This was the first time Qing Xia had appeared in public since arriving in Qin Kingdom, aside from family banquets. The maids of the royal palace had devoted their utmost attention to dressing and adorning her, sparing no effort in creating magnificence. By the time Qing Xia came to her senses, her head was already full of pearl ornaments and jade accessories, resplendent with gold and jade. Looking at the radiant woman in the mirror, she momentarily didn’t dare recognize herself. Since when had that modern face become so blurred in her memory? It had been so long since she thought about it, so long since she remembered the past, yet now she missed that former face so much, missed the former Tang Xiaoshi, missed that sharp and resolute woman who never gave up.
What had happened to her? Why was she so dispirited? Why could just one glance be enough to disrupt her entire life? She shouldn’t be like this. Since she had already made her choice, why should she be so anxious about gains and losses, why should she be so troubled and confused? In her current state, what position did this leave Qin Zhiyan in?
“Miss! Miss!” Bi’er exclaimed in alarm from the side: “Stop biting! Your lips are bleeding!”
Hearing this, Qing Xia suddenly released her lower lip, which was already showing traces of blood. She suddenly turned around, opened the jewelry box, grabbed those dazzling ornaments, and said to Bi’er beside her: “Bi’er, quickly, quickly help me put them on. I want to be Princess Xuan. Dress me up properly. I am Princess Xuan!”
Bi’er was at a loss, nodding foolishly as she continued to adorn Qing Xia’s head with those elaborate floral ornaments.
The moon rose to its zenith, and the day slowly passed. Qing Xia stood before the huge bronze mirror, tightly closing her eyes. After a long while, when she opened them again, they showed complete determination and indifference.
No more wavering, no more weakness, no more hesitation. Yesterday’s matters died yesterday. You are no longer the former Zhuang Qingxia either. From the moment you stepped into Great Qin, you became Yima’er.
Qin Zhiyan’s gentle voice slowly sounded outside the door. Qing Xia raised her head, bloomed into a radiant smile, and walked over quickly, dragging her magnificent skirt.
With a creaking sound, the door opened. Qing Xia, smiling like a flower, spun in a circle before Qin Zhiyan, then asked with a smile: “Am I beautiful?”
Qin Zhiyan remained as he always was, forever gentle and composed, his eyes carrying a warmth that touched people’s hearts: “Very beautiful.”
Qing Xia stepped forward and took his arm, half-tilting her face up with a smile, saying: “Let’s go.”
Qin Zhiyan nodded, but suddenly, as if remembering something, he held Qing Xia’s body and said: “Yima’er, are you alright?”
Qing Xia was startled but still smiled, saying: “I’m fine, don’t worry about me.”
“I can cancel this banquet for you. You don’t necessarily have to attend.”
Qing Xia shook her head and said in a deep voice: “The people of the Qin royal family have nothing left to say, but those court officials and military officers, the provincial governors, the nobles from vassal states, and the ministers and generals from the other three kingdoms still have plenty of sharp words to say. If I don’t go, they will be very disappointed.”
Qin Zhiyan frowned slightly and said softly: “You don’t need to pay attention to them. I can…”
“I know you can,” before he could finish, Qing Xia quickly said: “I know you can smooth everything over for me, but some things still need to be faced by me personally. Zhiyan, I’m not a good woman, but please believe me. Everything I’ve said and done has been carefully considered, not impulsive decisions. I am Yima’er, not Zhuang Qingxia.”
Looking at Qing Xia’s calm eyes, Qin Zhiyan finally smiled gently, nodded, took her hand, and said: “Alright, let’s go together.”
The desolate desert was vast like an icy sea. Looking up, it was boundless and endless, with only the endless yellow sand occasionally swept by yellow winds that made people unable to raise their heads or open their eyes. The sun was obscured by the raging sand, with only a few rays of dim yellow light filtering through, yet it was exceptionally harsh. Heaven and earth seemed to merge as one, thick and indistinguishable, making it impossible to see what lay in the distance. It was just a golden expanse with no direction, no water source, and in this place, it was easy to lose one’s fighting spirit.
A gust of fierce wind swept by, raising large clouds of dust. In the dim yellow haze, a sharp gaze suddenly shot out. Lu Huayang opened her slightly closed eyes and turned her ear toward the southwest direction from which the wind came. After brief contemplation, she suddenly raised her horsewhip and lashed it hard on the horse’s rump. The steed neighed loudly, suddenly reared up on its front hooves, and galloped swiftly in the opposite direction. A group of black-clad men followed behind the woman, agile and fierce-looking, wielding their whips as they rode at high speed.
The sand and dust filled the sky, making heaven and earth appear dark yellow. The traces left by the group were quickly buried clean. From afar, one could only see large blurred figures rapidly disappearing toward the northeast of the desert.
Today was already the seventh day that Lu Huayang had been trapped in the desert. She had exhausted all her schemes and strategies, yet still couldn’t shake off the assassins who followed her like shadows. Wave after wave of assassination attempts continued endlessly. Even with her skills and abilities, facing such endless wheel tactics, she inevitably felt overwhelmed. If not for her extraordinary tenacity and the inextinguishable belief in her heart, she might have already fallen in this boundless desert. Moreover, she knew clearly that this assassination was definitely not so simple. The real methods were yet to come, and likewise, the real danger was still far from arriving.
