As soon as the marriage swap documents were sent to the government office, Lu Yanzhu rushed over to the Marquis's manor in a hurry. He was invited to the pavilion in the back garden.
It was now early autumn, and he was wearing a washed-out green scholar's robe. He had a slender build, which, paired with his handsome scholarly face, indeed gave him the aloof look of an unrecognized genius. In my past life I was deceived by this face of his, and by his high-sounding talk of morality, wasting my youth on him — until, heavily pregnant, I was forced by him to drink a bowl of abortion medicine. Only then did I finally see the malice beneath his hypocritical skin. Seeing this face again now, I only felt nauseous.
"Sister Nanzhao."
Seeing me pass by, Lu Yanzhu hurriedly came forward to greet me, his eyes filled with pain and helplessness. "Regarding the marriage swap, I have wronged you. But Biwei has a fierce temperament, insisting on marrying no one but me, and the Marquis promised personally. I am but a poor, humble scholar with little say in the matter. In the end, I could not resist the arrangements of the Marquis Mansion."
He spoke these words beautifully, clearing himself completely, as if abandoning me, his fiancée, to climb up to the legitimate daughter of the Marquis Mansion was entirely out of sheer helplessness.
I let out a soft laugh, my gaze sweeping over the slight curve of his lips. "Young Master Lu must be joking. My sister is of legitimate birth with a generous dowry, and she admires you so. Now that you are marrying her, your travel expenses for the future imperial exams are secure. Isn't this a wonderful thing?"
Having his true thoughts exposed by me, Lu Yanzhu almost couldn't maintain his mask. He coughed awkwardly twice.
"Nanzhao, you indeed blame me. You are so sensible. But going to a place like the Seventh Prince's estate that devours people raw — how will you survive? If one day my name is on the golden roll, I will surely find a way to keep you safe."
Painting a pretty picture for me even when betraying someone. He still wanted to plant a seed of deep affection in the heart of the one he abandoned. This was Lu Yanzhu's usual trick.
I took half a step back, widening the distance between us, my eyes as cold as ice. "Watch your words, Young Master Lu. I am the prospective princess betrothed by imperial decree. You, a scholar with neither official rank nor position, dare to gossip about the royal family's affairs? If these words reach the ears of the Seventh Prince, this tongue of yours, which has just healed, might not be preserved. I hope Young Master Lu will behave himself, focus more of his mind on next year's autumn provincial exam, and not disappoint sister."
After saying this, I turned and left without leaving him even a single extra glance. Lu Yanzhu froze in place, his face turning pale and blue. He probably couldn't figure out why Shen Nanzhao, who was always shy and delicate whenever she saw him, had suddenly become so cold and sharp.
Ten days later was the most auspicious day, and the Marquis of Pingyang's mansion was marrying off two daughters on the same day. Marrying off two daughters caused quite a stir in the capital.
Shen Biwei's departure time was early, to save face for her and also to cover up the rumors of the marriage swap. The Marquis's mansion prepared a full sixty-four dowry chests for her. A ten-mile red dowry procession grandly made its way out of the main gate. Shen Biwei, dressed in a bright red bridal gown and wearing a pure gold phoenix crown, was supported by the matchmaker as she left the mansion.
When passing by my courtyard, she intentionally stopped her steps, lifted a corner of her red bridal veil, and looked at me triumphantly.
I was wearing a dark red bridal gown. The Seventh Prince had just lost two previous fiancées, and it was said this was to ward off evil spirits.
"Sister, do you think your sister's dowry is grand enough?" Shen Biwei lowered her voice, her tone filled with the pleasure of revenge. "Although my husband Lu is poor now, he is highly educated and refined. Sooner or later, he will be a dragon soaring to the skies. As for you, go to that gloomy prince's mansion and face that bloodthirsty fiend in your sister's stead. Don't worry. On the day you die, your sister and the Grand Secretary will collect your body for you."
I calmly put a plain silver hairpin on myself without even raising my head. "Then, sister, I shall wish you in advance wild veggies to eat every day at the Lu house. And nothing but bitter waters to swallow for every meal."
"Stubborn to the very end."
Shen Biwei sneered, letting down her veil, and flamboyantly boarded her grand, luxurious sedan chair. As I watched her wedding procession depart into the distance, the smile on my lips blossomed completely.
Go on, my dear sister. Go and enjoy the fierce battles with your mother-in-law that I endured for you in my past life. Suffer the daily hardships of a dwindling livelihood for your sake. And face that man who seems a refined scholar on the surface but is actually a wife-beating hypocrite.