“Huian,” he started slowly, “You know that Chenglei has returned, yes? He went to the palace to receive his title and sword from the emperor. Amazing, isn’t it?”

She nodded mutely. She wanted to roll her eyes and tell him that it wasn’t a big deal, but she wasn’t going to strike a nerve with him right now. She didn’t want to anger him. Even the way he said the name was annoying. Chenglei. So much love, admiration, and respect was put in that single name. It made her want to vomit.

“He’ll be back to his father’s estate after that and then we’ll have you two married. Aren’t you excited?”

“Of course,” she said dryly.

“You’ll be married in two weeks, I presume,” he said excitedly. There was a glimmer in his eyes. “It’ll be a large wedding with hundreds of thousands of guests. It’s to be expected, of course, since you’re the daughter of the Lin family. You’ll be dressed to perfection and we’ll have so much food . . .” He happily trailed on about how grand the wedding would be and how he would ensure that it was the biggest wedding amongst the nobles, since their union was one of the noblest of their time.

She stared down at her hands. Unlike the typical soft hands of a noble, hers were calloused and rough with hard work. Archery, swordsmanship, and various other weaponry practices had done that to her. She wasn’t like typical women of this time, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t a woman. All women had to get married, as unfortunate as it was.

“—the dowry—”

She raised her head, barely catching the word. “What?”

He blinked back. “The dowry. I was talking about what we’ll be giving them.”

“My dowry?”

“Yes, to the Yao family.” He chuckled. “Don’t tell me you forgot that we have to give your dowry to them.”

She pursed her lips together. “But that doesn’t even seem fair,” she said. “It’s like you’re giving them money and saying ‘Thanks for taking my daughter off my hands, take some money while you’re at it too,’” she said glumly. “Shouldn’t it be the other way around? Shouldn’t the guy give the money to the girls’ family since they’re grateful to have her?” She huffed. “Women are so undermined in this society.”

He raised his brows at her. “What in the world are you talking about?”

“I typically don’t care for women’s statuses in our society, but it matters to me when I’m concerned. I don’t want to give a dowry to them.”

He looked at her as if she had sprouted two heads. His eyebrows rose. “Where in the world did you develop such a bizarre way of thinking?” he boomed, clearly agitated. “Women must abide by these rules. What do you mean by ‘this society’? Is there any other society you know about? What nonsense are you saying? Who’s been teaching you this absurdity?”

[Demon society is different than human society.]

She sighed. “Apologies, Father. It was just a stupid scroll I read.”

“I’ll make sure to confiscate your library,” he said stiffly.

She curled her fists together on her lap but didn’t say anything to that. Just great. She nodded slowly. “Apologies, Father.”

He was obviously displeased with her, if the frown on his crinkled face and the creases on his forehead didn’t give it away. His lips thinned down to a firm line. “Huian, I must ask this since I’m worried about this, but do you have plans of obeying Chenglei?”

She internally cringed. This wasn’t a conversation she wanted to have. “Obeying Chenglei?”

“Yes. As your husband, he has rights over you.”

“Do I have rights over him?” she asked automatically, a bitterness to her words.

His eyes narrowed. “You’re his wife, he is not simply yours and yours alone. You don’t have any rights on him. Honestly, Huian, I didn’t think you’d have such a warped worldview. Do I have to teach you everything?”

She stared down at her hands. “Apologies, Father.” It sounded dull and insincere even to her own ears.

“Once you’re married, he has rights over every aspect of your life. Your body, you mind, your actions—you must obey all of his commands. I fear that you will not do that, though. You must drill this into your head, Huian. You are to be his wife once you’re married, not the other way around.”

Fury blared through her veins. She wanted to shout at him for speaking of such things, as if Chenglei had claims to her entire life! She’d rather die than give herself to anyone other than herself. While she was to be his and his alone, he had duties to everyone and none to her! He would be her husband, but he’d also be a soldier of Huo, a general of the empire, an heir to the Yao family, a son, a brother—the list went on. She would be reduced to nothing but his wife. “Apologies, Father,” she said through gritted teeth.

He sighed. “Chenglei is a wonderful man, so I don’t know why you’re so displeased with him. He’s everything a woman would want in a man.”

[How would he know that? Is he a woman?]

For once, she actually agreed with the demon’s sarcastic reply. She wasn’t used to being meek like this and just accepting whatever her father dished at her, but she couldn’t displease him. Last time she had done that, he had taken away all of her weaponry, all of her scrolls, and everything she enjoyed to do for six months. It had been the worst form of torture. Since then, she had learned to hold her tongue. Just a bit, though.

“He’s very famous . . .” he continued on with his chest puffed out, hammering more things that he loved about Chenglei to her. By the end of his monologue, Huian had a slight headache. Imagining the lanky, freckle-faced fifteen-year-old she had met all those years ago accomplishing all the great things her father was saying was hard to believe. Although he had earned her father’s respect, he hadn’t earned hers.

Her father cleared his throat. “Anyway, I just wanted to let you know that we will be heading out to the Yao family estate. The travel will take roughly a week. Prepare yourself and take everything that you want to take into your new home. You won’t be returning here.”

“Alright, Father,” she said quietly.

[How obedient of you. How much is it killing you to stay quiet?]

“That’s all,” he said with a wave.

She bowed down to him before spinning on her heels and exiting the room, a deep frown twisting her lips. She didn’t care what her father said. She would never allow a man to own her or to think of her as property. How dare anyone think that they could subdue her? She’d gut Yao Chenglei alive if he thought he had complete rights over her once they were married.