On the first night of torrential rain to hit the Capital that summer, Jiang Rou curled up behind a stone pillar in the West City Ruined Temple. As she listened to the rain lashing against the roof tiles, her nails dug deeply into her palms. She stared at the jade pendant from the Right Prime Minister's Estate in her hand, the memory of what she had seen on the street corner three days earlier flooding back: Jiang Wan and Lu Jingyuan riding side-by-side, the cheering crowds, and the Emperor’s wedding carriage passing by, its gilded phoenixes flaunting their brilliance in the sunlight.
"Why?" she whispered into the void, her voice laced with the sound of rain and tears. "It should have been me standing by his side..."
"Miss Jiang is here, just as expected." A raspy voice emerged from the shadows. A man in grey robes stepped out slowly, the scimitar at his waist glinting in the flashes of lightning. "My master has been waiting three days for your answer."
Chapter 194