In the hazy fog of unconsciousness, Cheng Yao suddenly felt a terrible pain in her heart, as though a sharp knife were twisting viciously inside her.
She clutched her chest and abruptly opened her eyes.
The room was filled with antique furnishings, and bright-red double-happiness characters were pasted everywhere.
Hadn’t she just had her head smashed open by the Zombie King?
Where was she?
“You’re awake?” A beautiful woman dressed in an exquisite bridal gown gave her a contemptuous smile. “Sister, you thought you could escape this marriage by pretending to die? Not a chance.”
With a wave of her hand, the woman summoned two elderly matrons. They stepped forward, hauled Cheng Yao upright, pinched her chin, and brought over a bowl of black medicinal liquid, forcing it down her throat.
Cheng Yao felt as if her body had been sealed. She couldn’t speak or move. The two matrons possessed astonishing strength, and the bitter, foul-smelling medicine slid down her throat, choking her until she coughed repeatedly in utter disarray.
“Sister, the War King has been crippled in both legs, and you’re a good-for-nothing as well. You two were made for each other. Marrying him is the perfect arrangement.” The woman stroked her brightly colored nail guards, her eyes brimming with smug satisfaction. “As for me, I can only suffer a little and marry the Second Prince in your place.”
With that, she smiled and swept out of the room.
The two matrons dressed Cheng Yao in bridal robes, half supporting and half dragging her outside before stuffing her into a bridal sedan.
…
The two young ladies of the General’s Residence were both getting married that day. One was marrying the all-powerful Prince of a Different Surname, while the other was marrying the exceptionally talented Second Prince. One household, two beauties—the sight was enough to make everyone envious, and the onlookers chattered excitedly among themselves.
In a daze, Cheng Yao was dragged along like a puppet on strings.
Since the War King was unable to walk, even the wedding bows were omitted. Her maidservants helped her into the bridal chamber.
Once the servants had withdrawn, silence settled over the room.
By then, Cheng Yao already knew that she had somehow crossed into another world, and her thoughts were a tangled mess.
She had regained complete control of her body and recovered her strength, but an unbearable heat was spreading through her. Desperate to cool herself, she hurriedly removed her phoenix crown and stripped off her bridal robes.
A sharp, intimidating gaze landed on her.
She looked over.
What a domineering man!
He sat in a wheelchair, radiating nobility from head to toe. His features were stern and cold, and a single glance from him made her spine prickle with unease.
“You’re not Cheng Lan.” His deep, magnetic voice was edged with indifference.
In the deathly silence, Cheng Yao steadied herself and said quietly, “My name is Cheng Yao. I’m Cheng Lan’s second elder sister.”
The man let out a cold laugh. “The one who used to chase the Second Prince all over the capital?”
Cheng Yao shook her dizzy head, but the blazing heat inside her had already spread throughout her body, making her very bones ache. Her voice came out distracted and perfunctory. “I was foolish in the past. I know I was wrong. From now on, I’ll treat you well…”
As she spoke, she began removing her clothes and lunged toward the man in the wheelchair.
“How dare you!” His brows and eyes were as hard as blades, but he suddenly realized that his entire body had gone limp. He couldn’t summon enough strength to push her away.
His gaze shifted to the side, and his eyes instantly darkened with menace.
A bronze, gilt three-legged incense burner carved with coiling dragons was sending wisps of smoke into the air.
There was something wrong with the incense!
Taking advantage of his distraction, Cheng Yao pulled him up and shoved him onto the bed.
The moment she touched him, the heat in her body grew even more intense. She felt as though she were about to burn to death. Weak and soft, she lay across him, her clear almond-shaped eyes clouded with mist as she gazed at him pitifully.
“I was drugged. Please, be kind to me.”
Annoyance churned in the man’s heart. He said coldly, “I’ll order someone to summon a physician.”
“I feel awful.” She let out soft, whimpering sounds, her voice sweet and tender. Completely devoid of reason, she began pulling off his clothes. “Give yourself to me. I’ll take responsibility for you.”
The man froze.
Then, a storm of blazing fury ignited in his eyes.
“You said it yourself.”
“Mmm-hmm, I did.” Cheng Yao answered him absentmindedly, yet she took the initiative, launching an all-out assault on him.
…
Sunlight climbed across the windowsill while the osmanthus tree outside swayed gracefully in the breeze.
Amid the rich fragrance of flowers, Cheng Yao recalled the reckless things she had done the night before. Her thick eyelashes trembled several times before she squeezed her eyes shut.
She had struggled for years in the apocalypse. After dying once, she had opened her eyes to find herself transformed into the legitimate second daughter of a general’s household—a daughter who had been lost and raised elsewhere.
