I am Xu Yi
A person doesn't achieve success overnight.
Growth is a long process. My destination is the Lord of Wuji Mountain, and my starting point is just an ordinary, unloved princess.
Probably no one would have imagined that the ordinary princess born in the cold palace would eventually almost bring down the entire dynasty.
I wholeheartedly agree with the statement that living itself is the meaning of life.
I walked for a long time and climbed many steps. The wind on the mountain was too strong, which slowly extinguished my innocence, wore down my sharp edges, and finally stripped away all my emotions and desires.
Then, I'll restore your innocence, reshape your edges, and lay out all your emotions and desires before you, letting you take what you want...
However, all of these have now dissipated.
Because finally, a heavy rain fell, washing away everything that originally belonged to you, everything that originally accompanied you, everything that originally existed, completely disappearing without a trace.
What is Mount Wuji? Mount Wuji is a place that all cultivators in this world dream of and pursue their entire lives. This mountain is filled with spirits who are half-step into immortality, and because their power is too great, they were placed there by powerful beings. And the Mountain Lord of Mount Wuji is the strongest person in this world…
They can command the wind and rain, and their words carry the weight of the law.
But none of that matters.
Nothing is necessarily important; this is just my destination.
I am Xu Yi.
In the third to fifth year of the Xing Dynasty, Princess Xu Yi, who was only fifteen years old, was betrothed to the newly emerging general, Mu Qi. His Majesty issued the decree, and the Empress presided over the preparations. It took three to five months of preparation before everything was finally ready by the time Mu Qi returned to the capital to report for duty.
The imperial decree had already spread throughout the capital six months prior, and everyone knew that the emperor was going to marry off his daughter. Merchants even used this as an excuse to launch promotional activities. Outside the palace, there was a joyous atmosphere, but inside the palace, the scene was quite different.
In the Morning Rising Palace where the princess resides, every beam and every palace lantern is adorned with red ribbons, and the courtyard is filled with flowers of all colors, even the little red flowers beneath them are tied with ribbons... This is the most magnificent decoration the palace has received since Xu Yi was born...
Taking advantage of this arranged marriage, the artisans of the Imperial Clothing Workshop crafted four sets of clothes: one sleeping robe, two everyday outfits, and one wedding gown. Each set was made of the finest fabrics, and although not from the four great embroideries, the intricate patterns were exquisitely beautiful. Paired with two sets of hair ornaments provided by the Imperial Accessories Workshop, it truly made her look every bit the princess should. Xu Yi, because of these magnificent garments and accessories, began to look forward to the wedding…
However, as it turns out, the higher the expectations, the greater the disappointment.
So when General Mu Qi, returning to court, knelt in the hall in full military attire, not in his wedding robes, Xu Yi was still in a daze.
The tough, unyielding man, dressed in military uniform, entered the hall and knelt before Xu Yi, who was dressed in a wedding gown, saying slowly and deliberately, "I hope the princess will grant my request."
Grant my wish? Grant what? Oh, he said he met the one he loved on the battlefield, and they had already pledged their lives to each other. They had planned to get married as soon as they returned to the capital, but on the way back, they encountered an imperial decree to grant them marriage. He dared not be a Chen Shimei who would try to climb the social ladder, so he asked the princess to grant his wish.
Xu Yi gazed at her magnificent attire, her only thought being, "This dress is so beautiful, will it be taken back if we don't get married?" Thinking this, she burst into tears. But looking at the resolute face of the general, she realized he was absolutely right. Just as she was about to agree, the Crown Prince interrupted her: "Thirteenth Prince, the decree of marriage has been issued; how can it be taken back? If he likes that girl, what's wrong with him taking her as a concubine?"
Yes, he can take a concubine, and I won't hold them back. We can live separate lives from now on, so why go through the process of annulment at this juncture?
She was about to tell Mu Qi what was on her mind when Mu Qi had already seen through her thoughts: "Princess, Yue'er and I are in love. Why should you spend the rest of your life in awkwardness between us?"
