Sheng Yunshu cut up her wedding dress in the wedding tent, wrapped the broken porcelain pieces with gold thread and held it against her throat. She was not here for a marriage—three days ago she dressed as the princess of Daliang. The original owner was in a coma due to anti-marriage hunger strike, but she learned from the original owner's personal guard that the so-called marriage was a delaying plan by the Emperor of Daliang to exchange her for ten cities in Beishuo. There was a noisy banquet outside. She took advantage of the wedding nun's back and used broken porcelain to cut the rope behind the tent and climbed out from the side door of the stable. Under the moonlight, she saw another person - Prince Jiang Zhaomian of Beishuo, also standing quietly in this back alley where only marriage escapees would go. Before she had time to think about it, he dragged her into the darkness, and the torches of his pursuers flashed past the alley.
