Red candles flickered, and festive lanterns hung high across the sprawling estate. Exquisitely crafted double-happiness paper cuts adorned every door and window, while long bands of crimson silk crisscrossed majestically between the carved corridors.
Today was the historic wedding day uniting the empires of Da and Shu, and the General’s Manor was bathed in an air of jubilant festivity.
Princess Evelyn of Anyang sat poised upon the magnificent carved-wood canopy bed inside the bridal chamber, surrounded by an ocean of blinding red that felt almost surreal—like a lifetime away.
Suddenly, hearty bursts of masculine laughter drifted in from the outer reception hall. Had this been an ordinary marriage among common folk, such cheer would be heartwarming. But to Evelyn, that laughter sounded sharp and piercing.
She closed her eyes for a brief moment, her mind drifting back to that fateful day before she departed Shu...
"The iron cavalry of Da has trampled five nations, and now our turn has come. The mandate of heaven has shifted. Our military strength is waning and cannot withstand Da's might; your Imperial Father can no longer bear to watch our loyal soldiers die in vain or our people driven into exile."
"Evelyn, my child, your father has no choice left. We must submit to Da. For centuries, Da and Shu have been uneasy neighbors. Father has failed you, forcing you to go to Da as a bride of peace, wedded to Arthur to prove our absolute sincerity..."
Evelyn understood the grim reality. There were no other options left.
As the eldest daughter of the Emperor and the sole princess of Shu, shouldering this burden of peace was her inescapable duty.
Evelyn understood, but that did not mean she felt no grievance.
Arthur’s reputation preceded him everywhere. He was a veritable god of slaughter, a living Yama whom even underworld spirits would detour to avoid. By conservative estimates, at least eight or nine hundred lives had been taken by his blade.
During the years Arthur spent conquering the surrounding five kingdoms, Evelyn had heard countless horrifying tales about him.
Some whispered that Arthur possessed a ferocious, demonic countenance with bulging eyes like a temple guardian; others claimed he had three heads and six arms, and had once torn off enemy heads on the battlefield with his bare hands to use as drinking cups.
By now, Arthur had practically become a terrifying bogeyman used by mothers to frighten crying children into silence at night.
Evelyn had never imagined in her wildest dreams that her destined husband for peace would be none other than him!
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