Wei Li didn't care about the emperor's face; he even thought about shoving Emperor Shunhe's head into a slop bucket yesterday. Zhao Mingxin was Emperor Shunhe's daughter, so shoving her head into a slop bucket was practically the same as shoving Emperor Shunhe's head into a slop bucket.

In particular, Goguryeo had attacked Luchang in Pingzhou a few days ago, and Wei Li, who was vengeful, felt that even plundering the garrison on the southern Goguryeo border was not enough, so he simply sent Zhao Mingxin to the Goguryeo royal court to cause trouble.

He was given a young, beautiful, and innocent empress, and he felt he had treated this neighbor well, repaying evil with kindness.

Zhao Mingxin is young and beautiful, but whether she is naive or simple-minded is still debatable.

Xiao Tao held Zhao Xiheng and cried out for the princess all afternoon, and everyone in the prefectural governor's mansion knew about it. Wei Li, that scoundrel Wei, had done something big—he had kidnapped Princess Jingcheng, who was supposed to be married off to Goguryeo.

Although the world was in disarray and the feudal lords were not convinced, in the hearts of ordinary people, the word "princess" still carried great weight and sounded very unattainable.

The way the prefect and his wife addressed Zhao Xiheng changed from "little lady" to "little maiden" and then to "princess."

The prefect's wife was soft-hearted. When she thought about how Zhao Xiheng was about the same age as her daughter but was in such a predicament, she couldn't help but sigh with regret. She felt that it was really not easy for her at such a young age. She lost both her parents at a young age and was sent to marry a foreign ruler, only to have her snatched away by someone like Wei Li. So she felt a lot of pity for her.

After Zhao Xiheng finished eating and washing up, she snuggled into the warm bedding and let out a comfortable sigh.

It feels like eating something warm makes me feel comfortable all over.

The prefect's wife, fearing she would be bored, specially sent her many trinkets, including glass marbles and silver nine-linked rings.

She lay there for a while, then turned over and lay face down on the heated kang (a traditional Chinese bed-stove), playing marbles with Xiao Tao.

“I asked you before what Wei Li went to Goguryeo for, but you haven’t finished answering yet.”

Two glass beads collided, making a crisp sound. She pulled the thick blanket over her shoulders again, leaving only her small head and two arms exposed.

"I heard that the deer farm was massacred by the Goguryeo people, and Wei Li led people to take revenge."

"Shameless!" Zhao Xiheng stopped playing marbles and slammed her fist on the kang (a heated brick bed). She was referring to Goguryeo.

Since the death of her father, Goguryeo had frequently harassed the borders of the Great Zhou, leading to frequent clashes and constant casualties. Her uncle was not a decisive man in foreign affairs, and the Great Zhou army had been seized by various vassal kings. The few remaining soldiers he had were insufficient to sustain a war. The most convenient and effective way to maintain peace and protect the people of the Great Zhou in the Goguryeo region was through a marriage alliance.

Zhao Xinglie cared about the people. He always brought Zhao Xiheng with him when he went to court to review memorials. Although Zhao Xiheng hadn't learned any martial arts skills from him, she still cared about the people.

Zhao Xiheng's quick agreement to the marriage alliance was partly driven by this sentiment.

So Goguryeo is now launching a surprise attack on Luchang? You should know that even the governor's family didn't know that her marriage alliance had been intercepted, so Goguryeo certainly hadn't received the news yet.

What do they mean now? The two countries are discussing a marriage alliance, but they're not even willing to maintain a semblance of peace?

Xiao Tao patted Zhao Xiheng's chest, which was heaving with anger, and said, "Thank goodness, they showed their true colors before they even entered Goguryeo."

Zhao Xiheng thought about it and realized it made sense, and her anger subsided a little.

She had slept too much during the day and was in high spirits, so she couldn't fall asleep for a while. She picked up the nine-linked rings to solve the puzzle, her mind preoccupied with the deer farm. Suddenly, the outermost door of the outer room was kicked hard from the outside. She didn't even need to think about who did it.

Then Wei Li's voice came through several doors, "Zhao Xiheng, go to sleep! You're as weak as a worm during the day, but you become a dragon at night?"

Zhao Xiheng grinned, put the nine-linked rings and marbles back into the box, and told Xiao Tao to turn off the light and go to sleep.

She didn't know how Wei Li could have so much energy. He went to bed late the night before last, got up early yesterday morning, went to Pyongyang to fight a battle, and is still awake so late today.

In Pingzhou, the sun rises exceptionally late and sets exceptionally early. It was already late afternoon when the red sun was barely peeking out. Zhao Xiheng was afraid that Wei Lizhen would burst in and bury her in the snow, so she got up very early. She lit the lamp in the room and shivered as she hugged the quilt for a while before being urged by her rumbling hunger to put on the clothes that Xiao Tao had warmed for her.

In winter here, apart from hunting in the mountains and fishing by breaking ice, produce is in particularly high demand, especially leafy green vegetables, most of which are cabbages stored up after the first frost.

Breakfast was wontons, with dried shrimp and seaweed added to the soup for flavor. There were also pork and cabbage buns, stir-fried cabbage with cured pork, as well as spicy cabbage, pickled fish skin, and pickled bellflower root.

