Yao Ying hadn’t yet reached Sha City when Yuan Jue caught up with her.

“Why did you come?” she asked.

Yuan Jue smiled sheepishly, “The King asked me to accompany the Queen to Xi Province and escort her back at the end of the month.”

He understood his true mission: if the Queen found Xi Province too comfortable and delayed her return, he was to urge her to quickly begin the journey back to the royal court.

How could Yao Ying not understand Tanmoluojia’s intentions? She didn’t know whether to laugh or cry—she had only been gone for one day!

She neither sent Yuan Jue back nor immediately wrote to Tanmoluojia. Instead, she ordered the troops to continue westward. She would return to Xi Province every summer and winter from now on. This was the first year—she couldn’t soften her heart just because she missed him.

Yuan Jue was somewhat disappointed but didn’t dare say much, simply following along with the troops.

The next day, a heavy snow fell. They rested at a post station, stewing a large pot of lamb over the campfire. When the broth began to boil, they added paper-thin white noodles.

As Yuan Jue ate the delicious lamb noodle soup, he suddenly said, “I wonder what the King is doing now, and if he has eaten.”

Yao Ying ignored him.

After leaving Sha City, wind and snow filled the air. The group donned wind-resistant masks and traveled through the uninhabited Gobi Desert. When they stopped to rest outside the sea of giant rocks formed by years of wind erosion, Yuan Jue spoke again: “The King brought me and General Ashina here before.”

He then began to talk endlessly about the past events when Tanmoluojia led the Imperial Guard to pacify the trade routes.

“Queen, if you’re feeling bored, I can tell you about when the King practiced martial arts as a child! The King was naturally gifted and learned everything quickly!”

Yao Ying remembered how Tanmoluojia had stood by the window watching her leave, and suddenly regretted not sending Yuan Jue back to the Holy City.

She missed him too.

A few days later, the group arrived at Xi Province. Li Zhongqian personally came to receive them at the post station outside the city. Seeing Yuan Jue, he sneered, “What did King Tanmo send you here for?”

Yuan Jue quickly dismounted and said, “The King was worried about the Queen and ordered me to serve her and follow her instructions.”

Li Zhongqian smiled meaninglessly, helped Yao Ying dismount, and examined her for a long while before saying, “You’ve gained some weight.”

Yao Ying brushed the snow from her shoulders and asked with a grin, “Is gaining weight not good?”

She was naturally beautiful—even with some extra weight, she was still pretty.

Li Zhongqian laughed: “Gaining weight is good.”

Seeing that although she was travel-worn, her complexion was rosy and she looked radiant, he was satisfied and stopped giving Yuan Jue a hard time. After exchanging pleasantries, they entered the city together.

Damo and Yang Qian had prepared a feast to welcome everyone and help them wash away the dust of travel.

At the banquet, Prince Jin Bo and Yang Qian engaged in a drinking contest—the loser had to perform a sword dance. Attendants cheered from the sidelines: Northern Rong people, royal court people, Han people, various Hu tribespeople! Everyone mixed in revelry. Yesterday’s battlefield enemies were today’s drinking companions, past grievances dissipating like smoke.

Yao Ying received various tribal chiefs, asking about their tribes’ harvests this year and whether their cattle and sheep could safely pass the winter. During this time, she also drank several bowls of wine.

Yuan Jue faithfully stood guard beside her, not joining in the drinking contest.

Occasional bursts of laughter came from Yang Qian’s direction. Before long, the young men were shouting and cheering, tables tilted, wine bowls fell to the ground, and the red-faced Prince Jin Bo was pushed to the courtyard. He had drunk three full jars of wine and stumbled unsteadily to bow before Yao Ying. With a loud clap, he thrust out his chest and began spinning in circles.

At first, he spun slowly and leisurely, looking ready to fall at any moment. Several lieutenant officers plucked their strings, playing the pipa. As the music rang out, he increased his speed with the melody, spinning faster and faster, his gold-embroidered brocade robe rising high—a dazzling display of shimmering golden light.

The guards behind Yao Ying excitedly rubbed their hands: “We get to see Prince Jin Bo dance again!”

“Look, he is like a peacock!”

The guards marveled: “Such a strong man can dance…”

Yao Ying held her wine bowl and glanced at Xie Qing.

Xie Qing stood at her side in silver armor and vermillion robes, hand on sword hilt, expressionless, eyes scanning left and right, dutifully guarding her.

Yao Ying took a sip of wine.

On her wedding day, young men and women could invite their sweethearts to dance. That night, Xie Qing was off duty. The next day, the guards told her that Xie Qing had beaten up Prince Jin Bo.

“The Prince tried to get Xie Qing to dance, how could Xie Qing agree? The Prince just kept spinning around Xie Qing doing that whirling dance. Even though the Prince is big and strong, he’s agile when dancing, quite properly! Xie Qing ignored him, but he was drunk and insisted on pulling Xie Qing to dance, even talking about a life-saving debt and being willing to offer himself, just begging for Xie Qing’s favor. It became known to everyone, and Xie Qing couldn’t stand it anymore, grabbed him by the collar, took him outside, and fought him with swords.”