Before she could speak, the Crown Prince spoke first: "Insolence! The Emperor's bestowal of marriage upon you is a great favor, yet you dare to speak so arrogantly and disobey the decree. Our royal family has already shown kindness by not holding you accountable for your affair with another man at the time of the marriage, yet you dare to speak to the Thirteenth Prince like this? Do you think the royal family has no one else? Do you think the dynasty cannot rise without you?" As the Crown Prince spoke, all the guards in the hall stepped forward in unison, and the word "Ha" carried the weight of a thousand pounds as it struck everyone in the palace.
Everyone was visibly terrified by the imposing atmosphere, kneeling down and trembling uncontrollably. Xu Yi clearly saw Mu Qi's face turn pale for a moment. She understood that with her powerful brother, the Crown Prince, suppressing her, Mu Qi was determined to marry her even if he didn't want to, and he wouldn't dare to mistreat her, a princess of the royal family, in the future. But Mu Qi was absolutely right; he and that woman were deeply in love. Even if she lived in the back courtyard, she would only be a blatant decoration. What meaning would such a life have? Besides, marriage is about marrying the one you love; why get married without love? At that moment, she made up her mind to grant Mu Qi's wish.
She looked at the Crown Prince and knelt down as well: "Thank you, Crown Prince. But marriage is only a matter of mutual consent. If he is unwilling to marry me, why waste such a talented person? Little Thirteen, I want to help the General. I hope that you, Crown Prince, can put in a good word for me with Father."
The Crown Prince frowned, took a few steps to Xu Yi, bent down and said to Xu Yi, "Thirteenth Prince, this is not a matter of granting or denying, this is the Emperor's decree, which concerns the dignity of the royal family. How can we allow anyone to disobey the decree?"
"But he doesn't love me, what's the point of forcing him to marry me?"
The Crown Prince, his voice rising sharply, said, "Thirteenth Prince, don't you understand? This is an imperial edict. Disobeying it is punishable by death. What? Are you going to die in his place?"
Ah… am I going to die? But disobeying an imperial decree is indeed a capital offense. She glanced back at the expressionless Mu Qi behind her, and remembered what her nanny had taught her: some things do require a price. If the price for fulfilling the love between two people is death… then she could see her nanny sooner. Xu Yi suddenly felt less afraid.
"I...I can." Xu Yi used all her strength to weakly finish the sentence.
The moment those words were spoken, the room erupted in murmurs. Whispers rippled through the room, some expressing 'deep affection' and 'reason,' but most were derogatory terms like 'stupid,' 'foolish,' and 'idiot.' Xu Yi felt as if she had made a mistake, but she only wanted to help a loving couple, not be the one to break them up—it was a good thing! Besides, she had already offered a price, hadn't she?
The governess beside her had always taught her to be kind and reasonable. She recounted the principles the governess had taught her before her death and felt that her current behavior was right. So she mustered up her courage, raised her head, and looked at the Crown Prince with her neck stiff.
The Crown Prince looked at her as if she were a monkey being played with, with the rope around her neck in someone else's hands.
There was no pity in his eyes, only a cold look at her: "Thirteen, you should think carefully, don't be a piece of trash that can't be helped."
"Mud?" She seemed to recall hearing someone call her that when she was little. Her nanny said it was just people who were jealous of her status, so they made up stories. But her brother, the Crown Prince, said she was useless and couldn't be helped. "Mud"... that seemed a little different... but they were both mud, so there shouldn't be much difference. So she nodded: "I've thought it through, Brother Crown Prince."
"Very good." The Crown Prince only said these two words, and then began to give orders to everyone: "The princess disobeyed the imperial decree and was thrown into the imperial prison to await punishment." Then the Crown Prince glanced at Mu Qi and said in an icy tone: "General Mu Qi is arrogant and disobeyed the imperial decree. He was imprisoned in the Ministry of Justice prison to await His Majesty's hearing."
Huh? Wasn't I already going to the Heavenly Prison? Why is Mu Qi still going to prison? This is not what I expected. She looked at the Crown Prince with some confusion, but the emotions in the Crown Prince's eyes had long since faded away. He met her gaze as if she were looking at someone else, without any emotion.
