Later that afternoon, Xiao Zhi was arranging the fresh flowers the gardeners had brought when she heard footsteps passing outside her courtyard. They weren't the heavy, disciplined steps of palace guards. These were uncertain, dragging, almost sulky.
She didn't think much of it until a figure lingered at the corner of the corridor.
"Prince Kabil?"
He stiffened immediately, as if caught in the act of trespassing. Slowly, reluctantly, he turned toward her. His eyes filled with the guilt of someone who had not intended to be seen, yet very much had been lurking there.
"Oh… Princess Lian Zhi." Kabil tried to sound casual, but the wounded pride in his voice gave him away.
Xiao Zhi stepped forward, then stopped. Something about his posture made her stomach tighten. Then her eyes widened when he saw his face.
"Prince Kabil… your face."
He lowered his head immediately, as if ashamed to have been caught like this. His cheek was a mess of purple and angry red. She could see the faint, jagged outline where the metal glove had struck him. The sight made her gasp involuntarily.
"It's nothing," he muttered quickly, but the trembling of his lips betrayed him.
"What happened?" Her brows knit together as worry prickled in her chest.
He sniffed softly, almost pitifully, not the kind of crying that demanded attention, but enough to stir sympathy.
"My brother… the Khan," He hesitated, as though even naming him could bring doom, "he… slapped me."
"What? Why would he…?" she asked in disbelief.
Kabil let out a heavy sigh, his jaw tightening as though trying to hold back the sting of both pain and humiliation. "He… wanted us to hold a bride parade. But I found it humiliating, disgraceful for you. I… I refused." Kabil paused for a dramatic effect. "So he… slapped me."
"A bride parade?" Xiao Zhi frowned, unfamiliar with the term. The idea felt abstract at first, almost like a piece of ancient ceremony she had read about in books.
"Yes," Kabil replied. "He thinks it's not enough that Hua sent you as my bride as a peace offering. He wants to show Tughril's dominance over this alliance. He wants you paraded around in servant clothes."
Xiao Zhi's eyes widened. "Like… a public display?"
He nodded miserably, pressing the side of his swollen face with his fingers. "He says it's tradition. That you must show submission to Tughril. He doesn't care about your dignity at all. I tried… I really did, but I am powerless against him."
Xiao Zhi's heart twisted painfully at the thought.
A parade? Public humiliation?
Another detail she hadn't read about.
Only then did she understand how dangerous the Khan was. He was cold, ruthless, and impossible to defy. Not Kabil, not even the Dowager, could stand against him. His word was law, and disobedience never went unpunished.
Yet… her mind, ever practical, began to work with logic.
What did a parade really mean? Public humiliation, yes, but nothing compared to what the story had promised her.
She had prepared herself for torture, betrayal, even death. Compared to that, walking the streets in servant clothes felt almost… manageable.
And now that Prince Kabil is not what she imagined he would be, so what's the worst that could happen?
Xiao Zhi weighed the pros and cons in her mind, and then she made the decision.
Exhaling softly and letting the tension in her chest loosen slightly, she said to Kabil, "It's okay. I'll do it." Her voice was quieter than she intended, but firm enough to hold Kabil's gaze.
Kabil looked up sharply, eyes wide with disbelief. "What?"
"I'll do it," she repeated. "If this parade will help the people accept me, if it keeps the peace, then I will do it."
"You will?" Kabil stared at her, his mouth hanging open for a second before he remembered to look worried again. "Princess Lian Zhi, this is degrading. I cannot—"
Xiao Zhi offered a faint, calm smile, though her fingers twitched slightly around her sleeves.
"It's fine," she said softly, despite the turmoil in her chest.
She had seen the Khan's ruthlessness with her own eyes. The mark still blooming on Kabil's cheek was proof enough. If a prince could be struck down so easily, what mercy would be shown to a foreign bride who dared to refuse? If she said no, the parade would not disappear. It would simply be replaced by something far worse.
At least this way, she chose the lesser pain.
"Are you sure?" Kabil almost smiled, then stopped himself. The worry in his eyes didn't fade.
"I'm sure," she said. She lowered her hand, her fingers still trembling slightly. "If this is what it takes to calm the people, then I'll do it."
Kabil just stared at her. For a second, he looked genuinely shocked. Then his expression shifted into a wide, warm smile. "I don't even know what to say," he whispered, leaning in. "You're incredible, Lian Zhi. I mean it."
Xiao Zhi allowed herself a single, fleeting smile, though her stomach twisted. Remarkable… or reckless? The line blurred.
She thought she could handle a parade. She had survived worse things than people staring at her. If she had to walk through the city in rags to stay on the Khan's good side, she would do it.
Again, at least she wouldn't be tortured to death. Right?
Kabil hesitated, then stepped a little closer. "If that is your decision, then I promise I will do everything in my power to protect you. To make sure none of it truly hurts you."
Xiao Zhi nodded and smiled again. Her expression stayed calm, though unease stirred in her chest.
For a long moment, they stood like that, caught between relief and determination. And though she would parade through the streets in servant attire, she would do so with her head held high. She would show them Tughril people what she could endure, and perhaps, in doing so, claim a small measure of control over her fate.