"Is this our Changbai Mountain?"
"Yes, let us offer our prayers and ask him to bless Goguryeo."
The two men threw down the branches they were using as walking sticks and excitedly pounced on the snow, seemingly having just climbed up from the foot of the mountain. They chatted in the Buyeo dialect for a while, rubbed their frozen hands, took off their hats, and prepared to worship the mountain god.
Suddenly, a flash of cold light appeared before his eyes, and before he could even show a look of terror, he was already decapitated.
Hot blood splattered, melting the snow and creating tiny craters. The wind blew quickly, wiping away the bloodstains.
The man bent slightly, wiped the blood off his crescent blade, and then slowly sheathed it. The north wind swirled his dark hair, making it appear even blacker against the backdrop of white snow, its flight like a demon's vengeance.
Snowflakes, like grains of salt, fell one after another onto his shoulders.
"He barged into Pingzhou without a travel permit and was sent back..." He paused, casually brushing the snow off his shoulder, "...and his body was sent back to South Korea."
After he finished speaking, he couldn't help but burst out laughing. He pressed his knuckles to his forehead, his shoulders trembling, as if he had heard some incredible joke. He laughed uncontrollably, bending over backwards, and then turned around and staggered down the mountain, leaning against a tree for support.
The remaining people stood frozen, wishing they could merge with the trees. For a long time, his laughter could still be heard echoing in the empty forest, accompanied by the hum of his sword.
"South Korea, North Korea, hahaha..."
They cursed inwardly, wondering how the Prince of Zhenbei could accept such a dangerous person as his adopted son.
———
The Great Zhou Imperial Palace was brightly decorated with lanterns and colorful streamers.
A sea of glazed gold lanterns flowed in the moat, creating a magnificent spectacle of light on both the sky and the river.
Clusters of fireworks burst open in the night sky.
Both heaven and earth are filled with the dazzling light of extravagance and debauchery.
The people laughed and sang songs of praise for the prosperous and peaceful times. Children played and chased each other, fluttering like butterflies. The whole night was filled with lively activity.
The emperor is going to marry off the princess.
Princess Ming'an, Zhao Mingxin, and Princess Jingcheng, Zhao Xiheng, were the ones who got married.
One is the legitimate daughter of the current Emperor Shunhe, and the other is the only daughter of Emperor Shunhe's elder brother, Emperor Xianhuiwu. Emperor Xianhuiwu died in battle without a male heir, and before his death, he entrusted the throne and his only daughter to his brother.
The two women got married on the same day, but the joyous atmosphere was reserved for only one of them.
The Empress was busy accompanying her biological daughter Zhao Mingxin, who was about to get married, and had no time to pay attention to her niece Zhao Xiheng.
Although Zhao Xiheng's place was also decorated with lanterns and colorful decorations, it was eerily desolate, even excessively sorrowful. The palace servants moved about with extremely light footsteps, without saying a word, their robes hemmed and unmoving, as if soaked in water.
Their faces wore smiles measured with a ruler, yet their eyes were brimming with tears, like dolls wearing masks, their smiles twisted and sorrowful.
Under such circumstances, the atmosphere of Chaohua Palace was like a stagnant, cold cave.
Zhao Xiheng sat on the couch by the hot spring, hugging her knees, enjoying the rising steam, and comfortably closed her eyes.
"Your Highness, Her Majesty the Empress has arrived."
The empress, who had been busy arranging her daughter's marriage, finally remembered that her niece, Zhao Xiheng, was getting married on the same day as her daughter, and decided to spare some time to visit her.
Originally, the marriage alliance with Goguryeo was not intended for Zhao Xiheng; the Goryeo king sought to marry the queen's daughter, Zhao Mingxin. However, the emperor and empress were unwilling to send their daughter to the nearly sixty-year-old Goguryeo king as his wife, so they decided to marry Zhao Xiheng to him instead.
This was a very unethical thing to do. The older brother and sister-in-law were both dead, leaving only a little girl. Instead of taking good care of her, they sent her away for a political marriage.
But what happened next was even more unethical. The emperor and empress then granted the marriage proposal from the Prince of Zhenbei and betrothed Zhao Mingxin to the Prince of Zhenbei's heir.
The fiefdom of the Prince of Zhenbei, Pingzhou, is separated from Goguryeo only by a river. Not only did Zhao Mingxin arrange for Zhao Xiheng to marry in her place, but she also had to marry herself off on the same day, creating an annoyance for Goguryeo across the river. The Prince of Zhenbei is also a powerful regional force, making Zhao Mingxin's marriage a hundred times better than Zhao Xiheng's.
Zhao Xiheng rubbed her eyes, squeezed out a few tears before the Empress arrived, and then came out of the bath, wrapped in a plain white outer robe.
Her skin was as white and smooth as cream, her brows were slightly furrowed, and her long eyelashes were lowered. Coupled with her slender shoulders and waist, she appeared even more delicate and pitiful. She coughed lightly, covering her mouth, and her gentle and beautiful appearance made people's hearts tremble.
Xiao Tao, a palace maid standing by, stepped forward and draped another shawl over her, saying softly, "Your Highness, the dressing matrons are all waiting, and the ladies-in-waiting are all here."
Zhao Xiheng grasped Xiao Tao's hand, her body trembling slightly, a few tears welling up in her eyes. Her beautiful face looked so pitiful, making one want to hold her soft body in their arms and comfort her.
Xiao Tao shed tears and hugged her tightly, saying sincerely, "Your Highness, don't be afraid. Even if it's just a marriage alliance with Goguryeo, I will accompany you through fire and water."
