The name Han Yun was given by Xu Xie because she disliked flower names like "peony" and "peony" as too common. She not only named Han Yun, but also hired someone to teach him the four arts of playing the zither, chess, calligraphy, and painting. Among these four arts, Han Yun was especially good at playing the zither, and his music could even attract birds to listen.

When Xu Xie led his troops on an expedition and was away from the capital, the madam once tried to get Han Yun to perform, suggesting that if he wasn't entertaining customers, he should at least play the zither for other guests. However, Han Yun refused. His hands were nurtured by Xu Xie, and so was he. He would only play the zither for her.

Upon receiving the visual information, Bi Xie knew that the drama was about to begin. How many of these stories about generals and courtesans have ever had a happy ending throughout history?

Sure enough, when Xu Xie returned victorious after defeating Ye Xi Kingdom once again, Her Majesty the Empress personally arranged a marriage for her with Ning Mingshao, the young master of the Ning State Duke's Mansion.

The Ningguo Duke's Mansion is an absolute supporter of imperial power, and many of the Empresses of the past came from the Ningguo Duke's Mansion. Logically speaking, this young master Ning should have entered the palace to become an Empress, but he was betrothed to Xu Xie. There must be something fishy going on here.

After being betrothed to Han Yun, Xu Xie thought of him and, for the first time, disobeyed the imperial decree, refusing him in the palace.

The result was naturally that she was not able to refuse. The Empress had a backup plan. She had Xu Lan persuade her. Xu Lan told her that Her Majesty had already issued the imperial decree of marriage. Her return to the capital was just to inform her. Now everyone was praising Her Majesty's wisdom in arranging a good marriage for General Xu. If she insisted on refusing, it would be to slap Her Majesty in the face.

If anyone disobeys the imperial decree, the entire Zhenguo General's mansion will be implicated and punished.

Xu Lan knew that she liked the top courtesan of Nuanjiao Pavilion, and said that after marrying Young Master Ning, she could take a concubine. For someone of Han Yun's status, being able to become a general's concubine was already a great blessing.

Xu Xie was raised by Xu Lan since childhood. Xu Lan was both her teacher and her mother, and her kindness was as heavy as a mountain. If she disobeyed the imperial decree, the General's Mansion might be executed along with her entire family. Therefore, she had no choice but to agree.

But she never expected that on her wedding day, Her Majesty the Empress would send someone to put Five Stone Powder in her tea, and together with Ning Mingshao, she forged several letters with enemy countries while Ning Mingshao was in a daze on her wedding night.

When Han Yun stormed into the General's Mansion and caused a ruckus in the inner hall, Xu Xie was in a daze and naturally gave him no explanation or reassurance.

Ning Mingshao originally admired Xu Xie, but Xu Xie never glanced at him at the banquets for princes and nobles. After everyone in the capital learned that he and she had been betrothed by the emperor, she still frequented Nuanjiao Pavilion, completely ignoring him and making him a laughing stock in the capital. Therefore, he did not hesitate to frame Xu Xie later.

Han Yun's outburst at the General's Mansion made him extremely uncomfortable. So, on the night of his wedding to Xu Xie, he had Han Yun tied up and made him kneel outside to listen to a live sex show all night. The next day, seeing Han Yun looking utterly dejected and miserable, he felt a sense of vengeful pleasure and had him thrown out.

There is no pain more painful than the pain of your loved one sharing a bed with someone else, while you can do nothing about it.

On his wedding night with Xu Xie, Han Yun completely turned to the dark side. He felt that Xu Xie had deceived him, and he wanted to kill Ning Mingshao, then kill Xu Xie, and finally kill himself.

However, the plan failed at the very first step. Xu Xie had spoiled him too much; his ten fingers were meant for playing the zither, and he had no strength to wield a sword. His assassination attempt on Ning Mingshao failed, but it angered Ning Mingshao. By then, Xu Xie had regained his senses. In order to prevent Xu Xie from finding Han Yun, Ning Mingshao sent two servants to take Han Yun out of Kuiyang Kingdom and kill him.