The food was not refined; it was so simple and plain that it was unlike what a prefect's family would prepare. However, it was clear that the chef had tried his best to make the simple ingredients delicious.

Zhao Xiheng ate three fist-sized steamed buns, a large bowl of wontons, and a small bowl of pickled vegetables in one go, then licked her lips.

It must be because of the cold weather; even though she stayed indoors all the time, she always felt hungry.

In Pingzhou, no grass or trees grow in winter, only snow. The only thing worth seeing is the few evergreen pines and cypresses in the courtyard. Zhao Xiheng felt bored and cold after finishing her meal, so she went to sit by the small stove in the outer room and quietly lifted the curtain hanging on the window to look at the faint green outside through the translucent glutinous rice paper.

Footsteps creaked and groaned as they stopped by the window; a dark figure was there.

Then……

Then the glutinous rice paper was punctured.

Zhao Xiheng met a pair of pure black eyes. This time, she wasn't pretending; she was genuinely frightened and staggered backward, almost falling to the ground along with her folding chair.

"Come out." Wei Li tore the rice paper even wider, revealing his entire face, and the cold wind howled towards Zhao Xiheng's face.

Is pasting paper on the windows free?

Zhao Xiheng felt uneasy, wondering if Wei Li was planning to take her away and kill her today.

Zhao Xiheng, wearing a thick cloak, followed closely behind Wei Li.

It snowed again last night, piling up thickly on the ground, reaching up to Zhao Xiheng's ankles, like frosting, making a crunching sound when stepped on.

Zhao Xiheng was afraid that snow would get into her boots, so she followed Wei Li's footprints and walked very slowly.

As Wei Li turned around, Zhao Xiheng, who was looking down at the road, didn't notice and bumped her head into his chest.

"Ah!" she exclaimed, falling backward.

Fortunately, the ground was covered in snow, so the fall didn't hurt. However, Zhao Xiheng felt that as a princess, it was rather embarrassing to fall in front of others.

Wei Li reacted quickly, grabbing Zhao Xiheng by the collar and lifting her up like a chick.

Zhao Xiheng was heartbroken. "You might as well let me collapse on my own and leave me alone."

Being dragged up like that seemed even more humiliating; she had lost all her princess-like demeanor and dignity.

A passing maid secretly glanced at the two of them.

Zhao Xiheng blushed, gritted her teeth, patted her skirt, and pretended to be nonchalant. "Thank you, my lord."

Wei Li pinched her cheek hard. "Cold?"

Her face turned red.

Zhao Xiheng nodded.

Wei Li seemed to be in a good mood and turned to leave.

Zhao Xiheng's face scrunched up like a little bun. What's so great about me being cold?

Zhao Mingxin cried all the way, her tears freezing on her face, turning her face a dark purple from the cold. Then she was thrown into a small room, which she thought was the worst she could get. But less than an hour later, she was thrown from the still warm little room into a freezing woodshed.

She buried her face in her hands and wept bitterly. All the pampering she had received in the Jin Yang Palace seemed like yesterday, and everything she was experiencing now felt like a nightmare.

Because Pingzhou was located at the junction of four kingdoms, after Zhao Xinglie conquered Pingzhou, he amassed 500,000 troops there to defend the territory. After his death, Emperor Shunhe could not control the Prince of Zhenbei, and these troops almost all became Pingzhou's private army.

Not to mention the vast disparity in military strength between Qingzhou and Pingzhou, Qingzhou also lacked respect for the royal family and was unwilling to provoke Pingzhou for Zhao Mingxin's sake. Therefore, Wang Zhiyao, the ruler of Qingzhou, ignored Zhao Mingxin and even wished he could throw her out of Qingzhou.

Fortunately, Wei Li was willing to take over, so he quickly packed up the package and sent the person out.

Wang Zhiyao then offered some polite words, “The marriage alliance with Goguryeo is to forge good relations between the two countries, to protect the people of both nations, and to safeguard peace in our region. Since Princess Jingcheng’s whereabouts are unknown, it is only natural that Princess Ming’an cannot shirk her duty. We are deeply moved by the princess’s righteousness and are moved to tears. Therefore, we respectfully send Princess Ming’an off from Qingzhou, hoping that she will arrive safely in Goguryeo.”

Zhao Mingxin was thus handed over to Wei Li, who even lauded her for her "righteousness."

After General Pingwei's death, the wedding procession fell apart. Fearing that Zhao Mingxin would be punished by the emperor for failing to escort her properly after returning to Jinyang, they simply gave up and voluntarily joined the military households in Qingzhou.

Zhao Mingxin was led away by Wang Zhiyao and his entourage, traveling alone, with her dowry behind her. Because she had caused so much trouble, Wang Zhiyao treated her very indifferently, not even bothering to light a charcoal brazier for her in the carriage.

Then he waved goodbye to her with great joy.

A mouse was crawling on her foot. Zhao Mingxin screamed and jumped up. It was rare for her to still have the strength.

The door was kicked open, and light rushed in impatiently.

Zhao Mingxin's eyes were fixed on Zhao Xiheng, who was standing beside Wei Li...