The Palace of Eternal Spring – Wedding Day

The palace bloomed like heaven. Red silk banners flowed from jade pillars. Drums echoed like heartbeats. The scent of sandalwood and lotus perfumed the air.

The Crown Prince stood tall at the altar in ceremonial black and crimson robes. He looked like a god carved from stone—cold, focused, but waiting.

And she came.

Shen Lianhua, veiled in scarlet, walked slowly down the white marble path.

Every step was power reclaimed.

Every petal beneath her feet, a promise:
I do not forgive. I do not forget. But I will rise.

The guests stood in silence. Even the Emperor leaned forward, watching history unfold.

The wedding rite began.

Just as Lianhua knelt…

A flash of steel glinted from the balcony above.

A crossbow.

Aimed at her back.

Time slowed.

But she had expected this.

Before the assassin loosed the bolt, a second figure moved from the shadows—Li Shenzhao’s elite shadow guard, long placed by Lianhua’s order, leaped from behind a screen and tackled the shooter.

The crossbow fired—

But not where it was meant to.

The bolt struck the altar, splintering a ceremonial urn.

Screams. Chaos.

Lianhua didn’t flinch.

She stood calmly, veil still covering her face, and turned to face the crowd.

“This is what power looks like when it is feared,” she said quietly.

“Even on the day love crowns it.”

Shenzhao took her hand.

“Shall we finish what they tried to destroy?”

“Gladly.”

And so, with ashes still falling from the altar and stunned nobles whispering in awe, they completed their vows.

He tied the red sash around her waist.

She bowed only to him.

And as the Empress rose to declare the union complete, Shen Lianhua turned toward the western gates—where she knew Zhou Mei’s spy had fled.

And smiled beneath her veil.

I let you fire your last shot.

Now it’s my turn.

Later – The New Crown Princess’s Chamber

She removed her veil with steady hands.

Li Shenzhao stood behind her, untying his robes, his tone low and deliberate.

“You planned the entire thing.”

“Only the part where I survive,” she replied.

He stepped closer.

“And what about the part where you finally become mine?”

She turned to him, gaze unwavering.

“That part,” she whispered, “requires no planning.”

He kissed her then—not as a prince, but as a man who knew the woman beside him was steel wrapped in silk.