Chapter 2 — Nine Times Rejected

Everything is for your sake. If you had not suggested the trial, my sister and A Xuan would have been married long ago.

Please hit me instead, elder sister, and do not be angry with A Xuan anymore.

She pulled my other hand. Taking advantage of the moment I yanked it back, she pretended to follow my momentum and fell heavily to the ground.

Tri Tri!

Xiao Xuan instantly released me, dropping to one single knee to examine her injuries. When he caught sight of the faint red mark on her cheek and the trembling tears welling in her eyes, a blazing fury surged straight to the crown of his head.

Tri Tri only wanted the best for me, yet you actually dared to strike her!

He immediately sprang to his feet, hauling me directly in front of her. With a brutal kick behind my knee, he forced me to drop straight down onto the rugged cobblestone pathway. My joints cracked with a sharp, piercing sound, and darkness instantly swallowed my vision. Xiao Xuan remained completely oblivious to my physical distress, unleashing a relentless torrent of harsh reprimands.

Even a master punishing a lowly servant would never casually strike someone across the face. Look at you, openly attacking and injuring another person without a shred of remorse!

If Tri Tri's complexion is ruined, can you possibly compensate for it? Hurry up and apologize to her at once!

Once again, these unfounded accusations rained down upon me. When I had first returned to the capital, Nguyen Tri Tri and I were considered close confidantes, frequently wandering the city together. Yet every single time she ventured out with me, she would invariably suffer some minor injury, sometimes even breaking out in mysterious allergic rashes. Whenever such an incident occurred, Xiao Xuan was always the first to interrogate me, his voice chillingly cold like a magistrate questioning a criminal. Believing she genuinely got hurt during our outings, I tolerated his questioning. But as these episodes multiplied, his patience wore thin, his words consistently implying I deliberately targeted her. To prevent further friction, I gradually distanced myself from her. Only now did I fully understand that his behavior was sheer, unadulterated partiality. Taking a deep breath, I pressed my palms hard against the ground, forcing my stiff back to straighten vertebra by vertebra. I attempted to rise, but he shoved me back down with a single, heavy hand.

An apology must look like an apology.

The agony was so intense I could only whisper weakly through gritted teeth:

I never struck her.

Clutching her face, she reached out to tug at his sleeve, her voice laced with heavy tears:

A Xuan, do not make things difficult for elder sister Doan Thu... It was merely my own clumsiness, it does not hurt at all.

He let out a cold, cynical laugh, his gaze turning even darker and more sinister.

You are still covering for her? I saw her expression clearly just moments ago.

Bui Doan Thu, let me make this entirely clear to you. If you refuse to apologize today, I will never marry you. Do not even dream of claiming the position of the Duke's wife for the rest of your life!

He still did not know. He was neither qualified to inherit the title of heir nor capable of succeeding the Duke's peerage. Just as the words hovered on my lips to shatter his delusion, she suddenly shrieked in absolute panic:

A Xuan... A Xuan, I am bleeding. Will this leave a permanent scar on my face?

He immediately withdrew the hand pressing down on my shoulder, spinning around to check her condition. He spotted a tiny scratch on her cheek, from which a thin bead of fresh crimson was slowly seeping out.

How... how utterly vicious, Bui Doan Thu.

Appearance is everything to a young woman, yet you could bring yourself to strike with such cruelty!

He shoved me violently once more. My knees skidded across the harsh stone, the excruciating pain suffocating me to the point where I could not gasp out a single syllable. Seeing my silence, he assumed a silent admission of guilt, fueling his rage to even greater heights.

What is the matter, struck mute? Weren't you quite eloquent just a moment ago?

Kowtow and beg Tri Tri for forgiveness, and I might spare you this once. The wedding date can still be renegotiated.

Supporting my weight with both hands, I laboriously raised my head to look straight into his eyes.

I will not marry you. The person I am marrying is...

He lunged forward, slamming me fiercely against the ground to cut off my sentence. Sharp gravel tore into my forehead, sending waves of blinding pain through my skull. Her voice rang out with thinly veiled triumph:

Enough, A Xuan, how could you treat the princess in such a manner? It is just that my poor face...

Do not be afraid, if this truly leaves a scar, I will personally take responsibility for you!

By the time I managed to crawl back up, he had already scooped her up into his arms. Casting a glacial glance down at me, he dropped his final verdict:

You have disappointed me beyond measure. Call off the wedding immediately, or the only one who will suffer public humiliation is you.

Staring at his receding back, I let out a silent, chilling laugh. Xiao Xuan, the one who will be humiliated is not me. It is you. On the eve of the grand wedding, I went to the ancestral hall, personally wiping the commemorative tablets of my late father and mother. My father had perished on the distant battlefield, and my mother had followed him in death out of pure devotion, leaving me entirely alone in this world. Thus, I wanted to use this solemn ritual to inform them that I was finally going to be wed. In the predawn hours of the following morning, the matrons dispatched by my maternal aunt, the Empress, roused me from sleep to begin the elaborate bridal preparations. The moment the heavy phoenix coronet was settled upon my head, a chaotic commotion erupted outside the bedchamber doors. Before anyone could react, figures burst into the room, aggressively shoving the maids and matrons aside before hands clamped mercilessly around my throat, roaring with fury:

Bui Doan Thu, your heart is venomous! Beating Tri Tri was not enough, now you even dare to poison her!