Dreaming of Chang'an - Chapter 1

Chapter 1

An imperial edict arrived at the Minister’s Mansion.

“The Minister of Rites, Meng Fei, is hereby commanded to choose one of his daughters and bestow her in marriage to the eunuch Xue Yao. The wedding is to be held without delay.”

Father stared at the edict, his eyes nearly splitting with rage. The madam and the concubines almost fainted on the spot.

My sisters were thrown into panic, weeping so pitifully they looked like pear blossoms in the rain.

Only I remained calm.

I stepped forward, took the imperial edict from Father’s hands, and said softly,

“I’ll go.”

The room fell silent. You could have heard a pin drop.

Everyone’s eyes turned to me-some shocked, some confused, some suspicious.

Of course.

As the daughter of a dignified minister, even if I was only concubine-born, I was more than good enough to marry some young master from an aristocratic family.

No one understood why I would willingly jump into the fire pit.

But no one objected, either.

I smiled self-mockingly and tightened my grip on the edict.

Then I let the memories tear through me.

In my previous life, the one who married the eunuch Xue Yao on Father’s orders was my third sister, Meng Yiru.

Meng Yiru was spoiled, vicious, and unreasonable. After the wedding, she only grew worse, humiliating Xue Yao both in public and behind closed doors.

In the end, she dragged the entire Minister’s Mansion into a blood feud with Xue Yao.

After the New Emperor ascended the throne, Xue Yao rose to power overnight and became the Lord Nine Thousand whom everyone feared.

The men of the Minister’s Mansion were executed. The women were exiled.

The family was destroyed in a single night.

…

Mother, who had been bedridden with illness, heard the news that I was to marry Xue Yao and dropped her bowl of medicine.

She forced herself upright, wanting to go beg Father to change his mind.

I gently pressed Mother back onto the bed and shook my head.

“Mother, Eldest Sister is already promised to someone else. Third Sister has an extreme temper. She would only bring disaster upon the Meng Mansion.”

“Xue Yao may be a eunuch, but since he is able to serve at the Crown Prince’s side, he must have some ability. I have also heard he is very handsome.”

“Please don’t worry. Your daughter will live well.”

Mother stared blankly for a long while before she reached out with trembling hands and pulled me against her chest.

Her grief-stricken sobs sounded by my ear, and my own heart ached with bitterness.

Though I knew this was a path no one should take, I had no choice but to take it.

In my previous life, I learned by chance that the one Father had originally meant to send into the palace was me.

It was Mother who knelt for an entire night before he changed it to Meng Yiru, Concubine Zhao’s daughter.

Later, when Mother died of a sudden illness, Concubine Zhao had been the one behind it.

So although I was not certain what end awaited me if I entered the palace this time,

in this life, all I wanted was for Mother to stay alive and well.