"Never." Whether the Nether Duke was thoughtless or simply too honest, he said, "You were supposed to marry Dai Mubai. That was my intention."
The Nether Duke's thinking was simple: marry the two sisters to Dai Weisi and Dai Mubai, and whichever prince won, the family would at least produce an empress.
"What about Zhu Zhuqing now?" Zhu Zhuyun asked. "Is my little sister going to marry Dai Weisi along with me?"
Zhu Zhuqing's hair stood on end, and rejection was written all over her face.
"Dai Weisi... forget it. Wait for now," the Nether Duke said. "If some outstanding young talent appears in the empire, you can marry him."
In every word, the Nether Duke treated Zhu Zhuqing merely as a tool for a marriage alliance, not as a person.
That had always been the Star Luo Empire's way. From top to bottom, none of them had the habit of treating themselves as people.
But... Zhu Zhuqing wanted to be a person.
Zhu Zhuyun began discussing with the Nether Duke what sort of wedding she should have if she became the crown princess, and he agreed with a face full of smiles.
Zhu Zhuqing quietly left the hall. Not a single person noticed. Walking beneath the moonlight, she raised her head to a sky glittering with stars.
"I don't want my family to toy with my fate as they please. Since he can go to the Divine Realm Empire, I can sneak away there too..."
The Divine Realm Empire's diplomatic mission set off on its journey home.
A few days earlier, the Divine Realm Empire's delegation had attended the Star Luo Empire's crown prince investiture ceremony, where Dai Weisi was formally named crown prince of the Star Luo Empire.
Under the ancient ancestral laws, Dai Mubai had lost