Shangguan Luoyue felt as if she had returned to her childhood days when she was first taken in by Shangguan Hanshan.
That year, she was six years old.
She didn’t have the surname Shangguan back then; she was just called Luo Yue.
Her home was located at the intersection of three kingdoms.
Normally, when the Great Xia was strong, the other two countries wouldn’t dare to invade.
But at that time, Great Xia had no ruler, and the greed of the Northern Luo people knew no bounds. Not only did they want to take advantage of the situation to aggressively pressure the Western Zhou, but they also planned to encroach on the borders of Great Xia.
The Western Zhou wasn’t willing to fall behind either. They struck first to gain the upper hand and blocked Northern Luo at Liangzhou.
She found herself displaced amid the alternating wars between Western Zhou and Northern Luo.
Her father was trampled to death by Northern Luo cavalry, and her mother was dragged into the bushes by Western Zhou bandits.
Her parents hid her in a cellar and, with tears of blood in their eyes, urged her:
“You must flee toward Great Xia! Do everything you can to reach the capital!
You’ll be safe there.”
She cried as she ran, and there were quite a few children her age running alongside her.
She had no idea how long she had been running, but finally, her strength gave out, and she collapsed to the ground.
A godlike man glanced at her lazily from his sedan chair.
Just one look, and this exceptionally charming man froze completely.
After taking a closer look at her, he covered his face and wept bitterly, saying:
“Wanwan, is this your way of telling me to live well?”
Young Luo Yue had no idea who Wanwan was. All she knew was that because of her, he granted her the title of Princess Huaiwan, gave her the surname Shangguan, and renamed her Luoyue.
This man was the newly appointed ruler of the land, Shangguan Hanshan.
But that secret, youthful crush she had on him was ultimately buried deep in her heart under the title of “foster father.”
She thought she had forgotten all about it.
Yet, when she saw Shangguan Hanshan again, looking as youthful as ever, those long-suppressed feelings burst forth uncontrollably.
She didn’t want to be just his foster daughter!
She looked so much like the woman in the painting—why not let the mistake stand?
She could be Wanwan. She could be anyone.
All she wanted was for him to want her.
Shangguan Hanshan, his heart in utter turmoil, didn’t even spare Shangguan Luoyue a glance. With a flash, he disappeared without a trace.
“My lord!”
Shangguan Luoyue hurried forward a few steps, but she couldn’t make him look back even once.
She clenched her fingers tightly, her freshly painted nails digging into her palms.
Could it be that her foster father had discovered that Jiang was the daughter of that wretched woman?!
She didn’t have time to think it through. She rushed forward and blocked Huo Ci’s carriage.
“Wait a minute!
No wonder a merchant’s daughter like you dares to refuse to remarry the Garrison General of the Northern Front. Turns out you’ve found yourself a better option!
Huaiwan advises you to stop entertaining those filthy thoughts right now!
My foster father would never favor a fallen flower like you.
I, Shangguan Luoyue, am the only princess of the Great Xia!”
Huo Ci furrowed his brow.
What was this person rambling about?
How dare she insult Ayan like that?
Her anger flared up. She lifted the carriage curtain, pushed aside her veiled hat, and gave a faint smile as she spoke:
“I thought it was someone important, making all this racket. Turns out it’s Princess Huaiwan. My apologies.
You must be used to carrying on this wildly unrestrained way in Great Xia, but here in Western Zhou, such behavior is truly crude and vulgar.
I’m kindly reminding you today. You’re smart, Princess—I’m sure you’ll remember this, right?”
“You!”
Shangguan Luoyue noticed that she was wearing a veiled hat with a veil underneath, so her foster father probably wouldn’t see her face.
But those eyes of hers—they looked so much like the figure in the painting that it was absolutely infuriating.
If she didn’t get rid of this woman soon, she would surely become a major threat.
Still, that Huo Ci beside her was incredibly skilled in martial arts, to the point where even Bashu was no match for him.
Now that her foster father was nearby, she couldn’t act rashly.
Shangguan Luoyue gave a cold laugh and let the carriage curtain fall back into place.
“I wonder how much longer Lady Jiang will be able to keep smiling?”
Huo Ci replied solemnly, “Certainly longer than someone who steals another’s favor.”
Shangguan Luoyue, stung by the truth, flew into a rage of shame and secretly struck the hind leg of the horse pulling the carriage with a hidden palm strike.
