Chapter 3
The head male servant accepted the imperial edict, his face beaming with joy. He turned to Lady Rhodes and said, “Your Highness, this is indeed a cause for celebration. Miss Una, please come and receive the edict.”
Kneeling deeply, Una Rhodes raised her head and said to the head servant, “My lord, Una refuses to marry Prince Three. I implore you to show mercy and revoke the imperial edict.”
“What’s the matter with you, kid?”
The head servant never expected that just by issuing an order, he would encounter resistance to it. Even the smile on his face faded slightly.
Crouching on the ground, Una Rhodes knew this was her only chance.
With no resolution reached, the head servant swept his sleeve and left in a huff, carrying the imperial edict with him. It seemed he was going to report back to the king.
Lady Rhodes helped Una Rhodes up from the ground. Her tone carried a hint of reproach. Realizing that this wasn’t the right place to argue, she took Una Rhodes into the backyard.
“Why have you suddenly changed your mind?” Lady Rhodes, facing Una Rhodes, lost all her airs of a princess and showed only a motherly kindness.
Una Rhodes lifted her skirt and knelt in front of the hall.
“Mother, I am willing to serve in the imperial examinations or fight on the frontiers. Only then can I have no regrets in this life and truly live up to the traditions of the Rhodes family.”
Lady Rhodes stared at her frail daughter, who was kneeling on the ground, without saying a word for a long time.
After a long while, Lady Rhodes spoke up, “Do you know that you never learned poetry, history, or literature since you were a child?”
“Understood.”
“Can it be that you never learned martial arts since childhood, nor are you familiar with military strategies?”
“Understood.”
A loud slap echoed across the pearwood table, causing the teacup to jump in fright. Water spilled everywhere. Lady Rhodes snapped, “Then what nonsense are you talking about? What have you been practicing since you were young? Tell me yourself!”
“Music, chess, calligraphy, painting, sewing, accounting, and handling relationships with others—Mother, I can learn all of these from scratch. I will never bring shame to the Rhodes family!”
Una Rhodes quickly knelt down, lying on Lady Rhodes’s lap, with a tear sliding down her cheek as she looked up.
“Your mother never expects you to achieve great things or bring honor to our family. If you choose to take that path, you’ll have to endure a lot of hardships. Are you sure you’re not going to regret it if you don’t get married?”
“No regrets!”
The firm and powerful voice made Lady Rhodes turn her head. Her tone softened considerably as she gently patted Una Rhodes on the back.
“Go explain it to your uncle.”
Una Rhodes stood up, lifted the hem of her dress, and left the hall. She instructed the butler to prepare a carriage. Since she had refused the marriage proposal, she must endure the emperor’s wrath.
A tall horse pulled a luxurious carriage to the gates of Rhodes Castle. Una Rhodes lifted the carriage curtain and sat inside.
The noise from the streets outside helped to ease Una Rhodes’s pent-up emotions. The constant threat of death was truly terrifying.
Upon arriving at the palace gates, Una Rhodes got off the carriage. She smiled at the young servant who came to greet her, handed over her token, and quickly entered the palace grounds.
The palace rules were strict, and the young male servants were quiet as well. The entire journey was eerily silent.
“Snap!”
The crisp sound of applause caught Una Rhodes’s attention.
“You’re nothing but a wretched bastard! What’s there to argue about?” The prince, dressed in green, along with several male servants, surrounded a little child.
Without stopping in her tracks, Una Rhodes had no intention of meddling in others’ affairs. Right now, she could barely take care of herself, let alone protect strangers.
“I’m not,” the child on the ground pleaded softly, only to receive even more severe beatings.
The sound, like that of a kitten, made Una Rhodes pause in her steps. It was a truly delightful sound, not particularly clear, but with a soft, tender quality to it.
Simply put, it’s exactly what Una Rhodes would like.
“Yi’er, what are you doing?” Una Rhodes crossed the bridge and saw that it was Prince Jing Yi who was bullying others. She immediately spoke up to stop him.
“Sister Chen!” When Prince Hachimaro saw Una Rhodes, he felt very close to her and rushed into her arms.
