Chapter 2: Probing and Confrontation
Su Mingli's face still burned with lingering pain as she pushed herself upright, fingers gripping the edge of the table. The heavens had granted her a second life—she'd be damned if she let anyone trample over her again.
Cold wind swept through the courtyard when she opened the door, sharpening her resolve.
"Miss!" Her maid Xiaotao hurried after her, wringing her hands. "The Marchioness summons you."
"Summons?" Su Mingli's laugh held ice. "More like commands."
Every step toward the main hall tightened her vigilance. The Dingguo Household's sudden attention could only spell trouble.
The atmosphere curdled the moment she entered. Marchioness Dingguo sat rigid on the central seat, eyes like scalpels. Beside her lounged an unfamiliar man in opulent brocade robes, his expression glacial.
"Su Mingli! Have you forgotten all etiquette?" The Marchioness's voice cracked like a whip. "Kneel before His Highness the Crown Prince!"
Memory surged—the original host's betrothal to this man, shattered when scars made her a laughingstock. Su Mingli dipped into a shallow curtsey. "This subject's daughter pays respects to the Crown Prince."
The prince's gaze swept over her ruined face. "Rumors claimed you lay dying. Yet here you stand, remarkably robust."
"Your concern honors me," she replied, smile edged like a scalpel. "Fortune granted me reprieve."
The Marchioness interjected sharply: "Given your condition, you should grovel that His Highness offers mercy—a concubine's position in the Eastern Palace."
The room held its breath.
Su Mingli's chuckle shattered the silence. "How unfortunate—I must decline this... generosity."
Gasps rippled through the hall.
Before the Marchioness could erupt, dark laughter rolled from the doorway. All turned to see War Prince Xiao Jingxuan leaning against the threshold, midnight robes swallowing the light.
"Fascinating." His gaze pinned Su Mingli like a specimen under glass. "Do enlighten us, Miss Su—what path remains for one who spurns both death and princes?"