That First Meeting

That year, Princess Ruizhen had just come of age, at the innocent and carefree time of life, like the most delicate flower, blooming freely under countless indulgences. The one who most often accompanied her was a servant girl named Hua Qingyue.

Hua Qingyue had entered the palace at age ten. Both her age and appearance were very similar to the Princess, which made her most favored. Whether reading or playing, the Princess loved to bring her along. The two were almost inseparable, and over time even their walking postures became somewhat similar.

But only very few people knew that between this servant and master lay a secret that only they tacitly understood…

In the thirty-second year of Chuyuan, Emperor Yun (then still the Seventh Prince Zhao Yue) relied on support from his maternal relatives the Xia clan and the border Iron Blade Xiao family army to force Crown Prince Zhao Qi’s deposition, then imprisoned the deposed crown prince in Jingyuan Palace.

Who would have known that just as the old emperor died and the new emperor ascended, Imperial Guard Commander Gao Yuan would rally the crown prince’s former followers and risk death to storm Jingyuan Palace to rescue the crown prince, intending to meet with outside forces for rebellion. Fortunately, Emperor Yun had anticipated this and ordered Xiao Yunjing to lead elite Xiao family troops to ambush along the palace roads, quickly suppressing this considerable rebellion. That day, the crown prince’s supporters were almost entirely slaughtered, countless blood and flesh staining red the white jade steps before Qianqing Gate, while Crown Prince Zhao Qi was forced to hang himself in Jingyang Palace. However, the ringleader Gao Yuan took advantage of the chaos to slip into the deep palace and abducted Princess Ruizhen as a hostage for future schemes.

Unfortunately, even he didn’t know that what he had captured wasn’t the real Princess Ruizhen, but had mistakenly seized the princess’s personal servant Hua Qingyue.

As dusk first fell, the sound of galloping hoofbeats echoed on a secluded path. A man in blood-stained black robes gripped the reins tightly as he urged his horse forward frantically, while in his arms he held a delicate woman in palace dress. This was Imperial Guard Commander Gao Yuan, desperately fleeing the palace.

Hua Qingyue had been tightly clamped in Gao Yuan’s embrace, bouncing along the entire way. She felt dizzy and nauseous, yet didn’t dare actually vomit. Even now, she still didn’t understand what had happened. She had simply been staying in the inner palace disguised as the Princess as usual, waiting for the Princess to finish playing and return. Who would have known a fierce-looking warrior would suddenly burst in, kill the eunuchs and palace maids outside with one stroke, then bind and abduct her.

The hoofbeats never stopped, vegetation flew past, and the fiery setting sun slowly dyed the horizon red, much like the scene when blood splattered across the palace. Hot breath constantly pressed down from above, yet even this breathing carried the scent of blood. The rough ropes nearly wore her wrists raw.

If he discovered she wasn’t the real Princess, what would this man do to her? Hua Qingyue dared not think about it, only trembled and closed her eyes. Only now did she realize that when people are in extreme terror, they can’t even cry.

Suddenly, the horse beneath them let out a long whinny and was forcibly reined to a stop. Before Hua Qingyue could think about what was happening, she heard a clear, gentle voice break through the air: “Why is Commander Gao leaving in such haste? You’ve made this humble one work quite hard to catch up!”

Hua Qingyue’s heart jumped sharply, then she heard the man above her grit his teeth: “Xiao Yunjing, your footwork is quite swift.”

The man laughed softly, like a crisp spring in summer, each drop falling on Hua Qingyue’s heart. She suddenly wanted to know what such a person would look like when smiling. So she gathered her courage and secretly peeked out from the man’s arms.

The long jolting had left her vision somewhat blurry. She could only see through the chaos a figure in white robes and silver armor, holding a spear while mounted, with the last ray of golden light reflecting off his crown, reaching toward her like a heavenly god splitting heaven and earth. Even the scattered bloodstains on his white robes couldn’t diminish him in the slightest.

Hua Qingyue stared mesmerized at this scene, her heart suddenly feeling as if a piece had been hollowed out. After him, no one else could ever fill it.