As a result, Han Yun was rescued by the guards of Ye Xi Kingdom. Not only did he not die, but his disguise was also exposed.

He turned out to be the young prince of Yexi Kingdom who had been living in exile.

Unlike Kuiyang Kingdom, Yexi Kingdom is a male-dominated country where military strength reigns supreme and the greater the power, the greater the authority.

The Kingdom of Yexi was originally powerful, but due to constant internal strife and power struggles among brothers, the throne changed hands every few years, and the royal family became increasingly scarce, making them all the more precious. Currently, the Crown Prince of Yexi has taken countless concubines, but none of them have been able to bear him an heir. The Emperor noticed something was wrong and sent the imperial physician to examine him, only to discover that the problem lay with the Crown Prince. However, he could not allow the kingdom he had painstakingly seized to fall into the hands of others…

Then he remembered his youngest son and his mother, who were born prematurely and were weak, and had been abandoned by him to recuperate at a villa. He hurriedly summoned his most trusted guards to search for them, but the villa had already been occupied by a group of unruly servants. Under severe torture, they learned that the mother and son had fled in the night many years ago, and their whereabouts were unknown. All they knew was that the young prince had a bright red birthmark between his eyebrows.

Han Yun was welcomed back to Ye Xi Kingdom and restored to his status as a prince. Although the monarch of Ye Xi Kingdom still disliked his body, which was unable to carry heavy loads, he could only sigh and place his hopes on him, sending people to teach him martial arts and military training to improve his health.

At that time, Han Yun had already turned to the dark side, filled with hatred. He was extremely talented and quick-witted. Although his martial arts skills progressed slowly because he was past the age of learning martial arts, he was a brilliant strategist. With him as the strategist, he led the Ye Xi Kingdom to several victories.

After several defeats, the people of Kuiyang were filled with resentment and clamored for General Xu to teach the barbarians of Yexi Kingdom a lesson.

The evidence of "treason" that the Queen of Kuiyang Kingdom and Ning Mingshao had been plotting for a long time finally had a chance to be revealed. Xu Xie was sent to fight against Ye Xi Kingdom, but she was betrayed by her own army on the battlefield. Of the hundreds of thousands of troops, only 30,000 soldiers that she personally led fought alongside her, while the other 70,000 soldiers who were supposed to meet them according to the plan suddenly disappeared without a trace.

Xu Xie's army was outnumbered, while the soldiers of Ye Xi Kingdom attacked with frenzied fervor, and Xu Xie was eventually captured and became a prisoner of war.

In the enemy general's tent, Xu Xie finally met the person he had been searching for but had never found—Han Yun.

At that time, Han Yun had already changed his name, adopting the royal surname of Ye Xi Kingdom, and named himself Si Jin.

He took Xu Xie back to Ye Xi Kingdom, built a pavilion exactly like Nuan Jiao Pavilion, and imprisoned Xu Xie inside. No one was allowed to set foot in that pavilion; anyone who disobeyed would be executed.

Xu Xie was imprisoned until her wedding day. Si Jin lifted her red veil, his dark eyes filled with both hatred and love: "If I can't wait for you to marry me, I'll force you into marriage. You'll never be able to lie to me again in this lifetime, Xu Xie. I still hate you, I wish I could kill you, but even if you die, you will still be my wife, and you will be buried with me..."

Si Jin didn't touch her, but he shared a bed with her every day.

When news of Xu Xie's defeat and capture reached Kuiyang Kingdom, the entire nation was shocked. How could the invincible General Xu have lost? How could he have been captured?

The Empress feigned compliance with public opinion and sent Ning Mingshao as a peace envoy to the Yexi Kingdom. On the surface, she wanted to rescue Xu Xie by ceding territory, paying reparations, or offering tribute. In reality, she wanted Ning Mingshao to go to the Yexi Kingdom to see if Xu Xie was dead. If she was not, she would help her die.