“Princess?”

The voice of the maid cuts through the fog of the nightmare-death. You stir a little, reluctant to wake. When you finally open your eyes, you are greeted by the still unfamiliar ceiling and flimsy curtains.

“You must get up, Princess. You have only six hours to get ready!”

Ready for what? You sit up, sleepily shoving hair out of your face.

The sight of your hand gives you pause. The skin tone is fair, but not the ghostly white you are used to.

The maid pulls back the curtain and smiles. “Good morning, Your Highness.”

“Good morning.” You rub gently at an eye.

While she helps you up, other maids appear to make the bed and bustle about. Having never been a morning person, you can only watch sullenly. It is still so strange.

“Don’t you worry, Your Highness,” your personal maid, Shan, says as she brings your slippers to you. “You will be the most beautiful bride.”

Oh. Right. A heavy sigh escapes you.

A week has passed since you woke up. Somehow, you have found yourself in the body of Princess Meizhen, the eldest daughter of the king of Qin. Although you are not sure how it happened, this is infinitely better than being dead. However, it might have been nice to get acclimated to this world before being married off to another country.

“I still can’t believe you survived that poison, Your Highness,” Shan rambles on. “You must truly be blessed by the gods!”

No, the real Meizhen died from it. I’m just a desperate imposter.

You allow Shan to lead you to the room where a large bath has been prepared. Flower petals almost cover the entire surface. It is the prettiest bath you have ever seen, even more so than when your brother gifted you a set of luxurious bath products. A pang of sorrow hits, because you miss your brother. He probably isn’t handling my death well.

It is still strange to have others bathe you. However, getting to relax in the water that smells so nice is worth it.

You notice more than one servant avoid meeting your gaze. It does not seem to have anything to do with etiquette, because Shan has no problem looking you in the face. No, there is something off about you.

The first time you saw a reflection had shocked you. With long, straight hair so black it almost has a blue sheen, Princess Meizhen is obviously a beauty. What was even more shocking was how similar her face is to yours. It felt like you had been given a new, blessed chance at life.

That was when you noticed your eyes.

Your bright blue eyes.

The gods have a cruel sense of humor, you think to yourself as Shan combs through your long, dark tresses.

It does not take a genius to figure out the rumors about the body you inhabit. Even without outright asking Shan, the servants here are rather chatty. Just by remaining quiet, you could eavesdrop easily. It is good Shan does not know about the gossip. She is not only loyal but also extremely protective. She would chase off the only sources of information that you have.

Still, being infamous as Qin’s Witch Princess is rather daunting. You do not mind it on its own, but you are wary of being unable to defend yourself. Although magic does not seem unheard of here, you do not actually have any knowledge of whatever witchcraft you could be accused of. There is no doubt in your mind that an accusation is in your near future. You have seen enough harem shows and manhwa to know better.

As a foreign princess with a negative image, there is no way that marrying into the Crown Prince’s palace will go smoothly. His concubines will get jealous and target you.

I just want to go home. The wave of homesickness almost catches you off-guard. You have to blink rapidly to prevent any tears from falling.

By the time preparations are done, you are ready to get this over with. Maybe, if you are lucky, your new husband will not even come to your room after the ceremony. Although if that happens, you will become the subject of ridicule. It will be even harder to control the harem if that happens.

“Remember to keep the veil on until he removes it, Your Highness,” Shan frets as she helps you up into the palanquin.

“I remember.”

Although the king did not come to see you off, you expected as much. From the burst of memories the body provided, Princess Meizhen has been mostly neglected by her father. Her mother, the former queen, was the king’s true love. His favoritism was so blatant that it got his wife murdered. Apparently, Meizhen looks so much like her mother that seeing her leaves the king incapacitated with grief. In her sixteen years, the princess has only seen her father a handful of times – and only at the distance required in a royal banquet.

Instead, Prince Minsheng, her eldest brother, is present to see you off. The two are pretty close, but do not have much time to see each other. Now, there is no telling when or if you will see this family again.

At least he doesn’t look like Hyunshik, you reassure yourself with a sigh. Still, the tears that suddenly blur your vision catch you by surprise. You cannot tell if they are your tears over missing your family, or if they belong to the body’s original owner and are reflexive.

“Oh! Your Highness!” Shan says suddenly.

You slide the curtain open enough to see her clearly through your veil. “Yes?”

“This is from Second Princess,” she says. In her outstretched hand is a purple jade bangle.

It is beautiful, with excellent craftsmanship. You are reaching out to accept it when the slight breeze that ruffles the drapes brings a familiar scent to you. Nostrils flaring for a moment, you change your grip so that there is material covering your hand.