She watched as he laid his silver spear across his horse and played with the reins while calling out clearly: “Commander Gao worked so hard to escape—why burden yourself with dead weight? Just give me the person in your arms, and I’ll consider sparing your life.”

The man above her also laughed, but his laughter was sinister and grating: “General Xiao came here alone and thinks a few words can make me obey your commands? Are you underestimating me, Gao Yuan?”

Xiao Yunjing’s eyes flashed: “Commander Gao has led the Imperial Guard for years with superior martial skills—naturally no one dares look down on you.” He suddenly curved his lips lazily: “But to deal with you, I alone am sufficient…”

Hua Qingyue felt Gao Yuan’s grip on her seem to move. From her angle, she could clearly see sudden rustling movements in the grass around them. Her heart jumped, and she shouted desperately: “Careful, it’s an ambush!” Gao Yuan’s eyes flashed with viciousness as he raised his hand to twist her neck, but just as his hand lifted, a long spear arrived, instantly piercing through Gao Yuan’s throat. Gao Yuan looked up in disbelief, his wide eyes not having time to close before he died.

In that split second, Hua Qingyue didn’t understand what had happened. She only knew the horse beneath them suddenly bolted in fright, and her body was thrown off along with Gao Yuan’s corpse. The howling cold wind struck her face painfully as she trembled and closed her eyes, thinking she would die. Unexpectedly, she didn’t fall among the rocks but tumbled into a solid, warm embrace. Hua Qingyue looked up in surprise to see those handsome features right before her eyes, but the next moment, she saw a bloody blade at his ribs.

Gao Yuan’s subordinates hidden in the grass had intended to attack on his signal, but instead witnessed their leader killed with one strike. Such overwhelming difference in strength almost made them flee immediately. But they soon discovered that the god-like man in white robes had completely exposed his back while saving the woman falling from the horse. After only a moment’s hesitation, the bold among them rushed out and struck viciously with their blade, though in panic they missed their mark, only piercing diagonally into Xiao Yunjing’s ribs.

Seeing the successful strike, the man was overjoyed and quickly called for the others to attack together. But he forgot that even a fallen tiger is still fierce, while ants remain ants. Before his smile could fade, Xiao Yunjing had already pulled back his silver spear and thrust it through the man’s chest.

But Xiao Yunjing was seriously wounded and still held someone in his arms, so he dared not linger in battle. Relying purely on martial prowess, he continuously dodged and rolled, dragging Hua Qingyue back to his mount and galloping away, leaving the others far behind in an instant.

The two rode hard to a small stream where Xiao Yunjing finally could support himself no longer. Seeing no pursuers behind them, he gritted his teeth and pulled the reins, carefully lifting the woman from his arms. Then, covering his wound, he barely managed to kneel and said: “This subject was late in rescue—please forgive me, Princess!”

Hua Qingyue was so frightened she stepped back repeatedly. Seeing his body swaying precariously but not daring to help him up, she could only bite her lip and kneel as well, saying tremblingly: “My lord, please forgive me. I’m not any princess, just a servant girl to the Princess!”

Xiao Yunjing was greatly shocked and quickly raised his head to carefully examine the woman before him. Indeed, he discovered that while her appearance resembled the Princess, her temperament carried weakness and shyness—clearly just a servant girl. Earlier, in his urgency to save someone and seeing from a distance, he hadn’t noticed.

Feeling the pressing gaze before her, Hua Qingyue dared not raise her head, her heart full of anxiety: she was just a servant, yet had caused him such serious injury. Would he regret saving her? Would he blame her for it?

Then she heard him speak in a relaxed tone: “Princess or servant girl, today I’ve saved a life regardless, which should offset some of the killing I’ve done.” Hearing this, Hua Qingyue’s heart relaxed, and she inexplicably began to cry—perhaps she had been too afraid of being abandoned by him, too afraid of seeing him regard her with disgust.

Seeing her kneeling there crying continuously, Xiao Yunjing couldn’t help but smile bitterly: “Miss, could you help me up first? If this blade isn’t removed soon, I’m afraid I won’t have the life to escort you back to the palace.”

Only then did Hua Qingyue react, quickly helping him sit up. Seeing he was so weak he had no strength left, she steeled herself and tore open his upper garment. The suddenly exposed muscular chest made her face slightly red, but the shocking wound made her forget her embarrassment, only looking anxiously through her tears: “What about this blade? I… I don’t know how!”

