The day I escaped the imperial palace, I crawled out through a dog hole and never looked back.
On a snowy night, I found a bloodied man in a ruined temple.
Black clothes, black hair, barely clinging to life.
Only later did I learn he was the powerful regent who ruled the court:
And the presiding judge in the Shen family case all those years ago.
He said, “I spent ten years investigating the deaths of the thirty-seven members of your Shen family.”
He said, “Your father wasn’t a traitor. He took a blade meant for the emperor.”
He said, “Shen Yuan, I’ve waited ten years for this day.”
I wanted to clear my family’s name, and he gave me an army.
I wanted revenge, and he put a blade in my hand.
When the officials called me a calamity, he slammed his knife onto the table.
“Anyone who lays a finger on her will have to answer to the Northern Frontier Army.”
On our wedding night, he lifted my veil.
“From today on, you are my wife.”
The System murmured softly in my mind.
“Affection level: 100%. The mission… no, this isn’t a mission.”
“You chose him yourself.”
From discarded empress to regent’s wife, I turned one escape into a lifetime of love.
