You promised me

For the time being, Shen Yue laid low inside the palace, allowing her whole existence to be forgotten. But things don't always go how one wants it to. A letter was sent again from her majesty, inviting her for lunch in the middle garden.

Every single thing about it smelled fishy. Especially when it was stated that the emperor wills to see her. Yun Wei and Concubine Li's names were explicitly mentioned too. With Yun Wei as their bait, she could do nothing but attend to check on him.

Shen Yue stood up and rushed towards the garden, worried but also troubled. It wasn't long before she arrived and saw the people's backs. There were a total of five people sitting around the table.

With every step she took, her heart sank, wanting to run away before she gets caught up in this matter. Concubine Li's face had an obviously fake smile while Yun Wei was looking down, visibly upset.

A guard announced her presence when she was close enough, and in an instant, concubine Li's expression changed into one of hope. Yun Wei still didn't look up, causing her to wonder more.

Her attention annoyingly jumped towards the emperor and the empress who had joyful smiles, looking at her with eyes filled with delight. The crown prince on the left side of the emperor also wore a pleased look.

'Fuck off.' Curses upon curses chanted in Shen Yue's mind, cursing upon their complicated family. 'I am not part of your family, so don't involve me in these!'

As if to mock her, the following words of the emperor made her outrage inside. "Ah, my daughter-in-law, come sit."

What the…

The seat pointed at by his majesty was conveniently beside the crown prince. She faces Concubine Li, who was in between the empress and Yun Wei. With a feigned shock, she asked to confirm. "Your majesty, unfortunately, I'm not blessed enough to be married yet." She refused his words as she sat down with quite a lot of distance.

"Ah, you are, though."

"What do you mean, your majesty?"

As if to corner Shen Yue even more, the empress explained it for the emperor. "Forgive us for discussing your future by ourselves. As you've noticed, the month for the ladies to return is near. The topic of the future crown princess arose again, and as we were reviewing how many ladies there were, his majesty cleverly mentioned your name. And since you've spent time enough with the crown prince, we decided to include you in the choices. Would that be alright?"

'No.'

-Was what she wanted to say.

To avoid further development, she had to stop it early by the roots. "Forgive me for refusing, but I have somebody in my heart already."

At this moment, they all looked at her with curious gazes.

"Unfortunately, he's already passed the yellow river (He's dead)." She ended it quickly. "Nevertheless, he is still in my heart. Forever to remain and live." Her eyes looked at the man beside her to make it clear that she was taken.

"That's rough, miss." Yun Renshu said and proceeded to await more discussions.

Sadly, there was no more discussion. A loud kick made by the second prince caused a different atmosphere to creep up. His target was Shen Yue, but he ended up kicking the crown prince and hitting the table as he retracted his leg. The noise took all them back from their heated conversation into reality.

"Ahm," coughed the emperor. "Since that is the case, then I will let you decide after half a month. I hope that Renshu can change your mind during your times."

The six people began to eat, but it wasn't enjoyable. It quickly ended when the emperor left for his duties.

After they've left the garden, Concubine Li pulled Yun Wei and Shen Yue to a room, unable to believe and accept the situation. "What's your decision?" She asked immediately while looking around to check if anybody was eavesdropping. After confirming that nobody was inside, she again inquired while holding Shen Yue by her shoulder. "Would you marry him? You promised to support Yun Wei!"

"Mother…" -Wei

"You told me yourself!" Concubine Li began to raise her voice in desperation after noticing that Shen Yue was silent. She took it as a confirmation for Yue's betrayal. "You know him, right? You know the crown prince? Yes… he mentioned that he found you familiar, which was why they added you to the candidates. Are you colluding with them?"

This time, her son finally stopped her by taking her hands off Shen Yue and hugging the concubine. Her mouth's theories became more and more absurd after she was bound by her son's hug.

Both Yun Wei and Shen Yue knew there was truth in her words. "Mother, she… he… Shen Yue is not that kind of person. I've lived with her for ten years, and I know she was forced by the situation. Didn't you say that the empress has become more active lately? Her majesty probably threatened her…"

Shen Yue was quietly watching them as she stood alone by the door. Was it a mistake for her to associate herself with Yun Wei? But he really is a lovely person and a good friend. Even now that his mother is in an emotional state, the secrets she told him were never once uttered or slipped through his lips.

"Thank you, I really appreciate it." She whispered, only loud enough for Yun Wei's cultivator ears to hear, but not concubine Li's. She then began to explain what happened, and when it started.

Finally, she ended it with,"Don't worry. I don't plan on marrying yet. And definitely not to his highness. I will leave along with the Crown Princess candidates next week," Then left for her chambers.

Her daintian was beginning to act up again. It's become more frequent and tremendously painful as the last stage of cleansing got closer.

That night, she sneaked out alone and into the abandoned mansion outside the city.