A little later, the entire imperial city of the Dongling Kingdom learned of Emperor Chenghao’s decree to betroth the third young lady of the Wen family to the seventh prince. This news immediately caused an uproar.
The seventh prince, Ning Yuzhou, was the emperor’s most beloved youngest son. Even the third prince, Ning Zhezou, and the fifth prince, Ning Pingzhou, both of whom had exceptional talent, ranked lower in Emperor Chenghao’s heart compared to this prince.
Unfortunately, the seventh prince was a cultivation wastrel.
It was said that when the seventh prince was born, he was afflicted by a strange poison. Though his life was saved, his spiritual root was destroyed, leaving him unable to cultivate.
Being unable to cultivate made him no different from a common mortal. Not only was his lifespan short, but in this world where strength was revered and martial prowess flourished, such a person was looked down upon by all. He would have been happier being born into an ordinary mortal family.
As for the third young lady of the Wen family, most people in the imperial city were initially puzzled by her identity until someone recalled an incident from more than a decade ago. Only then did they remember that the Wen family indeed had a third young lady.
The third young lady, Wen Qiao, was the only legitimate daughter of the main branch’s Wen Boqing. Unfortunately, over ten years ago, Wen Boqing and his wife perished in a beast tide. At the time, Wen Boqing’s wife was heavily pregnant. She went into premature labor due to the beast attack, and Wen Boqing died saving his wife and child. Only a frail and sickly daughter survived.
Although Wen Qiao had decent natural talent, her poor health dragged her down. Even with great effort in cultivation, her future was limited. It was even feared that she might die prematurely due to cultivation, passing away before the age of twenty.
This was the diagnosis given by all the alchemists who had treated her in Dongling Kingdom.
A pitiful person destined not to live past twenty.
Emperor Chenghao’s sudden decree to marry these two was utterly baffling.
One was a cultivation wastrel; the other was frail and sickly. While they seemed a good match on paper, given the emperor’s love for the seventh prince, how could he bear to give him a wife with such a short life expectancy and no prospects for mutual benefit?
What a mystery!
—
The imperial decree stirred much speculation outside, and the Wen family was equally puzzled.
It should be noted that the Wen family and the imperial Ning clan already had an established marital agreement. The third prince, Ning Zhezou, was engaged to the Wen family’s fourth young lady, Wen Mei. The two were to become dual cultivation partners once they reached the Yuanming realm, pursuing the endless path of the Dao together.
Who would have thought that Emperor Chenghao would issue another marriage decree involving a Wen family daughter and a prince?
—
In the Lishui Courtyard of the third branch:
Madam Miao, the third lady of the Wen family, raised her delicately arched brows at the commotion outside. Speaking to her trusted maid, Chaoyun, she remarked, “It seems the long-neglected sickly young lady of the main branch has unexpected blessings. After being overlooked for so many years, she’s managed to land such a good marriage.”
Chaoyun smiled and said, “If we’re talking about good marriages, it’s still the second branch’s fourth young lady and the third prince’s engagement that’s the most praiseworthy.”
Madam Miao’s face darkened slightly, as though something were stuck in her throat.
The Wen family’s direct lineage consisted of four branches. The heads of the main branch, Wen Boqing and his wife, were deceased. The current family head was Wen Zhongqing of the second branch.
In Madam Miao’s mind, if the incident back then hadn’t occurred, Wen Qiao wouldn’t have been born prematurely and weakened. In that case, the marriage to the third prince wouldn’t have fallen to the second branch’s fourth young lady, Wen Mei.
Madam Miao believed that their third branch was also part of the direct lineage. If Wen Zhongqing from the second branch could become the family head and lead the Wen family, why couldn’t the third branch? In her eyes, Wen Zhongqing was no match for her husband, Wen Shuqing, in terms of talent. Since people admired strength, wasn’t it natural for the strongest to become the family head?
Madam Miao resented the second branch’s control over the vast Wen family.
Chaoyun, of course, understood her mistress’s grievances.
Back then, Wen Boqing was an extraordinary figure. With him as the family head, the Wen family had been unified in admiration and loyalty. After his death, Wen Zhongqing from the second branch became the family head, but the third branch had never been satisfied. They had been plotting in secret, convinced that the Wen family should belong to them.
The third branch was determined to claim the Wen family for themselves!
Recalling past events, Madam Miao felt a lump in her throat. Just then, her daughter Wen Xian returned from the martial training grounds.
Wen Xian was the legitimate daughter of the third branch, ranked fifth among the Wen family’s daughters. Although she was young, her talent was decent, and she worked diligently in her cultivation. However, she was slightly inferior to Wen Mei, which had always left her overshadowed and deeply unhappy.
Today, at the martial training grounds, Wen Xian had once again been outshone by Wen Mei. She was in a foul mood, forced to put on a brave face in front of others. But as soon as she returned to her mother, the forced smile on her face faded away.
“You’re back, Xian’er.” The third lady greeted her daughter with a doting smile. In front of her two children, she was an indulgent and loving mother.
Wen Xian sat beside her mother, took the tea presented by Chaoyun, and asked, “Mother, I just heard that His Majesty betrothed Wen Qiao to the seventh prince. Is that true?”
“The imperial decree has arrived; how could it not be?”
Wen Xian frowned in confusion. “But isn’t Wen Mei already engaged to the third prince? Why would His Majesty suddenly arrange a marriage for the seventh prince?” As she spoke, a flash of unconcealable jealousy appeared on her face.