Xiao Yunjing’s face had become very pale. He gripped Hua Qingyue’s hand and guided it to press on his wound, saying weakly: “Use this hand to press down, then don’t think about anything—just press hard!”

Hua Qingyue was trembling all over with fear, but she understood that if she hesitated any longer, this person might die from blood loss. So she bit down hard, one hand trembling as she pressed the bloody wound, the other gripping the blade handle and yanking it out to throw on the ground. Seeing Xiao Yunjing’s face immediately contort, she was so frightened she cried while supporting him: “My lord, are you alright!”

Sweat poured from Xiao Yunjing’s forehead, but he weakly comforted her: “Very good, you did very well! Now help me bandage the wound—can you do that?”

Hua Qingyue nodded through her tears: “I can. When I was small in the countryside, I bandaged wounds for my father.” Xiao Yunjing smiled and leaned his body against a tree trunk, letting her treat his wound. The prolonged blood loss made his consciousness somewhat hazy, but he knew he couldn’t just fall asleep, so he forced himself to stay alert and chat with the person before him: “Where is your hometown? What does your father do?”

“My hometown is Tongxi Town in Dian City. Father sometimes goes into the mountains to gather medicinal herbs for money. If he’s unlucky and encounters wild beasts, he gets injured, so I learned to bandage him.” As Hua Qingyue answered, she tore off a strip of cloth and used stream water to clean his wound. Xiao Yunjing was listening comfortably to her soft voice when he suddenly felt sharp pain in his chest and involuntarily hissed and frowned.

Hua Qingyue was startled and immediately stopped what she was doing, but Xiao Yunjing quickly resumed smiling: “It’s nothing—I can bear this much pain. Continue talking. What’s your name? Why were you impersonating the Princess?”

Hua Qingyue knew he was trying to focus his consciousness by chatting with her, so she quickly replied: “This servant is called Hua Qingyue, the Princess’s personal maid. Because my appearance is somewhat similar to the Princess, she sometimes switches identities with me—I disguise myself as her and stay in the palace while she disguises herself as me to go out and play. Usually at most an hour, but who knew today we’d encounter that bandit bursting in to abduct me.” This was the secret between her and the Princess for the past two years.

Xiao Yunjing shook his head and laughed: “This Princess Ruizhen is still as restless as when she was little.” From his words, Hua Qingyue could tell he knew the Princess and was about to ask more, but noticed that as blood soaked through all the cloth strips, his body grew colder and his face increasingly pale.

By now it was completely dark. They were in the middle of nowhere and might still encounter pursuing soldiers. Hua Qingyue finished tying the last strip of cloth for him and looked around, seeing only vast darkness, feeling both panicked and helpless. Xiao Yunjing heard her sobbing and gently gripped her hand comfortingly: “Don’t cry. Trust me—I’ll take you back.”

Somehow, his gentle voice calmed Hua Qingyue’s heart. At this life-or-death moment, she no longer thought about proper relations between men and women and simply pillowed his body on her legs to warm him. After thinking, she said: “Why don’t I sing some folk songs from our hometown for you, just to pass the time?”

Xiao Yunjing laughed and coughed several times: “Good, but don’t sing too badly, or I’m afraid I’ll be scared into running away.”

Hua Qingyue also smiled bashfully, then parted her red lips and sang a mountain song from the countryside. Though her speaking voice was soft and timid, her singing was clear and melodious, seeming to carry him beyond the present darkness to see mountain streams, green grass, and blooming flowers. This night, she accompanied him singing and chatting until dawn broke on the horizon. Xiao Yunjing survived the most dangerous period and fell into deep sleep in her arms.

The next day, Xiao Yunjing slowly opened his eyes to see a beautiful sixteen-year-old girl standing barefoot in the stream water under the rising dawn light, lifting her skirt hem. Scattered golden light fell on her dark hair, clear stream water flowed past her pale ankles, and her slender figure swayed gently in the chain-like ripples—like a tender and lasting beautiful dream that took residence in his heart forever.

