Waking Up to an Imperial Marriage with My Archenemy - Chapter 2

“So how did you get the wrong person? Luo Jinhe is hardworking, loves the people, and is plenty capable. Isn’t he doing a great job as Emperor?” Qiao Wan didn’t stop walking, continuing her internal dialogue with Xiao Bai.

“He’s great, sure, but he doesn’t have much time left.”

Qiao Wan: “?”

I worked my soul to the bone helping him take the throne, only for him to die right after winning?

“How much longer?” Qiao Wan stood still for a moment, taking a breath to steady her emotions before asking.

“Two years or so. Less than three,” Xiao Bai answered. “Luo Fengxin’s power was stripped by the old Emperor, and now Empress Dowager Chen’s family is the sole dominant force. Luo Jinhe only has two years, not enough time to clean out the Chen family and their cronies. Once he dies, the heir to the throne will almost certainly be a puppet of the Chens. They are insatiably greedy; if they take control of the government, the commoners are going to suffer.”

Qiao Wan didn’t need Xiao Bai to tell her this. Luo Jinhe’s mother, Empress Xiaozhen, died early. The current Empress Dowager Chen was installed after her death and was not his biological mother. To put him on the throne, Qiao Wan and her allies had been forced to win over the major families led by the Chens, enticing them with profit or bribing them with power.

When Luo Jinhe ascended, these people held military power abroad and controlled the court within. With his current strength, he couldn’t afford a total fallout yet; he could only fulfill his previous promises to temporarily stabilize the situation.

Luo Jinhe was an assertive monarch with his own vision. He knew that the Chen family and the noble houses clinging to them had become a cancer upon the dynasty. He intended to reform the old systems, which meant he was destined to become their enemy. With the support of people like Luo Fengxin, he might have been able to cultivate enough power over time to uproot this cancer—the problem was, he didn’t have time.

“In that case, you should go find a legendary doctor and find a way to let him live a few more years,” Qiao Wan suggested earnestly.

“This is his lifespan; it’s mandated by Heaven. When his time is up, even the gods can’t save him.”

“Then why didn’t you notice this earlier?” Qiao Wan demanded.

Xiao Bai covered its eyes with its paws. “I forgot. After I sent you back, I suddenly remembered to take a look, and then I realized things were looking grim, so I brought you back while you were still unconscious.”

Well, aren’t you just wonderful? What impeccable timing!

“What about Luo Fengxin? I’m not going to work myself to death putting her on the throne only for her to drop dead immediately, am I?” Since things had already come to this, Qiao Wan stopped dwelling on the past and asked about the new mission.

“No, no! I checked specifically this time. She has a long life ahead of her. As long as she doesn’t meet a sudden disaster, she’ll be fine!”

“And what qualifies as a ‘sudden disaster’?” Qiao Wan had a bad feeling.

“Getting killed on the battlefield, being sabotaged by villains, poisoning, assassination.”

Qiao Wan: “Why don’t you just say you want me to protect her until she dies of old age? Even if she takes the throne, as long as her seat isn’t secure, the people below will be itching to harm her.”

“That’s exactly why I kept you here to help her.” Xiao Bai argued weakly. “Once she ascends and secures her grip on power, there won’t be so much danger. She’ll definitely live a good life.”

“Oh, so I don’t just have to wait for her to be crowned, I have to wait until she’s consolidated power.” Qiao Wan was expressionless.

“Hehe.”

When the nest is overturned, no egg stays unbroken. Qiao Wan sighed. Being betrothed to Luo Fengxin meant she was now tied to her. And the conflict between Luo Fengxin and the Chen family was far deeper than the petty rivalry between the two of them—it was a fundamental clash of positions. If the Chens took power after Luo Jinhe died, both she and Luo Fengxin would be finished.

A knock at the door interrupted Qiao Wan’s thoughts. She stepped forward quickly, and by the time the door opened, she had regained her composure, showing none of the agitation from a moment ago.

“Oh, Censor Qiao.” Standing outside was a middle-aged eunuch followed by two younger ones. He clearly hadn’t expected Qiao Wan to answer the door personally, and his expression was one of surprise.

