THE CROWN PRINCE was also destined to become the emperor. Leaving aside the fact that he would inevitably take many concubines, marrying him meant Lily would be forced into the imperial palace and officially become part of the imperial family.
"Grandpa, I'm your only descendant," Lily said coldly. "What our family needs is a clean man willing to enter our household and take our surname—not marry me off to be someone's neglected wife. If I marry the crown prince, the Pei family ends with me."
She didn't hesitate to stab her grandfather's heart with her words.
In her previous lives, her grandfather only remembered the family mantra after she had already been married off—too late to change anything. She, on the other hand, had known it all along. But she hadn't cared enough to do anything about it. After all, she thought, she was destined to die early anyway.
Still, despite everything, she had never once let that filthy man touch her. She despised him. Why should she let him have her?
Now, in this life, just the thought of marrying him made her skin crawl. She wouldn't allow it to happen again.
"Are you certain the rumors about the crown prince sleeping around aren't baseless gossip?" Duke Pei asked solemnly. He looked weary. After all, the engagement had been arranged between him and the previous emperor—his best friend. It was a lingering reminder of their bond. Naturally, it pained him to even consider breaking it.
Lily's jaw tightened. She could almost read his thoughts.
So that's what this is. He's still blinded by that so-called friendship.
She felt a dull ache in her chest. It wasn't disappointment—it was fury, wrapped in sorrow. Her own grandfather, the one person who should've been her strongest ally, was hesitating… over an old promise?
"Am I that cheap to you?" she asked icily. Her tone was low, deadly calm, and devoid of emotion. "So cheap you're willing to gamble my future on a memory?"
The temperature in the study seemed to drop with her words.
Duke Pei's heart clenched as he stared into his granddaughter's emotionless eyes. His throat tightened, and his lips parted as if to speak—but she turned and strode away before he could utter a single word.
He sat frozen in place, guilt hitting him like a boulder.
Fifth Imperial Uncle Hugo, who had been quietly observing the entire exchange, finally broke his silence with a long sigh.
"I admire and thank Uncle Pei for cherishing the friendship you had with my imperial father, but..." Hugo looked up, his voice steady and composed. "It's neither wise nor righteous to hurt your only family in the name of loyalty to a dead man. That girl is the only blood relative you have left in this world. You raised her with your own hands. Are you truly willing to marry her off to someone who will trample everything she is?"
His words cut like a blade.
Hugo continued, unfazed by the tension. "I recall that Uncle Pei married his wife for love. Even your son followed his heart. So why would you deny your granddaughter the same right?"
Duke Pei lowered his head, his shoulders hunched under the weight of his guilt. "I... was muddle-headed," he muttered, voice hoarse.
Of course he wasn't going to let her suffer. He had simply… forgotten what mattered.
Duke Pei wiped at his eyes. His chest ached. He had wounded his granddaughter deeply, all because he was blinded by the ghost of a friendship long buried.
He was a fool. A complete imbecile.
---
Meanwhile, the 'heartbroken' granddaughter was already galloping out of the Pei Estate.
Was she truly heartbroken? Not quite.
Lily had simply used her words to guilt-trip her grandfather—and it had worked, or at least started to. But regardless of how he reacted, she wasn't going to wait for his approval.
The engagement was going to be broken.
It had to be.
Unable to rest easy with the issue unresolved, Lily ordered her maidservant to prepare a horse. The moment the steed was ready, she mounted it without hesitation. Her two loyal maidservants followed behind on their own mounts.
Half an hour later, they arrived at the gates of the imperial palace.
The guards immediately recognized the striking woman leading the small party. Without delay, they granted her passage.
Inside the palace, news of her arrival swiftly reached the emperor's ears.
Startled, the emperor raised a brow but composed himself quickly. "Summon the crown prince," he ordered the chief eunuch. "And bring Lily to the receiving hall. Treat her with utmost courtesy."
---
Elsewhere in the palace, Crown Prince Ace was tangled up with a new maidservant, basking in the afterglow of indulgence. He was just preparing for another round when the eunuch's voice called out from beyond the doors.
"His Highness is summoned to the receiving hall."
He frowned. "Why is Lily here?"
The crown prince quickly got up and dressed himself. He may have treated the engagement casually, but he was well aware of the power and prestige behind the Pei name. He couldn't afford to offend them too openly.
But before he could finish tidying himself, the doors burst open.
Empress Yen entered with cold fury in her eyes.
"Mother?" Ace said, startled.
The empress ignored his confusion. Her sharp gaze went straight to the disheveled maid sprawled across his bed.
"Take her away," Empress Yen ordered her attendants.
The maid, sensing danger, panicked. She threw herself at the crown prince's feet, sobbing and pleading for mercy. "Your Highness, save me! Please!"
Crown Prince Ace's face twisted with displeasure, but he didn't dare defy his mother outright.
When the others had left and only the two royals remained, Empress Yen's eyes blazed with rage.
"You fool!" she spat. "You're engaged to the Pei girl, yet you still dare to indulge in such disgusting behavior? Do you not understand who she is?"
Crown Prince Ace scowled. "She's not even a man," he muttered under his breath. "Why should the Pei family's traditions apply to her?"
His implication was obvious—he believed fidelity was a one-sided rule.
The empress stared at her son as though she were seeing him for the first time.
"Are you truly this blind?" she hissed. "The Pei family is known throughout the empire for their discipline and pride. They hold loyalty above all else. Their mantra has preserved their bloodline for generations! If Lily walks away now, you lose more than just a bride—you lose the entire military might behind her."
"I've waited long enough," Ace grumbled. "I've held back for twenty years. I'm a man—I have needs."
He said it like he expected sympathy.
The empress was speechless for a moment—then sneered.
"Needs?" she repeated. "What you need is a brain. That maid you just ruined? She wasn't even worth the dirt on Lily's boots. You think the Pei family will tolerate you taking a concubine behind their back? Think again. You'll be lucky if they don't burn the palace down on their way out."
Ace frowned. "Even if I take her as my wife, I'll still make the prime minister's daughter a concubine. The Pei family might be powerful, but I can't let them dictate everything."
Empress Yen closed her eyes. She was done arguing.
When the chief eunuch knocked again, urging the crown prince to proceed to the hall, she said nothing more. She simply turned and followed her son, her face a mask of disappointment.