“I’ll have to make sure to thank Princess Peijing,” you murmur.

It is good that Shan is not suspicious by nature, but it will lead her into danger.

“Shan, make sure to wash off your hands as soon as possible,” you instruct quietly.

Confusion flashes across her face, but she seems to catch on enough – or perhaps she just trusts you. “Yes, Your Highness.”

You do not understand why your half-sister is trying to sabotage your fertility. Having a child with the Crown Prince is your duty, and will strengthen relations between the two countries.

Either Peijing is jealous and wants to be Crown Princess Consort, or she does not want you to get any glory. After all, she is the source of most of the rumors that have led up to your nickname. You are fairly certain that she and her mother are at fault for poisoning Meizhen in the first place.

You carefully wrap the bangle in a handkerchief, before slipping it into a pocket that you added to the inside of your sleeves. At least being a seamstress in your last life has provided plenty of experience. Originally, you were hoping to store some snacks in there. Now, you are too wary to be hungry.

If they can put thunder-god-vine juice on a bracelet, who knows what poisons could go into food? Even if it doesn’t kill me, it could potentially still humiliate me. You cringe at the idea of having explosive diarrhea on your wedding night.

It still has not sunk in that you will be getting married soon, either. This whole situation feels so distant, like it is happening to someone else. Before, you were a 21-year-old coordi-noona trainee. Now you are a 16-year-old princess bride.

This is ing crazy.

Still, you are here now. There has not been even a hint that there is a way back to your time. That being the case, you have decided to make the most of this.

It is good that you made Shan explain this process. You will be carried to the main gates of Qinyi, the capital of Qin. From there, you will be transferred to a horse-drawn carriage. Here, you will reside until reaching the capital of Haojing. You will then move back into a palanquin and be carried into the city. The next time you get to move about freely is after being carried to the room where the marriage night is supposed to happen. 

The thought makes your face burn.

I miss cars and airplanes. The thought of Shan’s reaction to seeing either of them makes you giggle softly.

---

“The entourage from Qin will be here within the month. The Qin princess will be brought here quite quickly. Once she is here, the wedding ceremony will be performed.”

The lecture has been repeated fairly often, especially recently. It is almost to the point of memorization for the victim.

Crown Prince Zhaohui barely resists the urge to roll his eyes. He has always gone above and beyond in his duties. This is almost insulting. The current empress only became such after the suspicious death of his birth mother. If he did not already have plans to investigate, he would not have been up to her for so long. He also has to keep dodging the empress’s attempts to marry her own niece into his palace.

“I understand, Your Majesty,” he says easily when she has finished. “I will do my best to make Princess Meizhen feel welcome.”

The empress’s expression is hard, her eyes cold. Sometimes it feels laughable that such a person who cannot even hide her true feelings is in charge of the internal palace. Aside from schemes, she is not good for much else. This is what makes it easier to indulge her when her demands get obnoxious.

“You may go,” she dismisses, not bothering to look up.

After a quick bow, he backs from the room.

A eunuch outside shudders at the way the Crown Prince’s grand, pleasant demeanor melts away into something much colder.

“Chang.” Zhaohui does not look around, for the guard appears seemingly from nowhere.

“Yes, Your Highness?” Chang glances up from where he has knelt.

“Make sure we have guards waiting for the princess. Have them remain hidden unless they feel revealing themselves is necessary.” He glances over his shoulder, eyes hard.

“We will make sure the Crown Princess Consort arrives safely, Your Highness,” Chang promises.

A subtle move of his hand is the only signal that Chang receives. With another bow, he stands and disappears.

“What is next on my agenda?” Zhaohui asks with a weary sigh.

His personal eunuch appears at his elbow. “You have an audience with His Majesty next.”

The Crown Prince manages not to groan. Instead, he nods and turns to head in the direction of the emperor’s study. This audience will most likely be a repeat of the one with the empress. Only his father’s warnings for caution will be genuine. The marriage alliance with Qin has been set up specifically for him. Sometimes, he wonders if his father already suspects the current empress for his mother’s death. Unfortunately, the emperor is ultimately unconcerned or intentionally turning a blind eye.

“Is there anything else I must do after seeing the emperor?” He hopes not.

“No, Your Highness. You left your afternoon open so that you could decide what to do.”

“Good, very good.”

Perhaps he would pay a visit to his brother, then. He can take the time to explain the appropriate way to express affections so that no one gets embarrassed when you arrive. Breaking the protocol would ruin the mood entirely.

Still, first things first, he must go see his father.