“Surrender? Pah.”

The blaze scorched half the sky as the disheveled man sat amidst the ruins, spitting disdainfully.

“Since I was a kid, I’ve had a rebellious streak. When I was young, they called me the ‘Jade-Faced King of Hell.’ Now, I’ll be the resistance.”

“Not only will I resist, but I’ll force His Majesty to resist too. They’ve tried to assassinate me thirteen times and failed. That just proves I’m meant to resist—to the bitter end, to my dying breath.”

“But you,” he turned his head, his eyes unreadable.

“I thought all of the Shen family were surrender-loving cowards. I even said you brought shame to Great Liang. Never thought a rotten bamboo shoot could still sprout a decent bamboo—turns out there’s still you, holding on.”

“That’s enough, though. At least the last shred of dignity for Great Liang’s imperial family remains. The final backbone of Great Liang still stands.”

The fire raged fiercer. He spread his arms and collapsed into the rubble, gazing at the last sliver of azure in the crimson sky—the final color in this chaotic world.

“Just a shame there’s no chance in this lifetime. Maybe the next. If there’s a next life, we’ll be ruler and subject again.”

Lin Qi’s eyes snapped open, his hand pressing against his chest as he struggled to steady his frantic heartbeat.

The night was silent, bathed in the glow of the moon. Sui Tan’s soft, even breaths filled the room, a stark contrast to the endless fire and bone-deep despair of his dream.

After a long moment, he shakily raised a hand, burying his face in his palm, bobbing his Adam’s apple.

Several days had passed since Sui Tan’s earth-shattering declaration at the Duke’s residence—that Zhu Yan should marry her elder sister.

Perhaps because the Grand Court of Judicial Review had taken Young Master Sun away, unexpectedly, all parties—both overt and covert—had entered a stalemate, collectively maintaining a façade of peace.

Sui Tan, of course, was delighted. She chattered endlessly in her elder sister’s ear day after day.

Statements like:

“Lord Zhu has no parents, no siblings, not even a dog in his entire household—it’s just him, all alone. Marrying him means you’d be the undisputed mistress of the house, living a life of pure leisure!”

Or:

“Lord Zhu is so devoted to his career that he’s never spared a glance for women. If not for meeting you, he’d have remained chaste till forty and died alone!”

…and similar rhetoric poured out of her. By the end, Lin Qi couldn’t tell if she was actually trying to praise Zhu Yan or just slander him behind his back.

Fortunately, her two “clients” took it well.

Lord Zhu, as ever, remained unmoved, letting the winds blow as they may. At most, he’d shoot her a frosty glare when passing by—though Lin Qi always intercepted it.

As for Sui Zheng, she had always been soft-hearted toward her mischievous younger sister. Aside from stomping her foot in embarrassment or chiding her lightly when her whims went too far, she indulged her matchmaking antics with unusual tolerance.

The only one truly fuming was the Duke himself.

Young Master Sun had been taken away by the Grand Court of Judicial Review right in front of everyone at the Duke’s residence. Even though the Duke swore—truthfully—that he knew nothing about it, the incident still left him scrambling.

Over there, Minister Sun was furious. Over here, the Duke was practically living outside his own home.

Whenever he did return, his outbursts scared his delicate concubine to tears, casting a pall over the entire household. The concubine trembled and hid in obscure corners, too afraid to come near.

Already frustrated by the repeated rejections from Zhu Yan, the Duke now had to deal with his shameless younger daughter meddling in her elder sister’s marriage affairs.

Several times, Lin Qi had to tug Sui Tan’s sleeve, signaling her to tone it down before the Duke actually passed out from rage.

“It’s not that I’m impatient.”

In a private room on the second floor of the capital’s most bustling restaurant, Sui Tan faced the indifferent Lord Zhu with utmost sincerity.

“Lord Zhu, don’t you like my sister?”

Zhu Yan took a sip of tea, neither confirming nor denying. Instead, he turned to her fully, though his sidelong glance lingered on Lin Qi. His brow arched ambiguously.

“You summoned me under the Third Prince’s name just to say this?”

Lin Qi covered most of his face with one hand, refusing to speak.

After all, it was him who couldn’t withstand Sui Tan’s relentless pestering and “stole” the Third Prince’s private seal to forge the invitation for her. Facing the victim of this deception now was more than a little embarrassing.

Sui Tan, however, remained oblivious to the sarcasm in Zhu Yan’s tone, wholly focused on her earnest persuasion:

“Lord Zhu, if you like my sister, don’t just drag your feet!

In two months, the Third Prince and I will be married. Can you bear to hear people gossip that my sister can’t find a husband and is being left behind by her younger sister?!”

The self-proclaimed future sister-in-law was being excessively proactive.

Even though Zhu Yan, adhering to his principle of avoiding unnecessary trouble in official matters, couldn’t be bothered to expose the two of them, he couldn’t resist stirring the pot a little.

“The Third Prince—”

He deliberately drew out his words. Lin Qi, who had been wallowing in shame just moments ago, abruptly lifted his head.

“—I heard he’s still gravely injured and unconscious. Whether he’ll wake up within two months is anyone’s guess. How exactly do you plan to marry him, Second Miss Qin?”

Hearing this, Lin Qi’s brow furrowed slightly, as if he, too, had just realized something.

Sui Tan, however, waved her hand dismissively, completely unbothered.

“There are plenty of ways to marry. If it comes to it, we can even have a rooster stand in for the groom during the ceremony.”

She glanced sideways, then suddenly reached out, her delicate fingers grabbing Lin Qi’s sleeve and startling him.