Her foster father had been a drunk who beat people whenever he was intoxicated. Her foster mother spent her days in tears and had never taken proper care of her, causing her to grow into a timid, introverted girl.
When she was eight, her foster father drank himself to death after falling in the street. Her foster mother then contracted a serious illness. Only at that point did she finally summon the decency to go to the General’s Residence and confess that, after being childless for many years, she had stolen their baby.
Cheng Yao was brought back to the household, thinking that her bitter days were over and that she would finally live a good life.
The truth was quite the opposite.
She had been stolen as an infant, leaving her mother utterly devastated. Not long afterward, her mother discovered that her father had kept a concubine. Under the double blow, she sank into depression and died.
With her mother gone and her father indifferent, no one in the household welcomed Cheng Yao. If not for the protection of her grandparents, her position would have been worse than that of a servant.
When she was fourteen, she accompanied her grandmother to the Temple of State Protection to burn incense, where she met the Second Prince.
The Second Prince was handsome and elegant, with unmatched talent. Cheng Yao fell in love with him at first sight and became astonishingly bold.
Not only did she send him gifts and love letters, she even secretly climbed over the walls to meet him.
She cast aside all her reserve and reason, using every ounce of courage and strength she possessed to love him.
When her grandfather saw that matters had gone too far, he risked his dignity and used his military achievements to obtain an imperial edict betrothing her to the Second Prince.
What he didn’t know was that Cheng Lan and the Second Prince had already been involved. How could Cheng Lan possibly be willing to accept the marriage?
Once Cheng Yao’s grandparents passed away, there was no one left to protect her, and Cheng Lan no longer had any scruples. That was how the scene at the beginning had come about.
Upon learning that she was to be remarried to the legendary War King, Zhan Haoting—a man said to have a hideous green face and a taste for raw flesh—the original Cheng Yao had been frightened to death.
And after arriving in this world last night, Cheng Yao had slept with the War King.
His legs were disabled, and she had been the one to take the initiative, doing it with him again and again.
Then, whether he had been offended and wanted to regain the upper hand, or whether he had simply found the experience addictive, he had turned the tables and tormented her in return.
Ahhh! How humiliating!
Cheng Yao covered her face with both hands and sat up in bed.
Every part of her body was sore. She couldn’t stop herself from letting out a soft groan.
Fortunately, the most intimate area felt cool and comfortable. Someone must have applied medicine to it.
She was wearing clean everyday clothes. She had no idea whether a maid or the War King himself had changed her.
“Princess, you’re awake.”
Hearing the movement, a maid lifted the curtain and entered. She prepared Cheng Yao’s clothes and attended to her as she washed, dressed, and styled her hair.
Cheng Yao looked around. Every face was unfamiliar, and none of the servants who had accompanied her from her family home were there.
“What happened to Spring Peach and Autumn Moon?”
“Your Highness, those two failed to care for you properly, so First Madam had them sold.”
“First Madam” referred to her mother-in-law, Lady Zhan.
The ancestor of the Zhan family had been made a Loyal and Valiant Marquis, but the generations that followed had been mediocre, and the family had gradually declined. In this generation, however, an extraordinarily talented descendant had appeared: Zhan Haoting.
He had taken to the battlefield at the age of twelve and flourished there. He pacified the borders, reclaimed lost territory, and spent ten years campaigning, earning outstanding military merit. The emperor had consequently made him a Prince of a Different Surname.
And since he had been made a prince, his wife was now a princess as well. But because his father had never been ennobled as a prince, his mother could only be addressed as a madam.
“And the matrons?”
“Your Highness, Madam dealt with them as well.”
Cheng Yao understood.
The Zhan family truly acted with the force of thunder.
She had been drugged and forced to marry the War King in someone else’s place. Not one of the servants who had accompanied her could escape responsibility. They had to be interrogated and punished.
She only wondered whether they had also managed to uncover Cheng Lan, the person behind it all.
Cheng Yao asked again, “Where is His Highness?”
“Replying to Your Highness, His Highness is waiting for you in the main hall to pay respects over tea.”
Cheng Yao flushed and complained, “Why didn’t he wake me earlier?”
The sun was already high in the sky. She had no face to show herself, nor did she want to go.
Her identity as an impostor had probably already spread throughout the residence. She could only imagine what the others were saying about her.
“Replying to Your Highness, His Highness said that you aren’t feeling well, so you may go over later.”
Zhan Haoting was surprisingly considerate. With him around, no one should dare to bully her, right?
Fine. Since he was willing to stand up for her, she wouldn’t make things difficult for him.
With that thought, Cheng Yao rose leisurely from her bed.
