Chapter 5

He let out a low laugh. “I trust you, Khanh Khanh.”

The bead curtain swayed.

We lost ourselves in a passionate embrace.

08

When someone shook me awake, the effects of my dream still left me limp and exhausted.

The maid paid no mind to my dazed expression. She said excitedly, “Miss, the heir of the Marquis of Sung Ninh has asked His Majesty to grant him your hand!”

Ta Thuat?

I hadn’t even managed to process the news when my mother pushed open the door, took my hand, and exclaimed, “The Marquis of Sung Ninh’s family has served the throne loyally for generations. Ta Thuat is His Majesty’s trusted confidant. And he’s so handsome and distinguished. I never imagined you’d find such a good match. This is wonderful—your mother can finally relax.”

I parted my lips. “…His Majesty agreed?”

“Of course,” Mother said with a smile. “The imperial decree will be issued soon.”

I never thought Ta Thuat would actually ask for my hand. I had assumed he’d only said it to humor me.

Everything was unfolding just as I’d planned.

Yet a faint unease lingered in my heart, impossible to shake.

In any case, if this was settled, Bui Chieu Dan could no longer touch me.

I counted on my fingers.

Before the wedding, they would have to consult our birth charts and choose an auspicious date.

There would be the exchange of betrothal papers and the presentation of gifts.

At least three months would pass.

I had never intended to truly marry Ta Thuat.

After Bui Chieu Dan ascended the throne, the entire Sung Ninh household would be demoted and exiled to the northern frontier. They would face one assassination attempt after another along the way, enduring countless hardships.

I didn’t want to suffer like that.

I still needed to talk to Ta Thuat. If there really was no other choice, I could pretend I was gravely ill and make the marquis’s household call off the wedding. Then even the emperor wouldn’t be able to object.

Thinking it over, I felt a little more at ease, and a smile came to my face.

Mother pinched my cheek affectionately.

“The family will prepare a generous dowry for you. We’ll make sure you marry with honor, and that no one in your new household looks down on you.”

I murmured in reply.

But I couldn’t help reflecting.

In my previous life, when I married Bui Chieu Dan, I hadn’t received such kind treatment.

His birth mother had been low-ranking and out of favor. She died in childbirth.

Afterward, Bui Chieu Dan was raised by Consort Hui, but once she had children of her own, she hardly paid him any attention.

Still, I knew those were only the rumors spread outside the palace.

In truth, Bui Chieu Dan’s circumstances had been far more miserable. He was often beaten and cursed at, left hungry and cold.

In everyone’s eyes, he was a discarded child.

I shook my head, chasing those jumbled thoughts away.

In this life, he and I would have no further entanglement.

09

In the days that followed, I was trying to figure out how to meet Ta Thuat,

when news came from the palace.

A favored consort had recently given birth to twins. The emperor was so delighted that he was holding a celebratory banquet.

This was the perfect opportunity!

On the day of the palace banquet,

the whole imperial palace was filled with a festive air.

Quite a few people came to congratulate my father and stepmother on my engagement.

Consort Hui sat beside her own children, smiling gently at them with unmistakable affection.

But Bui Chieu Dan was nowhere to be seen.

I glanced around and happened to meet Ta Thuat’s eyes.

He sat upright in his place, with the gentle, polished air of jade.

Just as at the flower-viewing banquet, I signaled to him.

His long, well-defined fingers lifted a teacup. His Adam’s apple bobbed as he took a slow sip.

A little while later, I used the excuse of getting some fresh air and went to a nearby pavilion.

The night breeze was slightly chilly.

I waited and waited.

But Ta Thuat never came.

Just as I frowned and prepared to return to the banquet,

I looked up in confusion and froze.

The nightmare I’d had not long ago

was now unfolding right before my eyes.

Smoke and flames painted the sky above the imperial city red. Terrified cries rang out from nearby.

A shrill voice screamed,

“The Sixth Prince… has rebelled—!”

The scream abruptly cut off.

How could this be? How could this be?!

I clearly remembered that Bui Chieu Dan wouldn’t rebel for another three years.

Why had he suddenly moved it forward by three years?

My thoughts were a tangled mess.

I didn’t dare return to the banquet on a whim.

As I stood there, shaken to the core, a low, cold voice sounded behind me.

“I’ve found you.”

I turned around slowly.

Bui Chieu Dan stood a short distance away, his black hair slightly disheveled.

Firelight illuminated one half of his face; the other was swallowed by shadow. A violent aura surrounded him. His beautiful eyes fixed on me, his smile unreadable.

The sounds of slaughter and shouting continued to ring in my ears.

And yet I could no longer make out any of them.

10

I was imprisoned in the imperial palace.

Bui Chieu Dan didn’t come to see me. He was very busy.

I didn’t know why he had rebelled three years early, but surely many plans had been rushed and left incomplete. He had succeeded in usurping the throne, yet his position was not secure, and his losses must have been severe.

Guards stood watch outside the palace gates.

Even the people who brought me food were mute, so I couldn’t question them for news.

Bored, I leaned against a chaise and fanned myself over and over.