This year was destined to be a year of chaos and separation. The Chinese continent had experienced a series of great upheavals, and the tranquil situation of the continent’s fragmented national factions was finally broken by these events.
In the darkness, it seemed as if a giant hand was controlling the world’s situation. The hasty and strange conclusion of the quadrennial Battle of White Deer Plains, the first appearance of the Seven Qingpeng Tribes in people’s sight, the various magical legends about Penglai Valley spreading like folk tales deep into people’s hearts. The Crown Prince of Eastern Qi conspired to incite the Nanjiang shamans, intending to devour Southern Chu and eliminate Great Qin’s Prince Xuan. Zhuang Qingxia became famous in one battle, and Qin-Chu relations immediately became tense because of this woman. Lu Huayang’s southeastern naval forces were inexplicably attacked several times by Southern Chu. If she hadn’t worked hard to stabilize the situation, the consequences might have been unthinkable.
However, all this was not the worst. Subsequently, an unpredictable natural disaster swept across the southeastern lands of the continent. All the vassal states and tribes in the southeast could not escape, and severe drought ravaged the world, roasting the people under the scorching sun. The world situation was in chaos, and war broke out suddenly. The southeastern small vassal states joined forces to send troops, occupying large areas of southern territory in just half a month. Strangely, the four great empires that originally held dominant positions on the continent did not intervene, as if they couldn’t see it, allowing the innocent people on the southern continent to suffer, living from day to day, surviving on the edge of death. On the endless ancient roads, the blood and tears of innocent women and children and the countless white bones of dead warriors were scattered. The entire continent was plunged into the smoke of war and slaughter.
Lu Huayang was stationed in the southeastern part of Great Qin. Though only twenty years old, she had already served in the military for ten years. As a woman, she had shouldered the heavy burden of the Lu clan, maneuvering in the military for many years of fighting, and had long regarded the southeastern people as family. Seeing the people’s suffering but being powerless to help, she could only send twenty-three consecutive letters to Prince Xuan of Great Qin, hoping to gain his consent to petition the King of Qin for permission to send troops to quell the rebellion.
However, the twenty-three letters disappeared like stones thrown into the sea, with no response. Finally, seven days ago, she learned the news that the court was desperately trying to conceal – Prince Xuan was critically ill. Lu Huayang, the Flying General who had always been called one of the empire’s twin pillars alongside Qin Zhiyan, could finally bear it no longer. She issued military orders privately, handed over her naval command responsibilities to her deputy Qin Zhiye, and secretly took a team of personal guards, detouring through Xichuan toward the imperial capital Xianyang to investigate the news of Prince Xuan’s condition.
Unfortunately, such secret matters still leaked out. What should have been a three-day journey was repeatedly delayed due to pursuit, and now trapped in the desert with an unclear path ahead, the situation became increasingly strange.
“The dragon fought in the wilderness, exhausted its strength in the western black lands, transformed into Cangwu, its whiskers and hair became hundred grasses, its blue eyes became the vast sea, its four claws became the four mountains of north and south. The dragon’s teeth pierced the earth’s surface, drawing the water of dragon’s breath, transforming into Dragon Teeth Swamp. Through years of burial, it gradually became a place trapped by wind and sand. It seems this is the Dragon Teeth Desert.”
Lu Huayang put down her water pouch, her eyes firmly fixed on the distance ahead. Her lips were cracked, her face weathered, as she said in a deep voice: “Past this desert is Tianzhu Mountain. Cross the mountain, and we’ll reach Xianyang.”
“General,” a black-clad guard stepped forward, his face resolute and his eyebrows like swords, saying in a deep voice: “We have no military orders and left our army without authorization to go to the imperial capital. This is a capital offense. Rashly infiltrating Xianyang like this is too dangerous.”
Lu Huayang gently shook her head and said in a deep voice: “I must go in. The Second Prince has concealed the eastern drought, embezzled funds, and allowed the eastern vassal states to eliminate dissidents at will. If Prince Xuan knew about this, he wouldn’t ignore it. He must have encountered some trouble. I cannot stand by and do nothing.”
The man frowned deeply, thought for a moment, and said in a deep voice: “General, please forgive my bluntness, but Prince Xuan is supremely intelligent and has been flawless in handling matters large and small for ten years. The Second Prince trying to play tricks in front of him is still rather immature. Even if something really happened to His Highness, if the General remains with the army and controls military power, once something occurs, you can raise the banner and use military authority to intimidate court officials. They wouldn’t dare act recklessly.”
Lu Huayang slowly lowered her head to look into the man’s eyes, her gaze sharp as lightning, saying word by word: “Guimu, you were saved by His Highness. Without His Highness, you would have already died at the hands of northern barbarians. Now His Highness is critically ill and may be harmed by villains. Among the generals in the capital, each serves their own master. If I don’t help him, who will? Even if I control the seventy-two naval forces of the eastern region, once His Highness passes away and military morale becomes unstable, do you think anyone would still disobey the King of Qin’s orders to listen to me? Moreover, if His Highness is gone, what use is great power to me? Would I really keep it to protect those worthless swine of the Lu family?”