Xiao Yunjing slowly sat up against the tree trunk. For some reason, he suddenly didn’t want to disturb this scene. As she splashed water to wash her feet, she seemed to be humming a tune: “Many stars in sky but moon unclear, many mountains on earth but roads uneven. If brother truly loves sister with one heart, sister thinks of brother, until now…”

The melody was lingering and the words bold, like a hook gently pulling at his heart. Xiao Yunjing curved his lips, feeling his strength had returned, and stood to walk behind her: “What are you singing? Could you teach me a few lines?”

Hua Qingyue was startled by the sudden voice. Seeing his features so close, her face flushed red as she hurriedly ran several steps away, then suddenly remembered something and asked urgently: “My lord, is… is your wound better?”

Though Xiao Yunjing’s face was still somewhat pale, his strength had recovered considerably. He smiled: “Don’t worry—if the battlefield of Asura couldn’t take my life, what are a few bandits?” He looked around: “But we’d better find a place to stay. It’s still not safe enough here. I’ll leave signals for my subordinates to find us quickly.”

Hua Qingyue nodded. Seeing his steps were still somewhat unsteady, she supported him as they walked out through the forest. Fortunately, they soon discovered a small village. The two found a farming household and, fearing the master would be suspicious, pretended to be a wealthy merchant couple robbed by bandits, begging to stay one night.

The farm woman saw these two were richly dressed and good-looking, truly not seeming like bad people, and immediately felt sympathetic. She cleaned a room for them to stay in first, then busily prepared a table of food for them to eat.

Both had been hungry all night and were famished, so they couldn’t care about manners and devoured the entire table of food. Xiao Yunjing’s body hadn’t fully recovered, so Hua Qingyue helped him back to the room to sleep, and he slept until evening. Opening the door, he found Hua Qingyue sitting in the courtyard, carefully mending a robe by the evening sunlight.

He quickly recognized it as his own robe. She sat with her head lowered against the light, a slight smile at her lips. Xiao Yunjing leaned against the doorframe, quietly watching her movements, suddenly realizing she wasn’t like the Princess at all. She wasn’t a pampered flower of the court—she was like a resilient orchid that could emit unique fragrance no matter how harsh the environment.

So he walked over and sat beside her: “It’s torn so badly—why bother mending it?”

Seeing he’d discovered her, Hua Qingyue felt somewhat embarrassed: “I had nothing else to do anyway, and such fine material would be a waste to throw away.” She then smiled and promised: “Don’t worry, my needlework is very good—I can definitely mend it well.”

Xiao Yunjing smiled noncommittally and stood to stretch: “I’m hungry. Let me see if Aunt Zhang has anything to eat.”

Hua Qingyue quickly stood too, putting down her needle and thread: “They’ve already eaten. I saw you sleeping and didn’t want to wake you. Whatever you want to eat, I’ll make it for you.”

Xiao Yunjing turned around and suddenly winked at her somewhat mischievously: “When I was in the army, I always thought about marrying a woman who could accompany me, wash my clothes and cook for me. That way, no matter how hard or tiring it was outside, coming home to see her smile and drink soup she made herself would make me feel I still had a home. I never thought I’d really meet such a woman today.”

Hua Qingyue’s face turned red as she quickly lowered her head and mumbled: “My lord has noble status—you can naturally marry whatever kind of wife you wish. Don’t tease me.”

But Xiao Yunjing’s smile suddenly faded, his gaze becoming somewhat deep: “No, the more noble one’s status, the less possible it becomes to marry the woman you want to marry, or live the life you want to live.”

Hearing the hidden sadness in these words, Hua Qingyue’s heart inexplicably became sour and bitter, almost bringing her to tears. Just then, the farm woman who had gone visiting suddenly ran back, looking at Xiao Yunjing with suspicious surprise: “Just now some soldiers came to the village asking if any injured people were staying here. The ones they’re looking for wouldn’t be you, would they? You two didn’t commit some crime and run here, did you?”

Hua Qingyue’s face changed as she exchanged glances with Xiao Yunjing. Someone in the village was looking for him, but whose people had come? Seeing the farm woman’s suspicion growing, she quickly searched herself for all valuable jewelry and pressed it into the woman’s hands, begging tearfully: “Sister, my husband really didn’t commit any crime. We’re just afraid those bandits disguised as soldiers to find us. Please don’t tell them where we are! Please!”

