Chapter 1 — Wedding Hall, No Groom

On the day of the grand wedding, the engagement was broken off, and the miles-long procession of crimson dowry returned the way it came, driving the groom to utter ruin. On the day we were to be wed, my husband leaped into the pond to rescue another woman. The looks cast by the wedding guests were those reserved for a common spectacle of ridicule. I stood alone in the bridal hall for three full hours, until the red candles burned down to mere stubs. Then, my father arrived. He looked at no one, but walked straight up to me and lifted my red bridal veil.

My beloved daughter, follow your father back home.

Along the path adorned with endless crimson silk, we returned the way we had come. That very night, the general returned soaked to the bone, stopped dead in his tracks upon finding the bridal chamber entirely empty. It was said he knelt outside the Grand Preceptor’s estate the entire night, his knees torn and oozing blood. My father merely sent a single message through the gates:

You wish to marry my daughter? Try again in the next life.

01

The red candles had burned halfway down. Melted wax had pooled into a small mound, freezing solid in the silver tray. My bridal veil was exceedingly heavy, the gold-threaded phoenix embroidery pressing down until my neck grew numb. The bridal hall was exceptionally quiet. No, it was not merely quiet; it was a deathly stillness. A stillness mingled with the malicious glee of those witnessing a disaster befall another. I could hear the hushed whispers of the guests buzzing around like countless flies.

It has already been three hours, and the general still has not returned?

For the sake of another woman, he abandons even his own wedding ceremony. The prestige of the Grand Preceptor’s estate has been utterly wiped out.

It is not just prestige; look at that—miles of red silk stretching from the southern district all the way to the northern one. Now look at it: the groom has run off.

I stood there, unmoving. My body had long since gone numb, leaving only my ears stubbornly straining to catch every grating word. Today was supposed to be the day of great joy for Xiao Huai and me. It should have been so. Just an hour before, we were preparing to perform the bows to heaven and earth, the resounding voice of the ceremony master echoing throughout the general’s mansion. At that exact moment, a servant burst through the doors, his voice trembling so violently he could hardly form words:

General! This is terrible! Lady Liu... Lady Liu has fallen into the Heart-Sinking Pond behind the estate!

I felt Xiao Huai’s body instantly stiffen. He did not turn his head to look at me. He did not hesitate for even a fraction of a second. I saw only the hem of his dark red wedding robe carve a decisive arc through the air as his figure lunged forward and vanished from sight. Like a violent gale, he swept away all the festive joy in the hall along with my dignity. Liu Yunwei. His childhood sweetheart, a distant cousin raised within the general’s mansion. A woman who always dressed in white, spoke as softly as a passing breeze, and appeared so delicate that a mere gust of wind could blow her over. She always claimed her constitution was weak since childhood, unable to bear the wind, endure the sun, or speak in a loud voice. Yet, at the very moment Xiao Huai rushed out, I looked through the gap in my veil and saw her clearly. She was standing in a corner among the crowd, peering through the bustling throng and staring directly at me. Her gaze held no trace of fragility whatsoever; instead, it flashed with coldness, triumph, and mockery. Then, she turned and walked toward the inner courtyards. Soon after, the news of her falling into the water was delivered. The guests in the bridal hall transitioned from initial shock to whispered murmurs, and finally to openly enjoying the spectacle without a shred of concealment. The mother of Xiao Huai—who was also to be my mother-in-law—could finally no longer sit still. She strode over to my side, her voice filled with dissatisfaction and biting harshness:

Shu Yan, you are also a daughter of a noble household; you should understand the bigger picture. Yunwei’s health is frail, and because she came to attend your wedding banquet that this accident happened. It is only right that Xiao Huai went to save her. What kind of posture is this, standing here like a wooden statue? You are merely making yourself a laughingstock.

I did not utter a word. My throat felt as though it were choked by a glowing piece of charcoal, unable to force out a single syllable. Understand the bigger picture? At my own wedding, my husband abandons me to rescue another woman, and I am expected to understand the bigger picture? Watch him risk his life for someone else while I stand here like a fool, wearing this ridiculous veil and enduring everyone’s mockery and criticism, and I am supposed to be understanding?

Will you not lift the veil yourself? Or are you seriously waiting for Xiao Huai to come back and lift it for you? Seeing that I did not move, her tone grew even sharper. Do not put on that noble daughter’s haughty airs from the Preceptor’s estate. Once you cross the threshold of the general’s mansion, you must abide by the rules of the general’s mansion.

Rules. Since childhood, my father taught me propriety and the importance of obeying the rules. I had studied them for eighteen years, yet on my wedding day, they used the most cruel method imaginable to tear all my dignity to shreds. My hands clenched tightly against my skirts, my fingernails digging deep into my flesh. I could not fall. A daughter of the Shen family must not collapse in such a moment.

02

The candles burned down by another notch. Half of the guests in the bridal hall had already departed, while the remaining ones stayed solely to witness the ultimate conclusion, eager to fully savor this deeply ironic farce. Xiao Huai’s mother had already retreated to the inner quarters to rest, leaving behind a parting remark before she left:

Utterly lacking in sense.

The vast bridal hall now held only me, alongside the towering piles of lavish betrothal gifts that now seemed exquisitely mocking. The dark mahogany chests were stacked like small mountains, each bearing a massive, bright red character signifying double happiness. Every single one of those chests had been prepared with her own hands by my birth mother when she was still alive. She had said her daughter must be married off with utmost splendor, with an imposing aura that no one could ever rival. Imposing aura. Where was my imposing aura now? Just as I felt I could no longer hold my ground and my body threatened to give out completely, a great commotion erupted at the main entrance. It was not Xiao Huai. Within my already deadened heart, not a single ripple stirred. I heard the orderly clanking of armor, the steady and forceful sound of footsteps advancing step by step, as if trampling directly upon the hearts of everyone present.