CompletedHer father and brother were framed for colluding with the enemy and treason, and the Shen family's fortunes plummeted, leaving them in a precarious position that everyone avoided.
Even the Lu family, with whom she had been engaged for a long time, was in a hurry to break off the engagement.
On the day of the betrothal ceremony, her fiancé did not show up, but an eunuch from the palace did. The eunuch held an imperial edict, arranging a marriage between Shen Youying and Prince Qin, ordering her to enter the Prince Qin's manor to bring good fortune.
It was rumored that Prince Qin, Xue Shen, was frail and unable to walk, a dying invalid. There were also rumors that he was perverted and cruel due to his inability to perform his marital duties.
Anyone who married Prince Qin was destined to a life worse than death.
On the day Shen Youying married, the noble ladies who were once jealous of her hid their mouths behind their handkerchiefs and laughed, "I hope she can survive a few more days under Prince Qin's hands."
Even Shen Youying herself thought that a life worse than death awaited her.
But after getting married, she discovered that Prince Qin seemed... different from the rumors.
Prince Qin was handsome and not frail at all. When he held her by the waist, his strength was so great that he could almost crush her.
In that regard, he was also... not rough at all.
*
The noble ladies who were waiting to see Shen Youying's tragic ending watched as the Prince Qin, whom the rumors described as cruel and bloodthirsty, gently and carefully held Shen Youying in his arms: "Be careful, don't affect your pregnancy."
Later, Prince Qin recovered from his leg injury and became the emperor.
And Shen Youying became the empress, monopolizing the emperor's favor.
The noble ladies who had once mocked Shen Youying trembled, fearing she would settle old scores; even the Lu family cautiously sent an invitation to beg for forgiveness.
The new emperor, however, had Shen Youying pressed against the wall, holding a letter from the Lu family in his hand, his teeth gritted with jealousy: "Are you still thinking about that surnamed Lu?"