Even if it costs her life, she will never yield!

Chapter 025: Even if she had to kill him, she would never yield!

Before her was a chest unmistakably belonging to a man, a strength that could easily overpower her own, yet every word he spoke lacked the gravity and composure befitting a man. At a time when she was beset with peril and Zhu Xishi was still missing, shouldn't he, who so insistently proclaimed his desire to marry her, have first shown some thoughtful concern for her difficulties?

Fang Rulai tightened her grip on the wooden fish fiercely, warning herself that the man before her was the very embodiment of shamelessness, and taking him seriously would be her downfall. Zhu Xishi was still in their hands; she must endure, endure… but she could endure no longer!

With a forceful throw, she hurled the wooden fish and growled, "Are you ever going to stop your nonsense?" She thought she’d made her position abundantly clear at the temple—whether he truly wished to marry her or was merely putting on a show, she had no interest whatsoever. So why wouldn’t he give up?

Guan Shiyin dodged the wooden fish just in time, feigning fear as he protested, "Abbot, you’re so violent…"

"If you know I’m violent, then hurry up and get out there to deliver the message!" Fang Rulai couldn’t be bothered to correct his twisting of facts, instead playing along with a ferocious scowl.

But Guan Shiyin was unmoved, shyly biting his fingertip. "But what if I happen to like violence most of all?"

What? If her once-wavy hair were still with her, Fang Rulai was certain it would now be standing straight up! Wonderful! Since arriving in this world, this man had finally claimed the top spot for provoking her greatest emotional outburst—and was the sole occupant of that list.

So he refused to speak plainly, wanting her to guess, to match wits with him? Well, she, a woman from a thousand years in the future, was not about to back down.

"You want me to marry you?"

"I think about it every day…"

Before he could finish the word "want," Fang Rulai’s next question came hard on its heels: "And why aren’t you marrying me?"

"Because…"

But barely had he started when she cut him off again. "Because your position doesn’t allow it?"

Once more, Guan Shiyin gave a bashful smile. "Abbot, you’re so astute—you’ve already investigated, haven’t you? Yes, it’s always been the custom of the Guan family to pass on the legacy to daughters, not sons. So I had no choice but to masquerade as a woman…"

"Wrong. Your supposed lack of choice has nothing to do with your family’s traditions." Fang Rulai interrupted for the third time. "With your talent for deception—fooling everyone for twenty years—how could those clowns in the Guan household ever pose a real threat to you?"

The bashful look faded from Guan Shiyin’s face.

Fang Rulai snorted. "You refused all suitors at fifteen, and again at eighteen, yet at twenty you suddenly seek a match. It’s not because of some rumor that, if you wait any longer, you’ll become the first old maid in the Yao Heaven Kingdom, but because national mourning has just ended, the crown prince is about to ascend the throne, and the position of the second prince—your ally—is in jeopardy."

Guan Shiyin tugged at his collar and swung down from his perch. "…Go on."

"Or perhaps the crown prince has already begun to suspect something, and to keep up appearances, you must make your impersonation even more convincing. And what could better prove your identity as a woman than getting married and bearing children?"

That day, when she caught the embroidered ball, the first thing she sensed from him was his declaration to marry and bear children. But in such a traditional era, what proper young lady would so brazenly speak of children? Even the outspoken Zhu Xishi would only complain of never marrying, not of bearing children—a taboo topic so closely tied, in this time, to matters of the bridal chamber. For someone to mention it so casually, unless they were a meddling aunt or harbored ulterior motives, was unheard of.

So what was he after? Especially after she learned of his ties to the second prince?

"Your family’s embroidery workshop is so wealthy it rivals the nation. Others may only see the glory, but only you know what lies beneath. In the Yao Heaven Kingdom, where imperial power is absolute, you may be rich—but to be as wealthy as a rival state is absolutely forbidden. I don’t know if the late emperor ever coveted your wealth, but the new crown prince, who so quietly quelled all doubts about the lack of an imperial edict, will never allow any force among the people to challenge him."

Guan Shiyin’s eyes grew inscrutable.

Fang Rulai sat cross-legged, her tone heavier. "You, who’d rather disguise yourself as a man than hand the embroidery business to your sisters—how could you let an outsider swallow it whole? You set no conditions for your public search for a husband, partly to impress the crown prince, partly because you intended to choose someone solitary to cooperate with your charade."

At this, Fang Rulai recalled how she’d stumbled into the role by sheer bad luck, and felt a surge of exasperation. "And then I appeared unexpectedly, ruining your plans and even uncovering your secret. Weighing the pros and cons, you naturally couldn’t let me go. After all, if the person you were marrying was a monk, the ensuing rumors would be even more sensational than if you’d chosen some local thug. This way, you can more safely carry on your scheme with the second prince."

Back at the temple, she’d foolishly thought he was hounding her out of wounded pride. Looking back, she’d truly been naïve.

Later, when she was framed and hunted over the land deed, he could have quietly eliminated the assassin before they crossed paths, yet he led the killer straight to her. First, to test her sensitivity; second, to gauge her ability to fight back. If he’d picked her as a potential teammate at the marriage contest, then that night’s forced confrontation was to assess whether she was up to the task.

As for the later appearance of Mu Zhijin and the second prince—could he deny it was on his instructions, to observe their new ally? He kept talking about marriage, but at least he wasn’t openly declaring his intent to use her.

When she finished, Fang Rulai met Guan Shiyin’s gaze with icy resolve.

No wonder she could never feel anything for him—who could like someone who plotted against them? Especially when he’d directly or indirectly manipulated people who’d always treated her kindly! She’d come to this strange world, a woman forced to shave her head, and only Zhu Xishi and the old abbot had taken her in without fear. She still felt no sense of belonging, but she knew how to be grateful, and only wanted to spend her days eating braised pork and helping the abbot restore Fahua Temple.

But ever since she met him, she had been dragged step by step into a whirlpool of intrigue.

She was not afraid of open conflict—otherwise, she wouldn’t have conspired with Jietang to set those fatal traps. But she would never accept as an ally someone who could not offer genuine sincerity!

If he wanted to team up to fight their common enemies, so be it—for now, their goals aligned. But if he insisted on this farcical talk of marriage with that insincere smile, then she would rather kill him than submit!

Thanks to Stinky Egg Haha for the flowers—make sure to drop by the comments section when you can!

Also: This chapter serves as a small summary of what has come before, both in plot and emotion. Starting tomorrow, we’ll see Fang Rulai shift from defense to offense, and Guan Shiyin begin to truly fall in love. How will their story unfold? Stay tuned!

This work was first published here.