A gentle and virtuous woman is a good match for a gentleman. ...the wife of the future... The one who will spend a lifetime with oneself, who doesn't have curiosity?

  So when his second brother pulled him towards the flower pavilion and waterside pavilion, he didn't refuse.

  The flower pavilion of the royal palace gathered many famous and wealthy young ladies with blooming flowers.

  This Qixi Festival gathering is more like a screening session with the intention of selection, rather than a joyful day for daughters to showcase their talents.

  The young ladies from wealthy families are well aware of the importance, so they pay attention to every detail from their attire to makeup, and even when chatting with each other, they are extremely mindful of etiquette and wording, fearing that a single careless remark might jeopardize their future.

  He was pulled by his second brother to the back hall of the water pavilion, and when he saw a pile of purple and red flowers through the gap in the flower screen, he regretted it.

  "Let's go back," he said in a low voice, and the curiosity that had once been there became dull and uninteresting at this moment.

  "They're all here, we have to take a look!" Second Brother was pressed against the flower screen helping him search for the eldest daughter of the Peng family.

  He shook his head, standing helplessly by, his sharp eyes casually scanning through the gap to see a sea of faces filled with greed and ferocity.

  He closed his eyes and pondered whether he should abandon Second Brother and leave first.

  "I saw them! They're coming!"

  Second brother lightly called out, and then he pulled him to the front of the flower screen. He saw three women, two of whom were as colorful as a peacock screen, while the one in the middle was as simple and elegant as a lotus flower in a pond. She wore a high-waisted green skirt with a water wave pattern, paired with a light-colored embroidered floral blouse. Simple and unadorned, yet dignified and elegant, especially when set against the two extreme colors on either side, this simplicity was particularly elegant and captivating.

  "Miss Peng, aren't you really going to compete with them in music? Your skills in zither, chess, calligraphy and painting are all top-notch, why don't you stand up and suppress their momentum?"

  "It's just that they were humble at first, but when you didn't come out, one by one they all started showing off and acting like they're the top family."

  "Let them be noisy, I really don't have the leisure to compare who's higher or lower." The gentle voice carried a hint of coldness, which raised his eyebrows.

  "You don't need to be humble anymore, you're already engaged to Qi Wang, who here can compare to you?"

  "It's just, I really envy you, can marry Qi Wang, ah, are you delighted in your heart?"

  "Are you very happy now?"

  A slender figure stood in front of the flower screen, with an outstanding face that didn't show any joy: "Whether we're happy or not, what's the difference? Our marriage was arranged by our elders at home, as long as it benefits the family, who would care about whether we're willing or not."

  "It's true what you said, but he is the Crown Prince! If you marry him, you'll become a princess!"

  "Right, right! Qi Wang is handsome and talented. If I had your good fortune, I'd wake up smiling every night..."

  "I just want to find the one I'm destined for, even if he's an ordinary person, I'd be willing to spend my life with him." Su Jing's slender figure poured out her sincere innermost thoughts, unaware that he was standing behind the flower screen.

  "What you said is all castles in the air for us official ladies!"

  "Yes, your father would never allow it."

  With a sense of loss in her five senses, she felt melancholy and sighed: "So, I no longer have any expectations for my life."

  "Why be so pessimistic? Doesn't Wang Qi enter your heart?"

  A slender figure trembled slightly: "Never seen before, how could I have known? He is a prince, afraid of being too proud, let alone this marriage was arranged with great care. If he were like me, having troubles and worries, he would not see my true heart, but only take it as false intention, what expectation is there?"

  The two women were left speechless for a moment.

  "Look at me, I've said a lot, now it's your turn, what's been interesting lately?"

  Three women chatted and gradually left in front of the flower screen, he stood still, silent.

  "Fourth brother, this eldest daughter of the Peng family is really too much... " Second Brother complained, with a look of disdain on his face: "Actually comparing you to those ordinary people? Those people can't be compared to us..."

  "She's telling the truth." He lowered his eyelids: "For this marriage, only if both parties are unemotional and don't have any hopes can they get along smoothly."

  "Second brother was shocked and looked at him: 'Don't you dislike her?'"

  "There is no such thing as liking, so where does disliking come from."

  After he finished answering, he retreated from the waterside pavilion. Three days later, he sent a letter to Peng's mansion and personally handed it over to Peng Lan.

  The letter said he wanted to break off the engagement, and the reason was that he didn't want to be a chess piece.

  Before, he was worried and hesitant, considering too many things, also afraid of hurting the other person, but after hearing her pour out her heart, he understood that she had the same thoughts as him, so he felt that he didn't need to worry anymore.

  We're all sensible people, so let's just drop it!

  He thought so and made up his mind at that time to set himself free, lest he would one day be like her.

  An hour later, the reply he received contained only a blank sheet of paper.

  Even someone as clever as him wouldn't dare to make a definitive judgment about it.

  Two months later, on the Double Ninth Festival, a banquet was held in the palace, and the families of these high-ranking officials who lived in the capital were naturally invited.

  That day, Father Wang brought these sons to participate in the banquet, and he also formally met her.

  At the banquet, his father said with a smile that his decision at that time was wise and powerful. Under the gaze of everyone, they didn't pretend to be affectionate with fake smiles, but he coldly spoke not a word more, nor did she look at him an extra glance.

  When the banquet was about to disperse, it was unclear whether the emperor was drunk or intentionally wanted to give them a chance to interact, but he actually asked him to personally escort Peng Lan out of the palace.

  So on the road that day, he asked her, what does "white paper" mean?

  "We are both blank paper, our fate written by others."

  Peng Lan's demeanor was cold and clear, her eyebrows and eyes were delicate, like a helpless duckweed, that extremely beautiful face is truly breathtaking.

  But this sentence, which should have touched his heart, did not evoke any sympathy from him. Instead, it stirred up his discontent and made him think that she was a willing puppet, and he had overestimated her.

  So he no longer spoke to her, just wanting to send her off at the palace gate. As a result, when they saw the palace gate ahead, she seemed to have shed all restraints and opened up in conversation.

  "If you want to break off the engagement with me, it's not I who will be unable to rest easy, but rather the great king."

  A marriage contract, what kind of relationship is tied up in it, how could he not know?

  He was annoyed at being tied up and hated being treated as a pawn.

  He wants to fight.

  Having lost the emperor's love and trust, the future of Fourth Prince, Chen Zhaoyi, and the Peng family are all uncertain. As the fourth prince is noble and has nothing to fear, but Han'er is the eldest daughter of the family and is willful and disobedient.

  Blunt words, Shirō's intimate way of calling her, left him shocked and surprised at this woman.

  She bade farewell and left, neither hastily nor slowly, neither flustered nor hurried, but rather with a dignified air, neither humble nor arrogant, nor flurried.

  He watched her leave the palace gate, quite surprised that a woman would speak to him in such a way, and looked at her with some different eyes.

  But he also knew that if he wanted to escape this marriage and everything being controlled, then he had no choice but to take drastic measures.