Chapter 9

In this life, I would keep fighting and taking what I wanted, clearing every obstacle in her path so she could enjoy a lifetime of prosperity.

“Say something!”

Xiao Ce frowned, the corner of his mouth turned down in a sulk.

I came back to myself and stared at him blankly.

He angrily flung his sleeve.

“On Xie Jing'an's birthday, you embroidered him a sachet. But in all the sixteen years of my life, you've never given me anything.”

Me?

We hadn't even met back then.

He crossed his arms and lifted his chin.

“Since you risked your life for me, here's the deal: make me one every year and hang them all over my bed. Then I'll forgive you.”

“And another thing…”

He lowered his voice to warn me.

“Stay away from Xie Jing'an. I suspect something's wrong with his brain.”

“I don't know why, but he went to Father and said that if Father forced him to marry you, he'd bleed to death right there in the Imperial Study.”

“What kind of toad does he think he is, trying to marry the future princess of the Third Prince?”

“Even thinking about it is a crime.”

“So Mother and I used the excuse that he doesn't know his place and made him kneel in the Imperial Garden for a whole day.”

Such intense possessiveness.

He really was Consort Lin's son.

**15**

Two months before Shen Yuetang's wedding, my birthday finally arrived.

But with her grand wedding approaching, the family didn't want to host a birthday celebration for me.

Even Grandmother said my legitimate elder sister was marrying into a powerful family and bringing honor to the clan. She told me not to compete with her.

I'd lived through two lifetimes. I no longer cared about such things.

But on the very day of my birthday,

Xiao Ce arrived at the Shen estate with a grand procession and a mountain of gifts.

When he saw that my courtyard was deserted, with no one there to celebrate and not even a new outfit for me,

his expression immediately turned cold.

He even disregarded protocol and sent over his own stewards and servants.

They hung lanterns and decorations in my courtyard.

He even invited close family friends to celebrate my birthday.

Many civil and military officials came as well.

They whispered among themselves, criticizing the Shen family for being cold and harsh toward a secondary daughter.

I didn't care.

But if someone else wanted to fight for me and protect me, I was happy to play along.

So I deliberately bit my lip, looking as if I wanted to speak but couldn't. With one person, I seemed to have something to hide; with another, I looked like I was bearing an unspoken grievance. I acted the part of the wronged, helpless girl to perfection.

Father had lost face. He was just about to quietly warn me when Xiao Ce shot him a sharp look and smiled without warmth.

“Minister Shen doesn't love his own daughter, and now he won't let me show compassion to the life-saving benefactor who saved me?”

“The Shen family has spent so much on a wedding that it can't even host a birthday banquet. But I have plenty of money. I won't let Minister Shen spend a single coin.”

My stepmother's expression turned ugly. She hurried to force a smile.

“Mi'en is just a child. Her father spoiled her too much. If she'd wanted a birthday banquet, she only had to tell me. It was a small thing—there was no need to trouble Your Highness and Consort Lin.”

Xiao Ce looked at her as if she'd sprouted horns.

“Is the birthday banquet a small thing? Is a secondary daughter's birthday a small thing? Or is the birthday of the person who saved my life a small thing?”

“Madam Shen, when your daughter Shen Yuetang celebrates her birthday, is she left in a cold kitchen and an empty house with no one to care?”

“Or is it simply the Bùi family's way of raising their daughters to mistreat secondary sons and daughters?”

His words struck directly at the Bùi family's reputation.

My stepmother's knees weakened.

Shen Yuetang hurried through the gate.

She steadied my stepmother, but her tear-bright eyes turned shyly toward Xiao Ce.

“Your Highness is wise and mighty. You shouldn't listen to malicious rumors and damage the reputation of the Shen family.”

“If Your Highness has any grievance against us, I'll kneel and apologize for the family's sake.”

She bit her lip, tears streaming down her face, and made as if to kneel.

In the past, whenever she acted noble yet fragile and pitiable, both Bùi Vân Châu and Xie Jing'an had softened and rushed to apologize.

But Xiao Ce was different.

When Shen Yuetang said she would kneel but didn't move,

he bared his white teeth and taunted her.

“Why aren't you kneeling? Does Your Highness not deserve your apology?”

Shen Yuetang went pale.

The tears and pitiful expression froze on her face.

She suddenly turned to look at me.

“Do you really want to force me to kneel and disgrace the Shen family?”

I let out an “Ah.”

I looked at her.

“Didn't you say you wanted to kneel, Sister?”

“Is the family's reputation not worth one bow from you?”

“Enough!”

Xie Jing'an hurried over.

**16**

“I'm the one who doesn't want to marry you. I'm the one who asked His Majesty to withdraw the edict. It has nothing to do with Yuetang. Why won't you leave her alone?”

He protectively shielded Shen Yuetang, who was crying behind him.

My stepmother sighed.

“Mi'en, love can't be forced. The heir and your sister love each other, and they're already engaged. You shouldn't break them apart or damage the Shen family's reputation.”

Father rebuked me as well.

“It's shameful to deceive His Highness and stir up trouble with you.”

Xiao Ce and I glanced at each other. Then he asked in confusion:

“Didn't she tell you? The imperial edict has already been issued.”