Flowers bloomed on trees in the late spring of the third month while orioles sang in Chang’an.

The daylight flickered hazily as the morning stars gradually faded. The first dawn drum resonated from the drum tower at the majestic imperial city’s main gate. The drum towers along the imperial street and major roads followed in sequence. The thunderous sounds of bells and drums rolled across more than a hundred precisely arranged wards, awakening this sleeping imperial capital.

As the night curfew lifted and ward gates opened wide, the cold, empty streets quickly filled with rising voices and chatter. Ox carts and horse carriages rushed out from heavily guarded mansions with high gates, merging into the dense crowds on Vermilion Bird Avenue.

At the horizon, clouds and rosy clouds steamed upward. Golden morning light broke through the clouds and poured down, bathing thousands of households in dazzling radiance—truly a scene of prosperous peace.

Inside the Taiji Palace, maids carried gilt copper basins and dew-covered fresh flowers picked before sunrise through the winding corridors.

Their beautiful skirts swept across the recently maintained tiled floor, making rustling sounds like fine rain.

Chun Ru lifted the curtain and entered the inner chamber, setting down the copper basin.

Just after she had opened the incense burner to change the incense, several painful moans suddenly came from behind the large black lacquered screen inlaid with landscape and figure scenes.

“Brother… Brother…”

Chun Ru walked around the screen, lifted the gauze curtain, and her gaze fell on the Seventh Princess’s face, her brows tightly furrowed.

“Princess?”

She wrung out a handkerchief to wipe Princess Li Yaoying’s face, softly calling her name.

The Seventh Princess had a delicate constitution and often had nightmares. Many doctors had been called to treat her, but none could help. The maids had grown accustomed to this.

Hearing Chun Ru’s gentle call, Li Yaoying awoke from her nightmare.

Tears fell from her thick eyelashes, sliding down her fragrant cheeks.

Chun Ru asked with concern, “Did you have another nightmare? Were you tired from the palace banquet last night?”

Li Yaoying’s tear-filled eyes gazed at the dappled sunlight filtering through the screen into the inner chamber. She remained dazed for a while.

Before she was the magnificent bedchamber, not the battlefield that resembled hell on earth.

The terrifying scenes from her dream of flowing blood and scattered corpses gradually faded.

Li Yaoying slowly came to her senses, smiled, casually wiped her wet eyes, and rose to wash up.

It was just a nightmare.

Chun Ru picked up a golden comb decorated with Kalavinka patterns to brush her hair, saying with a smile, “His Majesty and the Prince of Qin won a great victory. The news of triumph has spread throughout Guanzhong. The Prince of Qin will return victorious soon.”

The Seventh Princess called for her brother in her dream—she must be worried about the Second Prince, the Prince of Qin, who was campaigning with His Majesty.

Every time the Prince of Qin went to war, the Seventh Princess would have nightmares.

Li Yaoying picked up a half-bloomed peony and pinned it in her hair, looking at herself in the eight-sided copper mirror inlaid with mother-of-pearl, smiling gently: “I know, Second Brother will return safely.”

The scenes she saw in her dream would not come to pass.

The young woman in the copper mirror had a smile on her lips. Though she had just risen and wore no makeup, with traces of tears still visible, she possessed heavenly beauty, her face like an immortal flower.

Her slightly reddened eyes added an indescribable charm.

Chun Ru was mesmerized, feeling half her body go numb.

She would willingly sacrifice everything just to smooth the Princess’s slightly furrowed brows.

Li Yaoying caught her maid’s eye in the mirror with a smile, her glance conveying a playful innocence.

At that moment, all seduction vanished, like a lotus emerging from clear water, naturally unadorned—cool and pure, yet gentle and moving.

Chun Ru came back to her senses and lowered her head, focusing on arranging the Seventh Princess’s hair.

……

Half an hour later, the streets grew more bustling.

Li Yaoying wore a green damask robe woven with gold roundels and linked pearl patterns in the Uyghur style, with a veiled hat. She rode her horse through the noisy long street, stopping before a secluded courtyard. She removed her veiled hat and looked back at the bustling wards behind her.

Who could imagine that just a few months ago, this capital that had flourished for over a hundred years was still a scene of broken walls and ruins, wounds everywhere from the chaos of war?

Li Yaoying dismounted, casually pulled out her soft whip, and knocked the dust from her black leather boots. Smelling the rich aroma of sesame oil flatbread in the air, she smiled slightly.

Peace would come soon.

Better to be a dog in times of peace than a person in times of chaos!

The previous dynasty’s last emperor was extravagant and cruel, frequently waging wars and exploiting the common people. After just over ten years on the throne, he caused the realm to fall into chaos, with uprisings breaking out everywhere and noble families rebelling in succession.

This opened the prelude to several years of chaos.

As the Central Plains fell into disorder, nomadic tribes seized the opportunity to invade from the north. War raged everywhere, beacon fires burned continuously.

In the year Li Yaoying was born, her father Li De, with support from great noble families, became a hegemon commanding hundreds of thousands of troops.