The horse, startled by the pain, bolted forward wildly.
Wang Fu used all his strength but couldn’t stop the carriage. Instead, caught off guard, he was thrown heavily off it.
“Lady Jiang!”
Huo Ci reacted swiftly and grabbed the reins.
Unfortunately, she didn’t have enough strength to stop the panicked, pain-maddened black horse.
Even with Xia Feng and Dong Yang helping with all their might, it was useless.
The carriage was careening out of control and was about to crash into a roadside stall. A mother and her son couldn’t dodge in time and were bracing for impact.
The mother clutched her three-year-old child tightly in her arms, squeezed her eyes shut, and waited for the end.
Huo Ci, frantic with anxiety, let out a loud shout and used every ounce of her strength. She could even feel the sharp sting of her meridians snapping one by one.
Perhaps the black horse had a moment of awareness. After rearing up and letting out a loud neigh, it finally came to a halt just an inch away from the mother and son.
The child stared wide-eyed with terror, locking eyes with Jiang Xingyan, whose face was bleeding from all seven orifices inside the carriage.
“Waaah!”
The child burst into heart-wrenching sobs.
In an instant, it was as if all the strength had drained out of Huo Ci. She collapsed limply inside the carriage, unable to move an inch.
“Who’s causing trouble by galloping recklessly through the market and injuring people!”
A woman’s sharp cry came from nearby.
A flash of red appeared before Huo Ci’s eyes, and then the woman was standing in front of her.
The newcomer spread her arms to protect the crying mother and son, who had just narrowly escaped death, and spoke to the person in the carriage with a harsh tone:
“Under Western Zhou law, what’s the penalty for galloping through the streets and injuring people?”
“Huh? Isn’t this the General’s carriage?”
A familiar voice reached Huo Ci’s ears, and she recognized it as Xiao Chonghua’s.
She thought to herself, this is bad.
This man was deeply calculating, and he would surely use this incident to make things difficult for Ayan.
The woman in red was momentarily taken aback. She then looked at Huo Ci with a scrutinizing and contemptuous gaze.
“Could you be that merchant’s daughter who insisted on divorcing General Huo?!”
Huo Ci didn’t have an ounce of strength left. She signaled Xia Feng with her eyes to handle the matter.
Xia Feng was already furious that this newcomer had accused her lady without knowing the facts, and the woman’s words seemed to show great admiration for Huo Ci. But seeing her with Xiao Chonghua and not knowing her identity, Xia Feng decided to swallow her anger for now, though she secretly rolled her eyes at Huo Ci.
General Huo sure knows how to attract trouble.
Where did this one even come from?
“Your Highness, Third Prince, please see clearly. The horse bolted and threw off the driver. My lady, unable to bear the thought of that woman and her young son getting hurt, risked her life to stop the carriage.
She’s injured her muscles and bones and desperately needs to see a doctor.
We beg Your Highness, out of respect for the General, to let her go for now. Once my lady is out of danger, we’ll cooperate with any investigation and punishment.”
Xiao Chonghua clicked his tongue in admiration.
What a sharp tongue. What a clever maid.
The woman in red standing before the carriage was none other than Princess Shian. She gave a cold sneer and said:
“How could a weak, defenseless woman possibly stop a runaway horse?
Don’t try to put a glossy finish on it.
If you’re trying to avoid punishment with such talk, you’re just daydreaming.”
Dong Yang couldn’t stand it anymore.
No matter who this woman was, she raised her head, looked straight ahead, and said, “If you don’t believe it, miss, feel free to come up and see for yourself.
Take a look at whether my lady has ruptured her meridians, is bleeding from all orifices, and can’t move a muscle.
Standing out here making assumptions—does that count as a noble person’s behavior?”
Mu Shian was left speechless. She huffed, pursed her lips, and muttered:
“She’s just a merchant’s daughter pretending to be some delicate, highborn lady who never lifts a finger.
I despise nothing more than this kind of fragile, helpless act.
It makes all women look bad!”
“You!”
“Alright, let’s all dial it back.
Since Lady Jiang is seriously injured, she should get medical attention right away.
As for this mother and son—”
“Don’t trouble yourself over them, Third Prince.”
A deep, resonant voice cut off Xiao Chonghua’s condescending tone.
Everyone turned to look. “Huo Ci” stepped down from a carriage drawn by two horses, lifting the curtain.
His expression was dark, and his presence was overwhelmingly powerful.