"Mmm." Zhao Xiheng murmured softly, her voice melting one's bones. Tears welled up in her eyes, her body trembled even more violently, and she even gasped for breath, yet she still nodded, making her sorrow appear even more genuine.
Walking around to the inner room, you'll find the Empress already seated, drinking tea.
Upon seeing her, he hugged her and wept for a long time, "A-Dan, my poor child, now the various regions are divided and the Great Zhou is surrounded by wolves, otherwise why would we be willing to send you to marry a foreign ruler?"
Zhao Xiheng obediently cried along with the Empress for a few moments, then said in a soft, gentle voice, "A-Dan knows that A-Dan is willing to marry for the sake of the people of Great Zhou."
A-Dan was her childhood name, given to her by her parents. The character is the same as "媅" and means joy.
She lost her mother at the age of six and her father at the age of nine. After living under the care of others for six years, she had long since learned a set of tricks to speak to people in a way that suited them.
She did not appear submissive, and people would probably shake their heads with regret when they mentioned Princess Jingcheng, saying, "The young lady had a bad life and died young."
These days, the death of an emperor isn't a big deal, let alone a princess.
Unfortunately, the nickname her parents painstakingly chose for her, hoping she would live a long and healthy life, did not come true.
The empress summoned the female officials to do her hair and makeup, and she obediently complied.
Since she wasn't her own daughter, the Empress couldn't sit still before she even finished her makeup. She comforted her for a few moments and then left.
In her heart, Zhao Xiheng was a woman with the face of a femme fatale who could bring ruin to a country, but she had no scheming or cunning, was kind-hearted and easy to talk to, and was the gentlest of all. She didn't need to spend too much effort to appease her.
Although today is a joyous occasion, Goguryeo and Jinyang are thousands of miles apart, requiring a journey with many stops and carriages. Therefore, the attire is not elaborate; auspiciousness is sufficient.
Before long, the officials in charge of ceremonies and the female attendants also quietly withdrew.
The red candles crackled as they burned, Zhao Xiheng's body trembled slightly, and her eyes were red-rimmed.
Xiao Tao thought she was afraid, so she held her hand and said, "Your Highness, I still stand by what I said. Even if Your Highness goes through fire and water, I will accompany you."
A gust of wind blew by, and Zhao Xiheng's body trembled even more violently. Xiao Tao thought she was moved and was about to express her feelings again, but Zhao Xiheng pushed her away.
Zhao Xiheng pulled her clothes tighter and hurried into the inner room of the bath, her jade pendants jingling. "Damn winter, I'm freezing to death. No, I need to go in and warm up. I need to get the stove lit quickly."
Sure enough, it wasn't a good time to go outside right after taking a shower; she was almost crying from the cold.
Xiao Tao stood there, stunned and speechless, tears still clinging to the corners of her eyes, maintaining the posture of an embrace.
Damn winter
fucking winter
Damn winter
winter
winter
sky
She knew that His Highness hated winter, but shouldn't the master and servant weep together in such a sorrowful moment?
She remained silent for a while. Sure enough, His Highness was still His Highness. These past few days, there had been many people inside and outside Yihua Palace, and His Highness had been acting all delicate and soft, almost making her forget that their Highness was not like the timid and cowardly young ladies of the past.
Mentally strong, and able to adapt to changing circumstances.
Everyone in the palace knew that Zhao Xiheng was afraid of the cold. Emperor Shunhe was concerned about his image and wouldn't haggle over a few pounds of charcoal, so even though the rivers in Jinyang didn't freeze in winter, there was still hot charcoal burning in Zhao Xiheng's palace.
Today's hustle and bustle has dissipated all the warmth that we had managed to build up.
The entire palace was in turmoil all night. As the first rays of sunlight pierced through the gloom, the two princesses' carriages had already left the main gate of the palace, followed by their dowries stretching for miles.
Unlike the cheerful atmosphere in Zhao Mingxin's carriage, the atmosphere in Zhao Xiheng's carriage carried the somber feeling of someone leaving Zhaoyang Palace.
Everyone was dissatisfied with Zhao Xiheng's marriage, and even hated and loathed it, especially since they had to accompany her to such a remote and cold place as part of her dowry.
Goguryeo was just a small country, lacking resources and barbaric. Considering Zhao Xiheng's original marriage to the eldest son of the Xie family of Lingcheng, and the fact that Zhao Mingxin, who was married on the same day, was married to the crown prince of Zhenbei, they felt even more resentful.
"Those who know me will know I'm getting married, but those who don't will think I'm going to war," Zhao Xiheng teased them, biting into a chestnut cake and wrapping herself up like a rice dumpling.
"Smile, don't be so serious. When we get to the next official post station, I'll allow you to go out and have some fun."
Zhao Xiheng was so kind, but instead of laughing, everyone cried. They covered their faces with their sleeves, not caring that they were already out of the palace and that their words were treasonous enough to get them beheaded.
"They're all ungrateful wretches, how can we send His Highness off to a marriage alliance?"
"Goguryeo is located in the far north, where winter lasts for most of the year, and Your Highness has always been afraid of the cold."
"The late emperor only had one child, Your Highness."
"The Goguryeo emperor is already fifty-nine years old."
"If the late emperor were still alive, his troops would have already crossed Pyongyang and crushed Goguryeo."
Mentioning her father, Zhao Xiheng's smile faded, and she silently stuffed her mouth full of chestnut cake.
Yes, if her father were here, let alone small Goguryeo, even the Xianbei would have their envoys carried out with their heads held high. But her father is gone...
Her eyes reddened, and she put another piece of chestnut cake into her already bulging cheeks, then frantically drank water.
The palace maids stopped crying and looked at her in confusion. Zhao Xiheng shook her head and said nonchalantly, "You ate too fast and choked, tears came out."
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