I glanced at the palace maids who were about to make a move and calmly said, "I am the Princess Jiayi personally enfeoffed by His Majesty. I'm going to marry into the Changying tribe. If you dare to touch me, you might as well think your heads on your shoulders are too many!"
They looked at each other, but still fearing Pei Huai's tyranny, they stopped their actions.
Bai Zhirong tasted for the first time the feeling of shooting herself in the foot. She could only glare at me as I got on the carriage and waved goodbye to her.
### 07
I sat in the carriage and headed north all the way, but I felt more and more frightened.
The emaciated and sallow - faced refugees half - lay in the wind and snow in the north. After seeing my carriage coming, their pairs of eyes stared intently, showing looks of hunger, thirst, and despair.
I thought that if it weren't for Pei Huai's kindness in assigning several officers and soldiers to escort me all the way, my carriage might have been stopped and looted clean by now.
The land was barren for miles, with white bones exposed in the open and starved bodies lying everywhere.
These were the common people of the Great Jin under Pei Huai's rule.
Even among these refugees, some of their fathers, husbands, and sons had already sacrificed in the war between the Great Jin and the Changying tribe.
Yet their emperor actually wanted to cede the cities they had defended with their lives and humbly sue for peace with the foreign tribe.
I closed the carriage window tightly. When I came to my senses, my face was already covered with tears.
I thought of Xiao Youning.
That high - spirited young general. When I was a child, I was naughty. I either sneaked out to catch fish in the river or climbed trees to steal bird eggs.
Nun Fan, who taught me, was very strict with me. Therefore, she always punished me to stand against the wall with a bowl on my head to reflect.
Until one time when I was standing against the wall, a seven - or eight - year - old little boy fell from the wall.
He landed on me, and even the bowl on my head fell to the ground and broke into pieces.
That was my first meeting with Xiao Youning. I only remembered those beautiful eyes like stars, blinking cutely.
The next day, General Xiao dragged his rebellious son with two red and swollen ears to the prime minister's mansion to apologize.
Because he not only broke my bowl but also fractured my calf bone, making me lie in bed for three months.
It was a pity for Nun Fan that I wasted three months of study time.
Only then did I know that he was General Xiao's only son, Xiao Youning.
When Xiao Youning was forced to stand beside my bed and bowed to apologize to me, I almost couldn't hold back the smile on my lips. With a sad face, I reluctantly accepted his apology.
During the next three months, in order to make up for his mistake, Xiao Youning came to see me every day and tried various ways to make me happy.
Once, he even demonstrated a new set of "Xiao Family Kung Fu" he had just learned in a decent manner.
I lay on the window of the room and watched the little boy in the courtyard punch and palm neatly and crisply.
As the red sun was setting in the west and the sky was filled with rosy clouds, his fair little face had a blushing halo. He turned back and smiled happily at me.
As Xiao Youning came more often, he got familiar with Nun Fan.
I learned better and better and became more and more proficient.
Nun Fan relented and agreed to give me half an hour of playtime every day.
Xiao Youning secretly took me to catch fish in the river and climb trees to steal bird eggs.
A lad on a bamboo horse came; / Around my bed playing with green plums. / We lived in the same lane in Changgan; / As children we were innocent and carefree.
Until later, Xiao Youning didn't come for a long time.
### 07
I saw Xiao Youning again on a late autumn night.
He climbed over the wall just like the first time we met.
I was angry that he hadn't come to play with me for so long, so I closed the window and refused to see him.
He stood outside the window and remained silent for a long time without saying a word.
I thought he had left. Hastily opening the window, the young man's figure suddenly appeared in front of me.
Half of his face was illuminated by the flickering candlelight in the window, and the other half was hidden in the boundless darkness outside.
Only his star - like eyes were shining brightly.
He said, "Asi, I'm going to follow my father to the northern border. I'll set off tomorrow."
He said, Asi, I'm going to make contributions and become a great general! I'll make sure that the northern Changying tribe will never dare to step into the land of the Great Jin!
I'll make the common people of the Great Jin live and work in peace and contentment.
I'll make the seas calm and the rivers clear, and the whole world at peace.
My Xiao Youning went to the northern border and stayed there for eight years.
News of the battle in the northern border came. General Xiao led his troops and drove the Changying tribe north of the Northern Wasteland Mountain in one go.
But he was seriously injured, and his old ailments recurred. Eventually, he died of his injuries.
General Xiao's son led the troops back to the capital.
In the capital city of Ye, thousands of people knelt on the ground and shouted "General Xiao".
On the majestic warhorse, the young general sat upright, wearing a white robe and silver armor, with a high - crowned hair tied up. His expression was cold and aloof.
On the carriage behind him was the coffin of General Xiao.
Pei Huai held a banquet to celebrate the victory of the northern border war. However, except for him, probably no one else had the mood for it.
I finally saw Xiao Youning again.
I was the queen of the Great Jin, and he was a general. After all, there was a distinction between the monarch and the subject.