Xie Qing showed no mercy—Prince Jin Bo had to stay home recuperating for half a month before daring to go out.

After taking that beating, Prince Jin Bo wasn’t discouraged. Once recovered, he was in high spirits and requested to escort Yao Ying back to Xi Province. She had been thinking of bringing Prince Jin Bo to meet the various tribal chiefs and comfort those tribes who feared the Western Army, so she agreed to his request. This time when they set out, they brought him along.

Jin Bo finished one dance and caught the sword Yang Qian threw to him, continuing to dance with the music in vigorous movements.

The atmosphere was lively as everyone clapped in rhythm to encourage him.

Jin Bo frequently glanced toward Xie Qing, winking and smiling ingratiatingly.

Xie Qing remained expressionless.

When the songs and dances ended and the feast dispersed, Xie Qing escorted Yao Ying back to her sleeping quarters and suddenly said, “Princess, should I marry Prince Jin Bo?”

Yao Ying’s steps faltered as she looked up: “Ah Qing, do you like Prince Jin Bo?”

Xie Qing avoided answering directly and said, “I am a woman commanding thousands of troops, yet still unmarried. The whole army knows about Jin Bo’s pursuit.”

Yao Ying smiled slightly: “Ah Qing, you can accept Prince Jin Bo or reject him—you don’t need to care what others say. You are Xie Qing. Whether you marry or not, whoever you marry, you will still be Xie Qing, my General Xie.”

The wind howled as she stood by the corridor pillar, watching Yao Ying enter the hall, standing motionless.

Just like many years ago when she stood by the flower pool, watching Li Zhongqian carry Yao Ying away, standing motionless for a long time until her mother came to take her away.

…

Xie Qing was born with supernatural strength—before she could even walk, she could push down older brothers.

Unfortunately, she was born a girl.

Her mother sighed countless times before her: “If only you were a young lord, you could follow the Master with your brothers and serve the Xie family loyally. Why did you have to be born a girl?”

As she grew day by day, she became ugly in appearance but strong in build, looking nothing like a young lady but completely like a man.

Relatives whispered behind her back that she must have been born into the wrong body—she should have been male, but the immortals played a trick and made her a girl.

Her mother’s face was washed with tears: her daughter was born so ugly, and all her brothers were more delicate than her, how would she ever marry?

Xie Qing was forced to learn needlework, learn to cook soups, learn to manage household affairs.

Her mother said that since she was born with a man’s appearance, she could only learn more skills in managing the household so that she could find a marriage match in the future and properly serve a husband.

Xie Qing studied with the clan’s sisters. In a room full of young ladies, only she didn’t fit in.

They isolated her and mocked her for having a man’s appearance.

That spring, Master brought Seventh Lady back home to pay respects to the ancestors. The clan members affiliated with the Xie family helped manage the ceremonial rites and arrange the banquet.

Xie Qing attended the feast with her mother. The ladies drank by the pool, while the young ladies played in the back garden by the flower pool, competing with flowers and playing on swings.

No one played with her, so she picked flowers alone by the pool. Several young ladies came over and pulled her to join their flower competition. She was overwhelmed by the attention. After playing a few rounds, the young ladies put all the picked flowers on her head and body, surrounding her while giggling.

“Look, look, Xie Qing can wear flowers too!”

They laughed until tears came out.

Xie Qing suddenly understood—in their eyes, she was a joke.

She stood up, took off the flowers from her head, and threw them at the young ladies.

In her fury, her face darkened, looking fierce.

Her mother cried in anger, trembling all over, pointing at Xie Qing: “What sin did I commit in my past life to give birth to such a monster!”

Xie Qing expressionlessly pushed away the servants blocking her, stumbling and crashing her way to hide in a secluded courtyard.

She picked flowers from the pool, threw them on the ground, and trampled them. Still not satisfied, she picked up stones and threw them randomly.

A delicate “ouch” came from the corridor.

Though questioning, the tone was light and gentle, as if joking.

Xie Qing felt this young lady seemed different from others, but she didn’t want to be toyed with again. She snorted coldly and turned to leave. After looking around, she jumped into the flower pool, hugged a flower tree, and pulled hard upward.

The flower tree was uprooted by her, crashing to the ground.

Xie Qing dusted off her hands and glared coldly at the young lady.

She thought the young lady would be scared away.

Just as she raised her head, she met an eager gaze.

The young lady looked at the big hole in the flower pool with admiration, eyes blazing: “Sister, you’re amazing!”

Unlike the sarcastic tones of her clan sisters, her voice was sincere.

Xie Qing was stunned.

The young lady’s eyes were full of envy: “If only I were as strong as you, with such a good body, I could practice martial arts with my brother!”

Xie Qing suddenly felt irritated: “You’re a young lady, how could you practice martial arts?”

She had never seen such a beautiful young lady before. Shouldn’t beautiful young ladies be proper and graceful as her mother said? How could she think about practicing martial arts?

The young lady smiled good-naturedly: “Why can’t young ladies practice martial arts? Regardless of gender, anyone with a good body can practice martial arts. There’s fighting everywhere now—we young ladies should learn martial arts so we won’t be easily bullied.”

