Chapter 1 — Nine Times Rejected

When Xiao Tri Xuan sent the betrothal annulment letter for the ninth time, I no longer went mad and wept like I used to. Instead, I calmly summoned the servants, had them take a complete inventory of the betrothal gifts, and ordered them all sent back. I knew full well that this was merely another one of Xiao Tri Xuan's childhood sweetheart games, designed to test my absolute loyalty. Seeing that I neither cried nor threw a tantrum, Xiao Tri Xuan frowned and offered a condescending explanation:

"Tri Tri only has my best interests at heart. As long as you agree to let me annul our engagement one more time, this test of loyalty will be considered successfully passed."

"When I come to propose marriage again next time, I will add ten more chests of betrothal gifts, a hundred acres of fertile land, and three manors in the West Mountains, all registered under your name. How does that sound?"

Soft chuckles rippled through the surrounding crowd, and more than a few people raised their heads to observe my expression. It seemed everyone took it for granted that I would once again accept these material compensations. The exact same betrothal gifts, the exact same words—I had already heard them nine times. Even the children in the capital mocked me behind my back as the "Nine-Curve Maiden." I offered a faint, chilling smile and shook my head:

"No need."

"Years ago, when His Majesty bestowed this marriage upon us, he explicitly decreed that whoever I marry shall be the one to inherit the ancestral lineage of the Duke's estate."

"From this moment on, you are no longer the heir apparent of the Duke's estate."

For a fleeting moment, Xiao Tri Xuan failed to process my words. Stunned into silence for a few seconds, he grabbed my wrist and dragged me into the study, his face dark with displeasure:

"What did your words just mean?"

"Doan Thu, I know you are feeling aggrieved in your heart. I will pretend I never heard what you just said."

"Look here, yesterday when I returned from Jiangnan, I specially brought you a supreme-quality coral hairpin."

He fished a dazzling red coral hairpin from his inner robes. That glaring, obnoxious red pierced straight into my eyes. Yet, I had never once cared for such gaudy ornaments. The person who truly adored coral was Ruan Tri Tri. A few strands of pitch-black hair wrapped around the hairpin's shaft proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that this was an item Ruan Tri Tri had already worn to death and discarded. Back then, when Xiao Tri Xuan traveled to the Southern Seas, I had begged him to bring back a single Southern pearl to set upon the phoenix coronet I would wear at our grand wedding. But what I received in the end was a flawed, leftover trinket that Ruan Tri Tri had picked through and rejected. When I wept and smashed the imperfect gem in grief, Xiao Tri Xuan had looked at me with chilling indifference:

"Tri Tri is still young and tender; you cannot afford to be so petty and jealous. How on earth do you expect to serve as the mistress of the Duke's estate in the future?"

Yet the entire capital knew that in order to coax a single smile from his beloved beauty, the young Lord Xiao had not hesitated to run seven fast horses to their deaths. All of that frantic effort was merely so Ruan Tri Tri could taste the freshest, most succulent cherries. Yet toward me, his legitimate fiancee, he was unwilling to expend even the slightest trace of genuine thought. At that very moment, Ruan Tri Tri once again welled up with watery tears, cowering timidly behind Xiao Tri Xuan's back:

"Older Sister Doan Thu, I only mean well. If Your Ladyship cannot even endure this tiny bit of hardship, how can you ever hope to become a qualified and respected mistress of the Duke's estate?"

Gazing at the hypocritical pair standing before me, I let out a silent, mocking chuckle. I would indeed become the mistress of the Duke's estate. However, Xiao Tri Xuan himself was by no means guaranteed the title of Duke Xiao. Regardless of whom I married, I remained the unshakable mistress of the Duke's manor. As for the rightful heir of this illustrious estate, a new master would ascend tomorrow. That very evening, Duke Xiao himself arrived in person at my manor to offer a formal apology:

"Years ago, His Majesty personally bestowed this marriage between the Princess and the eldest son of the Duke of Xiao's household."

"Aside from Tri Tri, the only remaining male in our family is the good-for-nothing second son, Xiao Zhu, who knows nothing day in and day out except eating, drinking, and making merry. He is utterly unworthy of the Princess's noble status."

Over the span of two years, Xiao Tri Xuan had danced to Ruan Tri Tri's tune, calling off our engagement nine separate times and turning me into a notorious laughingstock across the capital as a woman destined to bring misfortune to her husbands. They had even wrapped this cruelty in pretty words, calling it a test of my steadfast devotion. To this very day, I could still vividly remember how pitifully I had wept the very first time he demanded an annulment, while Ruan Tri Tri had leaned against Xiao Tri Xuan's chest, laughing endlessly without a care in the world.

