke plainly and said he was not a good man.

Perhaps that was why I earned his resentment.

He gave everyone in the family auspicious readings, specifically saying that Gong Qiuyue had a Phoenix Destiny, noble beyond measure.

But when it was my turn, he put on a grave expression. Only after my mother urged him three or four times did he say, with a face full of worry, that I was born with a malevolent fate-that I would bring ruin to my father, my mother, my husband, and my children…

My mother scolded him repeatedly.

That man argued his case, saying he didn’t wish to offend a noble person, but he truly could not bear to see such a fine family destroyed because of me…

I don’t remember the rest.

I only remember my mother frowning and saying the man was bad luck, and that she didn’t believe a word he said.

Until later, when she died on the birthing bed along with her unborn child.

And the way my father looked at me became increasingly wrong…

He doted on the concubines and he doted on Gong Qiuyue, yet he treated me-the orphaned daughter who had lost her mother-with nothing but cold indifference…

But I was born with a rebellious spirit.

The more others wanted me to be ground into the dirt, the more I would bloom into a fragrant flower from that very soil, blooming ostentatiously and freely.