Chapter 10 — Wedding Hall, No Groom

Everyone was struck dumb with astonishment, completely paralyzed by this sudden and undeserved grace. Fragrance Noble! This was an official title of nobility, complete with a formal style and a designated estate. Although it was the lowest tier within the aristocracy, for an unmarried woman—especially one who had just been cast aside and humiliated by the prime minister's estate—this was an unprecedented, earth-shaking honor.

From this day onward, my identity was no longer merely the daughter of the grand tutor, nor was I the discarded shrew of the military household. Instead, I had become a royally appointed noblewoman possessing independent standing and sovereign dignity. The emperor’s action carried profound implications. Rather than directly intervening in the bitter feud between the prime minister's household and the tutor's estate, he had used a single imperial decree to declare his absolute stance. He was telling the entire world that he applauded my actions, that he stood firmly alongside the Shen family.

This was simultaneously the heaviest blow imaginable dealt against the prime minister's estate. You rejected this bride? Then let the imperial court bestow upon her a title and a rank, throwing your callousness and lack of righteousness into sharp relief while illuminating the loyalty and virtue of the Shen family all the more brightly.

With both hands, I lifted the silken scroll high above my head, receiving it with utmost reverence as I bowed low to express my boundless gratitude.

"This humble maiden, Shen Shuyan, prostrates herself in thanks for this profound imperial grace. Long live the emperor, long live, long live his majesty!"

My voice remained steady and composed, for I knew intimately that this decree was the very instrument forged by Xiao Huai’s foolishness and squalor, step by step lifting me to a pedestal that had never belonged to me. From this day forward, he and I were no longer ill-fated lovers, but rather severed clouds and distant moons, separated by the breadth of heaven and earth, divided by an unbridgeable gulf for all eternity.

The news that the Shen family maiden had been elevated to the rank of Fragrance Noble spread through the capital like wildfire within a single day. Inside the teahouses and wine shops, professional storytellers instantly wove the tale into fresh repertoires: one was titled *The Heartless General Abandons a Fair Lady, the Virtuous Maiden Crowned as Noble*, while another went by *Misfortune and Fortune are Intertwined, Shen Shuyan Turns Calamity to Blessing to Become the Paragon of Womanhood*. In the blink of an eye, my reputation soared to heights never before witnessed. I was no longer a pitiful creature abandoned by an engagement, but a resolute, kind-hearted woman personally acknowledged by imperial authority—a living legend among the sheltered daughters of the elite.

In stark contrast, the prime minister's estate remained as still as death, shrouded in an ash-grey gloom. While the entire capital buzzed with animated chatter concerning my imperial investiture, another edict was quietly delivered into the heart of the prime minister's manor.

Within the dim ancestral hall of the estate, sandalwood smoke curled lazily through the air, casting ethereal veils over the neat, solemn rows of ancestral tablets. Xiao Huai had been kneeling on the freezing, ice-cold stone floor for an entire night. His knees were long since numb, and the old wound across his back throbbed anew as the biting chill seeped into his bones. Yet, all physical agony paled in comparison to the relentless torment and suffocating remorse gnawing at his heart.

The veteran general, Xiao Zhen, stood before him with arms crossed, having remained awake through the night until he appeared a full decade older. He neither scolded nor reproached; he simply watched his kneeling son in silence, his eyes brimming with bottomless disappointment.

At that very moment, the Chief Eunuch of the Inner Court, Eunuch Wang, arrived once more, bearing another imperial decree. This time, however, his face lacked the amicable smile he had worn during his visit to the Shen residence. Instead, it was frozen in the mask of cold, bureaucratic duty.

"General Xiao Huai, receive the decree."

Xiao Zhen and Xiao Huai felt their hearts plummet in unison as they dropped to their knees to accept the command. Eunuch Wang unfurled the yellow scroll, his sharp voice ringing clearly through the desolate ancestral hall with a bone-chilling clarity:

*Imperial Decree:*

*General Xiao Huai, youthful and talented, has previously rendered service to the state. Recently, however, his conduct has grown eccentric and his morality uncurbed, resulting in domestic discord and widespread public scandal, thus failing Our high expectations. As a deterrent and a warning, effective as of this day, he is stripped of his post as Vice Commander of the Northern Garrison, docked a year’s salary, and ordered to remain confined behind closed doors for three months of self-reflection, forbidden from stepping outside without an imperial summons. Let him correct his errors earnestly and return to the righteous path. Respect this!*

Stripped of his post! Confined to self-reflection!

This single imperial edict carried a weight vastly heavier than any leather whip or furious reprimand. To a military commander, martial authority was synonymous with life itself—it was his ultimate glory. Now, the emperor had personally stripped away the very thing of which he was most proud. Although it was merely the post of vice commander, everyone knew this was merely the beginning. A military officer branded with the mark of "moral corruption" would find his future utterly shrouded in darkness.

"This subject... receives the decree..."

Xiao Zhen’s voice was hoarse and devoid of strength, as though he had exhausted every ounce of energy in his body. Xiao Huai remained frozen, kneeling like a soul-deprived stone statue. It was only when Eunuch Wang pressed the heavy scroll into his trembling hands that he seemed to snap back to reality, his entire body wracked with tremors.

Stripped of his post... Those four words felt like four sharp blades piercing deep into his heart. He thought of the long years spent rolling about in military camps since his youth, of the battlefield achievements he had nearly died to secure, and of the solemn vow he had once sworn before his father: *I will surpass the ancestors of the Xiao family and become a legendary general of an entire era.*

Now, everything had vanished like smoke into thin air, all for the sake of a ridiculous, fleeting attachment.

After Eunuch Wang departed, the ancestral hall relapsed into a deathly stillness. After a very long silence, the veteran general Xiao Zhen finally spoke, his tone devoid of any discernible joy or wrath:

"The decree—did you hear it clearly?"

"...I heard it clearly, Father."

Xiao Huai’s voice was so faint it was barely audible.

"From this day onward, you are no longer the Vice Commander of the Northern Garrison, but merely an idle commoner without rank. Do you understand what this means?"

Xiao Huai offered no reply; instead, he pressed his forehead hard against the cold stone floor in a heavy kowtow. Of course he understood. It meant that all his painstaking efforts over the years had turned to dust. In the imperial court and throughout the military ranks, he had become a laughingstock. The centuries-old reputation of honor belonging to the Xiao family had been stained with a permanent smear because of him.

The veteran general’s gaze finally extinguished the last flicker of lingering hope as he looked down at his son.

"Look after yourself."

With those final words, the old general dragged his heavy, weary steps out of the ancestral hall, leaving behind a solitary, desolate silhouette. Within the vast, empty hall, only Xiao Huai remained. He knelt before the rows of ancestral tablets, his fingers gripping the ice-cold imperial decree until his knuckles turned white.

Images flashed relentlessly through his mind: the day of the wedding ceremony, where Shen Shuyan had stood quietly in her crimson bridal robes within the festive hall; the day of the Treasure Appreciation Banquet, where she had worn simple, elegant white garments and calmly declared her intent to donate all her wealth; and the moment the imperial decree had been proclaimed in the palace, marking her elevation as a noble lady radiant with supreme glory.

And what of him? To save one woman, he had cast away happiness that had been well within his grasp. To satisfy the bottomless greed of another woman, he had willingly hurled himself into an abyss of eternal damnation. He had foolishly believed he was upholding some grand sense of "responsibility" toward Liu Yunwei, only to realize too late that it was the most absurd obsession under heaven.

He had lost. He had lost utterly, so wretchedly that nothing was left.