Chapter 1 Voice on the Wedding Night
When I saw that note, the red candles were burning bright.
The snow-white paper looked out of place on the wedding bed covered with red dates and peanuts.
Through the Red Bridal Veil, I picked it up.
The paper was small and thin. The edges were rough, as if it had been torn in a hurry from some book.
"Don't tell the Crown Prince you can speak."
One line of pretty regular script. The handwriting was delicate, and strange to me.
A prank?
But how could this person know my throat had already healed?
I was still doubting when the door creaked open.
It was the Crown Prince. I hurried to hide the slip of paper.
A pair of black satin boots embroidered with gold appeared before my eyes.
I pinched my palm and watched, tense, as the Red Bridal Veil was lifted.
The Crown Prince's smiling face came into view. He had drunk some wine with the court officials in the front hall, and a flush showed on his face.
"A Yue," he called me gently. One hand lifted the Wedding Cup Wine. The other drew me into his arms.
"Drink this cup of wine, and we will be husband and wife."
His damp breath brushed the base of my ear and raised a tingle.
Through hazy eyes, I looked at his bright black pupils.
Crown Prince Xiao Yan. My husband. Last autumn, on the hunt, an assassin's poisoned arrow had struck him.
The strange poison from the Western Regions was hard to undo.
I had tested the medicine with my own body for him.
I tested several bowls of decoction until I found the antidote, but my throat went mute.
After Xiao Yan woke, he seemed deeply moved. He begged The Emperor to grant the marriage and make me Crown Princess.
The Emperor had not agreed at first. He held that I was the daughter of the Duke of Zhenguo, yet mute and maimed, unfit to be mistress of the Eastern Palace.
But Xiao Yan knelt before Qinzheng Hall for a day and a night, knocking his head and saying he would surely cure me. The Emperor relented after all.
After that, precious herbs flowed into the Duke of Zhenguo's manor like water. Later Xiao Yan heard of a divine doctor in Jiuzhou Mountain. Heedless of danger, he went into the mountain, paid three visits, and offered a thousand gold to invite the divine doctor out.
The divine doctor truly worked wonders. Under his care, my throat slowly improved. Today, seated in the wedding sedan, I found I could make a sound.
I had worn the Red Bridal Veil all day. I had not yet had time to tell the Crown Prince.
Xiao Yan stroked my brows and eyes, so careful, as if he were handling a treasure.
How could a man like this not have hoped I would get well?
"Your Highness." I called him softly. My throat was still swollen and sore. My voice was as hoarse as a crow, ugly to hear.
But Xiao Yan looked startled with joy. "A Yue, you can speak now?"
Candlelight jumped in his eyes, flickering with a strange light.
I nodded and said, shy, "Husband."
He laughed aloud and buried his head against my neck.
"Today truly is our day of great joy." He reached out and undid my sash.
The red candles warmed the curtains. I watched the canopy above me sway like waves and closed my eyes in happiness.
Mother, I had finally done it. I was Crown Princess. Soon I would be able to...