S-1) Ep 1:- Imperial Marriage?

“WHAT!? Marriage?!?”

Xu Yuexin’s voice echoed through the entire Xu Manor, sharp enough to make even the birds outside flutter away in shock.

Xu Zhenrong, the Marquis of Xu Clan, calmly took a sip of tea as if he had expected this reaction.

“Yes,” he replied slowly. “Especially granted by His Majesty, on the insistence of the Empress.”

At the mention of the Empress, Yuexin froze slightly.

The current Empress was not her blood relative but in all meaning that mattered, she was closer than family.

Yuexin dropped to her knees immediately in front of her father.

“Father… please cancel the marriage. Please, do it for me.”

Xu Zhenrong sighed.

“And what am I supposed to do to cancel an imperial decree? Fight the emperor?”

Yuexin’s expression shifted.

Without hesitation, she grabbed the sword resting beside her father’s seat and raised it toward her neck.

“Then I shall behead myself.”

Silence.

Then—

A chuckle.

Xu Zhenrong leaned back, entirely unconcerned.

“My dearest daughter,” he said, amused, “I know you too well. You value your life far too much to do that.”

Yuexin lowered the sword immediately, annoyed.

“…Sometimes I hate that you know me so well.”

Xu Zhenrong smiled faintly.

“You should be grateful,” he added. “Your future husband is Zhao Yanzhou.”

Yuexin froze.

Then crossed her arms.

“That’s exactly the problem.”

“Oh?” her father raised a brow. “Most noble ladies would kill for this marriage.”

“Yes,” she replied flatly, “and I would gladly gift him to other noble ladies.”

Xu Zhenrong chuckled. “Zhao Yanzhou is the heir of the Zhao Clan. Northern military, influence, status—”

“Cold, arrogant, rarely seen in public, and admired by noble ladies who don’t even know him properly,” she interrupted calmly.

A pause.

Xu Zhenrong stared at her.

“…Perfect for you, isn’t he?”

He added casually, “The Empress does have a sharp eye for matchmaking.”

Yuexin immediately protested.

“Father, how in the world is that ‘perfect’ for me?”

Xu Zhenrong leaned back.

“He is only a year or two older than you. And you are already twenty, at marriageable age.”

Then, with a teasing glance—

“Besides, aren’t you the same? Rarely seen in public. Some even call you the ‘cold heiress.’ I have met him once, he has virtues of a gentleman.”

Yuexin stomped her foot.

“Father!”

At that moment—

A voice interrupted from the doorway.

“Elder sister… are you finally getting married?”

Xu Tianhao, her younger brother, leaned casually against the frame, clearly enjoying the chaos.

Yuexin slowly turned toward him.

“…Do you want to die?”

He grinned. “No. But I would love to see you try that sword trick again.”

She reached for the sword instantly.

“Come here.”

Xu Tianhao ran.

Yuexin turned back toward her father.

“Even my younger brother who is four years younger than me dares to mock me about marriage.”

Xu Zhenrong chuckled.

“Well that's why you should marry for the sake of yourself.”

She replied annoyed, "I will go to the palace to convince empress mother to cancel the wedding."

Then he added, almost casually:

“And don’t forget, once the Empress decides something, there is only a one percent chance she changes her mind.”

Yuexin narrowed her eyes.

“…Then I will get that one percent.”

That same day—

She stormed into the palace.

“Empress Mother!!”

Yuexin pushed open the doors dramatically and rushed inside, immediately sitting beside the Empress with full desperation.

“Please! Cancel the marriage!”

The Empress remained calm, composed as ever.

“No, Yuexin.”

Yuexin froze.

“Don’t you love me?” she asked dramatically.

“I do,” the Empress replied gently. “That is why this is for your own good by choosing best choice.”

“But I don’t want ‘the best choice’!” Yuexin protested. “I want my own choice!”

The Empress tilted her head slightly.

“And what is your choice?”

“To not marry him.”

“Do you dislike him?”

“…Yes.”

“Have you met him?”

Yuexin paused.

Then shook her head.

The Empress lightly tapped her forehead.

“Then how can you dislike him?”

“I don't know?....”

A quiet sigh.

The Empress leaned slightly closer, her tone lowering.

“It is not only for your future. It is for the empire.”

Yuexin’s expression changed slightly.

“…Duke Yan?”

The Empress nodded faintly.

“Your marriage strengthens Xu and Zhao. Southern and Northern military united. That is stability.”

Yuexin opened her mouth then closed it again.

The Empress’s voice softened but carried finality.

“Zhao Yanzhou is not a bad match.”

Then

A pause.

“And you will marry him.”

No room for argument.

Back to Xu Manor:-

Yuexin returned looking utterly displeased.

Xu Zhenrong glanced at her.

“So?”

She exhaled.

“…She didn’t change her mind.”

Xu Zhenrong smiled faintly.

“As expected.”

Yuexin couldn't think of a single plan to escape this marriage.

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