【Fafa, can a father and mother arrange a marriage engagement for their children?】 Yan Yunning’s eyelid twitched.

Fafa: 【Yes, Master, whether it is in Qilan Kingdom or Xuanzhao Kingdom, parents can arrange betrothals for their children.】

【Then… what if the children disagree?】

Fafa: 【Master, they cannot disagree. Once the bride’s family has accepted the betrothal gifts and the groom’s family has committed no wrongdoing, if the bride’s family willfully breaks the engagement, according to Qilan Kingdom’s laws, they will be sentenced to one hundred strokes of the rod.】

Yan Yunning drew in a sharp breath. 【Fafa! This is trouble!】

Fafa: 【???】

“Ningning, in five days it will be your wedding day. Prepare yourself well.” Chu Wantang said with a smile.

Yan Yunning shot to her feet. “Who is the other party?”

Chu Wantang smiled, a teasing glint in her eyes. “Ningning, are you so eager to meet your future husband already?”

“Who is it?” Yan Yunning said impatiently.

Chu Wantang did not quarrel with her. The corner of her mouth curved as she slowly said, “Young Marquis Lou Ao.”

Yan Shiyao’s brow furrowed slightly. “Mother, Young Marquis’s household already has five secondary wives, and even three concubines. How could you have chosen him for Ningning?”

“Yaoyao, which household does not have secondary wives and concubines? Once Ningning marries in, she will be the Marquis’s main wife, the mistress of the manor. This marriage has already been settled — Mother has already accepted the betrothal gifts.” Chu Wantang smiled and patted Yan Shiyao’s hand.

Yan Shiyao pressed her lips lightly together. What Mother said was true — which household did not have secondary wives and concubines?

The more Yan Yunning thought about it, the angrier she became. Her delicate brows and eyes filled with fury. She raised her hand and overturned the round table, sending dishes, bowls, and chopsticks clattering and crashing to the ground.

Both Chu Wantang and Yan Shiyao had food stains splattered onto their clothes, leaving them in a sorry state.

“Yan Yunning!” Chu Wantang trembled with rage. “Someone come — lock her in the ancestral hall!”

Two older maidservants stepped forward and seized Yan Yunning. Frantic and furious, she kicked and struggled with all her might, but the two women held her fast. No matter how she thrashed, they dragged her out of the main hall.

“Mother, don’t be angry. Talk to Ningning properly.” Yan Shiyao urged.

“Yaoyao, I am doing this for Ningning’s own good. Think about it — Mother has already accepted the betrothal gifts. If Ningning refuses to marry, one hundred strokes of the rod would be more than she could bear.” Chu Wantang sighed.

“One hundred strokes?” Yan Shiyao bit her lip. “Mother, I will talk to Ningning.”

Chu Wantang said: “My Yaoyao is still the sensible one.”

Yan Yunning was thrown into the ancestral hall. With a resounding clang, the wooden door was locked.

Yan Yunning rubbed her arms, sore from where the maidservants had gripped them.

She lifted her eyes and looked around. At the sight of the memorial tablets lined up in neat rows, she shuddered. 【Fafa, I’m scared.】

Fafa: 【It’s alright, Master. I’ll keep you company and chat with you.】

Yan Yunning found a corner and crouched down. 【Was this plot in the book?】

Fafa: 【No.】

Yan Yunning clenched her teeth. 【So this is just the universe picking on me, is it?】

Fafa: 【…】

In the pitch-dark night, a dim light glowed within the bedchamber of the Third Prince.

“Xiaojin, it has been hard on you, keeping watch by Mother Consort’s side every day.” Qi Qingchen’s voice was low and husky, his breath coming in shallow gasps.

“Mmm~ Your Highness, it is what this concubine should do.” Jiang Jin gripped the brocade coverlet, her voice soft and tender.

Qi Qingchen gently pressed his lips to hers.

Jiang Jin tilted her face up slightly, her hands wrapping around his neck.

“Your Highness~” Having just experienced the matters between a man and a woman for the first time, she found it difficult to endure.

But she dared not say a word, and could only silently bear it.

She did not know how much time had passed before the cicadas in the trees gradually quieted.

“Your Highness, this concubine will attend your bath.” Jiang Jin’s complexion was flushed, her voice quite hoarse.

Qi Qingchen responded with a detached “Mm.”

