10. The Political Marriage

Shi Nian was stunned. That’s right, she was now a minor concubine to Emperor Wu of Han. To think that in all her years, she had never even had a boyfriend, and yet here she was, already saddled with a husband...

Glancing at the man before her, she suddenly felt uneasy, realizing he was her so-called husband.

Liu Che noticed the girl’s gaze suddenly dart away, as if she were... shy?

A deeper smile played on his lips. Just as he was about to speak, a strange noise emanated from within the Pixiang Hall. Both were startled. In the next instant, Liu Che pulled her close and vaulted inside.

The back of the bedchamber was empty. Following the sound, they moved to the outside of the hall and peered through a propped-open lattice window, discovering quite a few people inside. They were all women dressed in elegant attire. Wei Zifu was kneeling in the center, clad in simple white robes, and before her...

Seated before Wei Zifu was an old woman in luxurious brocades. Her hair was entirely white, and her mere presence exuded immense authority. Such an elder should have had eyes like a hawk, yet her gaze was dull and lifeless—she was blind.

Given such stature and the blindness, Shi Nian guessed it: this must be Emperor Wu’s grandmother, the Grand Empress Dowager Dou, who had long held the reins of the imperial court.

Sure enough, Wei Zifu said respectfully, "Grand Empress Dowager, have you come with instructions for me?"

The Grand Empress Dowager smoothed her hair and asked, "How are you finding your stay in Pixiang Hall?"

"Thanks to your benevolence, everything is well."

"Is that so? Then why have I heard that you fell into the irrigation ditch last night?"

"Yes, I was careless and lost my footing..."

"It is well that it was merely a slip. I had actually thought you did it on purpose," the Grand Empress Dowager said indifferently.

Wei Zifu’s body trembled, and she forced herself to say, "Grand Empress Dowager, you jest. How would I dare..."

"Whether you dare or not is of no concern to me. But the Xiongnu envoys will reach Chang'an in a few days. If anything happens to the princess chosen for the marriage alliance, your life is a minor loss, but the damage to peace between our two nations is a major one. At that time, no one will be able to bear the responsibility."

The Grand Empress Dowager paused, then added, "I recall that you still have sisters and a young brother at home..."

Wei Zifu’s face turned deathly pale, as if her weakest point had been struck. She stared at the Grand Empress Dowager for a long time before finally closing her eyes, a look of resignation flashing across her face.

The woman bowed low, her forehead touching the ground. "I understand. Please be assured, Grand Empress Dowager, I will take care of myself. What happened last night will not happen again."

The Grand Empress Dowager nodded in satisfaction.

Outside the window, Shi Nian realized with a start. The Grand Empress Dowager suspected that Wei Zifu was resisting the marriage alliance and had tried to drown herself. Judging by Wei Zifu’s reaction, the suspicion was correct. She had thought as much—it had certainly looked like she jumped in on purpose!

With her head still pressed to the floor, Wei Zifu’s shoulders trembled slightly. Shi Nian felt a sudden pang of sadness. She shouldn't have to endure this; she was meant to be the Empress of this country, yet now she was to be married off to a foreign land, not even allowed the relief of death.

Catching a glimpse of Liu Che, she saw he was expressionless, staring intently into the hall. She thought he was watching Wei Zifu, but upon closer inspection, she realized his dark eyes were cold as ice, fixed directly upon the elderly Grand Empress Dowager.

His lips were pressed thin, his eyes filled with suppressed emotion and refusal to yield, reminding her of an eagle with its wings bound, unable to soar through the vast sky.

That night, Shi Nian went to bed very late.

She couldn't fall asleep, and just as she was beginning to drift off, she sensed movement nearby. She jolted awake to see a figure standing by the bed, looking down at her in the moonlight.

"Liu... Prince of Guangchuan? Why are you here?"

Seeing she was awake, Liu Che looked momentarily awkward, but quickly said, "I couldn't sleep, so I came to check on you."

Coming to see her twice in one day, yet Shi Nian raised no objection. She threw a robe over her shoulders and sat up. The lattice window was half-open, revealing a crabapple tree in the courtyard. In this season, it was in full bloom, and in the soft moonlight, the drifting petals seemed both real and dreamlike.

Shi Nian and Liu Che sat on the floor, and she said, "I haven't thanked you yet, Your Highness."

Liu Che looked at her, and Shi Nian smiled brightly. "The cloth—you helped me weave it, didn't you?"

After encountering the Grand Empress Dowager at Pixiang Hall that afternoon, they had slipped away quietly, and Liu Che hadn't said another word to her. But upon returning to the Ye Court, she found her weaving had been completed in her absence. Thinking of the look of sheer shock on Lian Qiao’s face when she inspected it, she couldn't help but want to laugh.

Liu Che asked, "Did you get to eat?"

"I did."

"If so, why do you look so unhappy?"

Shi Nian touched her face. She had clearly been smiling, yet he said this. She sighed, "I was just thinking about what happened this afternoon; I can't bring myself to be happy."

"The incident this afternoon?"

Shi Nian nodded. "I feel that Wei Zifu is very pitiful."

Though she spoke naturally, her heart tightened. The man’s suppressed and resentful expression from outside the window flashed through her mind. As if a veil had been lifted, she suddenly realized what she had been overlooking.

In the early Western Han Dynasty, the custom of marriage alliances had always existed. The Han Dynasty had lost battle after battle against the Xiongnu, forced to offer princesses and treasures. While this bought temporary peace, it shattered the dignity of the Han, leaving them unable to hold their heads high before the Xiongnu. The one who changed all this was Emperor Wu of Han. He appointed Wei Qing and Huo Qubing, who dealt crushing blows to the Xiongnu, completely reversing the balance of power.

