Against The Emperor's Will

As the hall buzzed with shocked whispers, Ruoxi felt the world around her blur.

The faces of the guests became distant.

The voices faded.

And suddenly, fragments of the novel flashed through her mind.

Not as words on a page.

But as if she had lived through them herself.

A grand manor.

Cold corridors.

Servants whispering behind her back.

Accusing gazes following her wherever she went.

At first, nobody believed the rumors.

Li Ruoxi was the daughter of the Prime Minister.

The wife of Shen Mochen.

A noble lady of impeccable upbringing.

Yet somehow, everything began to change.

One accusation after another appeared.

A missing heirloom.

A poisoned cup of tea.

A bribed servant.

Every incident pointed toward her.

Every piece of evidence seemed perfect.

Too perfect.

Ruoxi remembered the scene that had infuriated her while reading.

Only three days after the wedding, a scandal shook the Shen household.

One of Shen Mochen's servants claimed to have spent the night with Lady Shen.

Witnesses appeared.

Evidence appeared.

Rumors spread throughout the capital overnight.

The more Li Ruoxi tried to defend herself, the guiltier she seemed.

Nobody listened.

Nobody believed her.

Not even her husband.

Especially not her husband.

The memory of Shen Mochen's cold gaze sent a chill down her spine.

He had stood before everyone.

Not protecting her.

Not questioning the accusations.

Simply watching.

As though he had already decided she was guilty.

As though her fate had been determined long before the trial began.

'It was planned...'

The realization struck her like lightning.

'Everything was planned from the beginning.'

The scandal.

The witnesses.

The evidence.

The humiliation.

Every step had pushed Li Ruoxi closer to ruin.

And when her reputation was destroyed, the final accusation arrived.

One serious enough to demand punishment.

One serious enough to end her life.

Ruoxi's fingers trembled beneath her sleeves.

Back then, while reading the novel, she had thought Li Ruoxi was foolish.

She had thought the villainess deserved her ending.

But now that she stood in Li Ruoxi's place, she saw things differently.

The woman had been hated.

Manipulated.

Abandoned.

And betrayed by the one person who should have protected her.

A cold shiver ran down her spine.

If she married Shen Mochen today...

Perhaps the story would repeat itself.

Perhaps every step toward her downfall had already been prepared.

Her gaze lifted toward the man standing across the hall.

Shen Mochen.

The man everyone admired.

The male lead.

The man she once believed was a hero.

Now, all she could see was danger.

'No matter what happens...'

'I will never marry him.'

For a long moment, nobody spoke.

The grand wedding hall, which had been filled with laughter and celebration only moments ago, had fallen into complete silence. The red lanterns swayed gently overhead, their golden tassels dancing in the breeze that drifted through the open doors. Yet despite the beauty surrounding them, an uncomfortable tension settled over the crowd.

Every pair of eyes was fixed on Li Ruoxi.

Some stared in disbelief.

Others looked at her as if she had lost her mind.

The whispers that had once filled the hall had completely disappeared.

Even the musicians sat frozen, their instruments forgotten in their hands.

Ruoxi could practically feel the weight of their stares pressing against her.

But she refused to lower her head.

'Let them stare.'

'They can think whatever they want.'

'As long as this marriage doesn't happen.'

Across from her, Shen Mochen remained motionless.

His handsome face revealed little emotion, but his dark eyes had sharpened noticeably.

It was the first time she had truly disrupted the story.

The first time she had done something the original Li Ruoxi never would have done.

And it showed.

The entire plot had just been thrown into chaos.

Before anyone could speak, a loud voice suddenly broke the silence.

"Enough."

The authority behind that single word immediately drew everyone's attention.

Li Guowei slowly rose from his seat.

As Prime Minister of the empire, his presence alone commanded respect. Dressed in formal robes, he looked every bit the powerful official who stood beside the Emperor in court.

The guests instinctively parted to make room for him.

Ruoxi watched him approach, unsure of what he would say.

After all, this marriage had been arranged for years.

Countless preparations had gone into today.

Would he be angry?

Would he force her to continue?

A trace of nervousness appeared in her heart.

'Please don't tell me he wants me to marry him anyway...'

'If that happens, I'm finished.'

Li Guowei stopped beside his daughter.

For several seconds, he simply looked at her.

The hall held its breath.

Then, to everyone's shock, he turned toward the crowd.

"My daughter has already made her decision."

His voice was calm.

Steady.

Undeniable.

"Therefore, this marriage will not proceed."

The hall exploded.

"What?!"

"The Prime Minister is agreeing?"

"Has he gone mad?"

"Does he realize this marriage carries the Emperor's approval?"

The nobles immediately began whispering among themselves.

Some looked horrified.

Others looked fascinated.

This was the biggest scandal the capital had seen in years.

Yet Li Guowei remained unmoved.

His gaze swept across the hall.

"If His Majesty requires an explanation, I will personally speak with him."

His words struck the crowd like a thunderbolt.

The whispers instantly grew louder.

Everyone knew what that meant.

The Prime Minister was openly taking responsibility.

He was willing to stand before the Emperor himself.

All for the sake of protecting his daughter.

Ruoxi blinked in surprise.

Something warm stirred inside her chest.

It was a strange feeling.

One she hadn't expected.

The original novel rarely focused on Li Ruoxi's family.

Most readers only cared about the romance between Shen Mochen and Jiang Meilin.

As a result, she had never paid much attention to Li Guowei.

But standing here now...

Seeing him defend her without hesitation...

She suddenly realized something.

He truly loved his daughter.

Not the modern girl inside this body.

Not the transmigrator.

But Li Ruoxi.

The daughter he had raised for years.

The realization made her throat tighten.

At that moment, another memory surfaced.

A little girl running through the gardens of the Li Manor.

Li Guowei laughing as he lifted her into his arms.

A young Li Ruoxi proudly showing her father a painting she had made.

The memories were brief.

Yet they felt painfully real.

For a moment, Ruoxi almost forgot they weren't hers.

Almost.

Then another memory followed.

And this one made her blood run cold.

The wedding chamber.

The third night after the marriage.

A terrified servant kneeling on the floor.

Accusations flying from every direction.

Shocked faces.

Condemning gazes.

Someone shouting that Lady Shen had disgraced the household.

Someone presenting evidence.

Witnesses.

Letters.

Rumors.

Everything had appeared too perfectly.

Too conveniently.

At the center of it all stood Shen Mochen.

Watching.

Silent.

Cold.

The memory blurred, but the feeling remained.

Betrayal.

A trap carefully prepared long before it was ever sprung.

Ruoxi's fingers tightened beneath her sleeves.

'It started almost immediately...'

'The moment she married into the Shen family, they began destroying her.'

A chill traveled down her spine.

She finally understood why she had felt so desperate upon waking up.

The wedding wasn't the beginning of her happiness.

It was the beginning of her downfall.

No.

It was the beginning of her execution.

Slowly, Ruoxi lifted her head.

Her gaze landed on Shen Mochen once more.

For the first time, she looked at him not as the male lead of a novel.

Not as a handsome nobleman admired by countless women.

But as the man connected to the fate she was trying to escape.

And at that exact moment—

A servant suddenly rushed into the hall.

His face was pale.

"Prime Minister!"

The servant dropped to one knee.

"An imperial messenger has arrived!"

The hall instantly fell silent.

Everyone's expressions changed.

Because there was only one reason an imperial messenger would appear at a wedding like this.

News from the palace.

News from the Emperor.

To be continued...

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