Her whole body aching and weak, Jiang Jin endured the pain and climbed out of bed. The maidservants waiting outside the door heard the instruction and brought in the hot water.

Qi Qingchen rested both hands on the edge of the bathing tub, his eyes half-closed.

Jiang Jin moved behind Qi Qingchen and gently massaged his shoulders. “Your Highness, will you leave again this time?”

“Mm.” Qi Qingchen’s throat moved.

Jiang Jin said shyly, “Your Highness, could you stay and accompany this concubine a few more days?”

Qi Qingchen opened his eyes, stood up from the bathing tub, and reached for the robe draped nearby, putting it on.

Jiang Jin’s ears turned crimson — he had simply stood up right in front of her.

“Get some rest.” With that, Qi Qingchen walked out.

Jiang Jin’s legs gave way beneath her and she sank to the floor. It truly hurt so much. His Highness showed not even the slightest tenderness toward her.

Even so, she rested her hand on her lower abdomen and curved her lips into a smile.

If only she could bear His Highness’s first imperial grandchild for the Emperor.

The night grew ever deeper. Yan Yunning had crawled under a table, both hands propping up her cheeks. 【Fafa, I’m so hungry.】

Fafa: 【Master, why don’t you climb out through the window?!】

【???】 Yan Yunning poked her head out from under the table, caught sight of that row of memorial tablets, and shrank back in fear. 【I can’t. The window is too high — I can’t get out.】

If she weren’t so scared, she would have smashed the ancestral hall to pieces by now!

Fafa: 【Then what do we do? Master, are you really going to marry Lou Ao?】

Yan Yunning licked her lips. 【Of course not! Is there another way? One hundred strokes of the rod? Won’t I drop dead before it’s even finished?】

Fafa: 【There is.】

【What?】 Yan Yunning laughed aloud.

Fafa: 【Unless you have a man you love — and have already been intimate with him.】

【??? How would one prove that?】 Yan Yunning’s eyes lifted with a light, teasing slant.

Fafa: 【The chastity mark!】

Yan Yunning pushed up her sleeve. On the inner side of her fair, slender arm, the chastity mark was a striking spot of red.

【And then?】

Fafa: 【Then Lou Ao would surely refuse to marry you.】

【??? No hundred strokes of the rod?】

Fafa: 【There would be, Master — but according to Qilan’s laws, it would not be you receiving the hundred strokes. It would be the man you love who takes them in your place.】

Yan Yunning was speechless. 【Where am I supposed to find some fool willing to take a beating for me?!】

Fafa: 【Master, why not ask Qi Qingchen? He is an imperial prince — who would dare strike him?】

【No!】

Fafa: 【…Or you could escape from the Prime Minister’s manor and never come back for the rest of your life.】

Yan Yunning sighed. 【What, I’m supposed to become a fugitive?!】

Fafa: 【Something like that, yes — because if you’re caught and brought back, you’d still receive the hundred strokes.】

Yan Yunning: 【…】

She didn’t even have a single coin to her name. How was she supposed to run?!

Fafa: 【Master, why don’t you just get married? Once you marry, you will no longer belong to the Prime Minister’s manor — you’ll be the mistress of the Marquis’s household. Then Xuan Yanyu will have no way to use you as a threat against Yan Shiyao.】

Yan Yunning raised an eyebrow. 【Did you not hear A’Jie say Lou Ao has five secondary wives and three concubines? I cannot accept that!!】

Fafa: 【…】

With a sharp creak, the door was slowly pushed open.

Yan Yunning bit the tip of her tongue. She shifted back on the prayer cushion she was sitting on, her heart leaping into her throat. It was so late — this was truly terrifying.

Xuan Yanyu’s tall figure stood in the doorway of the ancestral hall. His gaze swept the room, finding it empty of any sign of life.

The man’s brow furrowed slightly. Had she somehow slipped out?

No — the lock had been pried open by him, and the windows showed no sign of having been opened. She had to still be inside.

“Yan Yunning.” He called out.

Yan Yunning’s breath caught. That low, familiar voice reached her ears, and her heart gave a violent lurch.

Why had he come?

“Yan Yunning, are you there?” Xuan Yanyu walked toward the table and lifted the cloth hanging down over its side.

Their eyes met. Yan Yunning blinked, and greeted him with a smile.