The manor blazed with lantern light until dawn.

Shao Yao stared expressionlessly at her reflection in the bronze mirror for a long moment — lavishly dressed and adorned in finery — and then, slowly, her eyes came to life and the corners of her mouth curved upward.

She was going to be married, not going to her death. Carrying on like this would only make Yanxi and Hua Zhi worry all the more.

Who was she?

She was the He Le Commandery Princess, bestowed that title by the Emperor himself, and the biological younger sister of the Regent. Who in all the world would dare wrong her? And if someone truly did, she would beat them into submission — what was there to fear?

Only now, in this moment, did Shao Yao acknowledge to herself the fear she had been carrying. Yinshan Pass might have all the wide grasslands in the world, but it did not have her kin. She was afraid that Wu Yong, who now seemed so deeply devoted to her, might in five or ten years turn his heart toward someone else — just as Prince Ling had once done to her mother.

Yes — she had remembered everything. Those harrowing memories she had once chosen to forget, choosing to lose all memory rather than bear them — they had not only cost her her home, her family, and her face. They had left her so deeply scarred that even when she could not recall a single thing, she had still been filled with dread at the thought of marriage.

But it was different now, wasn’t it?

Shao Yao reached up and touched her face, which no longer showed any trace of scars. If Wu Yong ever dared treat her as Prince Ling had treated her mother, she would not even need to act herself — Hua Zhi and Yanxi would come and take her back, and reduce him to a state between living and dying. In Hua Zhi’s world, there was no such saying as “a daughter married off is water poured out.” This home was one she could return to any time — and that was the confidence she had that her mother had never possessed.

The door gave a soft creak. She tilted her head and looked toward the figure who walked in silhouetted against the light. See — even now, the concern for her was written plainly across that face. More than once, before today, there had been clear hints, both direct and indirect, that if she was unwilling, she need not marry at all — consequences be damned.

How could she bear it? How could she bear to leave her? And how could she bear to let her worry like this on her account?

“You finally look like you’re smiling.” Hua Zhi leaned down to look at her, a faint warmth in her eyes. Today she was dressed in Wang Fei’s ceremonial robes, her makeup exquisitely done, appearing all the more dignified and resplendent.

“Because I have Hua Zhi, and I have Yanxi — I have nothing to fear.” She would never follow in anyone else’s footsteps, and would never come to such a bleak and wretched end.

Hua Zhi draped an arm around her shoulder and stood behind her, meeting her gaze in the bronze mirror. “Not only that — behind you stands the Emperor as well, and the entire imperial family. You are not the former Princess Consort of Prince Ling. The Regent’s manor is not Anguo Gong Fu. To put it brazenly — in this world, you are the one who gets to wrong others. No one gets to wrong you. You can afford to be far more audacious than this. Stop dwelling on things that could never possibly happen to you.”

Shao Yao reached up and clasped the hand resting on her shoulder. She leaned back against the not-so-broad chest and let it hold her weight. So — Hua Zhi had always known the reason for her hesitation.

She was not afraid any longer. Not in the least.

Wu Yong would not become Prince Ling. And she would not become Princess Consort Ling.

Hua Zhi smiled and pulled her to her feet. “The Emperor has already arrived. Come — it’s time to say your farewells.”

Under ordinary circumstances Shao Yao should have entered the palace to take her leave of the Emperor, but to show his support for her, the Emperor had altered the usual protocol and arrived at the Regent’s manor in full imperial procession. Wu Yong, who had come to escort the bride, understood perfectly what this signified — yet his heart was entirely unclouded. He had sought to marry Shao Yao out of genuine longing, harboring no other intent whatsoever. After presenting his formal greetings, he turned his gaze toward the doorway and waited for Shao Yao.

On this day, Shao Yao set aside the medicine pouch she never went anywhere without. She exchanged her practical riding trousers for ceremonial garments. Her customarily bare face was painted and adorned. The brilliant red of her bridal attire set off her beauty, making her radiant and striking beyond compare.

Wu Yong could not take his eyes off her. He adored Shao Yao’s candid and genuine nature — adored her enough that even her appearance had not mattered to him. Yet now that the woman he adored also possessed a beautiful face, how could he not be overjoyed?

He had struck gold, Wu Yong thought with delight.