“And if that doesn’t work, there’s always Lin Qi. They say a prince and his shadow guard are as close as brothers. Lin Qi could always stand in for the Third Prince and marry me in his place.”

Perhaps conjuring up some bizarre mental image, Lin Qi’s face instantly turned a myriad of colors. He uttered a strange, strangled “Miss…” but didn’t dare say anything more.

Zhu Yan, meanwhile, let out an audible pfft. When Lin Qi shot him a wary look, he lowered his gaze and feigned a cough behind his hand, poorly disguising his amusement.

“There’s one thing I truly don’t understand.”

Neither red nor white would do.

Seeing that this self-appointed future sister-in-law was about to launch into another long-winded lecture urging him to propose, Zhu Yan finally set down his cup and voiced his bewilderment.

“That day at the Duke’s residence, it was my first time meeting you, Second Miss Qin. Why were you so certain I’d be a good match for your elder sister?”

The Minister of the Grand Court of Judicial Review’s gaze was as sharp as an eagle’s. Sui Tan’s usual stream of nonsense faltered under its weight.

She glanced at Lin Qi for help, only to find him staring back at her with equal curiosity, as if he, too, had been wondering about this for a long time.

Left with no choice, Sui Tan squared her shoulders and boldly spun another fabrication:

“It’s because I know that while you might not be the most likable person, you have principles when it comes to matters of right and wrong.”

The subject of this “praise” remained impassive, not even deigning to react.

“…Fine.”

Her almond eyes darted around before she continued with utmost sincerity:

“It’s because I think if my sister is with you, she’ll live longer.”

Zhu Yan raised an eyebrow.

“After all, even thirteen assassination attempts from the Liao couldn’t kill you. Your ability to survive is undeniable.”

Beside her, Lin Qi’s eyes widened in shock.

At the same time, Zhu Yan’s brows knitted tightly together. His scrutinizing gaze bore down on her, openly suspicious.

Sui Tan froze, only then realizing the problem with her words:

Right now, the Liao had just been decimated by the Third Prince and were nothing more than a dying remnant of a foreign tribe—far from capable of assassinating a high-ranking official of Great Liang like the Minister of the Grand Court of Judicial Review.

“Uh, what I meant was, even if the Liao dared to attempt assassinations, they’d never succeed against you! Hahahaha…”

Having accidentally revealed too much, Sui Tan scrambled to change the subject, desperately trying to move past this blunder.

But it was no use. The Minister’s piercing gaze remained fixed on her, as if searching for any slip in her facade.

Sui Tan stiffened but didn’t dare look away, secretly tugging at Lin Qi’s sleeve under the table for support.

For a long moment, Zhu Yan found nothing amiss and finally withdrew his scrutinizing gaze.

Sui Tan secretly exhaled in relief, only realizing when she released her grip that she had crumpled Lin Qi’s sleeve beyond recognition.

“It’s not that I don’t want to marry her.”

At this point, Lord Zhu finally stopped beating around the bush:

“But what grounds do I have to propose at the Duke’s residence? Your father would never agree to betroth Sui Zheng to me.”

This was the truth.

No matter how favored he was by the emperor or how influential his position, the Minister of the Grand Court of Judicial Review—a man of humble origins who had to remain impartial—was far from an ideal match in the eyes of Great Liang’s nobility.

With the Duke’s habit of currying favor with the powerful and scorning the lowly, he would undoubtedly avoid Zhu Yan like the plague, let alone consider him a worthy son-in-law.

“That’s not a problem.”

Sui Tan’s dark eyes gleamed with mischief. Zhu Yan, still inexperienced in reading her, remained oblivious, but Lin Qi knew at a glance that she was scheming again:

“If my father won’t let my sister marry you, I will! Just come propose to me instead!”

“To you?”

“Exactly! To me!”

She slapped the table and shot to her feet, the idea making more sense the longer she thought about it.

“Our mother died early, and Father never remarried. Without a mistress, the Duke’s household should be managed by the eldest daughter, including arranging marriages. So it’s only right that I take charge of my sister’s wedding!”

“Besides, I’m the Third Prince’s fiancée—the future Princess Consort, a royal daughter-in-law! Hosting a mere Duke’s daughter’s wedding is well within my rights!”

“I’m the eldest daughter and the highest in rank. Whether by family or imperial protocol, I’m the perfect person for you to propose to!”

“Just send a matchmaker to me. I’ll exchange your and my sister’s betrothal documents, and the marriage will be settled!”

Silence.

A vast, suffocating silence spread through the private room as the other two men were struck speechless by this arrangement.

After a long pause, a single, impressed “Wow” broke the quiet.

The Minister of the Grand Court of Judicial Review raised an eyebrow and turned to Lin Qi, genuinely baffled by the future sister-in-law’s absurdities.

“Your Highness’s shadow guard,”

He emphasized “Your Highness” with pointed sarcasm:

“You’re just going to stand there and let her borrow the Third Prince’s authority to bully people?”

Lin Qi coughed lightly, too embarrassed to even lift his head.

“…I don’t see anything wrong with it.”

“Good. Very good.”

The Minister nodded expressionlessly, his tone caught between mockery and approval:

“His Highness is truly blessed to have you two.”

“Let’s leave it at that for now. I’ll… consider Second Miss Qin’s proposal.”

With that, Zhu Yan rose to leave, clearly done with the conversation.

Sui Tan watched him go, pouting as she was about to call Lin Qi to leave—only to find him suddenly stepping in front of her. He knelt on one knee, looking up at her with an expression she couldn’t decipher against the backlight.

But she could hear the faint tremor in his voice.

“Miss… how did you know about the Liao’s thirteen assassination attempts on Lord Zhu?”