Therefore, even if history had been altered, Liu Che himself should be against the marriage alliance...

She felt she had found a breakthrough. This was something she could exploit. If Wei Zifu were to become Empress, she couldn't be married off. If Liu Che also disapproved of this, she could use it to stir his sympathy and affection for her.

Liu Che asked, "What is so pitiful about her?"

Shi Nian spoke seriously, "A young girl in her teens, so beautiful and talented, her life should have been bright. Suddenly, she is to be married off to a place where she knows no one. How is that not pitiful? And to go from Chang'an to the Xiongnu... that's like being sent from Beijing to the middle of Africa."

Liu Che frowned, clearly not understanding the last part, but Shi Nian continued, "I mean, the Central Plains are prosperous. To go from here to such a desolate, uncivilized place is too great a fall. I couldn't stand it. And once she goes, she can never return. Perhaps decades later, when she dies there, her family won't even know where her remains are buried..."

As she spoke, she grew emotional herself. She had only ever read about marriage alliances in books, and this was the first time she had truly felt what it meant. A girl in the bloom of youth, once selected, saw her entire life buried in the vast, shifting sands.

Wei Zifu’s expression of despair from the afternoon resurfaced in her mind, as well as the previous night—if she hadn't happened to be nearby, perhaps she would have died right there.

The more she thought, the more indignant she became. Yet Liu Che’s expression remained calm. "Wei Zifu is but a lowly servant girl; what kind of bright future could she have? Besides, even if she is unwilling, the marriage alliance is a tradition between Han and Xiongnu, intended to stop the fighting and allow the people to live in peace. Her personal life and honor are of no importance."

Shi Nian, fueled by passion, retorted sharply, "'Sending a concubine to secure the state, the generals know not where to use their might.' To rely on the sacrifice of a woman to buy peace and stabilize the empire—do the men of Han not feel ashamed of such a sight?!"

Liu Che turned around abruptly, staring at her in disbelief, as if he never expected her to say such a thing. Or rather, that anyone in this palace would dare.

Shi Nian’s heart skipped a beat. She suddenly realized what she had just said!

*Oh no, oh no, oh no! I’ve gone too far!*

She looked at Liu Che in sheer terror. On his face, beyond indignation, there was—in those beautiful black eyes—a look of being caught in a painful vulnerability.

Even for an emperor, let alone an ordinary man, being insulted to his face like this would be unbearable.

*Oh my god, is he going to kill me?*

Shi Nian panicked, her composure completely shattered. "I... I... I can't get through to you! Where is the Emperor? If the Emperor were here, he would certainly agree with me!"

Liu Che, just about to lose his temper, was stunned by her words. "The Emperor?"

"That’s right! Don't you know? Even outside the palace, I’ve heard that the current Emperor is heroic, wise, and loves his people like his own children. If it were him, he would never want to sacrifice an innocent, weak woman. He is a real man, and a real man protects the women by his side!"

Liu Che’s expression was fascinating, caught somewhere between rage and being disarmed. He held his tongue for a long time, unable to utter a single word.

*Stubborn men really can't resist a bit of flattery!*

Shi Nian felt a flicker of hope and quickly added fuel to the fire. "Besides, the Emperor is so capable; he must be able to find a better way to deal with the Xiongnu. I believe that if it weren't for the Grand Empress Dowager and the court officials forcing him, the Emperor would never agree to a marriage alliance. But he probably doesn't realize how foolish those ministers are, and how cowardly. If he listens to them, it will all be over..."

Shi Nian ran out of flattery and began to panic. She couldn't afford to slip up now! How did those office sycophants do it? She couldn't remember!

Just as she was scratching her head, she heard Liu Che let out a soft laugh.

Shi Nian blinked as Liu Che reached out to touch her cheek. In the moonlight, her face was hidden in the shifting shadows, looking impossibly moving to him. The man said softly, "You believe in the Emperor that much?"

Shi Nian met his gaze and nodded slowly. "Yes, I believe in the Emperor." She believed in the Emperor Wu of Han who would turn the tide and resist the Xiongnu with an iron will.

Liu Che heard the sincerity in her tone, and his feelings became increasingly complex.

Throughout the court and the palace, no one believed in him; no one supported his ideas of resisting the Xiongnu. Gradually, even he had begun to doubt himself. He was powerless to stop Wei Zifu’s departure, and he felt utterly suffocated. But now, this woman who had appeared out of thin air said she believed in him. She admired him so much, held such high expectations for him, and completely understood his heart.

How could she understand him so well?

He felt a sudden, secret joy. His eyes sparkled as he gazed at her, as if looking at a treasure bestowed by the heavens.

Just as he was about to speak, he felt a shove. Shi Nian pushed him into the shadows and turned to see the door had been opened. Lian Qiao stood at the entrance with seven or eight others, including fellow low-ranking beauties and palace servants.

Shi Nian said, "Lian... Lady Lian, why are you... why are you not resting so late?"

Lian Qiao smiled brightly. "If I were resting, how would I see the good show you’ve put on, Lady Shi?"

Watching Shi Nian’s panicked expression, Lian Qiao felt immense satisfaction.

When she saw that cloth in the afternoon, she knew something was wrong. There was so much of it that even she couldn't have finished it in a day, let alone Shi Nian, who had just learned to weave. Someone must have been helping her in secret. She had kept a close watch, and tonight, she received word that there was a man’s voice in Lady Shi’s room.

She never expected that she would be so bold as to meet a man in private within the palace!

Glancing at the corner of the bedchamber, at the tall man’s silhouette, she mocked, "Tell him to come out. Are you waiting for me to order someone to drag him out?"