Xiao Zhi sat numbly before the bronze mirror as the maid adjusted her bridal crown for the third time. The golden frame pressed against her scalp, cold and unbearably heavy.
The maid hovered around her like a blurred shadow. A mountain of powder was brushed across her cheeks to hide the bruises and cuts on her skin. They painted her lips a vivid red and scattered shimmering dust over her eyes, trying to spark life back into a face that felt dead. Every brushstroke was an attempt to bury the trace of the parade.
But Xiao Zhi could only stare blankly at her reflection. Beneath the scent of expensive incense, she could still smell the rot on the streets. Every time a maid brushed her hair too quickly, she flinched, expecting the sharp sting of a stone.
Her body had returned to the palace, but her mind had not. It had been trapped in the memory of the parade.
Has it begun? My so-called torture?
She inhaled shakily, remembering everything that had happened to her over the past weeks. From the moment she first arrived in this world, dazed and confused, she had believed she knew the story she had fallen into. The plot she thought she knew. Princess Lian Zhi was supposed to have a tragic fate. She was supposed to marry a cruel, barbaric prince who would eventually destroy her.
So she tried to change that fate. The moment she arrived in Hua, where she was plotting with Shen Han, whom she thought was the main lead, but now nowhere to be seen.
She planned the escape again and again, only to find herself pushed back onto the same path, like the world itself refused to let her escape.
Yet nothing unfolded the way she expected after that.
Prince Kabil, her supposedly cruel and womanizing fiancé, had been gentle, kind, and attentive. The complete opposite of what the novel had written.
The Khan, whom she barely remembered from the novel, turned out to be the true monster. Vicious and cold.
And then there was Ruhan.
Ruhan, whom she didn't know existed in the original story at all. Ruhan, who invaded her thoughts without permission. Ruhan, who was cunning, charming, and infuriating, but had become her only source of safety.
He had saved her from the sun-scorched desert, protected her from the hateful concubines, and held her when she was shaking and covered in bruises. He was the only person she could trust in a world that no longer made sense.
If the 'villain' was kind and the 'hero' was absent, who was the protagonist? Was she even in the same book anymore, or had she accidentally wandered into a different, darker tale?
And now, today, she had reached the part she feared most.
The wedding. The event that was meant to begin her downfall.
"Princess, you are ready," the maid announced gently, bringing her back from her thoughts.
Xiao Zhi didn't say a word. The last piece of her headpiece clicked into place. The maid helped her rise, guiding her carefully toward the door.
Her wedding robe felt impossibly heavy, as if she was carrying the weight of an entire fate she didn't want.
The long corridor stretched endlessly before her. Every step sounded like a countdown to whatever fate was waiting for her at the end.
And at the end of the corridor stood Kabil, smiling as though nothing in the world troubled him. His fur robe was embroidered in gold, his hair perfectly styled, his posture straight. He looked like the ideal groom.
When she reached him, he offered his hand. Xiao Zhi hesitated briefly before taking it. His fingers were warm, and his smile even warmer.
It felt strange, knowing that none of it had ever been real. He was a mere character inside a novel.
Thisis just a novel, not the real world, she kept trying to remind herself. Hoping it would calm her down.
Together, they walked toward the grand hall.
The attendant announced them loudly, his voice echoing through the hall. "The bride and groom enter!"
The hall was filled with nobles, ministers, envoys, and foreign guests. At the throne sat the Khan, expression cold as always. Beside him, the Khatun Dowager was watching Xiao Zhi with unsettling intensity.
The ceremony proceeded in a blur.
They bowed. They offered tea. They exchanged ritual blessings. The drums pounded in her ears, but the sounds felt miles away. Faces shifted in the crowd, a sea of strangers watching her. On his throne, the Khan nodded in approval.
Everything was perfect. Perfect and terrifying.
When it finally ended, Xiao Zhi felt like she had been hollowed out. Her soul was nowhere to be found.
The feast began immediately. The sound of music and laughter echoed, wine overflowing from golden cups. Kabil was whisked away by nobles and concubines who showered him with praise and attention. He laughed loudly, almost drunkenly, leaning toward their touches as if he had forgotten he had a bride at all.
Xiao Zhi sat quietly at the side of one long table, ignored and forgotten.
Where was Ruhan?
She scanned the hall, her eyes darting from face to face, searching for any sign of him. She looked for that familiar height, that steady gaze, anything. But he wasn't there. It was as if he had vanished, leaving her completely alone in the middle of the noise.
She couldn't breathe in this chaos. So she slipped out of the hall.
She walked into the garden outside the hall, feeling the cold night air soothing against her skin. She moved through the palace garden, only guided by the moonlight and the soft rustling of leaves. She didn't expect to find anyone there, especially not him.
But there he was.
Ruhan stood quietly near a pond, with a jar of liquor in hand, dressed in a simple black robe instead of his eunuch uniform. Yet somehow, it still made him look impossibly stunning, especially under the moonlight.
By now, Xiao Zhi was used to how effortlessly charming he was, but finally seeing him there still made her heart skip.
Almost as if he sensed her, Ruhan turned and froze.
"Princess." His voice was soft, almost swallowed by the sound of the night.
She gave a faint smile and walked closer. "Would you like to share that drink?" She pointed at the jar in his hand.
Ruhan barely had time to react before Xiao Zhi reached out and took it from him. She lifted it to her lips and drank, ignoring the bitterness.
"That felt good."