The person lying on the ground suddenly saw Una Rhodes. He couldn’t bring himself to look her directly in the eyes, so he kept his head down, staring at Una Rhodes’ embroidered shoes and skirt.
“This wretched bastard has no sense of what’s right and wrong. How dare he insult me!” Hachimono was still furious as he kicked the person on the ground hard.
“Why get upset over a servant? Why not reward my sister and let me take her to Rhodes Castle to have fun?”
Una Rhodes looked at the frail figure on the ground, who resembled a dying kitten. She wanted to take him home and tease him, to find out who this person really was and why he was so captivating.
“Miss Rhodes, this is Prince Six, Enid Johnson.”
The male servant nearby quickly stepped forward to introduce the identity of the person lying on the ground to Una Rhodes, fearing that any trouble might arise.
The voice, which had once contained a hint of humor, suddenly turned cold. Una Rhodes regained her expressionless face and helped Ingrid Johnson up.
“It turns out to be Prince Six. Una was rude just now. I hope Prince Six won’t take it to heart.”
The male servant and handyman… She, Una Rhodes, can play with them. But play with a prince?
Give her ten times the courage, and she still wouldn’t say such a thing.
Standing there, trembling with nervousness, Enid Johnson didn’t dare to look up. She stared at Una Rhodes’s skirt, feeling the delicate fragrance emanating from her. Una Rhodes’s voice was gentle and beautiful.
“It doesn’t matter…” A faint, barely audible voice.
Earlier, Enid Johnson kept her head down, so Una Rhodes hadn’t had a chance to see her face properly. Now that she could see it, Una Rhodes was stunned—this woman was truly extremely beautiful.
“Yi’er, you too. Brothers should know when to stop joking around. Such things must never happen, otherwise it would bring shame to the prince’s status.”
After giving a few words of advice to Prince Hachioji, Una Rhodes calmed herself down and went to the main hall to meet the emperor. She completely forgot about Prince Rokujou, whom she had only met once.
“Your Majesty, I pay my respects.”
Lifting her skirt and kneeling down, Una Rhodes placed her hands on the ground, her forehead pressed firmly against the backs of her hands. She dared not raise her head to look directly at the emperor on the dragon throne.
“Why don’t you want to marry Zhan Er?”
A cold sweat covered her back instantly. Una Rhodes swallowed hard. Sweat streamed down her forehead as she truly understood the meaning of “when the emperor is angry, corpses lie scattered for miles.”
“Your Majesty, although I’ve been well-behaved since childhood, I refuse to get married and spend my life in the inner chambers of the palace. I would rather serve my country and be loyal to the emperor!”
“It was Zhan Er who asked for the marriage, saying that the two of you were perfect for each other. So why then?”
“Uncle!” Una Rhodes suddenly raised her head, tears in her eyes and her cheeks red. “I aspire to pass the imperial examinations, become an official, and serve the people!”
“If I were to get married, I still wouldn’t be able to do anything. I’d rather remain alone for the rest of my life.”
In this desperate situation, Una Rhodes trembled all over. Her fingertips clenched tightly around the hem of her dress as she stared at the emperor on the dragon throne and bowed deeply once again.
The person on the dragon throne frowned deeply before finally speaking, “Let me think for a moment.”
“Una takes her leave.” Rising hastily from the ground, Una Rhodes left the hall, feeling utterly embarrassed and terrified.
Leaning against the pillar, Una Rhodes gasped for breath, staring at the blue sky beyond the palace walls. Her entire body trembled uncontrollably.
Almost, she almost died right there.
With a bitter smile, Una Rhodes went to the imperial garden. She adjusted her appearance by the pond. In her past life, she had only known how to engage in palace intrigues, spending half her life scheming.
But I never expected that, once again, it would still be a battle of wits against others.
Turning behind the bushes, Una Rhodes recognized the people under the bridge.
“Who’s there under the bridge? Come out!”
The person under the bridge emerged, trembling slightly. They raised their faces, and it was none other than Prince Eirwen Jones.
