Ji Qing’s life underwent a tremendous transformation in the year he turned twelve.

He became the Crown Prince of Yan and went to Xianyang as a hostage, with the day of returning to his homeland indefinitely distant.

Xianyang was several times larger than Jicheng, and the famous Xianyang Palace was even more magnificent and imposing in its grandeur, making one feel an illusion of one’s own insignificance when standing beneath those towering walls. When Ji Qing saw the young King Zheng of Qin, he felt even more that this person possessed an overwhelming authority that could rule the world.

Ji Qing lowered his head, subconsciously comparing Yan Dan with King Zheng of Qin before him, but then laughed bitterly at himself.

Yan Dan? That person was now merely an attendant who couldn’t even enter the main hall of Xianyang Palace. While he was now the Crown Prince of Yan.

Having grown up with Yan Dan since childhood, Ji Qing was very skilled at imitating the other’s speech and behavior. Along this journey, other attendants might have noticed some clues, but none spoke up. That is to say, everyone understood this was something they were powerless and helpless against.

If Yan Dan didn’t want to be a hostage, then only he could take his place. Who made him the most suitable candidate?

Ji Qing took a deep breath to dispel distracting thoughts and paid respects to King Zheng of Qin with the etiquette of a subordinate minister.

In fact, this King Zheng of Qin—who had confined his own mother, killed his two half-brothers, forced his uncle Lu Buwei to suicide, and was rumored to be cruel beyond measure—did not make things particularly difficult for Ji Qing. He merely asked a few casual questions before having someone escort him away. Ji Qing’s eyes swept over the stacks of bamboo scrolls on King Zheng’s desk and smiled self-mockingly.

Yes, how could King Zheng of Qin, who handled countless affairs daily, care about him, a mere hostage from Yan?

Yan was the most distant of the seven warring states from Qin. Fan Sui had once advised the King of Qin that distant alliances were better with Qi and Chu, while near attacks were better against Han and Wei—once Han and Wei were obtained, could Qi and Chu survive alone? This famous strategy of distant alliances and near attacks didn’t even mention their Yan state, completely disregarding Yan. Sending him as a hostage to distant Xianyang was probably more to ease King Xi of Yan’s mind.

Xianyang’s folk customs were simple and honest. Six or seven out of ten passersby carried swords and weapons, and the martial spirit was so flourishing it was incomparable to other states. One rarely saw people dressed in fine clothing, and everyone walked briskly with absolutely no one strolling leisurely through the streets.

Ji Qing took just one casual glance before lowering the carriage curtain, arriving at the hostage residence in a daze. His future life would only wander and linger in this small space.

In fact, he could still freely enter and exit the hostage residence, but each time he went out, Qin guards would follow behind him. They appeared to be protecting his safety but were actually monitoring his every action. This feeling of being watched by countless eyes in every movement was like having thorns in his back—Ji Qing found it very difficult to accept.

Moreover, he was only twelve years old this year. King Zheng of Qin couldn’t possibly arrange any teachers to instruct him in learning, and even wanting to read books required sending people to buy them himself. Every scroll had to pass through layers of inspection before reaching his hands.

This kind of life was like a huge quagmire, making one slowly sink deeper until suffocation.

Ji Qing became increasingly silent and withdrawn, but Yan Dan would slip out of the hostage residence every few days, spending his time leisurely in Xianyang’s streets and alleys. He quickly learned the Xianyang accent and became friendly with many people.

Watching Yan Dan like a fish in water, Ji Qing couldn’t help but think darkly and obscurely—if he hadn’t become a hostage, would he also be so carefree? Or would he still be living the wealthy and leisurely life of a heir in Jicheng?

But just as Yan Dan had said, there would always be some things in life that one was powerless and helpless against.

Ji Qing had grown accustomed to trimming his eyebrows every month, while Yan Dan gradually changed his appearance bit by bit using various plant juices. Sometimes when Ji Qing saw that unremarkable, thin, yellow face, he couldn’t help but be dazed.

In the passage of time, they no longer resembled each other, whether in appearance, physique, personality, or behavior.

Ji Qing became gloomy and cold. He grew increasingly accustomed to his identity as a hostage, to the point that those days in Jicheng from years ago seemed as distant as events from a previous life.

He felt he was the Crown Prince of Yan.

