Su Luo tilted her head, facing the blazing sun, gazing at the man high above her. Time had treated him generously; he was as handsome and vibrant as when they first met!
But she herself, not yet thirty, looked haggard and worn. After the decimation of the Su Family, her once princely beauty faded overnight.
She began with difficulty: "Why? There were 182 members in my Su Family! My father, my five brothers, they all sacrificed themselves to help you ascend to the throne. The hundred thousand men from the South Border also gave their lives for you. Now only the old and weak are left in the Su Family. Why do you want to eradicate us all?"
The man's expression was as cold as a statue, he viciously spat out four words: "Root out the troubles!"
Blood filled Su Luo's eyes: "And what about me? I assisted you wholeheartedly for ten years, only to be repaid with a cup of deadly wine?"
"I have always been using you. You, a lowly barbarian, dare to dream to be Empress? If you were obedient, there would have still been a meal for you in the palace. But you insisted on killing Zizi's child. You are arrogant, jealous, and malicious. Out of respect for your years of service, I left your corpse intact. You should be grateful!"
Blood tears welled up in Su Luo's eyes: "She killed my child, she killed our child!"
"Zizi is kind-hearted, she would never do such a thing, let alone the fact that you can't have children!"
Su Luo laughed heartily, picked up the glass of poison wine and drained it: "Good, good! Once the hare is killed, the hunting dog is cooked! Wei Jin, if there is another life, I will turn your dreams to dust and make you wish for death!"
"Wishing for death..." Her mournful curse hovered like an evil spirit over the Tongque Palace.
"Pfft..." A mouthful of black blood burst from her throat, although Su Luo was full of regret and despair, she eventually had to close her eyes.
So heavy!
Her eyelids were extremely heavy, and there was quite a racket outside.
Su Luo struggled to open her eyes, the room was lit up in red, with celebratory candles placed upon an ornately carved silver stand, flickering and crackling away.
While she was still bewildered, she heard the anxious voice of an older maid rushing towards them from outside: "Quickly, get ready. The Crown Prince has finished toasting and will be back soon!"
Instantly, the bustling courtyard fell deadly silent.
Before long, the sound of suppressed coughs drew closer, and the door was pushed open.
In the flickering candlelight, Su Luo saw a man walk in slowly.
He was dressed in a red wedding outfit, with a long, elegant neck, and his lips were redder due to the earlier coughing. His glowing pale face had a light blush on it.
His standard phoenix eyes were filled with mist as if he were in the rain of Jiangnan, seeming drunk yet sober.
But the moment you meet his gaze, you could clearly feel the coldness in it.
The maid carefully approached and respectfully called out: "Your Highness..."
The man turned his white, jade-like palm: "Gloves..."
A maid kneeling on the floor then raised a tray with white brocade silk above her head.
The man slowly put on the gloves that were as thin as cicada wings, the minor action causing another bout of light coughing.
The maids dared not make a sound, afraid of disturbing the delicate Crown Prince, who seemed like a celestial being with such heavenly beauty yet was as delicate as a candle in the wind.
After a long wait, finally, the gloves were put on. They were so thin they seemed like a second layer of skin.
"Everyone, leave!"
The maids bowed and retreated upon hearing his heavenly voice coupled with disgust: "Throw out this censer, it's suffocating!"
The maid looked embarrassed.
This was the royal ambergris gifted by the palace. If it weren't for the big wedding today, she wouldn't have dared to use it.
However, she said nothing, hastily picked up the censer and retreated.
Su Luo finally realized that this was her brief wedding night from before. Was this her rebirth?
Did the heavens hear her dying curse?
While she was lost in her thoughts, the man had already reached the bedside, and with two fingers, he lifted the red wedding gown from her body.