Wen Xian had always been jealous of Wen Mei.
She envied her for being the daughter of the Wen family’s head, for having greater natural talent with her spiritual root, and for having an excellent fiancé. In contrast, Wen Qiao, who had always been like an invisible figure in the family, had hardly been worth noticing. And now, she had been betrothed to a wastrel by Emperor Chenghao.
So what if that wastrel was favored by the emperor? He was still nothing more than a mortal.
The Ning imperial clan held an extremely high status in the Dongling Kingdom, largely due to the immense power of the clan’s ancestors, who were the strongest cultivators in the kingdom. The prominent noble families dared not provoke them, as the imperial clan’s strength was unmatched.
The marriage between the third prince, Ning Zhezou, and Wen Mei had also been arranged by Emperor Chenghao. While it served to strengthen ties with the Wen family, it was also because Wen Mei was the daughter of the family head and had been tested at the age of five to possess an exceptional heavenly-grade spiritual root, with water as her primary element.
Water, the source of all life, was balanced and gentle. Those with water-element spiritual roots were compatible with any other spiritual root, making them ideal dual cultivation partners.
The marriage between the third prince and Wen Mei could be explained as a union of mutual benefit. But what about Wen Qiao and the seventh prince?
Having one Wen family daughter betrothed to the Ning imperial clan already fulfilled a political purpose. Adding another with no value made no sense for either the imperial clan or the noble families. If Emperor Chenghao wanted to find a powerful wife to support his most beloved prince, he should have chosen someone with a higher status and better qualities. Wen Qiao was undoubtedly the worst choice.
This was not just Wen Xian’s confusion; everyone else found it incomprehensible as well.
Madam Miao noticed her daughter’s gloomy expression and quickly pulled her into an embrace, speaking gently, “My dear, don’t overthink it. Wen Mei only relies on her status as the family head’s daughter. If your father were the head of the Wen family…”
Wen Xian’s eyes brightened momentarily, though she quickly concealed her emotions.
She had always been aware of her parents’ ambitions. Her jealousy and unwillingness to accept her circumstances made her fully supportive of their plans. However, with Wen Mei’s reputation firmly established and her engagement to the third prince secure, Wen Xian knew better than to show her intentions too obviously.
—
Regardless of the outside world’s speculations about this sudden marriage decree, Wen Qiao’s reaction remained exceptionally calm.
Perhaps she had grown used to the Wen family’s neglect and to her own frail health. Even though she had extraordinary natural talent, her progress in cultivation had been minimal. After over a decade of effort, she had only reached the initial Yuan Entry stage. While the seventh prince was a cultivation wastrel, he was still better off than her—a person whom the alchemists had predicted wouldn’t live past twenty.
In the end, the one at a disadvantage was still the seventh prince.
So when Wen Qiao heard the news of the imperial decree, her response was calm and indifferent.
That evening, the front courtyard delivered a new batch of daily necessities. Lian Yue, her maid, sorted through them one by one with great enthusiasm.
“This marriage is truly a blessing,” Lian Yue exclaimed with delight.
Although she had yet to meet the seventh prince, Lian Yue already harbored goodwill toward him, treating him as a potential source of support to improve her young mistress’s life within the Wen family.
She carried a new quilt to the bed and spread it out. “Miss, the front yard sent over a silk jade quilt just now. It’s so soft and warm—tonight you’ll surely have a good night’s sleep.”
Wen Qiao sat under the lamp reading a book and responded with a simple hum without lifting her head.
After preparing the bed, Lian Yue fetched warm water and helped Wen Qiao wash up for the night.
Wen Qiao changed into loose, crescent-colored clothing and said to her diligent maid, “You should rest too. There’s no need to stay and watch over me.”
Lian Yue answered obediently. She stayed until she saw her mistress lying down and confirmed that she wouldn’t get up in the middle of the night to read before retreating to her small cot in the outer room to sleep.
Wen Qiao rarely enjoyed restful sleep. The bone-gnawing pain in her meridians often kept her awake.
Still, she didn’t want to disappoint Lian Yue’s efforts. Even if she couldn’t fall asleep, she would lie quietly in bed, staring at the canopy of the bed drapes in the darkness, counting the petals of the cobalt-blue flowers embroidered on the pale moon-white fabric.
Moonlight spilled in softly through the window.
The bed drapes fluttered silently in the breeze that sneaked into the room. Wen Qiao turned her head and saw the hazy round moon beyond the branches outside the window.
On countless nights, she had quietly gazed at the moon, watching it shift from crescent to full, waxing and waning like the twists and turns of life.
But tonight, the full moon seemed to be tinged with an ominous blood-red hue.
At some point, the entire world appeared to be shrouded in a crimson veil, with the blood-red color spreading outward.
Lying on the bed, she continued to watch quietly. The pain in her body made her believe the moon had turned into a demonic red orb. What she didn’t realize was that her eyes had already turned red with blood, and the strange crimson world she saw was a reflection of the blood now staining her vision.
“Ugh…”
She let out a faint groan, sweat beading and seeping from every pore of her body. The once-soft and warm silk jade quilt beneath her quickly became damp and icy cold.
In the stillness of the night, the frail figure on the bed in the main bedroom of the Wen family’s Jishui Courtyard was undergoing a silent transformation.
Outside on her small bed, the maid Lian Yue turned over, continuing to sleep soundly and blissfully unaware. She had no idea that her most cherished mistress was experiencing the most terrifying and life-altering pain of her life in the inner room.