She smiled gently, her gaze growing warmer as she looked at me: "It was clearly the princess who insisted on telling me this."
I choked, puffed out my cheeks, turned my head to look in another direction, and asked casually, "Tell me, what do you think about me marrying him?"
He never expected Changming to have such a resolute and irreversible attitude. His face was solemn: "Wu Chengsi values loyalty and righteousness, but he is not suitable for you."
"Why?" I turned my head quickly, my eyes wide. "My mother and brothers all like him very much..."
“Taiping,” Changming looked at me carefully, his anxiety and worry evident, “he already has a wife and is not worthy of your entrusting your life to him.”
He told me this a long time ago, but back then he was just a complete stranger to me. But now it's different. He is none other than Wu Chengsi.
The blood flowing in my veins is that of the noble Li family and my mother’s unyielding pride. I can share someone I don’t love with others, but I will never allow the one I love to be taken by another woman.
Before I came into his life, he had other women, with whom he shared joys and sorrows, gambling on books and drinking together. I slowly calmed down; that man named Wu Chengsi already had a wife.
Changming continued speaking, his eyes concealing the despair and pain he had so deeply. He pierced through my body, making a futile attempt to embrace me. After a long while, I heard his voice above me: "Taiping, I know you're sad. I'll always be by your side..."
Taiping, I know you're very sad, because I am too.
Four,
Having figured all this out, making the next decision wouldn't be too difficult. I rushed to Chengde Hall to find my mother. Changming stayed by my side for a moment, but ultimately, I was too late.
The mother left the palace, accompanied by a young man in plain clothes.
Wu Chengsi.
Under a sky filled with thick, dark clouds, the path paved with bluestone slabs from the main entrance slowly led towards me.
I could only see him clearly when I got very, very close, until he suddenly looked up at me.
At this moment, his pupils were faintly red, and his hands, barely suppressing their anger, trembled slightly.
I was stunned for a moment, then turned to look at my mother standing beside me. She seemed displeased with my gaze and said with slight displeasure, "I killed Wu Chengshi. How can a princess of a nation be allowed to share a husband with another woman?"
I will never forget Wu Chengsi's reddened and restrained eyes back then.
I don't know how much courage and forbearance it took for him to finish kneeling and paying his respects to my mother while bearing such pain, and then slowly turn his head away.
And so, step by step, he walked out of the vast Daming Palace and disappeared into the slightly damp twilight of Chang'an.
It seems there will be no turning back.
What I never imagined was that my first formal meeting with him would take place in such a desperate situation.
As dusk settled in, I forced back the tears welling in my eyes. I covered my face, large drops trickling through my fingers. Changming remained silent, simply holding me close as he always did, offering me the only warmth I had. I pressed my forehead against his chest and whispered, "I didn't mean to... I just wanted to tell him I didn't mean to..."
He remained silent for a long time before finally speaking, his voice slightly hoarse: "Taiping, I know..."
And this marriage, under my mother's resolute and ruthless handling of the situation, gradually headed towards an ending I did not want to see.
Changming became increasingly silent. During the time he waited for me to descend, all he did was gaze at me intently, observing my various descriptions, whether I was strolling in the garden or admiring the stars on the celestial steps. Often, even after I woke up, he would still maintain the posture he had when I fell asleep.
I asked him, "Whose soul are you?"
Changming was clearly taken aback. He paused for a moment, then calmly asked me, "When did we meet?"
"Eight years old," I blurted out.
His gaze softened as he looked at me: "If I really wanted to harm you, I wouldn't have waited until now."
"You're so opposed to me marrying Wu Chengsi?" I asked, puzzled. "Or perhaps you had a grudge against him when he was alive, which is why you're doing everything you can to stop it."
Changming couldn't help but burst out laughing, her eyes and brows filled with my expression: "If I really had a grudge against him in life, I should have supported you marrying him, so that he could also suffer."
Of course I knew he was teasing me, and I was annoyed: "Could it be that you like me, so you don't want me to get married?"
This is a hypothesis I would never believe, even if you killed me.
It was just a casual remark, but Changming froze in mid-air. Although he was just a spirit without a fixed form, I could still clearly sense the unusual atmosphere here. The water clock ticked, suddenly startling Changming awake. He turned his face away and whispered, "Yes, Taiping, I like you very much..." He turned his face away sadly, "I like you very much. I liked you the moment I saw you..."
I turned my head in surprise.
Changming turned to look out the window at the drifting clouds in the sky and said wistfully, "I watched you grow up, how could I not like you?"
five,
On the day of my marriage, my mother escorted me to the Zhengde Gate, where a master of ceremonies, who had been waiting there, bowed and helped me onto the palanquin. The curtain slowly closed, blocking my view of the horrific red scene and the cold-faced Wu Chengsi, who was there to receive me by imperial decree.
Under my mother's meticulous planning, we finally met in the most decisive way.
He will not love me; his hatred for me will only deepen over time.
This was not a pleasant wedding, and the consequences were a hundred times worse than I had imagined.
For some reason, the dress had an unusually large number of ribbons, so Wu Chengsi simply tore it apart cleanly and efficiently. The servants were driven out of the bridal chamber. All resistance was carried out in silence. The shells of longans and peanuts beneath me pierced my skin, the burning pain being nothing compared to the slightest discomfort my body endured. Even in the most intense pain, I didn't utter a sound, only staring blankly with wide eyes, without a single tear.
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