The General of Cavalry's mansion.
Wu Qi knelt on the stone floor, enduring his father's fury in silence.
"Useless! You couldn't even tell the princesses apart! Everything we planned is in shambles because of you!" Old General Wu's voice thundered through the hall.
"Father, I can explain to His Majesty—tell him I meant to rescue Princess Cheng'an. It was an accident—"
"Is your skull made of wood? You think the Emperor won't see through that? The first person he suspects will be you!"
"But I can't accept this! I wanted Cheng'an. I only want to marry Cheng'an." Wu Qi's fists clenched white, his eyes red-rimmed and burning.
"Want?" The old general let out a cold scoff and kicked his son sprawling across the floor.
"A man like you doesn't deserve to want. You can't handle something this simple—how will you ever achieve anything of consequence? Adapt. If marrying Sheng'an brings the Minister of Personnel and his faction over to our side, the plan still holds. Do not waste this sacrifice."
He swept from the room.
If he had turned back, he would have seen the hatred seething in his son's eyes—a furnace that would one day blaze into something monstrous.
* * *
The next day, at court.
"Your Majesty, I beg you to grant an immediate marriage decree between Princess Sheng'an and General Wu, to preserve the princess's honor…" The Minister of Personnel knelt, his face carved with worry.
He had always despised the Wu clan's crude, brutish ways. But now his daughter's reputation outweighed everything.
Su Jing and Shen Yuan had already returned to the palace and reported the incident to the Emperor in careful detail.
"Father, I leaped from the carriage to draw the bandits' attention, but their target was always Sister Sheng'an."
"Oh?" The old emperor lounged on his throne, turning a jade cup idly in his hand, his thoughts unreadable.
"If not for General Wu's timely rescue, I shudder to think what would have happened. Sister Sheng'an is indeed blessed by the heavens." Su Jing stood at the side, praising Wu Qi through gritted teeth.
"Very well. Jing'er, you've had a fright as well. Go rest." The emperor waved her away.
But could coincidence truly be this convenient?
The Minister of Personnel commanded a vast web of allies at court. Paired with the Wu clan's military might, the General of Cavalry's ambitions might stretch further than anyone cared to imagine.
The Emperor signed the marriage decree—but dispatched Wu Qi to the frontier under the pretext of seasoning, pushing the wedding six months out.
* * *
Su Jing knew she had won the first round. The road ahead, however, was steeper. She had set a grand game in motion—one wrong step would destroy her beyond salvation—but there was no turning back.
Three months passed. The year-end banquet arrived.
"Brother Shen, I've been craving those chestnut cakes we had at the fair. Will you bring some back for me when you go out for supplies?" Su Jing clung to his arm, radiating the unmistakable energy of a woman who would not let go until she got what she wanted.
"Your Highness, please—this is hardly proper." Shen Yuan tried to extract his sleeve from her grasp.
"No one's watching. It's just us. What are you afraid of?" She squinted at him, looking for all the world like a charming rogue coaxing a reluctant beauty.
"Fine. But the chestnut cakes are only sold at night, so I'll need to stay outside overnight."
"That's fine. Did you bring enough silver? Here, take mine too. Stay somewhere decent. Don't be cheap. Eat whatever you like. Understood?" Su Jing fussed like a little old grandmother.
"Understood. I'll be quick." A smile ghosted across Shen Yuan's lips. He ruffled her hair and turned to leave.
Su Jing watched his retreating figure. Her eyes misted over.
"Shen Yuan." She called his name. Her voice cracked.
He paused, about to turn—
"Don't look back. Just—come home soon."
"Mm." He nodded and walked on, but unease crawled through his chest like a living thing.
Nothing will happen. Nothing will happen. I have to be quick.
He pushed the dread aside and left the palace.
Alone in her chambers, Su Jing let the tears fall.
Since their return from the temple, Shen Yuan had stopped avoiding her affection—but the wall inside him still stood. She understood his fears. She knew what held him back.
And so tonight, she would storm that wall and claim his heart once and for all.
He was all she had. So he could only be hers.
She would wager her fragile, borrowed life to carve out a future for them both.
* * *
The palace banquet.
Su Jing sat in her usual unremarkable corner, sipping tea, her gaze on the imperial dais where the Son of Heaven reveled with a woman on each arm.
