Chapter 7 — Nine Times Rejected

Perhaps by now, he would have inherited his noble title as heir, perhaps even fathered children of his own, spared from the bitter struggles that plagued him today. Hearing his hollow words, the faint light lingering in the eyes of Nguyen Chi Chi slowly flickered out and died. Before she could even muster a desperate plea for mercy, the stern officials from the Court of Judicial Review arrived. Panic-stricken, Nguyen Chi Chi tried to crawl forward and beg, but Xiao Zixuan silenced her with a swift, merciless chop to the back of her neck. Her body went limp, collapsing heavily onto the cold stone floor before the guards dragged her away like a stray animal. Only then did Xiao Zixuan slowly raise his head, turning his gaze toward me as his thin lips parted in a trembling whisper.

I am truly sorry, Doan Thu… it was all my fault, I was the one who ruined you. In the days to come, I will exhaust every ounce of my being to make amends. Please, I beg you, just give me one more chance.

I offered no response, my expression cold and unmoving. At that moment, the Chief Magistrate of the Court stepped forward, his hand sweeping outward in a formal gesture of summons.

Showing contempt for superiors and brutally assaulting a princess of the realm. Esteemed Lord Xiao, if you please.

Incredulity flashed across Xiao Zixuan's face, as if his mind refused to comprehend that this ruthless decree could possibly implicate him as well.

Doan Thu, what are you trying to do? I knelt outside your gates through the bitter cold of the entire night, is that still not enough to appease your anger?

And how do you suppose that makes me feel?

I…

He stammered, repeating that single pronoun over and over again, yet unable to form a single coherent sentence of rebuttal. As the imperial guards stepped forward to seize his arms, his knees suddenly buckled, and he lunged forward to clutch frantically at the hem of my skirt.

I serve as an official within the Court of Judicial Review. If you allow them to drag me away in chains like a common criminal, where am I supposed to hide my face? How can I ever show myself in public again? I refuse to go to that dreadful place. As long as you spare me from that fate, I will do anything, absolutely anything you command. I am begging you, Doan Thu, have mercy.

With a cold expression, I lifted my foot and kicked him violently away from me.

It is far too late for that.

Even as the guards hauled him backward toward the carriages, Xiao Zixuan continued to shriek in frantic protest. It was hardly surprising; he had always lived upon a lofty pedestal, viewing the world from above, so how could he ever endure such public humiliation? Yet by this point, he no longer possessed even a fraction of a chance to turn the tables. By the time the customary day for returning to the parental home arrived, the official verdict and punishments from the Court of Judicial Review had already been handed down. Nguyen Chi Chi was ordered to compensate me with triple the original wedding betrothal gifts, and furthermore, she was required to kneel outside the gates of the Duke's estate every single day, relentlessly slapping her own face one hundred times. As for Xiao Zixuan, he was sentenced to receive thirty heavy cane strikes at the Court of Judicial Review every single day without fail. Barely a month passed before Nguyen Chi Chi's features were utterly disfigured beyond recognition, and Xiao Zixuan's leg was broken so severely that it healed improperly, reducing him to a cripple for the rest of his days. Whenever he caught sight of me now, the arrogant pride that once defined him had completely vanished into dust. He merely hunched his shoulders, leaning heavily on a wooden crutch as he hurried away in shame.

Right around that exact period, it was discovered that Nguyen Chi Chi was already three months pregnant. Having conceived a child out of wedlock without the proper sanction of matchmakers or formal rites, the scandal instantly became the juiciest gossip whispered across every dining table throughout the capital. The tale of her being abandoned through eight successive marriage proposals was dredged up and mercilessly mocked once more. From that day onward, the entire Nguyen family found themselves subjected to the scornful pointing and jeering of the common folk, who loudly ridiculed them for raising such a shameless daughter. Utterly out of options and driven into a corner by the pregnancy, the Nguyen family had no choice but to swallow their pride and march straight to the Xiao residence to demand a formal resolution. The elderly Duke of Xiao was so consumed by incandescent rage that he took to his bed, unable to even stand. Left with no alternative, Xiao Zhu was forced to step in as head of the household and reluctantly orchestrate a hurried marriage for the disgraced pair. Xiao Zixuan fought against it with every fiber of his being, screaming his refusal a hundred times over, but by then, not a single soul cared about his worthless feelings.

The wedding ceremony was thrown together with astonishing haste and abysmal neglect. There were no traditional matchmakers bearing auspicious gifts, no endless carpets of crimson silk stretching for miles, and the bridal chamber itself was relegated to a dilapidated, remote little courtyard at the furthest edge of the estate. The ailing Duke sent word that his illness prevented him from receiving guests, while Xiao Zhu and I, naturally, had no intention whatsoever of honoring such a farce with our presence. On the very night of their nuptials, a physician had to be summoned in the dead of night to the tiny courtyard. The frail child within Nguyen Chi Chi's womb could not be saved. Word had it that by the time the doctor finally arrived, Xiao Zixuan was already heavily intoxicated, sitting in the corner with a chilling indifference as though the tragedy had nothing to do with him at all. From that moment onward, the shrieks of bitter recrimination and endless quarrels echoing from that secluded courtyard never once ceased.

Meanwhile, Xiao Zhu and I had long since moved into a magnificent new manor bestowed directly by the Emperor's decree, sparing us any need to waste another thought on their wretched lives. Yet it was not long before Xiao Zixuan's loose tongue caught up with him; while drinking heavily with acquaintances, he made reckless, treasonous remarks criticizing affairs of state, prompting the enforcers of the Court of Judicial Review to arrest him once again. Barely days after he was dragged back to the estate, his breath finally failed him, and he drew his last. How pitiful it was for Nguyen Chi Chi, who found herself a widow while still so painfully young, while the cruel moniker of a woman cursed to bring ruin upon her husbands settled permanently upon her shoulders. When next we crossed paths in society, she lacked even the standing to so much longer address me directly, shrinking away with a deeply haunted expression as she hid in the very darkest corner of the hall. As for myself, I stood gracefully beside Xiao Zhu, gently amusing the newborn imperial prince cradled in his arms. The vast horizon stretching out before our future was radiant, brilliant, and without end.