My Dearest Husband

At twelve, I was taken from the streets and brought to the imperial palace, where I gained an emperor for a father, the most powerful man beneath heaven. At thirteen, I was named Princess Changning and granted a mansion by imperial decree, with favor and honor beyond measure. At fifteen, I was betrothed to Li Xu. I thought of him, missed him, and longed for him every day. I was willing to give up the splendor of my princess's residence. At sixteen, I married Li Xu. Along with the title of Princess Changning, I gained the name of Young Madam of the Li household, and I loved him beyond measure. At seventeen, I lost our first child. At eighteen, my father passed away, and our daughter was born. At twenty, Li Xu took another wife, my younger half-sister, the emperor's legitimate daughter. I hanged myself with a strip of white silk from a parasol tree festooned with red silk. In just a few short years, I had gone from a destitute street child to a lady of noble birth, then to a woman who took her own life. In the instant I closed my eyes, I saw a beam of light in the heavens, beckoning me toward the light. I stretched my neck upward, trying to feel its warmth. When I opened my eyes, everything before me was blurred. No, it wasn't blurred. It was red.

"Young Master, it's time to lift the veil."

I would never forget that ingratiating voice, not in this lifetime. It belonged to Nanny Fan, who had forced me to drink fertility medicine countless times. But how could I... hear her?

"Princess, you've kept me waiting."

Li Xu bowed to me with the bearing of a perfect gentleman. He hadn't called me Princess since my father's passing, and after I became pregnant with our daughter, he had never come to my room again. I smiled faintly. "Yes, I've been waiting a long time."