Xiao Zhi sat numbly before the bronze mirror as the maid adjusted her bridal crown for the third time. The golden frame pressed against her scalp, cold and unbearably heavy.
The maid hovered around her like a blurred shadow. Powder brushed across her cheeks, colors painted onto her lips, shimmering dust scattered over her eyes. They were fixing, straightening, adjusting, polishing, basically trying to turn her into a beautiful bride.
But Xiao Zhi could only stare blankly at her reflection.
Her mind was not there.
It was still on the streets of Tughril the previous day, on the parade.
On the rotten vegetables that splattered against her skin.
On the humiliation, the hateful words, and the stones thrown with the full intention to hurt her.
Her body had returned to the palace, but her mind had not.
Has it begun? My so-called torture?
She inhaled shakily, remembering everything that had happened to her over the past weeks. From the moment she first arrived in this world, dazed and confused, she had believed she knew the story she had fallen into. The plot she thought she knew. Princess Lian Zhi was supposed to have a tragic fate. She was supposed to marry a cruel, barbaric prince who would eventually destroy her.
So she tried to change that fate. The moment she arrived in Hua, where she was plotting with Shen Han, whom she thought was the main lead, but now nowhere to be seen.
She planned the escape again and again, only to find herself pushed back onto the same path, like the world itself refused to let her escape.
Yet nothing unfolded the way she expected after that.
Prince Kabil, her supposedly cruel and womanizing fiancé, had been gentle, kind, and attentive. The complete opposite of what the novel had written.
The Khan, whom she barely remembered from the novel, turned out to be the true monster. Vicious and cold.
And then there was Ruhan.
Ruhan, whom she didn't know existed in the original story at all. Ruhan, who invaded her thoughts without permission. Ruhan, who was cunning, charming, infuriating, and had become her only source of safety.
From the moment he saved her in the desert…
To the way he stopped the assault attempt by the concubines…
To how he cared for her after the parade when she was shaking, too hard to speak.
Nothing made sense anymore.
Who was the protagonist?
Who was the villain?
Was she even in the same story?
And now, today, she had reached the part she feared most.
The wedding.
The event that was meant to begin her downfall.
"Princess, you are ready," the maid announced gently, bringing her back from her thoughts.
Xiao Zhi didn't say a word. The last piece of her headpiece clicked into place. The maid helped her rise, guiding her carefully toward the door.
Her wedding robe felt impossibly heavy, as if she was carrying the weight of an entire fate she didn't want.
The long corridor stretched endlessly before her. Every step sounded like a countdown to whatever fate was waiting for her at the end.
And at the end of the corridor stood Kabil, smiling as though nothing in the world troubled him. His fur robe was embroidered in gold, his hair perfectly styled, his posture straight. He looked like the ideal groom.
When she reached him, he offered his hand. Xiao Zhi hesitated briefly before taking it. His fingers were warm, and his smile even warmer.
It felt strange, knowing that none of it had ever been real. He was a mere character inside a novel.
Thisis just a novel, not the real world, she kept trying to remind herself. Hoping it would calm her down.
Together, they walked toward the grand hall.
The attendant announced them loudly, his voice echoing through the hall. "The bride and groom enter!"
The hall was filled with nobles, ministers, envoys, and foreign guests. At the throne sat the Khan, expression unreadable. Beside him, the Khatun Dowager was watching Xiao Zhi with unsettling intensity.
The ceremony proceeded in a blur.
They bowed. They offered tea. They exchanged ritual blessings. The musicians played, the crowd watched, the Khan nodded in approval.
Everything was perfect. Perfect and hollow. Perfect and terrifying.
When it finally ended, Xiao Zhi felt like she had been hollowed out. Her soul was nowhere to be found.
The feast began immediately. The sound of drums and laughter echoed, wine overflowing from golden cups. Kabil was whisked away by nobles and concubines who showered him with praise and attention. He laughed loudly, almost drunkenly, leaning toward their touches as if he had forgotten he had a bride at all.
Xiao Zhi sat quietly at the side of one long table. Ignored. Forgotten.
Where was Ruhan?
She scanned the hall discreetly, searching for a hint of his presence. A familiar figure. A familiar gaze. But he was nowhere. Not among the crowd, not in the shadows, not anywhere she could see.
She couldn't breathe in this chaos.
So she slipped out of the hall.
As she reached the garden outside the hall, she felt the cold night air soothing against her skin. She walked through the palace garden, guided only by moonlight and the soft rustle of leaves. She didn't expect to find anyone here, least of all him.
But there he was.
Ruhan stood quietly near a pond, with a jar of liquor in hand, dressed in a simple black robe instead of his eunuch uniform. Yet somehow, it still made him look impossibly stunning, especially under the moonlight.
Her cheeks flushed at the thought.
Almost as if he sensed her, Ruhan turned and froze.
"Princess." His voice was soft, almost swallowed by the sound of the night.
She smiled faintly and stepped closer. "Care to share that drink?" She pointed at the jar in his hand.
Ruhan barely had time to react before Xiao Zhi reached out and took it from him. She lifted it to her lips and drank, ignoring the bitterness.
"That felt good."