Fourteen years passed in a flash. Li De campaigned north and south, successively defeating enemies entrenched in the north, finally leading his army to occupy Chang’an last winter.

The last emperor had died at the hands of rebels several years ago while fleeing to the south. In these years, Chang’an had changed hands many times, with even foreign tribes once ruling and plundering here.

After repeated warfare, this magnificent capital had long lost its former prosperity.

After the Wei army took control of Chang’an, their strict military discipline meant no hair was harmed on civilians’ heads. Li De continuously sent envoys to befriend northern tribes, recovered various small forces, won over local noble families, and gradually stabilized people’s hearts.

In the great trend of history, division leads to unity. After several months of governance, the hearts of people in Guanzhong settled, tribes from all directions came to submit, and Chang’an began to recover its vitality bit by bit. The former prosperity and flourishing would return soon.

Noble families, distinguished scholars, and elderly commoners repeatedly submitted joint memorials requesting Li De to ascend the throne.

After declining three times, Li De chose an auspicious day to formally ascend the throne, establishing the Wei Dynasty.

Li Yaoying was Li De’s seventh daughter. When her father became emperor, she became the precious Seventh Princess.

Having seen so much suffering in the chaotic world, finally seeing peace arrive, Li Yaoying felt very fortunate.

As a daughter of the Li family, she never worried about food or clothing, had warrior slaves protecting her when she went out and could grow up safely and smoothly in chaotic times—this was already extremely lucky.

Her mother was gentle and loving, and her brothers were protective and doting.

Inexplicably arriving in this strange world from peaceful modern times to become the Li family’s seventh daughter wasn’t too bad.

However, unfortunately, Li Yaoying soon discovered she had a half-brother named Li Xuanzhen.

The famous Emperor Taizong of the Wei Dynasty, Li Xuanzhen.

Li Yaoying had read the book “Wei Dynasty’s Li Xuanzhen.”

At the end of the book, the protagonist Li Xuanzhen leads troops to defeat Southern Chu, Western Yue, and more than ten small regimes. After the victory, he immediately returned to Chang’an to force his father Li De to abdicate, ascended the throne, led troops to pacify the grasslands, completely unified north and south, suppressed noble families, promoted humble-born talents, achieved both civil and military accomplishments, laying the foundation for Wei Dynasty’s golden age.

After repeatedly confirming Li Xuanzhen was her elder brother, Li Yaoying trembled.

Her relationship with the protagonist Li Xuanzhen wasn’t just about having different mothers.

They were enemies.

The Li family had guarded Wei Commandery for generations, being local magnates there. Li De was a concubine’s son, lonely in his youth. At twenty-five he married Tang, a merchant’s daughter. At twenty-eight he joined the military, gradually showing his talent, quickly replacing his legitimate elder brother to become the Li family head, and was appointed Military Commander of Wei Commandery.

Later when beacon fires rose in all directions and various places rebelled, Li De rode the tide of the times, recruited soldiers in the name of protecting his homeland, led his clansmen to rise, gathered tens of thousands of followers, and won several small victories.

Li De often led troops away, while Tang stayed in their homeland taking care of their son Li Xuanzhen.

When Li Xuanzhen was two years old, a group of rebel soldiers fled in panic to Wei Commandery. Taking advantage of weak defenses, they directly entered the commandery city and looted everything.

The family servants who remained in Wei Commandery sent news: Tang and her son died tragically at the rebels’ hands.

Li De was enraged. In battle he mistakenly fell into others’ trap, losing troops and officers. All his guards died, and he was seriously wounded. Within a month he lost several cities.

Seeing the Wei army suffering complete defeat, with the Li family’s foundation of many years about to be lost, clansmen advised Li De to ally with noble families to consolidate power.

The Li family were magnates but couldn’t count as nobility, and had never been accepted by noble families.

After recovering from his wounds, Li De adopted his advisors’ suggestion and went to seek marriage with the Xie family, then the most powerful among noble families, promising that if he achieved great success in the future he would make the Xie family’s legitimate daughter empress.

The Xie family had money, people, and prestige, but lacked generals who could lead troops in battle. They agreed to marry their legitimate daughter to Li De. The two families set a wedding date, reaching an agreement to share glory and wealth.

Little did they know Tang was still alive.

As a weak woman, she had escaped the rebel soldiers’ blockade with Li Xuanzhen. After much hardship and wandering, they finally found Li De, just in time to witness the Xie family’s legitimate daughter marrying her husband in a grand procession.

Tang made a huge scene, but the ceremony was already complete—Li De couldn’t cancel the marriage.

With the Xie family’s support, Li De quickly expanded his forces and revived his fortunes.

He was invincible on the battlefield, but fires of war burned in his rear court.

Lady Xie came from a noble family and looked down on Tang whose ancestors made their fortune selling timber. Tang hated the Xie family for stealing her husband and cursed Lady Xie daily.

One was the Xie family’s legitimate daughter, one was his first wife—Li De couldn’t afford to offend either woman and was at his wit’s end.

Li De was troubled, but the servants were even more troubled. By coincidence, both women were considered Li De’s properly married primary wives—how should they be addressed?