The old emperor's eyes were already glassy from years of excess. He pulled two simpering beauties closer, well on his way to drunk.
"Rise, all of you. Set court matters aside tonight—no one leaves sober!" He lifted his cup and accepted the waves of prostration below.
The dynasty's customs were liberal; princes and princesses sat together at the same tables, and nobody thought it improper.
Amid the toasts and laughter, the evening's grand finale was readied.
"Your Majesty, the white tiger gifted by the Western Envoy has been trained for months. It can now obey human commands. We present it for Your Majesty's amusement."
The Minister of Rites beckoned, and several tamers led a white tiger onto the stage.
"Oh? Let me see these results for myself." The Emperor laughed, thoroughly intrigued.
At the tamer's hand signals, the beast lay down like a housecat, rolled onto its back, and even extended a paw to shake hands.
"Wonderful! Truly magnificent!"
* * *
Applause rippled through the hall. Then a firework detonated overhead.
The blast drove the tiger mad. It roared, surged upright, and shredded the tamer in a single swipe. It tore through the crowd, sending ministers and royals screaming in every direction. The old emperor sat frozen on his throne, too stunned to move. The beauties at his side had vanished.
The tiger locked onto the throne and charged. In the last heartbeat before impact, the emperor clenched his eyes shut—and felt a slender body wrap around him, shielding him from the claws.
"Protect—Father—" Su Jing managed two words before the world went dark.
The imperial guards arrived at last, a volley of arrows punching into the beast from every angle. It crumpled and died.
The emperor stared, numb, at the girl draped over him like a broken shield. Blood soaked through her robes, spreading in an ever-widening stain. He finally understood what had happened and bellowed for the physician.
"Chang'an! My dear Chang'an—"
"Your Majesty, this is Princess Cheng'an. Not Princess Chang'an."
An excruciating silence followed.
* * *
The emperor cleared his throat. He studied Su Jing's unconscious face and, at last, placed it.
Ah—the princess who was with Sheng'an during the bandit incident.
Princess Cheng'an. Cheng'an.
He repeated the name, and as his gaze traced the elegant lines of her brows and eyes, he finally remembered her mother.
The princess from the Southern Border. A puppet sent for a marriage alliance. A novelty he had toyed with until he grew bored.
She hadn't lasted more than a few years before she withered and died.
After that, this daughter with barbarian blood in her veins held no interest for him. He let her fend for herself in the palace and never spared her another thought.
Yet here, in his hour of mortal danger, every pampered consort and trusted prince had fled without a backward glance. And this discarded girl—the one he had abandoned—had thrown her body between him and death.
Guilt stirred in the emperor's chest for the first time in years. He stayed at Su Jing's bedside.
"Your Majesty, the wounds are on the princess's back. I fear they will leave permanent scars." The physician knelt, trembling.
"A princess cannot carry scars! Use the finest healing balm in the realm, or I will have your heads!" The emperor's roar jolted Su Jing awake.
"Father…" She pried her eyes open, her voice thin as thread.
"My brave girl. I am here. You saved my life—you need worry about nothing. Whatever you want, name it."
"Father, I know these scars will make it impossible to find a worthy husband in our kingdom. Let me marry into the Kingdom of Qi in a peace alliance instead—so that I might ease your burdens." Tears glistened in her eyes.
"My dear, dear child. Such devotion…" The emperor's own eyes welled with tears. He stroked her head with unaccustomed tenderness.
* * *
"Father, I am willing to serve as your eyes and ears inside the Kingdom of Qi. I ask only for the Shadow Guard Token, so that I may relay intelligence swiftly."
Su Jing knelt through the agony screaming across her back, her face the picture of devotion.
The Shadow Guard Token—its bearer spoke with the Emperor's own voice. The fastest channel for military intelligence in the realm. Its significance was beyond measure.
"I…"
The old emperor hesitated. If Cheng'an bore a child in Qi and turned against him, the consequences would be catastrophic.
"To prove my loyalty, I have a plan that will put Your Majesty's mind at ease." Su Jing raised her head and leaned close, whispering rapidly into the emperor's ear.
"Very well. I agree. Tomorrow I will adopt you into the Empress's household and elevate you to the rank of legitimate princess. Serve our dynasty faithfully, Jing'er, and I will give you anything you desire."