And every night, under the dim oil lamp, he would take out the rhinoceros horn seal he carried with him, using his fingertips to trace the curved lines on the inscription, telling himself over and over: his name was Ji Qing, courtesy name Langxuan…

In the blink of an eye, several years had passed in Xianyang, and Ji Qing had grown up.

Even with poor treatment, King Zheng of Qin would never short him on food. Ji Qing had become a handsome and elegant young man. Only when he trimmed his eyebrows in front of the bronze mirror did he feel that if his sword-like brows were still there, they would certainly add much to his appearance.

During these years, first Qin’s general Nei Shi Teng attacked Han and captured King An of Han. Qin established Yingchuan Commandery in Han territory, and Han was destroyed. Later, Qin’s counterintelligence strategy succeeded. King Qian of Zhao cut off his own arm, and the famous general Li Mu died tragically under the sword of the king he served. Wang Jian crushed the Zhao army and captured King Qian of Zhao. Qin incorporated Zhao territory and established Handan Commandery, and Zhao was destroyed.

The situation became increasingly severe. Qin’s momentum toward unifying the world was unstoppable. All of Xianyang was filled with fighting spirit, with victory reports arriving frequently.

Having stayed in Xianyang for so many years, Ji Qing was occasionally invited to participate in some activities held by Qin’s upper class. However, Qin was not like Chu with its many banquets—most activities were spring and autumn hunts. The Yan and Zhao regions, because they often fought with northern barbarians, were skilled in archery and horsemanship. Though Ji Qing had been noble as a heir and never personally been on a battlefield, through constant exposure he possessed outstanding skills. But he was young after all, lacking in arm strength, so his hunting results were not ideal. Moreover, many people wouldn’t let him hunt smoothly. Ji Qing also knew his value existed to provide amusement and mockery for those Qin noble and aristocratic children.

At first, Ji Qing would also become angry and resist, but he discovered that the more he did so, the more excited those people became, and he would suffer even more bullying and humiliation. So he gradually learned to be indifferent and numb. Indeed, this uninteresting reaction made those people feel bored, and they gradually shifted their targets, allowing Ji Qing to survive peacefully in Xianyang.

But even forcing himself to minimize his presence as much as possible, Ji Qing couldn’t help wanting to gather intelligence from the front lines. Today during the autumn hunt, hearing those children of military merit families loudly discussing Zhao’s destruction, their harsh laughter made him pale.

Both Han and Zhao had been destroyed. Zhao bordered Yan, and Handan was not far northeast to Yan’s capital Jicheng. If the Qin army was fierce, how could Yan survive?

Where was Yan Dan, who should bear all this responsibility and think about all this? That true Crown Prince of Yan had kept his whereabouts secret all these years. If not for seeing him once when monthly allowances were distributed, Ji Qing would almost think this person had long since escaped from Xianyang.

The more he thought, the more irritated his mood became. He simply didn’t return to the hostage residence and wandered aimlessly through Xianyang’s streets in confusion. Perhaps because he had been relatively well-behaved these years, the guards tailing him had also been reduced by more than half—now only two remained. And casual strolling like this was obviously within acceptable limits, so no one came to stop him.

Ji Qing wandered in a daze, not knowing what he was thinking. In fact, the faces of his family members in his memory had become somewhat blurred. Perhaps if he appeared before his family now, they wouldn’t recognize him either. After all, he had been gone so many years…

He didn’t know how long he had wandered until dusk fell and Ji Qing gradually came to his senses. Only then did he realize he had stopped in front of a porridge shop called Lin’s.

Looking at the twisted small seal script on that signboard—Xianyang had only one shop selling Yan regional food—Ji Qing remembered that Yan Dan had also mentioned this place and had often brought sweet bean soup from here for him several years ago. But at that time he had already begun distancing himself from Yan Dan, turning a blind eye to the sweet bean soup placed on his table every night. Gradually, that sweet bean soup stopped appearing.

With inexplicable feelings, Ji Qing stopped outside this porridge shop. While in a trance, he saw a graceful figure lift the curtain and emerge. At this moment, the moonlight was bright, further accentuating the beauty’s snow-white skin and black hair, her elegant and upright bearing. In that instant, all the surrounding noise seemed to drain away, and Ji Qing’s mind constantly echoed with a poem he had heard in childhood.

