An hour later, the wedding procession from the Seventh Prince's estate arrived.
There were no earth-shattering gongs and drums, nor was there festive joy filling the streets. There was only a troop of guards wearing dark flying fish uniforms, their faces stern with the lethal aura of battle, and a black and gold sedan chair draped in eerie white and red silks at its four corners, quietly waiting at the gloomy back gate of the Marquis's estate. A faint scent of blood drifted into my nose with the autumn wind.
The steward in charge of the procession was a pale-faced eunuch. He did not even offer a smile, only calling out in a shrill, sharp voice, "Please board the sedan chair, consort. Our prince said it would be inauspicious if we don't see some blood today."
The surrounding servants were so terrified that they shrank back, and even my biological father, in name only, hid behind the door, not daring to show his face.
Standing on the steps, I took a deep breath. Everyone thought I was being treated as a sacrifice and sent into hell to wait for death. But what they didn't know was that compared to the hypocritical, sickening, slow death of a frog in warm water, I much preferred this open game of life and death amidst flashing blades.
The Seventh Prince, Xiao Jingyan. The rumored tyrannical fiend who devours people whole.
I lifted the curtain of the sedan chair and sat without hesitation into that pitch-black darkness.
"Raise the sedan."
I closed my eyes. My fingers quietly brushed over a row of highly toxic silver needles hidden inside the sleeve of my wedding gown. This game of chess had only just begun.
The black and gold sedan chair swayed along the deserted, long street. The bearers marched with heavy, uniform steps, devoid of any festive cheer. It felt more like a funeral procession. As the cold wind seeped through the cracks of the curtain, I felt a chill at my fingertips.
In my past life, though I was just a concubine's daughter of the Marquis's manor, under the constant suppression of Shen Biwei and her mother, blind and foolish as I was, I had long mastered medicine and toxicology. Most of those malicious servants who died accidental deaths in the Marquis's manor were my doing. Though this current body is weak, the knowledge in my head is enough for me to carve out a path to survival in this cannibalistic prince's manor.
The moment the sedan chair stopped, there was no bridesmaid to assist me, no brazier to step over, and not even the sound of firecrackers to welcome the bride. The pale, clean-shaven chief eunuch's cold voice echoed from outside.
"Side Consort Shen, step down on your own. His Highness is not feeling well. He did not wait for you in the front hall. He is already waiting in the bridal chamber."
He emphasized the word waiting with particular malice.
I lifted the sedan curtain. What met my eyes was not a decorated manor bursting with joy, but a massive, deathly silent estate resembling the gates of hell, aside from a few dim red lanterns. Heavily armored guards with their hands on their sabers could be seen everywhere. Every inch of the air here was thick with a murderous aura.
No wonder that in the past life, before Shen Biwei had been married here for even three months, she was tortured to the point of losing her mind, screaming and begging to elope.
I took a deep breath. Instead of letting the bridal veil block my vision, I ripped it off and clutched it in my hand under the astonished gazes of the guards. I lifted the hem of my dark red wedding gown and walked briskly, following the chief eunuch toward the inner courtyard. Since I am here to fight for my life, how could I have the mind to play the delicate bride?
The bridal chamber was located in the Snowfall Pavilion at the deepest part of the prince's estate. The eunuch pushed open the door with no intention of following me inside. Instead, he retreated quickly, as if fleeing a plague carrier.
"Please enter, Side Consort."
The door creaked heavily. Inside, no dragon and phoenix wedding candles were lit. Only faint moonlight filtered through the paper windows, casting a cold, desolate light across the room. A thick, bitter scent of medicine mixed with a faint trace of blood wafted toward me.
Just as I stepped over the threshold, the door behind me slammed shut with a bang, tightly closed by someone on the outside. It was even locked, almost at the exact same instant.
Fully on guard, I dropped my body low and rolled across the floor, barely dodging the attack. With a sharp metallic ring, a gleaming dagger grazed my hair and nailed itself fiercely into the wooden door behind me, the blade sinking in deep, nearly to the hilt.
"Your reactions aren't slow."
A low, hoarse voice, dripping with cold amusement, echoed in the darkness. I looked toward the sound. Under the moonlight, a man in a wheelchair slowly turned around.
He wore a black nightrobe, his long hair unbound and draped loosely over his shoulder. That face, even in the dim light, had deep-set, striking features and a high, straight nose. His face was as flawlessly sculpted as a master's artwork. Unfortunately, it was pale, completely devoid of color, and his brow was clouded with a heavy aura of malice and death.
This was the living King of Hell of the Great Xuan Dynasty, the Seventh Prince, Xiao Jingyan. Once a proud youth on a fine horse, a god of war prince with illustrious military achievements, he was now crippled in both legs, confined to this deathly quiet estate, barely clinging to life.
He casually played with another exquisite dagger in his hand. His narrow eyes, like a venomous snake staring at its prey, locked firmly onto me.
"The matter of the Pingyang household swapping brides — even though I do not step outside, I have still heard of it. Biwei didn't want to die, so she pushed you, a concubine's daughter, out to take the fall. What? Seeing that I refuse to die, the Crown Prince can't even bear to send a decent assassin, and sends a piece of trash like you to disgust me."
He was certain I was a spy for the Crown Prince. After all, the Marquis of Pingyang is the Crown Prince's uncle, and Xiao Jingyan's legs, rumor has it, were hit during the suppression of the southern border rebellion by a poison arrow secretly shot by the Crown Prince's faction.
I slowly stood up, patting the dust off my skirt. I did not beg for mercy, nor did I defend myself. Instead, I met his cold gaze directly.
"Your Highness must be joking. Whether I am the Crown Prince's spy or not, can Your Highness not tell?" I took a step forward and lowered my voice. "If I were truly the Crown Prince's person, I should be kneeling on the ground crying of my innocence right now, rather than standing here to negotiate with Your Highness a deal that could change the fate of the realm."