Chapter 3

I mouthed to him:

Just wait and see.

The flower-viewing banquet was lively, the faint fragrance of flowers drifting through the air.

But by the time it was nearly over,

nothing had happened.

A bad feeling rose in my chest, and I looked toward Ta Thuat.

He was calmly sipping his tea.

When I turned back, I caught Bui Chieu Dan’s slightly raised brows and the undisguisable menace in his eyes.

I couldn’t believe it.

How could this be…?

Could the whole thing have been made up? Had Ta Thuat invented it to get my attention?

I pressed a hand to my forehead, on the verge of collapse.

I couldn’t sit still or figure out what to do.

Then I happened to see the Princess Royal pull Bui Chieu Dan aside to talk.

An idea struck me.

If I was going to do this, I might as well go all the way. I immediately signaled to Ta Thuat.

He was tall and upright, with the gentle, polished air of a piece of fine jade.

His warm gaze turned toward me.

I blinked at him even harder, nearly giving myself a cramp.

At last, he smiled, nodded to the people beside him, and took his leave.

Once Ta Thuat had followed me to a quiet corner of the courtyard,

I grabbed his arm before he could speak and blurted out, “I remember His Majesty promised your father a favor, and he still hasn’t called it in. Go to the palace and ask for an imperial decree. Tell him you want to marry me.”

The Ta family was the emperor’s most trusted and valued clan. That was why they had been granted a marquisate.

If Ta Thuat and Bui Chieu Dan both made a request, the emperor would certainly accept Ta Thuat’s.

My reasoning was simple.

In my previous life, if Ta Thuat had truly wanted nothing but revenge,

he could have put an arrow through my heart.

He could have made me drink poison, sentenced me to death by a thousand cuts, or had me torn apart by horses.

But he had done none of that.

Instead, he kept me imprisoned in the Golden Hall day after day.

Ambergris incense filled the hall where he kept me captive.

That proved Ta Thuat was at least somewhat interested in my looks.

And in this life, we had no feud between us.

I could coax him into using that imperial favor to marry me first. Once I got past Bui Chieu Dan, there was no need to rush the rest. I could slowly negotiate with Ta Thuat and see whether I could change the course of things.

In any case, I didn’t want to be a wicked empress again. I wanted even more to stay away from the palace and court.

Silence fell.

Ta Thuat didn’t look surprised, but he didn’t answer right away, either.

He merely lifted a hand and gently plucked a fallen petal from my hair, his touch tender.

He smiled faintly, nothing like the unreadable temper he had shown in my previous life.

Instead, he seemed quite easy to reason with.

“You want to marry me?”

I nodded rapidly.

I had to rely on Ta Thuat to get away as quickly as possible.

His smile remained unchanged. He raised his eyes slightly, looking toward somewhere not far away.

My heart skipped a beat.

My body stiffened as I slowly turned around.

Bui Chieu Dan stood beneath a blooming peach tree a short distance away.

He leaned against its broad trunk, smiling without warmth, his gaze dark and ominous.

The sky was clear, the air bright, peach blossoms blazing across the branches.

Yet a chill seemed to close around me, leaving me cold all over.

My heart pounded.

Our eyes met from across the courtyard. Bui Chieu Dan’s lips curled.

“So that’s why you don’t want to marry me. You’ve found yourself a new lover.”

My vision went dark. I nearly died of fright.

To my surprise, Bui Chieu Dan didn’t make things difficult for me.

His gaze shifted between Ta Thuat and me for a moment. Then he gave a faint, eerily amused smile and turned to leave.

I let out a breath of relief and looked at Ta Thuat expectantly.

“What do you think?”

Ta Thuat smiled with polished warmth, but gave me no clear answer.

“I’ll go home and discuss it with my father and mother,” he said.

I had no answer.

When you did those things to me in my previous life, why didn’t you go discuss them with your parents first?

Never mind.

I casually snatched the jade ring hanging at Ta Thuat’s waist.

His expression didn’t change. I held it up, weighed it in my hand, and decided it could serve as a token.

He had always carried it in my previous life. The jade was good quality, but who wore a jade ring at their waist instead of a pendant? I had no idea how precious it was.

“Fine,” I said. “The sooner, the better.”

I hadn’t been counting on much. I only thought there was a chance, however small, so it was worth trying.

05

A few days after I returned to the manor,

disaster struck our household.

My mother seized my hand in panic.

“Your father’s been taken in for questioning. They say it’s because he accepted bribes and embezzled funds, but… how could that be? Your father is so honest, and our Chancellor’s residence has always acted openly and honorably. Even your stepmother fainted…”

I stood frozen.

This had never happened in my previous life.

My mother glanced around, then drew me closer, her face full of confusion.

“Your uncle sent someone to make inquiries. They say the evidence was presented by the Sixth Prince. But when has our Tan family ever offended him?”

…Bui Chieu Dan!

I ground my teeth.

Thanks to my memories of my previous life, I knew Bui Chieu Dan was a master schemer. Even now, he had already built up a considerable power base in secret.