Chapter 1

    Entering the Palace

    "I don't want to get married, absolutely not. Our temperaments are completely mismatched."

    A spirited girl like her had never given any thought to marriage, unlike other girls her age. Suddenly, she found herself tricked by her father. Chen Hua sat with a scowl, tightly bound with ropes. She barely even remembered the boy's face, only that he was short, always lost in races, was no good at climbing trees, and could only catch twigs instead of fish. In essence, he was good for nothing.

    Miss Chen Hua's rule was that the loser had to be stripped. She remembered catching Prince Zhao Yicheng and nearly every day smearing ink on his belly after stripping him. She dreaded thinking that now he must be waiting to get back at her. As the carriage rocked and swayed on the road to the capital's gates, she felt like a pig being led to slaughter, her heart nearly bursting.

    "You haven't seen Taizi for ten years. Do you even know what he's like now?"

    "Oh, Father, why didn't you tell me earlier?" Chen Hua moaned, trying to buy time.

    "Would you have agreed if I told you?"

    "No."

    "Hua’er, you're of age to be married now. It's time for a girl adorned with jewelry to find a match. Everyone does it. What will your rebellion achieve? If you keep being stubborn, you're just going to upset both your mother and me. Your mother wanted to come with you to the capital, but she's close to giving birth. So, I took on the responsibility of bringing you here for the marriage. Your mother was so happy she cried tears of joy."

    "And why does it have to be Zhao Yicheng? Just because I refuse to marry, it shouldn't be considered the darkest disgrace for our family, Father. Please, have mercy on me."

    "Your appearance and family background are unmatched, but your manners are atrocious. Even your mother couldn't tame you. You're hopeless in the kitchen, clumsy with needlework, your calligraphy is unsightly, and you can barely play one tune on any instrument. Frankly, your parents had given up. When we heard that the Emperor, your uncle, wanted you as a daughter-in-law, we celebrated with fireworks and quickly planned to send you off. Did you realize that?"

    "Father... If I had known, I wouldn't have come," Chen Hua slumped forward, her face buried in her lap, but she scrambled for every possible argument. "I'm no good at anything. Doesn't Emperor Uncle know? If he chooses me and then discovers the truth later, won't it be a disgrace?"

    "Prince Zhao Yicheng specifically asked for you."

    "Ah... I'm doomed..."

    "Why moan? Didn't you say you would knock Prince Yicheng off his feet? Don't dishonor the daughter of Chen Wang, the conqueror of the Western frontier towns!"

    Hearing this, Chen Hua groaned even more. "Father... I promise I'll stop being stubborn and will listen to you all from now on. Please, take me back home. When I said I'd knock him off his feet, I meant in a contest, not marriage. Please, take me back. I won't marry, absolutely not.""You, child! Always arguing with your parents, never listening. You know, since last autumn, it's been raining non-stop. After the Chongyang Festival, the heavens poured even more rain, bringing storms, and flooding our fields, ruining everything. The tax collected this year was less than half of last year's. If I continued to demand taxes, wouldn't that make me a tyrant? Besides, coming to Gaoshan this time, not only did I fail to bring the promised tribute, but I also had to kneel and beg His Majesty to send a million catties of grain to help the disaster victims, not to mention an outstanding debt I haven't paid off yet."

    Chen Hua's eyes widened.

    "What debt did you incur, Father? And what does this have to do with me?"

    "It's somewhat related and somewhat not. Two years ago, I borrowed a million catties of grain with the promise to repay it this year. And then there's the gambling debt. I was drunk at the time, and your Emperor Uncle challenged me to a game of guessing words, and I ended up in debt..." Chen Wang held up two fingers.

    "Two hundred thousand? Two million?"

    "Two hundred. But your Emperor Uncle is ruthless. He's charging an astronomical interest rate, making it a hundred thousand taels," Chen Wang muttered nonstop about the dire situation. "If I don't pay off the old grain debt, who would lend to me again?"

    "And you don't have the money, Father? A debt of two hundred taels turned into a hundred thousand?"

    "How could you ask that! If I had the money, would I let the interest pile up? Among the five Wang governing the towns of the Zhao State, your father is the poorest. No one can compare, ha-ha."

    "What's there to be proud of!" Chen Hua cried. Her father was indeed the most beloved Wang by the current Emperor, possessing both power and rank, yet he lived simply. Whatever money he had went into dredging canals, building roads, constructing dams, leaving little in the treasury. But the people adored Chen Wang deeply. Meanwhile, Chen Hua felt like she was about to die of anxiety.

    "So, you're using your daughter to settle the debt?"

    "Don't say it like that. The Empress holds you in high regard, you know. She has ordered many gifts to welcome you. You've always wanted to come to the capital, and here I am, bringing you. What more could you want?" Chen Hua's expression grew increasingly grim. One million catties of grain equals ten thousand piculs, with each picul costing five maces, amounting to five thousand taels. Plus, the gambling debt of two hundred taels, the total comes to five thousand two hundred taels. The conqueror of the Western City, her father, couldn't afford to pay, leaving her to settle the debt. Additionally, Chen Hua had heard from her mother that the Empress was very strict. Suddenly, the Empress wanted her, and that idiotic Taizi was waiting to trample her.

Thinking about it, Chen Hua immediately felt her future growing bleaker.