The Vow of Mountains and Rivers - Chapter 1

Chapter 1

“My lord, are you truly sending the Third Young Miss into the palace?”

The servants in the estate came one after another to ask, their eyes wide and their faces full of disbelief.

“Yes. Into the palace to become an imperial consort and help the Shen Family secure favor.”

My old man was sharpening his blade with murderous energy, yet his face was all smiles as he nodded.

Having just taken a beating, I was hiding under the table with my head in my arms. Even so, I nodded firmly.

“Yes. The kind where the family is ruined, everyone dies, and we all go down as loyal martyrs.”

At that, the servants scattered in every direction, crying, “The old marquis has gone mad!”

Yes. My father really had gone mad.

The Old Emperor had been gravely ill for days, and everyone else was avoiding the palace like the plague.

Only my father, desperate to prove his loyalty, was rushing to send his daughter into the palace as a good-luck bride.

Fine, send someone in to ward off bad luck if he had to. In any case, no matter how you counted, it should never have fallen to a useless little good-for-nothing like me.

After all, everyone knew-

Marquis Zhongyong, valiant and battle-hardened, had three daughters and one son.

My eldest sister was a celestial beauty, gentle and intelligent. Who knew how many young masters from noble families had come to ask for her hand?

My second sister was free-spirited and capable, no less impressive than any man. Countless bold young heroes had been defeated by her hand.

My elder brother stood like a jade tree in the wind, handsome and elegant, the dream boy of countless sheltered young ladies.

And me?

I climbed trees, scaled walls, caught birds, raided nests, and when I got into fights, I even cursed people’s mothers.

For every compliment my siblings received in a day, I got just as many scoldings from my father.

But none of us expected that the moment the imperial edict arrived, my eldest sister would climb over the wall and elope with a scholar, while my second sister would ride out of the capital overnight.

My father, frantic as if his eyebrows were on fire, even considered replacing the palace candidate with my elder brother.

In the end, however, he managed to restrain himself.

After pacing back and forth for an entire night, he could only set his sights on me, the disappointing good-for-nothing.

“You have your cousin-aunt in the palace. If you suffer any grievances, go find her…”

“Be polite when you speak. No fighting, and no cursing people’s mothers…”

Before I entered the palace, my father pressed me into his arms and wept until tears streamed down his aged face.

I held back my own tears and comforted him with utmost sincerity.

“Old man, live well. Once I become a favored consort, I’ll make sure to deal with you properly.”

My father’s mouth opened and closed as if he wanted to say something.

After staring blankly for a long while, he finally squeezed out one sentence.

“Get the hell out of here.”

Fine. I got out.

I swiftly rolled into the sedan chair, swaying all the way as I was carried through the palace gates.

Just as I was immersing myself in the thrilling drama of palace intrigue, a solemn bell tolled from within the towering palace walls.

Before I could count how many times it rang, wails of grief filled the sky.

The Old Emperor…

He had died!