Xu Lianhua's POV
My body wouldn't move.
I screamed inside my head, but my limbs lay useless as death. The drug coursed through me like liquid fire, stealing everything except the ability to feel and see and understand exactly what was happening.
Rough hands grabbed me. Lifted me. My head lolled back, helpless.
Strip her, Lady Pei commanded.
No. NO. My mind fought while my body surrendered. Servants tore at my plain robes, the fabric ripping. Cold air hit my skin. Shame burned through me, but I couldn't even close my eyes.
Hurry, Lady Pei snapped. The wedding carriage arrives at dawn.
Red silk appeared above me. Mingzhu's wedding robes. Elaborate embroidery of phoenixes and dragons symbols meant for an Empress. They dressed me like a doll, pulling my arms through sleeves, wrapping layers around my paralyzed body.
Each touch felt like a violation. Each moment, a death sentence.
I tried to speak. My lips moved but no sound came.
She's fighting the drug, a servant whispered nervously.
Give her more. Lady Pei thrust another cup forward.
They forced it down my throat. I choked, liquid spilling down my chin, but enough went down. The world blurred further. My thoughts scattered like leaves in wind.
Through the fog, a voice I knew
STOP! What are you doing to her?!
Yue'er.
My maid burst through the door, her face twisted in horror. She lunged toward me, but guards appeared from nowhere. Strong arms caught her, dragged her back.
Let me GO! Yue'er screamed, struggling. Lianhua! LIANHUA!
I wanted to answer. Wanted to tell her to run, save herself. But my voice was gone, my body a prison.
Remove her, Lady Pei said coldly.
You monsters! Yue'er's screams echoed as they hauled her away. She's innocent! This is MURDER!
The door slammed. Silence fell except for my racing heart.
Servants painted my face with trembling hands. Applied rouge to my lips. Pinned ornaments in my hair heavy gold pieces that made my drugged head swim.
She looks just like Mingzhu, one servant whispered.
Close enough, Lady Pei corrected. In the veil and drugs, the Emperor won't know until it's too late.
A shadow appeared in the doorway. Through my blurred vision, I recognized the shape.
Father.
Minister Xu Wei stood there, his face pale. He stared at me dressed in wedding red, and something flickered in his eyes. Guilt? Regret?
Do something, I begged silently. You're my father. Please.
He opened his mouth. Closed it. Looked away.
This is necessary, he said quietly, as if convincing himself. For the family.
Lady Pei smiled. Exactly. The family honor must be preserved.
But she's my daughter
She's a bastard, Lady Pei cut him off. One who will finally be useful.
Father flinched but didn't argue. He stood there, watching them prepare me for sacrifice, and did nothing.
Something inside me broke. Not my body that was already shattered. But the last tiny hope I'd carried for twenty-one years that maybe, someday, he might love me.
He turned and walked away.
Lady Pei leaned close to my ear, her breath hot. Listen carefully, since you can't speak. Here's what happens: you'll marry the Emperor tonight. Tomorrow, he'll discover you're not Mingzhu. He'll be angry, but divorce is easier than execution. You'll take the blame, accept exile with a bag of silver, and disappear.
She pulled back, examining me. Mingzhu gets to marry her precious Lord Chen. Your father keeps his position. I preserve the family name. And you? Her smile was poison. You finally serve a purpose.
Tears leaked from my frozen eyes.
Oh, don't cry. You should be grateful. Lady Pei wiped my tears roughly. We're giving you silver. A new life. Most bastards get nothing.
Most bastards don't get sent to their deaths, I wanted to scream.
Because she was lying. I'd read enough history to know: the Emperor didn't forgive deception. He wouldn't quietly divorce me. He'd execute me for fraud against the throne.
And maybe that was the real plan. Get rid of the family shame permanently.
The carriage is ready, a servant announced.
They lifted me like a corpse, carrying me through the courtyard I'd lived in for twenty-one years. Past the library where I'd hidden. Past the garden where I'd heard Mingzhu crying.
Past the life I'd never really had.
The wedding carriage was red and gold, decorated with flowers. A cage dressed as celebration.
They placed me inside on silk cushions. Adjusted my veil so it covered my face. Arranged my hands in my lap like a proper bride.
Remember, Lady Pei said through the carriage window. You're doing this for family. Try to have some honor.
Honor. From the woman who drugged and sold me.
The carriage door closed. Locked.
Through the red veil, I saw movement at an upper window. Mingzhu stood there in her sleeping robes, watching. Our eyes met for one brief moment.
She didn't look sad. Didn't look guilty.
She looked relieved.
My perfect sister, who I'd never harmed, watched them send me to die and felt only relief that it wasn't her.
The carriage lurched forward. Bells rang, announcing the bride's departure. Servants cheered. Music played.
No one knew the bride couldn't move, couldn't speak, could barely breathe through her terror.
The drug pulled me under again, darkness creeping in. My last conscious thought wasn't of my family's betrayal or my certain death.
It was simpler, more heart breaking:
I'd spent my whole life invisible, trying to survive by not being noticed.
And now I was about to meet the most powerful man in the empire dressed as someone else, drugged into silence, sent as a lie.
When he discovered the truth, would he even let me explain before he ordered my execution?
The darkness swallowed me whole, carrying me toward a wedding that felt more like a funeral.
My funeral.