“The moon rises bright, the beauty appears elegant, with graceful and delicate movements, making my heart troubled! The moon rises white, the beauty appears lovely, with leisurely and comfortable bearing, making my heart restless! The moon rises shining, the beauty appears radiant, with heavenly and brilliant grace, making my heart sorrowful!…”

Ji Qing immediately understood why Yan Dan liked to frequent this porridge shop. This woman was probably slightly younger than them—Yan Dan must have taken a fancy to her long ago, right?

Though it was just speculation, Ji Qing was absolutely certain. Because these two cousin brothers had always been exactly the same from childhood to adulthood, whether in appearance, behavior, or things they liked. Like his father, who always gave them things in pairs, such as those rhinoceros horn seals.

Ji Qing smiled as he entered the porridge shop, naturally chatting with that young proprietress and easily learning about her background. Her father was a Qin soldier, and her mother was a Yan woman. Her mother died early while her father still served in the military, so she relied on skills learned from her mother to open this porridge shop. Because only nobles could have surnames and clan names, commoner women like her without husbands could only inherit their father’s surname, so others called her Miss Lin.

Miss Lin chatted and laughed while serving a steaming bowl of sweet bean soup. This sweet bean soup was made by boiling rice wash water with small beans, without adding any vinegar or sauce, purely sweet and fragrant. Ji Qing took just one sip and couldn’t help but redden around the eyes.

This was the main food throughout Yan. Though he was noble as a heir with better food at every meal, because he was young and craved this sweetness, he often requested servants to make it for him.

It had been… it had been so long since he had tasted this flavor.

The mellow, sticky sweet beans filled his mouth and teeth. Memories that Ji Qing had forced himself to forget instantly flashed before his eyes. An irrepressible homesickness, like a tide, swept through his entire body, and tears flowed uncontrollably.

Miss Lin had obviously seen such scenes many times and considerately went into the inner room. After a while, she brought out a plate of freshly baked steamed cakes.

Ji Qing had already controlled his emotions and felt quite embarrassed. Only then did he show some of a young man’s shy unease, not even daring to raise his head to look at Miss Lin, devouring the steamed cakes with the sweet bean soup like a whirlwind.

Setting down his bowl, Ji Qing wanted to chat a few more sentences with Miss Lin, but from the corner of his eye he saw the two guards following him standing outside the porridge shop—they were reminding him it was time to return.

“How should I address you, young master?” Miss Lin, seeing Ji Qing’s dress and manner, roughly guessed his status was not low. Calling him “young master” would definitely not diminish his status.

Ji Qing was startled, suddenly feeling a strange emotion spreading in his chest.

Back then, had Yan Dan also experienced such situations?

Unable to tell even his most beloved woman his real name.

Ji Qing lowered his eyes, a bitter smile curving at his lips as he said slowly in a low voice, “I… am Crown Prince Dan of Yan.”

Ever since eating sweet bean soup at Miss Lin’s shop, Ji Qing seemed like a different person. He no longer wore a gloomy expression every day and appeared punctually at Lin’s porridge shop almost every evening, just to eat that bowl of sweet bean soup and say a few words to Miss Lin.

Through conversation, he had long since learned that Yan Dan was indeed acquainted with her, but only to the extent of being a regular customer. Yan Dan had not told Miss Lin his name, not even using his courtesy name as a substitute.

When Ji Qing learned this, he smiled on the surface but snorted coldly inside. To be so cautious and unwilling to use a false name to deceive Miss Lin showed that his crown prince cousin indeed valued Miss Lin greatly.

Ji Qing visited Lin’s porridge shop very frequently but never once encountered Yan Dan, so he gradually stopped viewing his cousin as a threat.

With Yan Dan’s current thin, yellow appearance, it would be strange if Miss Lin could fancy him. Moreover, if Yan Dan later restored his identity as Crown Prince of Yan, he absolutely couldn’t marry a commoner woman as queen.

After he returned to Yan, he could regain his freedom. Though the heir position might go to his younger brother, and because he had impersonated Yan Dan’s identity, he might not be tolerated by Yan Dan in Jicheng, he could go into seclusion elsewhere in Yan territory or even go to other countries. Just he and Miss Lin, depending on each other for life.

Whenever Ji Qing thought of this future, he would pace back and forth in his room with excitement.

In his view, fine clothes and food, luxurious garments and mansions were all just opulent cages. He never again wanted to encounter things he was powerless and helpless against. He wanted to master his own life.

But he was still a hostage under confinement and couldn’t give Miss Lin happiness at present.