“Manager Cui.” Qiao Wan was acquainted with several eunuchs in the palace, and Cui Yongfu was one of them. He had been a great help in Luo Jinhe’s rise and was considered a confidant. Qiao Wan also recognized the two younger eunuchs behind him; on the surface, they followed Cui Yongfu, but in reality, they were the Empress Dowager’s people.

Qiao Wan wasn’t the only one who knew their backgrounds; Cui Yongfu and Luo Jinhe knew as well. She hadn’t expected the decree to be delivered by such a mixed group.

Qiao Wan withdrew her scrutinizing gaze and stood discreetly at the door, blocking the path and not inviting them in. She didn’t want them to see that her courtyard was empty, without a single servant in sight.

It wouldn’t matter if Cui Yongfu knew, but if the two younger eunuchs found out and reported it to Empress Dowager Chen, who knew what kind of trouble they might stir up.

“I heard His Majesty is unwell and was just thinking of heading to the palace to check on him. I didn’t expect to run into Manager Cui the moment I stepped out.” After some small talk, Qiao Wan asked, “Does Manager Cui’s visit mean His Majesty has issued a decree?”

“Precisely. Congratulations, Censor Qiao! Great joy has come to your door!” Cui Yongfu said with a beaming smile.

Even though Qiao Wan already knew the gist of the decree from Xiao Bai, she still had to act surprised in front of others. “Where does this joy come from?”

Cui Yongfu produced the edict. “His Majesty has already drafted the decree. Censor Qiao will understand once she hears it. Please receive the imperial order.”

Qiao Wan knelt and listened as Cui Yongfu read the long document. The decree started from her first assistance in Luo Jinhe’s rise to power and listed almost every contribution she had made over the years. In truth, only the last sentence mattered:

“Censor Qiao’s merits are etched in Our heart. Today, We specially bestow a marriage with the Princess of Zhenguo Leping and grant her the title of Madame of the State of Rong.”

A decree this long was undoubtedly written by Luo Jinhe himself.

Luo Jinhe had been like this even when he was Crown Prince—whenever he felt guilty, he liked to beat around the bush for miles. Now that he was Emperor, decrees were usually drafted by officials and merely reviewed by him. For him to write this personally suggested he truly felt a sense of shame.

And why wouldn’t he? This former comrade-in-arms had not only betrothed Qiao Wan to her arch-nemesis without a word of consultation, but he had also slapped a “State Madame” title on her.

On the surface, this was a massive favor. Qiao Wan was currently only a fifth-rank official, while “Madame of the State” was a first-rank title; by no means was she being mistreated. But in reality?

In the Great Yu Dynasty where Qiao Wan had ended up, same-sex marriage was not forbidden, but there was a distinction between “internal” and “external” roles. If she were marrying the Princess as a “Consort Kin,” she could continue her career as an official. Once she was titled a “State Madame,” it meant she was treated like the wives of first-rank officials, she became part of the Princess’s inner household. Barring any miracles, she would never step foot in the imperial court as an official again.

Receiving a high salary without having to work sounded quite nice, but that wasn’t where Qiao Wan’s heart lay. She had once told Luo Jinhe clearly that after he took the throne, she wanted to be allowed to return to the life of a commoner in the world of martial arts and markets. Luo Jinhe had agreed readily, but now he had suddenly gone back on his word.

Besides, wasn’t Luo Jinhe sick this morning? To have the willpower to worry about her marriage even while bedridden.

As much as Qiao Wan complained, she knew things wouldn’t be this simple. There had to be some turn of events behind this sudden betrothal.

She questioned Xiao Bai internally, but Xiao Bai only knew about the marriage itself, not the “why.” With outsiders present, Qiao Wan couldn’t press Cui Yongfu for details, so she probed indirectly: “Does His Majesty have any other instructions?”

“His Majesty requests Censor Qiao to enter the palace for a conversation,” Cui Yongfu replied, making a “please” gesture toward the carriage.

Qiao Wan turned back to close her door and boarded the carriage. Just before entering, she looked at Cui Yongfu again. “Has anything interesting happened in the palace lately?”

She was certain her previous intelligence wouldn’t have such a glaring oversight; only things that happened during the two days she was unconscious could have escaped her notice.

“Nothing in the palace, but I did hear something from the court,” Cui Yongfu mentioned casually. “Censor Jin submitted a memorial yesterday, requesting to retire and return to his hometown.”

