Lu Chonghua was quite different from ordinary young ladies of prestigious families. She had grown up with her grandfather.

Grandfather was both honest and shrewd, understanding worldly affairs yet not being worldly. He treated everyone with all his heart and effort—a true gentleman. The only mistake he made was probably marrying his daughter to the Crown Prince.

When Lu Chonghua was young, she often heard her grandfather and grandmother arguing. Whenever Grandmother looked at the rewards from the palace, she would beam with joy, hugging her and telling her that she had a great-aunt who was Empress, and an aunt who would soon be Empress as Crown Princess, so her future would surely be boundless. Her grandfather, who never got angry, would always darken his face at such times.

Although Lu Chonghua was young, she knew why Grandfather was angry.

Great-aunt was one thing—she and Emperor Jianzhang had been childhood sweethearts, sharing trials and tribulations together with extraordinary feelings. But Aunt was completely a tragedy.

The Crown Prince’s favoritism toward Consort Fan Liangdi was well-known. At the worst time, Cousin Crown Prince had nearly not existed.

She still remembered when Grandfather had erupted in fury at Grandmother: “If it weren’t for your short-sightedness, if it weren’t for your coveting this position of Crown Princess, today your daughter wouldn’t be in such a predicament!”

Old Madam Lu, who could never stand upright before her son and husband, would cry pitifully at such times, but while crying would still not forget to tell her in private: “Don’t listen to your grandfather’s nonsense. Your aunt is doing just fine.”

Lu Chonghua didn’t believe it.

She didn’t know what was good about a mother forced to send her own son to distant Longhu Mountain. Toward Old Madam Lu and Father, she had never been very close.

When she grew up, Father probably felt the sheep had been raised and could be slaughtered now, and wanted to send her to become Crown Prince Cousin’s Crown Princess Consort. She didn’t know where Father got the confidence that the imperial family and the world’s civil officials would allow the Lu family to produce three empresses in one generation, nor did she know why Father always wanted to take these crooked side paths.

But there had never been any principle in this world of children being able to disobey paternal commands. She could only pack her belongings and enter the capital with Mother and her brother. Great-aunt and Aunt treated her extremely well, but upon seeing the expression with which Cousin Zhou Weizhao looked at the Sixth Miss of the Song family, she knew Father’s schemes would probably come to nothing.

She wasn’t an ordinary girl. If she hadn’t read a thousand play scripts, she’d read eight hundred. The Crown Prince Cousin’s unusually attentive manner toward the Sixth Miss of the Song family—needless to say, she had eyes and could see it clearly.

Grandfather had once said that things in this world, if they aren’t yours, then they aren’t yours—even snatching won’t make them yours. She deeply agreed. Cousin’s heart already belonged to someone. A forced melon isn’t sweet. Moreover, she didn’t want to make things difficult for Great-aunt and Aunt. Their circumstances were already difficult enough, and the Crown Prince was so worrisome.

But she never expected that Father, who had supposedly given up his intentions, actually had other designs, and was even using her, his own daughter, as a shield.

She had thought Father agreeing to let her go to Fujian was because he doted on her, wanting to fulfill her wishes and spare her from being caught in the middle in the capital. But it actually wasn’t.

Her father had merely colluded with Prince Gong and wanted to use her to transmit secret messages.

The sea off Huizhou stretched endlessly. When she jumped into the sea, she had originally thought she could never live again. But unexpectedly, in the end she still didn’t manage to die. She didn’t know if even Heaven couldn’t bear to see her father’s utter loss of conscience.

Actually, Lu Chonghua looked down on her own father. He had no real ability, relied on his aunt who was Empress and his younger sister who was Crown Princess, yet felt it shameful to rely on women. When he couldn’t rely on them, he thought of other paths, losing all conscience to this extent. Where was even half a bit of a scholar’s spirit and backbone?

Since she was alive, naturally she should do what she could.

But what she didn’t expect was yet to come—she never imagined that the one who would ultimately come to rescue her would be this Second Young Master from the Prince of Zhennan’s household. Even more unexpected was that this Second Young Master would be so decisive and wise, leaving without saying goodbye and secretly taking her to the capital.

Even long afterward, she felt the thing called fate was truly wonderfully mysterious.

Before, Song Chuyi had told her about fate, saying that being able to be together with Crown Prince Zhou Weizhao was entirely due to fate. She hadn’t believed it at all, feeling that fate was clearly something mysterious and obscure, clearly something that only existed in story books. But who knew the things in this world could truly be as rare and legendary as those performed in story books?

She had never dreamed she would ultimately end up together with Ye Jingchuan.

Even after Song Chuyi returned from Jiangnan, she still felt like she was dreaming. Grasping Song Chuyi’s hand, wanting to cry yet smiling, but feeling even more nervous: “I have nothing.” She recalled her own experiences, feeling her mouth somewhat bitter: “Although I have Empress Great-aunt and Crown Princess Aunt, I’m ultimately someone without foundation. And while others don’t know, the Prince of Zhennan’s Consort and the Princess all know about our family’s matters, all know our family isn’t favored by His Majesty. I really am…”

She bit her lip looking at Song Chuyi, slowly sighing. Before, she thought she feared neither heaven nor earth, and felt she could live well relying on herself. But once facing new life and an unpredictable future, she still inevitably felt afraid.

Song Chuyi grasped her hand. At that time she was already pregnant, her entire bearing softening, the words she spoke making people feel both comforted and at ease: “If the Princess and Consort were that kind of people, you also wouldn’t choose to marry, right? Nothing in the world is difficult for those who set their minds to it. As long as you’re willing to work hard, life won’t be too bad.” Song Chuyi held her hand: “Moreover, there’s still Ye Er. What are you afraid of?”

Lu Chonghua’s anxious and uneasy heart finally settled a bit, yet she still couldn’t avoid feeling apprehensive. The closer it got to the wedding date, the more past events surfaced in her mind—how she had met Ye Jingchuan in Huizhou, how the two of them had shared hardships along the way entering the capital to find Song Chuyi.

At times she felt hot, at times cold, at times happy, at times worried. Yet the wedding day arrived as scheduled.

She clenched her fists, feeling her back was already soaked with sweat. When stepping over the brazier, her feet trembled slightly. Although she knew that with effort, life would always be good, the anxiety in her heart just couldn’t be suppressed no matter what.

Not until the clamor passed and the veil was lifted did she see Ye Jingchuan’s familiar face, her heart finally settling.

She finally understood what Song Chuyi had said. Some fate lies in this—when you see his eyes, you know this person can accompany you through a lifetime.