After receiving Shao Yao’s formal bow, the Grand Empress Dowager spoke a few words of encouragement and then said no more — everything that needed saying had long since been said. She turned her gaze to the young sovereign who had grown ever more composed and steady.

“Let it be known to General Wu: Daqing has no need to offer an imperial princess in appeasement of a meritorious border commander. The reason We bestow He Le Commandery Princess upon you in marriage is because she is willing to be married. Should the day ever come when you fail her, We will not show you leniency.”

“This subject would not dare, nor would he wish to.” Wu Yong knelt low to the ground, his manner respectful yet his spine held perfectly straight. “Shao Yao is to this subject what the Grand Tutor is to the Regent.”

The Emperor smiled — these words had clearly pleased him greatly. “We will hold you to that. We hope that many years from now you will still remember it. And should you forget, it is of no matter — We can always see to it that you are reminded.”

The words, veiled with implied threat, made Wu Yong’s heart clench inwardly. He had not previously given thought to what position Shao Yao held within the imperial family, but in this moment he understood it fully. Every action the Emperor had taken had been aimed at lending her his support.

The Emperor did not belabor the point — he knew well enough what Shao Yao’s temperament was. She was not someone who would easily be wronged. And as for Wu Yong, whether his devotion was genuine or not, he was not foolish enough to mistreat her. What worried the Emperor more at present was the Grand Tutor’s health.

With the official proceedings concluded, during the interval waiting for the auspicious hour to depart, the Emperor could not conceal his concern. “Even without the need to rush as in the past, the journey is still no short distance. We think it would be sufficient for the Regent to go.”

“Please allow this subject to act on her own anxious heart.” Hua Zhi said gently. “Though it has been said she will be able to spend half her time in the capital, as the years go on it may well be that such promises cannot truly be kept. Shao Yao will have periods of pregnancy when long travel is unsuitable. She will have children who need tending. Unless she one day comes to settle permanently in the capital, how could she possibly make the journey back every year?”

A shadow passed briefly over Hua Zhi’s expression — this was the outcome she least wished to contemplate, yet one that was bound to come. In any era, the constraints placed upon women were, at their core, the same.

“What this subject can do is lay a solid foundation for her now — to set her mind at ease, and to set this subject’s own mind at ease as well.”

The Emperor looked at the Grand Tutor, who had clearly given a thousand careful thoughts to this matter and was still filled with worry. The words left his lips before he could hold them back: “Will the Grand Tutor do the same for Our marriage one day?”

Hua Zhi was startled for a moment, then smiled. “But of course. So long as the Emperor does not mind this subject meddling too much, this subject will give it her full and wholehearted effort.”

“We hope the Grand Tutor will meddle even more.” Because there was no longer anyone to attend to him, and though he was free to do as he pleased, he felt as though he were drifting through the air with nothing to anchor him, unsettled and at a loss. He hoped his Grand Tutor would treat him as she once had — with strictness, yet also with boundless care and watchfulness.

A beloved Commandery Princess departing to marry far away — the procession for her departure from the city was, of course, extraordinary. Added to that were the escort party that had come to receive the bride, making the column stretch so long the end could not be seen. Commoners eager to watch the spectacle crowded the roadside in clusters of two and three, smiling and exclaiming with admiration.

Shao Yao lifted a corner of the window curtain and gazed hungrily at the scene outside. She had been born here, had grown up here, had endured her calamities here — and yet it was also here that she had come to possess everything she held dear. What had once seemed ordinary and unremarkable now, as she was about to leave it behind, revealed how deeply reluctant she was to part from it.

Home would still be there — but upon returning, she would already be a guest. Such was the fate of women.

At least, she still had a place she could go back to.

The light dimmed. An oil paper packet was passed through the window. She looked up and met the man’s eager gaze. “I asked Fudong for it before we set out. Wang Fei said you ate little this morning — have a bit more.”

Shao Yao looked at him for a long moment, then suddenly gave him a small smile. Without giving his stunned expression any mind, she took the packet, set down the curtain, and turned her attention to it.

Spending a lifetime with this man — it was not something she was unwilling to do. She only hoped it would truly be a lifetime.

P.S.: Oh my, it still needs one more chapter — I’ve been far too wordy.