In the end, they could only vaguely call one Lady Tang and one Lady Xie.

The two ladies fought for several years. As the eldest son Li Xuanzhen and Lady Xie’s son Li Zhongqian gradually grew up, the flames of war spread to the position of heir.

The Xie family was noble and distinguished, prospering through several dynasties. Li De’s rise couldn’t have happened without the Xie family’s full support. The Li family elders believed Tang’s status was too humble, while the second son Li Zhongqian was ennobled by his mother, so he should inherit the position of heir.

Seeing her son couldn’t compete with Li Zhongqian, the violent-tempered Tang wore her wedding dress from when she married Li De and burned herself to death.

Before dying, she laughed several times: “My lord, my lord, you have truly wronged me!”

Li De was with the army at the time. When news of Tang’s death reached the main tent, he immediately vomited blood and fainted.

Within half a month, this hero who had campaigned for many years aged more than ten years, half his black hair turning white.

Only then did people know how deeply Li De loved his first wife Tang.

Li Xuanzhen became the heir.

Lady Xie’s heart turned to ashes.

Though the son didn’t kill Bo Ren, Bo Ren died because of the son. Li Xuanzhen believed Lady Xie was the chief culprit in forcing Tang to death and hated Lady Xie and her children to the bone.

Li Yaoying’s birth mother was Lady Xie, and Li Zhongqian was her full brother.

Before dying, Tang instructed her son to avenge her in the future.

In the book, Li Xuanzhen always firmly remembered his mother’s instructions, using others’ hands to force Lady Xie to death, set up a trap to kill Li Zhongqian, and didn’t even spare the Xie family’s distant relatives.

As for Lady Xie’s young daughter, the book only mentioned her in passing, not even giving her name—she probably died young.

……

Li Yaoying was speechless.

Discovering she was an unnamed character who died young, while her elder brother who controlled the military constantly thought about how to torment her mother and brother, and would kill her too—what should she do?

Li Yaoying had tried reconciling with Li Xuanzhen but found this path impossible.

Li Xuanzhen’s hatred for the Xie family simply couldn’t be resolved.

She could only strike first.

But this path was even more impossible.

Li Xuanzhen was the protagonist, with great fortune and opportunities. Though he often faced danger, at the last moment he always turned danger into safety, as if divinely aided.

Several times when Li Yaoying acted, not only did she fail to harm Li Xuanzhen, but she also ended up covered in wounds.

Sometimes when she just silently planned how to trouble Li Xuanzhen, she would immediately get splitting headaches and feel awful all over.

Li Yaoying recalled two iron rules from the book:

Even if the protagonist was stabbed full of holes, he just wouldn’t die.

Whoever harmed the protagonist would suffer heaven’s punishment—it wasn’t that there was no retribution, just that the time hadn’t come.

Li Yaoying rolled her eyes at heaven.

Did she have to accept fate and wait for Li Xuanzhen to gain power and kill her and Second Brother with his sword?

Li Yaoying wasn’t resigned. While guarding against Li Xuanzhen, she sought other strategies to preserve her life.

Over these years, her careful handling of Li Xuanzhen’s methods protected her mother Lady Xie, and Second Brother’s lives.

According to the book, Li Zhongqian should have died a year ago, and Lady Xie would have poisoned herself soon after. Li Yaoying had temporarily changed their fates.

She knew she couldn’t change the outcome, just let her mother and brother live a few more years.

So what?

Living one more day was one more day.

……

The street corner restaurant was packed with people. Fresh flatbread came out of the ovens, the fragrance growing stronger. The distant sound of bustling voices carried over—the present world was peaceful.

Li Yaoying put away her thoughts and stepped onto the stone stairs.

The guard went forward to knock on the courtyard gate.

Cursing sounds came from inside. A clean and thin young man in his twenties opened the courtyard gate, swept his eyes over the strong slave guards standing behind Li Yaoying, and frowned: “What instructions does the noble visitor have?”

Li Yaoying smiled brilliantly: “Spring is warm but still cold. I heard Young Master Du has been coughing these days, so I came to check on you.”

This fallen young man before her was named Du Sinan. He should have become Li Xuanzhen’s right-hand man—the poisonous scheme to frame Second Brother Li Zhongqian was his idea.

Two years ago, Li Yaoying found this frustrated scholar and prevented him from becoming Li Xuanzhen’s advisor, allowing Li Zhongqian to live one year longer than in the book.

Du Sinan’s expression turned cold, his gaze falling on the smile playing on Li Yaoying’s cheeks. With a breath caught in his throat, he laughed coldly again and again.

“Someone as lowly as Du is unworthy of the noble visitor’s concern.”

Li Yaoying paid no mind to the undisguised mockery in Du Sinan’s tone. Standing on the steps, she smiled and glanced at the corner of the alley.

A furtive figure stood there watching for a while before turning and disappearing into the morning light.

It was one of Li Xuanzhen’s people.

Li Yaoying’s lips curved slightly upward.

Though she couldn’t kill Li Xuanzhen’s capable advisor, she could still cause them some trouble.