His eyes flickered. After drinking a glass of wine, he saluted Pei Huai and left in a hurry.
I pinched my thigh hard on the seat to hold back the urge to rush over.
Everything had changed. Let it be like this.
### 08
As soon as General Xiao left, the Changying tribe attacked again and won consecutive battles.
Xiao Youning was directly appointed as the General of the Agile Cavalry. After hastily finishing General Xiao's funeral, Xiao Youning organized his troops and set off.
The day before he left, I secretly left the palace.
Taking advantage of no one's notice, I imitated the way Xiao Youning used to climb over the wall and entered the Xiao Mansion.
The study in the Xiao Mansion was brightly lit.
I was standing hesitantly at the window of the study when I was suddenly startled by the opened window.
Xiao Youning and I stared at each other, frozen.
When he came to his senses, he turned back and said to the study, "Du Mingde, we'll discuss the rest on the way tomorrow. Go and have a good rest!"
"Yes."
After everyone in the room left, Xiao Youning blew out the candle, climbed out of the window, and pulled me in.
"What are you doing here?"
As soon as he said this, he remembered my current identity. He saluted me again and changed his words, "Greetings, Your Majesty the Queen..."
I threw myself into his arms and interrupted his words.
The study was silent. Leaning on his chest, I could only hear his heart beating like a drum.
My Xiao Youning, I miss you so much.
"You..."
"Don't say a word! Let me hug you for a while."
I tightened my arms around his waist. He grabbed my arms and wanted to break free, but in the end, he couldn't bear to use force and gave up struggling.
"Asi, you're already the queen," he sighed and finally pressed me into his arms.
Before, it was him climbing over the wall to say goodbye to me. Today, it became me climbing over the wall to say goodbye to him.
Many words that I wanted to say before, now I didn't know where to start.
He said heavily above my head, "Asi, I'll defend your world and protect you to be safe and happy all your life. You just need to be a good queen with peace of mind. Leave the rest to me."
My wonderful Xiao Youning died in the heavy snow of the Northern Wasteland Mountain.
### 09
The carriage traveled all the way to the northernmost Tian Shuang County, which was the border between the Great Jin and the Changying tribe: the Northern Wasteland Mountain.
The officers and soldiers escorting me wanted to rest here and wait for the envoys sent by the Changying tribe.
This was the border, and there wasn't even an inn.
It was cold in the north, and the days were shorter. It was only dawn, but the sky had already completely darkened.
I had been sitting in the carriage, and it was completely silent outside.
When I noticed something was wrong, a tall black figure lifted the curtain and got in. The dagger in his hand glinted coldly and pressed against my neck.
"Don't make a sound."
The moment he lifted the curtain, I had already seen the corpses lying on the ground outside, quietly under the moonlight.
He was very close to me, so close that I could smell the strong blood on him and his heavy breathing.
Was he injured?
Suddenly, there was a pain in my neck. He had fainted on the ground, and even the dagger in his hand had scratched my neck.
The sound of horseshoes approaching from afar suddenly stopped.
The noisy voices outside came.
"These people here haven't been dead for long. They can't have gone far. Search this carriage!"
"Yes!"
In an instant, I took a deep breath, rushed out of the carriage, grabbed the reins, broke through the encirclement of these people, and drove the carriage towards the depths of the plain.
They just stood there stunned for a moment and then immediately reacted and chased after me on horseback.
After all, they were the strong men on the grassland with excellent horses. It seemed that they were about to catch up.
Suddenly, there was an extra person beside me.
In the cold moonlight on the plain, I saw clearly this uninvited guest.
He was wearing the clothing of the royal family of the Changying tribe, a riding outfit.
He was tall and burly, with bronze - colored skin, distinct and deep facial features, and his braided hair was tied into a bunch hanging behind him.
He reached out and snatched the reins from my hand, looking at me with burning eyes, "Are you ready?"
Seeing my confused face, he had already let go of the reins in his hand, reached out to hug me, and jumped off the carriage with one leap.
My mind went blank. Only the severe pain when I hit the ground reminded me that this was not a dream.
Immediately afterwards, with a loud noise and a neigh of the horse, the carriage had fallen off the cliff.
I felt a moment of fear.
He staggered up and pulled me up, then hid in the shadow of a hill.
The pursuers behind reined in their horses and stopped, looking at the carriage that had fallen off the cliff.
"It seems to have fallen."
Another person sneered contemptuously, "It's good that they're dead."
"China, this is your elder brother. How are you going to explain it to the king when you go back?"
"Explain what? The old man is lying in bed unable to move. He can't control me. I'll just say that Wugele accidentally fell off the cliff while hunting."
The voices and the sound of horseshoes were getting farther and farther away. When they finally disappeared completely, I heard the person beside me take a long breath.
He stared at me for a while and said, "Are you the princess from the Great Jin who came here for the marriage alliance?"
I looked at him warily, "Who are you?"
He smiled slightly, "I'm Wugele."
Wugele, the eldest prince of the Changying tribe.