"There, there, stop crying now. Congratulations to Older Sister Doan Thu for successfully passing the first trial."

I had been thoroughly confused at the time. Xiao Tri Xuan had rushed to step in and explain on her behalf:

"Tri Tri's birth mother abandoned her and ran away with another man the moment she was born. Ever since she was a little girl, she has been utterly alone with no one to rely on, suffering from a profound lack of a sense of security."

"The mere thought of us getting married stirs up all those unhappy memories inside her. Therefore, before we officially wed, she simply wishes to test your loyalty to see if you possess the true qualifications to be my wife."

At the time, I had stupidly accepted that absurd explanation and made peace with him. I simply never imagined that Xiao Tri Xuan would repeatedly exploit this exact excuse to break off our engagement nine grueling times. Seeing that I remained silent, Duke Xiao assumed my earlier words were merely the petty, petulant outbursts of an angry woman.

"I am well aware that the Princess is harboring resentment in her heart, but Tri Tri and the Princess share many years of deep affection, and our matrimonial pact was decreed by His Majesty's own hand."

"Please rest assured, Your Ladyship, I will personally discipline him severely. Such an outrage will never happen again."

Duke Xiao patted his chest with absolute assurance. He even ordered a servant to summon Xiao Tri Xuan back immediately. However, the servant's voice was barely louder than a mosquito's buzz:

"My Lord... the Young Lord has already gone off to find the Ruan family's young mistress."

"The Young Lord also instructed this lowly servant to pass a message along to the Princess, saying... saying that Your Ladyship ought to know when enough is enough. Instead of wasting time throwing tantrums, you would be better off cultivating your inner peace. If you persist in making a scene, the outcome next time will remain exactly the same."

The moment those words dropped, several attendants could not help but burst into open laughter. Duke Xiao's complexion flushed bright red, morphed into a sickly shade of green, and then cycled back to an angry crimson. Xiao Tri Xuan had so brazenly declared that there would be a next time, rendering his father's solemn guarantees completely worthless. After struggling in agonizing embarrassment for a long while, Duke Xiao let out a long, heavy sigh from the depths of his soul.

"Xiao Zhu has never applied himself to honest work, nor does he hold a single official post. I implore the Princess to think this over very carefully!"

"I choose him."

Although Xiao Zhu was widely known throughout the capital as a dissolute prodigal son, my imperial aunt, the Empress, had long since quietly investigated him thoroughly. He had secretly entered the palace on numerous occasions to discuss affairs of state with the Emperor himself. This man possessed unfathomable depths of ambition; he was absolute not the simple-minded hedonist the rumors made him out to be. Whoever I chose to bind myself in marriage with had to directly benefit the Pei clan. By comparison, Xiao Tri Xuan was the truly useless fool. Duke Xiao clenched his teeth so hard that even his voice trembled visibly:

"Very well, I shall enter the palace this very moment to petition for an imperial edict. On the day of your grand wedding, Xiao Zhu shall officially inherit the title of heir apparent."

"It's just that this wedding date... should we consider postponing it?"

This had been Xiao Tri Xuan's ninth time coming to propose an annulment. Terrified that something else might go wrong and wishing to deal his arrogant son a severe warning, Duke Xiao had deliberately locked in the wedding date. There were only seven days remaining. He never dreamed that Xiao Tri Xuan would still dare to cause such a disruption. Since his son was so desperately averse to marrying me, simply swapping the groom was the most logical solution.

"There is no need. Let it remain precisely seven days from now."

As Duke Xiao finally took his leave, his hunched silhouette made him appear a full ten years older. Word had it that the moment he stepped out of the imperial palace gates, the sheer rage caused him to faint dead away on the spot. Early the following morning, Xiao Zhu's betrothal gifts were delivered in a grand procession. Rows of vibrant red chests filled the entire courtyard to the brim, accompanied by a personal letter. The letter explicitly stated that before the wedding day arrived, he would undoubtedly return from the distant frontier. He had always been the sort of dependable man who brought peace of mind to those around him. Just as I instructed the servants to move all the goods into the storeroom, two familiar figures abruptly materialized in the middle of the courtyard. Xiao Tri Xuan cast a sweeping, disdainful glance at the sea of red chests cluttering the ground:

"My father is certainly willing to spend a fortune; I wager the entire treasury of the Duke's estate has been completely emptied out for this."

Ruan Tri Tri plastered a look of profound distress across her delicate features:

"But... this hardly seems proper."

"What if Older Sister Doan Thu only tolerated all those humiliations time and time again because she coveted these worldly possessions? If that's the case, what meaning do all our tests of loyalty hold?"