Xie Qing sneered: “If a girl learns martial arts, everyone will laugh at you.”

The young lady leaned on the railing, tilting her head, “If I knew martial arts, whoever dared to laugh at me, I’d beat them until they wouldn’t dare laugh anymore.”

Xie Qing was speechless.

The young lady’s gaze roamed over her as if wanting to come down and pinch her, but she remained leaning there without moving.

While Xie Qing was puzzled, a voice came from the end of the corridor. Young Master Li Zhongqian came looking for the young lady. Seeing her, he walked over in a few steps and picked her up: “Why are you alone here? Who left you here unattended?”

Xie Qing stared blankly at the young lady.

So she was the Young Miss.

Her mother had mentioned that the Young Miss had poor health since childhood and was stranded on the battlefield last year. She had been improving, but after this shock, she could no longer walk. The Young Master was trying to find divine doctors who could heal her legs.

Xie Qing took a long time to recover her senses.

Xie Qing returned home, waiting for her father to punish her. She had disrupted the banquet, hurt clan sisters, uprooted the Young Miss’s tree, and thrown stones at the Young Miss. Her mother had been in tears all the way home.

When her father returned, he called her to the front courtyard, his expression grave.

She knelt, but her father’s slap didn’t fall.

“Ah Qing, do you want to practice martial arts?”

Xie Qing looked up in shock.

Her father looked at her and sighed, “Our family has practiced martial arts for generations. You were born with supernatural strength—it would be a waste not to practice. Since you don’t get along with the clan’s young ladies, you don’t need to learn those things anymore. Follow your brothers to practice martial arts instead. Today the Young Master said he wanted to select some guards for the Young Miss. Since you’re female, if you’re chosen, you can be the Young Miss’s guard.”

Be the Young Miss’s guard?

Xie Qing remembered how the Young Miss had leaned on the railing talking to her.

The Young Miss had looked at her with admiration and envy: Sister, you’re amazing!

Her father spoke earnestly: “Ah Qing, think it through. If you choose this path, perhaps no one will dare marry you. Practicing martial arts requires great hardship—three hundred and sixty days a year, you must grit your teeth and endure, never slack off. Father won’t spoil you—I’ll hit when needed, scold when needed, show no mercy. Do you want to practice martial arts?”

Xie Qing took off the flower ornaments from her head and threw them on the ground, clenching her fists: “I want to practice!”

She didn’t have to feel ashamed of being born different—this was her talent, not a sin. She would practice martial arts and pass the selection to become the Young Miss’s guard!

…

The night wind in Xi Province was like knives, howling past, making even her bones ache with cold.

Xie Qing came back to her senses.

When she returned to the Central Plains with the Princess, she saw her aged parents.

The elderly couple watched her enter the city in armor, leading the guards on horseback, tears streaming down their faces. Her mother followed the troops, watching her, listening to civilians shouting her name and cheering for her, wiping tears as she walked.

A figure swayed before the steps, stumbling toward her.

She gripped her sword tightly.

…

The next day, Yao Ying rose to wash up.

Yao Ying gazed at the tall, slender snowman with distinct features in the courtyard, lost in thought for a moment.

The guards came over laughing, saying: “Princess, last night Xie Qing beat up Prince Jin Bo again!”

Jin Bo had danced in public, then came at midnight to pester Xie Qing, asking what kind of man she liked—he wanted to duel that person. Xie Qing had picked him up and thrown him into the snow to sober up, leaving him bruised and swollen.

Yao Ying shook her head with a smile, put on her cloak, and went to find Li Zhongqian.

The attendants looked tense as they crowded around her, walking inside. Passing the corridor, they deliberately blocked her view, smiling: “The wind is strong here, don’t let it blow on the Princess.”

Yao Ying raised an eyebrow: “Move aside, what are you hiding from me?”

Li Zhongqian was unrestrained—what hadn’t she seen? Why hide things from her?

The attendants sheepishly withdrew.

Yao Ying walked down the corridor, her gaze sweeping across the snowy ground.

A tall figure stood in the snow before the courtyard, a thin layer of snow on their felt coat, shivering from cold, having stood there for who knows how long.

“Princess Banar?”

The woman hugging herself turned around, seeing Yao Ying, her eyes brightening: “Aynur!”

Yao Ying led Princess Banar into the front courtyard, letting her sit by the stove to warm up. “How long have you been waiting here?”

Princess Banar counted the hours on her fingers: “Li Zhongqian won’t see me. I came at midnight last night. I’ll wait until he comes out to see me!”

Yao Ying gestured for attendants to bring hot mare’s milk wine for her to drink and warm up. Leaving the front courtyard, she asked quietly: “What happened?”

The attendant coughed: “At last night’s feast, some tribal ladies danced for Master. Princess Banar chased them all away. Master came back and went straight to sleep. Princess Banar wanted to see him, but he wouldn’t let us open the door. The Princess has been waiting outside since then, refusing to leave no matter how we try to persuade her.”

Yao Ying thought for a moment, ordered someone to fetch a doctor to examine Princess Banar, and then turned to see Li Zhongqian.