The Double Life of the Heir's Consort - Chapter 2

Chapter 2

On the day I was married off, my old man got blind drunk.

My nose stung as I bent down and stepped into the bridal sedan.

From that day on, the raging winds and yellow sands, the setting sun over the desert, the clash of spears and armored horses-all of it had nothing to do with me anymore.

As for this marriage, the only thing I felt fortunate about was that my husband, Xiao Hanlin, Heir Apparent of the Marquis of Zhennan, seemed to dislike me quite a bit.

He would frown when he saw me lounging weakly on the couch as if I had no bones. He would frown when I pricked my finger while embroidering and sucked in a pained breath. He would even frown when I played the zither under the moon in a fit of melancholy.

Whenever he saw me, there was never a single moment when his brow was not furrowed.

I did not mind. It was not as if I liked him either.

If anything, I wished he would loathe me even more. Ideally, he would never set so much as half a foot into my courtyard.

That way, everyone would be happy.

Later, at a banquet, Xiao Hanlin’s Commandery Princess cousin came over with a smile to offer me a toast.

She invited me to admire the flowers somewhere secluded, and then her true colors came out.

“You must be so pleased with yourself for marrying Brother Hanlin, aren’t you?” she said, glaring at me viciously. “You used the military merits your father earned risking his life to marry into the Marquis’s Mansion and enjoy a life of luxury. Song Shizhi, what do you have to be so proud of?”

“Oh.” Only then did I understand. So this Commandery Princess was in love with my husband but could not have him.

I was not the sort to endure everything without a word, so I asked her right back, “Is Your Highness blaming yourself for not having a father who could risk life and limb to earn military merits and pave the way for you?”

The Commandery Princess was so furious she stamped her foot and pointed at me as she cursed, “You, you, you… Even if you married into the Marquis’s Mansion, you will never have Brother Hanlin’s love!”

I turned to look at her. She seemed to have found something to rely on, some source of confidence, and her expression relaxed, carrying a hint of madness.

“Brother Hanlin had a woman he held in his heart. And that woman is already dead. Brother Hanlin will never fall in love with anyone else in this lifetime.”

The Commandery Princess looked at me with pity in her eyes. “Song Shizhi, don’t you think you’re pathetic?”

What was there to be pathetic about?

Was Xiao Hanlin’s love supposed to be precious? Whoever wanted it could have it. I certainly did not.

I did not waste any more breath arguing with her and turned to leave.

On the way back to the Marquis’s Mansion, Xiao Hanlin and I shared a carriage.

He leaned back against the carriage wall, eyes closed, leaving a considerable distance between us.

I studied him and suddenly understood.

No wonder he wore that dead man’s face every day. So the woman he loved was dead.

Tsk, tsk, tsk. Poor thing.