The farm woman accepted the pile of valuable jewelry, showing hesitation on her face. Just then, noisy voices came from outside the door. Hua Qingyue knew those people had probably found them and couldn’t think much. She quickly pulled Xiao Yunjing into the room and made him hide in the cabinet despite his protests, while she guarded the door.

Just as she finished this, the room door was pushed open with a “bang,” and someone shouted harshly: “We heard there are injured people here—bring them out quickly!”

Hua Qingyue bit her lip and tried to appear calm: “There’s only me here!”

The leader sneered and waved: “Search!”

His subordinates immediately obeyed and searched the room. The room wasn’t large and was thoroughly searched in an instant. Hua Qingyue grew more panicked, and just as someone was about to open the cabinet door, she rushed over and blocked it with her body, shouting tremblingly: “Inside is my husband. He is injured, but he’s not the person you’re looking for. You can’t hurt him!”

Xiao Yunjing, hidden in the cabinet, recognized the leader’s voice and was about to come out himself when he suddenly heard her shout, and his hand reaching for the cabinet door froze in mid-air.

He had achieved fame at a young age and fought many battles. Many people respected and feared him, but no one had ever protected him from behind, saying: “He is my husband—you can’t hurt him!”

Her voice trembled with fear, yet her tone was so firm, completely disregarding her own life to protect him. Xiao Yunjing’s eyes suddenly grew moist as something struck his heart unexpectedly, carving a lifelong mark.

The commotion outside grew louder. The leader seemed to be growing impatient and was about to order the woman bound when the cabinet door suddenly opened. Seeing who emerged, he immediately knelt with joy: “My lord, we finally found you! This subordinate was late—please don’t blame me, my lord!”

Hua Qingyue was stunned, finally understanding that these people were actually his subordinates. Her heart filled with surprise, joy, and then deep reluctance and hidden pain.

As she was caught between grief and joy, her expression dazed, Xiao Yunjing had already walked before her and extended his hand with a smile: “I said I would safely escort you back. Come quickly—the Princess is probably waiting anxiously.”

The word “Princess” finally brought her consciousness back to reality. Yes, she would soon return to the deep palace, back to the Princess’s side as a small servant girl. Perhaps she would never see him again, while he would marry and have children, never to meet again, each going their separate ways.

After Hua Qingyue returned to the palace, she remained melancholy. When the Princess asked, she only said she was frightened during the abduction. She often thought of his eyes—smiling, mischievous, resolute, and that meaningful glance when he escorted her back to the palace… Just such memories could ignite a small flame, casting weak light in her hopeless remaining life.

She thought she would spend her lifetime holding onto memories of him, but fate played tricks. Less than a month later, she received news that Emperor Yun was arranging Princess Ruizhen’s marriage to Marquis Xuanyuan Xiao Yunjing. It turned out Emperor Yun feared news of Princess Ruizhen’s abduction would spread, so he simply made the best of it by marrying her to the marquis who had merit in rescue, creating a fine story.

When the Princess shyly asked her about Marquis Xuanyuan’s current appearance, she suddenly found it very laughable. Her life-and-death ordeal with him had become the foundation for his marriage story with another. And she would have to witness him and the Princess’s daily loving companionship as part of the dowry—for her, this was like eternal purgatory of flesh-cutting and bone-eating.

So under the torment of jealousy and hatred, she finally committed the first vicious act of her life: she killed the Princess, using secret Miao arts provided by her closest palace sister Yu You’er, disguised herself as the Princess, and married Xiao Yunjing in her place.

In many days afterward, she would stroke this face that didn’t belong to her and wonder whether her choice had been right or wrong. Perhaps there truly was divine arrangement—once you commit one wrong act, every step afterward is destined to sink into the abyss until you’re too numb to distinguish right from wrong.

But she soon stopped thinking about it, because no matter how many chances she was given, she would make the same choice. Who told her to love him to the bone?

When love cannot be obtained, resentment arises. When desire clouds the heart, one thought becomes demonic.