He was the general of the Changying tribe who had besieged Xiao Youning in the Northern Wasteland Mountain for three days and three nights.
The cold wind on the plain hit my face, hurting more than a knife cut.
"How did you recognize me?" I looked across the flickering campfire at the person who was leaning against the sand dune and gasping for breath because of his injury.
"Before you came, the emperor of the Great Jin sent your portrait here. Wen Jingsi, 'Whoever gets the Wen family girl gets the world.' He was really willing to send you here for the marriage alliance," there was a hint of mockery in his eyes.
I stirred the campfire.
"It's just a joke. Do you really take it seriously?"
There was a fierce and shrewd light in Wugele's eyes. "I believe it. We Changying people believe most in the will of heaven."
"Before I went on the expedition, heaven said that I would win. So in the battle of the Northern Wasteland Mountain, I defeated Xiao Youning of the Great Jin and forced your Great Jin to sue for peace. Doesn't this explain anything?"
I clenched my fist, trying hard to hold back the impulse to punch him, and calmly said, "Man can conquer nature, but you won't always win."
He seemed to hear something very funny and laughed loudly, "Then let's wait and see."
I nodded to him, "Your injury, is it serious?"
He looked down at his chest that had stopped bleeding and smiled at me, "This little injury is nothing."
### 10
I went to the Changying tribe alone, carrying a token that the Changying tribe's envoy had presented when they went to the Great Jin - a golden dagger engraved with the totem of the Changying tribe.
The outpost soldiers of the Changying tribe took me to the tribe of the Changying tribe.
The tents were set up on the white snow - covered plain.
A young man with a long scar on his face greeted me. His face, which was somewhat similar to Wugele's, showed a moment of surprise when he saw me.
He was China, the second prince of the Changying tribe, the half - brother of Wugele.
He was also the one who led the team to kill Wugele last night.
The wind and snow were too heavy. I tightened my cloak and saluted him, "Princess Jiayi of the Great Jin, pays respects to the second prince."
China personally helped me up.
Countless pairs of eyes around me, either full of hostility or curiosity, stared at me intently.
China held a dinner party and announced at the dinner that he was going to marry me.
The ministers sitting below looked at each other and all raised their glasses to congratulate him.
I was sitting in the tent illuminated by the candlelight.
Drunk and with a flushed face, China lifted the curtain and came in. Stumbling to the bedside, he pinched my chin.
"They all say that 'whoever gets the Wen family girl gets the world'. Now that I've married you, will I get the world tomorrow?"
I gave him a charming smile, took the opportunity to loosen his hand, picked up the wine cup beside me and handed it to him, "Yes, Your Highness the second prince. Drink this cup of wine, and the whole world will be yours!"
Hearing this, he laughed heartily and drank the wine in the cup in one gulp.
He reached out to undress me but found that he had no strength at all.
I pushed him to the ground.
He wanted to scold me but couldn't open his mouth. He could only glare at me.
I smiled with a hook of my lips, drew out the dagger from my waist, and stabbed it into his chest, "Sorry, Your Highness the second prince. I've made a deal with someone with your life. Try to get the world in your next life!"
After saying that, I turned the dagger in my hand and stabbed it deeper.
He opened his eyes wide, stared at the person who appeared behind me, spat out a mouthful of blood, and then died.
Wugele stood behind me, looking down expressionlessly at this half - brother.
### 11
China's mother was the most favored concubine of the old tribal king.
It was said that this concubine had killed the queen, who was Wugele's biological mother. Therefore, the relationship between the two brothers was not good.
The old tribal king was old and had been bed - ridden for several years. All the affairs in the tribe were handled by Wugele. Even the declaration of war against the Great Jin was initiated by Wugele.
Especially after killing Xiao Youning, the General of the Agile Cavalry of the Great Jin, his popularity in the tribe increased day by day.
China could only be suppressed.
So China had a bad idea. Taking advantage of the moment when Wugele was drunk after hunting, he attacked Wugele by surprise.
The rest of Wugele's subordinates were dead. Wugele rode his horse all the way in a hurry to escape and happened to meet me at the border.
There were China's informants everywhere in the Changying tribe. Wugele was injured and couldn't go back rashly.
He could only rely on me, the princess from the Great Jin who came for the marriage alliance.
I agreed to help him kill China, but he had to marry me as the queen of the Changying tribe.
In the cold moonlight of the Northern Wasteland Mountain, I reached an agreement with him.
### 12
Hearing the news of his youngest son's death, the old tribal king couldn't bear the blow and died.
When Wugele heard the news from the witch doctor, he just lifted his eyes and said, "Burn him. There's no need to hold a funeral."
I looked at him in shock.
He explained calmly, "When he allowed his favorite concubine to kill my mother, he probably didn't expect that he would end up like this today."
Wugele asked the elders in the tribe to choose a good day for us to get married.
At the wedding banquet, Wugele carried me on his shoulders and stepped over a blazing charcoal fire in front of the elders of the