The bridal chamber glowed red.
Silk curtains, embroidered candles, the heavy scent of incense meant to symbolize harmony and fulfillment—everything was prepared exactly as tradition demanded.
Except the groom.
Shen Lianhua sat on the edge of the bed, hands folded neatly in her lap. Her posture was perfect, trained by years of court etiquette, but her fingers betrayed her—curling slightly, tightening, loosening again.
He still hadn't come.
At first, she told herself not to think too much of it.
Royal weddings were long. Obligations endless. Ministers relentless.
But as time stretched and the palace quieted, unease crept in.
Her thoughts returned—unwanted, sharp—to the banquet.
To **Xueyi**.
Standing beside Jin Wei.
Not lowered.
Not hesitant.
Not ashamed.
Shen Lianhua had noticed immediately.
She always noticed such things.
She knew about the Crown Prince and Xueyi. Everyone with ears in the capital did. Yet after the engagement was announced, the Crown Prince had never once sought Xueyi out.
Not publicly.
Not privately.
Not even recklessly.
So why tonight?
Why now?
Her grip tightened on the edge of the bedding.
*Is it because she is marrying Jin Wei?*
The thought surfaced slowly, dangerously.
Jin Wei—the man the Crown Prince had eclipsed without effort. The brother who had stepped aside and lost everything that could have been his.
And yet—
Tonight, Jin Wei had taken something back.
Not rank.
Not influence.
But something far more precious.
Shen Lianhua closed her eyes briefly.
*The one thing His Highness believed would always wait.*
The door finally opened.
She straightened instantly.
But it wasn't the Crown Prince.
A servant entered quietly, head lowered. "Your Highness… His Highness asked that you rest first. He will not be coming tonight."
The words were gentle.
The meaning was not.
Shen Lianhua dismissed the servant with a nod.
When the door closed again, the silence returned—thicker, heavier than before.
She exhaled slowly.
This was not neglect.
This was a message.
She rose and moved to the window, lifting the curtain just enough to see the palace lanterns glowing in the distance.
Her reflection stared back at her in the glass—perfectly adorned, impeccably chosen.
She had married a man already at war.
And she had not been told who the enemy was.
"Xueyi," she whispered softly.
Not with hatred.
Not yet.
With calculation.
If Jin Wei was the blade, and Xueyi the shield—
Then the Crown Prince's war would not stay contained for long.
Shen Lianhua lowered the curtain and returned to the bed, sitting with her back straight and her expression calm.
She would not cry.
A woman raised in the Prime Minister's house did not waste tears on what could be learned instead.
Tonight had taught her one thing clearly:
This marriage was not the beginning of her future.
It was the opening move of a far greater game.