Chapter 1

Chapter 1

While strolling through the palace, I happened upon a young, handsome guard.

He had sharp features, broad shoulders, and a narrow waist. I couldn’t help but steal another glance.

Just then, I heard an excited voice whispering from behind a wall.

“Did you see that? Her orientation is perfectly fine! I knew it!”

That’s right-it was my Imperial Father.

He had been tailing me for several days now.

Whenever I chatted and laughed with the palace maids, he would mutter about me being “bent.”

Whenever I made eye contact with a guard, he would shout about me being “straight.”

One moment I was bent, the next I was straight.

I had no idea what kind of madness had taken hold of my Imperial Father this time.

He had even ordered a bamboo grove to be planted behind my palace.

When I asked him what it meant, he said, “This is called being as straight as can be.”

I began to suspect that my Imperial Father had a task to entrust to me.

With tears in his eyes, he took my hand. “You guessed right.”

I understood.

When Heaven is about to confer a great responsibility on a person, they must first undergo trials.

“Imperial Father, do you want me to go away for a political marriage?”

I had heard that the powerful Zhou Dynasty had sent their Crown Prince to visit, requesting a marriage alliance, but my Imperial Father hadn’t agreed yet.

He only had three children: my Imperial Elder Brother, my Imperial Elder Sister, and me.

My brother was a scholar, and my sister was in the military, so I was the only relatively suitable candidate.

My Imperial Father’s brow furrowed. “Political marriage? No, no, no. You are my last hope.”

The sun was setting. He stood with his hands behind his back, looking back at me.

“I have observed you for days, and I intend to hand the empire over to you.”

I fell silent.

First of all, I had no such ambition.

Secondly, we already had a Crown Prince. My Imperial Elder Brother had been established as the heir since birth.

Finally, I was a do-nothing who spent my days idling about. How on earth did I catch his eye?

“Imperial Father, does my Imperial Elder Brother know about this?”

Recalling something painful, my Imperial Father spoke in a grief-stricken tone. “The Crown Prince…”

He collapsed onto my shoulder, weeping uncontrollably.

I panicked.

Was my brother dead?

My Imperial Father looked up. “He’s not dead. But he is no longer destined for the throne.”

My Imperial Elder Brother was gentle and possessed impeccable virtue. How exactly had he offended our Imperial Father?

But clearly, my Imperial Father wasn’t going to say.

“Imperial Father, if there is no Crown Prince, there is still my Imperial Elder Sister.”

My sister held considerable prestige in the army and had a free-spirited nature.

My Imperial Father closed his eyes. “Your Imperial Elder Sister is also…”

Tears were already tracing paths down his face.

This didn’t seem right. I had seen my Imperial Elder Sister yesterday, and she was perfectly fine.

She was even in the Imperial Garden, pushing the prospective Crown Princess, Sister Chen, on a swing.

My Imperial Father’s eyes snapped open. “Who! Who did you say? Oh, heavens… Grand Secretary Chen is going to kill me!”

He cut himself off mid-sentence and rushed away in a hurry.

Wait, Dad! Was that part about passing the throne to me actually true or not?

I stomped my foot and hurried after him.