The guards on either side stepped forward and dragged Xu Yi, still dressed in her wedding gown, away. Two guards carried her out of the palace, set her down outside, and shoved her along. Xu Yi watched as the expensive hem of her dress trailed clouds of dust on the ground, turning the vibrant red into light gray, and finally dark gray… She felt a pang of regret for the fabric; if it had been exchanged for silver, it could have provided her with enough to live outside the palace for many years.
That's how she's always been. When she was little, she would see others dressed so beautifully, their little buns tied with expensive fabrics, and she would secretly sigh at how much silver they must have spent. She would imagine how long that silver could last her outside the palace, and even buy her many beautiful outfits...
Xu Yi was deep in thought ahead, while the guards following behind her, annoyed by her slow pace, pushed her harder... The palace was simply too vast, and as she walked further, she felt her legs were so tired she could barely feel them. Her pace slowed, which only made the people behind her push her harder...
She felt pain in her shoulder blades and shoulders, and her knees were also sore and weak. Eventually, she had no strength left, so she turned to the two guards and said, "Why don't you drag me over? I really don't have any strength left."
When she was little, she was often dragged around. At first, she was terrified, but later her buttocks and palms developed calluses from the dragging. Finally, the person dragging her got bored and stopped the ordeal. However, she had never attended school and was unfamiliar with etiquette, and she knew she was different from others; after all, she didn't have the protection of her father and mother. Gradually, she got used to it, but how could the two guards dare? This person was, after all, a princess of a nation, so they both turned pale.
One of the more quick-witted guards knelt down before Xu Yi: "Princess, it's not that I'm making things difficult for you, but there's a time limit for going to the Heavenly Prison. If we're late, we'll be punished too." He even pretended to squeeze out two tears.
Xu Yi often cried when he was a child, so he naturally thought that people cried because they were extremely sad. Fearing that he might have delayed the guards' progress, he could only suppress his physical discomfort and kindly persuade them: "I really can't walk anymore. Why don't you ask your superiors if we can slow down a bit?"
The quick-witted guard's eyes darted around: "No, that's not necessary. We just hope the princess will walk as fast as she can, so that we can have an explanation when the officers ask."
“Okay,” Xu Yi agreed and turned to walk again. In order to get herself faster, she completely ignored the distress signals her body was sending out and just kept striding forward… After walking for almost two hours, they finally arrived at the prison. The prison warden immediately started picking a fight when he saw them: “Why are you so late?”
Xu Yi knew that he was the one who was late, so he hurriedly explained, "It was me. I was too slow. It has nothing to do with these two officials."
The jailer, who had been looking at his notebook the whole time, only looked up and asked Xu Yi after she finished speaking, "How did you get here?"
Xu Yi nodded naturally, unaware of the deathly pale faces of the two guards behind her.
Upon hearing Xu Yi's reply, the jailer pointed to the two guards behind him and said, "You two, carry the princess over there."
Just as Xu Yi was about to say no, two guards stepped forward, clasped their hands together, and lifted her up, their tone kind and gentle: "Princess, sit tight." They quickly carried her into a room at the back of the prison. The jailer followed, holding a small porcelain bottle, and squatted down to say to Xu Yi, "Take off your shoes."
"Huh?" Xu Yi was somewhat surprised. The old woman had previously said that one shouldn't expose their feet to others. She was hesitating when the jailer had already easily and quickly taken off her shoes. Xu Yi was about to say that it was against etiquette when she saw the bloodstains all over her feet... and she instantly fell silent.
She heard the jailer's calm voice: "Any later and your foot will be ruined." Then he began to direct the guards to fetch water to wash Xu Yi's foot. After the bloodstains were washed away, he slowly applied the homemade herbs to Xu Yi's foot.
Only after Xu Yi's bleeding feet were covered with herbs did he silently leave with his two guards.
Oh, Xu Yi was surprised to realize that he was applying the medicine for her.
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