Chapter 1
Edward Quan ·
A few days before my elder sister was to marry the Crown Prince, she eloped with a scholar.
With no other choice, our parents made me marry in her place.
When my bridal veil was lifted, Xie Zhao’s handsome face met my eyes.
After the wedding, he showered me with affection.
Three months later, my sister suddenly returned.
Trembling all over, she flung herself into his arms.
“A-Zhao, Changle deceived you.
“I’m your Crown Princess.”
Xie Zhao went rigid.
No matter how I explained, he would not listen.
He banished me to the Cold Palace and welcomed my sister as Empress.
Yet late at night, when no one was around, he came again and again to degrade me.
“This is what you deserve!”
Tormented day after day, I could endure no more.
A single flame burned the Cold Palace to the ground.
When I opened my eyes again, I had returned to the moment my sister was about to elope.
I shouted at once:
“Elder Sister is running away with a man!”
01
Her face changed in horror. She hurriedly caught my arm and pleaded, “Changle, I’m begging you. Pretend you haven’t seen anything, all right?”
I remained calm and unmoved.
“You can run off and live as freely as you please. But have you thought about our parents? Our whole family? Your selfishness will destroy all our futures.”
Her hand trembled and fell away. Her voice choked with grievance.
“I have no choice either. You all know the Crown Prince is hideous and unpredictable. The slightest displeasure earns a beating or a scolding, or worse—he tortures people to death. I don’t want to be sacrificed for the family…”
I laughed coldly.
“As selfish as ever.”
When she saw that I would not listen, she could no longer keep up the pretense. Her gentleness vanished, replaced by barely contained fury.
“Pan Changle, don’t make me do this the hard way. If I leave, can’t you take my place?
“You’ll become Crown Princess, then one day Empress—second only to the Emperor himself. Don’t play the victim when you’re the one who benefits!”
My lips curved in a sneer, and my expression cooled.
“If it’s so wonderful, why don’t you marry him?”
Her face changed. Humiliation turned to anger.
“How dare you talk back to your elder sister! Where are your manners?
“If you won’t listen, don’t blame me for being harsh!”
She signaled to her lover.
He immediately struck the side of my neck.
I collapsed unconscious.
Seeing me fall, the pair fled in panic.
Once they were gone, I got straight up and watched them disappear.
Our parents hurried over at the noise and demanded anxiously, “Where is your sister?”
“She ran away.”
Father’s eyes widened in rage.
“How could you let her escape? What use was raising you?”
I gave a bitter smile.
“There were two of them. Her lover struck me in the neck. How was a weak girl like me supposed to fight him? Besides, you couldn’t have stopped him either, could you, Father?”
His expression changed at once. The blood drained from his face until he was white with anger.
02
He raised his hand to slap me.
I stopped it with one hand.
“Father, I know which way they went.”
Unwilling to believe me, he asked, “How?”
“I overheard them talking.”
In my first life, I had softened and let her go.
Then too, she had used the Crown Prince’s ugliness as her reason for eloping.
When she begged so pitifully, I let the two of them leave.
Our parents came running at the noise.
“Where is your sister?” they demanded.
Guiltily, I lowered my head and answered with care.
“She’s run away…”
Before I finished, a slap struck me.
Father hit hard. Clearly, his fury had reached its peak, and he vented it all on me.
My face swelled before their eyes.
They took me home and subjected me to the family punishment.
The long whip fell again and again, tearing my skin until there was scarcely an uninjured patch left.
After only ten lashes, I could bear no more and fainted.
Pain woke me afterward.
Our parents did not summon a physician. They threw me into the ancestral hall and made me kneel to reflect on my wrongdoing.
It took half a month before I could leave my bed.
Not once in that time did either of them visit.
I learned for myself how cold human hearts could be.
The wedding drew near, but there was still no word from my sister.
Our parents settled for the next best thing: I would marry in her place.
I had always liked a handsome face. Naturally, I did not want to marry him.
Father flew into a rage and slapped me again.
“You’re the only daughter the Pan family has left. If you don’t marry him, who will?
“If Changyue hadn’t run away, would you ever have had a chance to become Crown Princess?
“Don’t play the victim when you’re benefiting!”
In that moment, much of the warmth in my heart died.
I could not slip away as my sister had.
If I fled too, the punishment would reach every branch of our clan.
With no alternative, I agreed to marry in her place.
03
On the wedding day, the bridal procession stretched for miles. Everyone in the household was anxious, afraid both that our deception of the throne would be discovered and that I would make a scene.
Crown Prince Xie Zhao rode a fine horse to collect his bride, a fearsome mask covering his face.
I was terrified, trembling all over.
He seemed to sense it. Gently taking my hand, he spoke with a tenderness that put me at ease.
“Don’t be afraid.”
What a beautiful voice.
For an instant, a shiver ran through me, and my heart warmed.
On our wedding night, he lifted my red veil.
At the sight of his face, I froze in astonishment.
Xie Zhao was as beautiful as the famed Pan An, nothing like the hideous man of rumor.
My cheeks immediately flushed.
He laughed softly, then bent to kiss me with exquisite gentleness.
We did not sleep that night.
After the wedding, he treated me very well.
Whatever I wanted, he indulged me.