Inside the Hall of Warm Grace, Luo Jinhe leaned back on a couch while a beautiful woman sat beside him, massaging his head. The woman wore a gold-inlaid hairpin with a chrysanthemum pattern and a purple silk dress embroidered with butterflies and flowers. The jade bracelets on her wrists made her skin look as white as snow. Such a beauty was rare even in a palace full of them, yet at this moment, she was being completely outshone by the person opposite her.

From the moment Qiao Wan entered the hall and finished her greetings, her gaze couldn’t help but drift toward Luo Fengxin. Though she didn’t want to praise her rival, she couldn’t deny that Luo Fengxin possessed a unique allure.

Beauties of this world were usually either delicate and charming or bright and dignified. Some female martial artists might have a heroic edge, but Luo Fengxin was none of those.

Qiao Wan still remembered the shock of first seeing Luo Fengxin—she was as radiant as spring flowers and as pure as the autumn moon. Back then, Luo Fengxin was beautiful but still possessed the quiet shyness of a sheltered daughter; she hadn’t been nearly as striking among a crowd of beauties as she was now. After three years of leading troops to guard the northern border and experiencing the slaughter of the battlefield, her demeanor had become increasingly steady and decisive. She had begun to exude a faint aura of a ruler, no wonder the old Emperor had grown so wary of her.

“Truly worthy of the heir I handpicked!” Xiao Bai’s infatuated voice rang in Qiao Wan’s ear.

“Heh, you said the same thing about Luo Jinhe before!” With so many people in the hall, Qiao Wan couldn’t speak aloud, so she retorted in her mind.

“That’s because I hadn’t put them side by side for comparison! Look at her eyes, her presence, her expression—is there anything about her that doesn’t look like an Empress?”

Having spent four years with Xiao Bai, Qiao Wan knew the system had zero standards. To get her to accept the new mission of assisting Luo Fengxin, it was willing to spout any kind of flattery. She wasn’t sure if the system took after the host or vice versa; Qiao Wan herself had a fairly thick skin, though she would never admit it.

“Ahem!” Luo Jinhe coughed, and Qiao Wan immediately withdrew her gaze and stood up straight.

“Someone, bring a seat.” As soon as Luo Jinhe spoke, a young eunuch brought a stool and of all places, placed it right beside Luo Fengxin’s chair. Qiao Wan didn’t want to go there at all. If it were just her, Luo Jinhe, and Luo Fengxin, she might have argued her case, but with Consort Cao and her father, Minister Cao, present, Qiao Wan had no choice but to thank him and sit.

As Qiao Wan sat down, Luo Fengxin glanced at her. The look was neither warm nor cold; it lingered for a second before turning away. Qiao Wan suddenly wanted to know what Luo Fengxin was feeling. In the past, Qiao Wan had frequently sought trouble with her, mostly to complete tasks to help the Prince or to deflect the old Emperor’s suspicion. In other words, Qiao Wan had been the provocateur and Luo Fengxin the retaliator. Theoretically, Luo Fengxin should be more annoyed than she was.

If this marriage made Luo Fengxin just as miserable as it made her, Qiao Wan felt it might be slightly more acceptable. Unfortunately, Luo Fengxin’s face was an unreadable mask.

“Qiao Wan, how has your health been lately?” Luo Jinhe asked with concern.

Qiao Wan was young and perfectly healthy. How could her health have changed in just two days? It was obvious Luo Jinhe was back to his old habit of stalling.

“Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty. I am quite well,” Qiao Wan replied.

“Ah, did you sleep well last night?”

“Quite well.”

“Have you had breakfast?”

Qiao Wan cleared her throat and looked at him. Luo Jinhe laughed, finally dropping the small talk. “I read a book recently that I found quite interesting. I recommend you take a look.”

As he spoke, he pulled a thin booklet from a desk compartment. A nearby eunuch quickly took it and presented it to Qiao Wan.

Qiao Wan looked down, only to see six large characters written on the cover: “Springtime Tales of the Inner Chambers.”

Qiao Wan: “?”

In broad daylight, the Emperor is actually trying to discuss erotica with his official? Qiao Wan was shocked.

But the real shock came next. She flipped through a few pages and discovered that this was actually an explicit “fanfiction” smut novel featuring herself and Luo Fengxin!