"I heard the servants whispering that years ago, when my mother abandoned our family, she took the ancestral heirlooms of the estate with her. Everyone outside whispered that she only stayed by my father's side for the sake of those treasures. When I was just a child, they used to point fingers and curse me..."

Before she could finish her sentence, the rims of her eyes turned red. Xiao Tri Xuan immediately panicked:

"Why on earth are your thoughts wandering off to such gloomy places again? Doan Thu would never—"

"Whether she would or not, who can say for certain? Older Brother Xuan, perhaps... we should have all these things removed. Only when she shows absolute indifference to such material wealth can the older sister truly prove that she loves you with all her heart."

Having said that, Ruan Tri Tri pivoted her gaze back toward me:

"Older Sister Doan Thu must not think I am being a busybody poking my nose where it doesn't belong. Whatever I do is purely for the good of you and Older Brother Xuan. More than anyone else in this world, I yearn for the two of you to find lasting happiness."

I couldn't even be bothered to dignify her theatrical performance with a response, refusing to even lift my eyelids. Ruan Tri Tri forced a bitter, aggrieved smile:

"Older Sister Doan Thu... are you angry with me? I truly harbor no malicious intent whatsoever."

"I... I shall take my leave at once, and not stay here to be an eyesore in your sight..."

She spun around as if to flee, but Xiao Tri Xuan instantly snatched her arm, pulling her back. His face ached with tender pity as he wiped the phantom tears from the corner of her eye. When he finally jerked his head up to glare at me once more, his gaze burned with undisguised fury:

"Tri Tri only has our happiness at heart! Have you no shame? Hurry up and return every single one of these items!"

I spared him a frigid glance, my expression utterly detached:

"These were not delivered by your hands, meaning you possess no authority whatsoever to dispose of them."

Xiao Tri Xuan let out a harsh, mocking bark of laughter, pointing accusingly at the crest of the Duke's estate stamped upon the red wooden chests:

"Do you take me for a blind fool?"

"It seems Tri Tri was entirely correct after all. The only reason you endured my behavior for so long was indeed for the sake of these compensatory treasures."

"Right here, right now, I am taking every last one of these things away!"

He barked an order at the servants standing in the distance:

"All of you, move these chests out immediately!"

The attendants exchanged apprehensive glances, rooted firmly to their spots, paralyzed by uncertainty over what to do. Seeing their hesitation, Xiao Tri Xuan roared in cold fury:

"Have you all forgotten that your indentured servant contracts are securely held within the Duke's estate? Can none of you even tell who your true master is?"

My heart sank heavily, sending an icy shiver through my entire body. Back when I first returned to the capital, Xiao Tri Xuan had fallen head over heels for me at first sight. Because my own Princess manor had not yet finished construction, I had yielded to his earnest pleas and temporarily resided within the Duke's estate. Later, when the time came for me to move into my completed residence, Xiao Tri Xuan—fearing I would be unaccustomed to new surroundings—had dispatched a contingent of servants from the Duke's household to assist me. Every single one of them had been meticulously selected by his own hand, purely to ensure I would find them convenient. Never in my wildest dreams had I anticipated that this very act of apparent thoughtfulness would one day be weaponized against me in such a manner. Just as I stepped forward to halt them, the gatekeeper frantically sprinted into the courtyard:

"Your Ladyship! Word has just arrived from your hometown in Yueyang that knowing Your Ladyship is marrying in six days, they have sent a courier with congratulatory wedding gifts. They humbly request Your Ladyship to inspect them personally."

Before I could utter a single word, I was violently yanked backward by a heavy grip. A torrent of furious cross-examination from Xiao Tri Xuan instantly came crashing down upon me:

"Splendid! I was still wondering why you guarded these damned boxes as if they were your own eyeballs. So you've already treated them as your official betrothal gifts, haven't you?"

"Did my father promise you that in six days you would directly walk down the aisle and marry into the family?"

"Pei Doan Thu, are you truly that desperate to throw yourself into marriage?!"

My arm was squeezed so fiercely that a sharp wave of pain shot through my bones, stripping away any lingering patience I had for his nonsense.

"Let go of me!"

Xiao Tri Xuan acted as though he were completely deaf to human speech:

"Pei Doan Thu, let me make this crystal clear to you: as long as I refuse to give my consent, you will never become my wife for the rest of your life!"

"I have no need for you to marry me, and I assure you, I will never, ever marry you!"

The instant those words left my lips, Xiao Tri Xuan's face drained of all color, twisting in utter shock. It was as though he had never once imagined that a day would come when I would utter such a definitive rejection. Witnessing his distress, Ruan Tri Tri suddenly choked out a sob:

"Older Sister, please, you must not speak such cruel words! Older Brother Xuan's heart will break!"