"Princess, how about this?"
Xiao Li snapped out of her daze and saw a girl of about fifteen or sixteen years old holding a painting and asking her a question.
Her fair face revealed a shallow dimple when she smiled, which inexplicably made people feel a little fond of her.
However, a surge of anger and murderous intent welled up in Xiao Li's heart. She barely suppressed the murderous intent and looked at the painting in the girl's hand.
This is a painting of falling cherry blossoms. In the painting, a woman is dancing gracefully under a flowering tree, and a maid stands beside her, holding some utensils in her hands.
The pink cherry blossoms falling from the flowering trees look dreamy and beautiful.
"I want to rest for a bit, please don't disturb me."
The girl paused for a moment, then bowed and withdrew.
Xiao Li leaned back on the small couch, comfortably absorbing the plot.
This is the story of a cannon fodder princess.
Princess Yingning was the youngest princess of Xiling Kingdom. Her birth mother died early, but because the king doted on her, she lived a carefree and flamboyant life.
When she was 14, the neighboring country of Dongxia sent its third prince, Yu Yun, as a hostage due to border issues.
As a hostage, he was all alone in the palace and was often bullied by many princes and princesses.
Ying Ning was immediately attracted to Yu Yun's handsome appearance upon meeting him, and later fell in love with him because of his protectiveness.
People from Dongxia all have thick eyebrows, big eyes, and high nose bridges.
However, because Yu Yun's mother was a Hu woman, he was very handsome.
His demeanor was aloof, like a flower on a high mountain, impossible to ignore.
Yingning drove away many of her brothers and sisters, declaring that Yu Yun was one of her own and that no one could bully him.
Princess Yingning didn't know how to express her affection, so she could only ask her little attendant, Yun Yiyi.
It must be said that Yun Yiyi is quite remarkable. When it came time to choose a study companion, because of Ying Ning's reputation for being willful, true ladies of noble families disdained to participate in the competition.
However, given her status as the king's most beloved princess, no one dared to refuse too openly.
As a result, a group of young ladies fell ill that month and were unable to participate in the selection. Naturally, these precious opportunities could not be given up.
Therefore, those clever noblewomen would let their obedient concubine daughters participate in the selection.
Although the legitimate daughters looked down on Princess Yingning's role as a study companion, it was a very prestigious title for the illegitimate daughters.
With this title of "study companion," they would be of a higher status than others when they married.
But this title wasn't easy to obtain, so the concubine's daughters used all sorts of schemes to try and win the princess's favor.
Yun Yiyi stood out from the crowd, which shows that she is no pushover.
But Princess Yingning was too naive and naturally couldn't have thought of all this.
When she was secretly observing the candidates for the companionship program, she overheard everyone badmouthing her, except for Yun Yiyi, who was speaking well of her.
That's why she personally begged her father, the Emperor, to let Yun Yiyi be her study companion.
Yun Yiyi was a fifteen or sixteen-year-old girl, but she had experienced the power struggles within her family and understood perfectly well that the princess was in love.
She couldn't let the princess do anything outrageous; if the princess's reputation was ruined, she herself would naturally suffer the same fate.
Therefore, she deceived the princess, saying that if you like someone, you have to attract their attention, and the way to attract their attention is to attack them, tease them, and humiliate them.
Yingning didn't understand, but when she scolded and beat the servants, they were indeed more respectful and awe-inspiring towards her, and they also tried to please her more.
So she started bullying Yu Yun and teasing him.
When Yu Yun ignored her, she would take out a whip and beat him. Later, Yu Yun did treat her better.
She often ruined Yu Yun's paintings, and Yu Yun would just remake them without daring to scold her.
She even made Yu Yun play the piano for her and dance under the eaves, and Yu Yun would do as she asked.
Ying Ning thought Yu Yun had started to like her, but she didn't know that Yu Yun hated her more and more each day.
Because of Ying Ning's protection, Yu Yun's life became a little easier. He was originally very grateful to Princess Ying Ning, but Princess Ying Ning's actions gradually made him resent her.
Only when Yun Yiyi brought Yu Yun medicine and food did Yu Yun feel a little comforted.
The two chatted about everything under the sun, discussing the customs and traditions of different places. Yu Yun was quickly drawn to Yun Yiyi, feeling that in this unfamiliar palace, only Yun Yiyi truly understood him.
Yun Yiyi told Yu Yun about her situation at home. She had gone to the palace to accompany Ying Ning and was also very lonely and helpless. The two felt a deep connection and shared the same plight, bringing their hearts closer together.
But what Yu Yun didn't know was that Yun Yiyi came to deliver things to him entirely at Ying Ning's behest.
Otherwise, how could she, as a mere companion, possibly obtain the best medicine for injuries, top-quality cloud forging, and delicious food in the palace?
Every time Ying Ning injured Yu Yun, she was very worried about his health, and Yun Yiyi would volunteer to deliver love to the princess.
Ying Ning couldn't visit in person, and Yun Yiyi was the person she trusted most, so she always asked Yun Yiyi to do it for her.
After Yun Yiyi returns, Yingning will hear her express her gratitude to Yu Yun, which will put Yingning at ease.
Unfortunately, she didn't know that the two of them were secretly flirting under the guise of giving each other gifts, and their relationship grew closer day by day.
When Ying Ning was 16, the Xiling border suffered a defeat, and the ruler of Dongxia sent an envoy to bring Yu Yun back to the country.
They also conveyed the Eastern Xia Kingdom's wish for a marriage alliance, and the Western Ling Kingdom's ruler warmly received them.
It is unknown how Yu Yun spoke to the Dongxia envoy, but in the end, the King of Xiling agreed to their request and sent Ying Ning to marry him.
Ying Ning was struck dumb, because the person she was to marry was the old king of Dongxia.
She was naturally unwilling, but unfortunately the King of Xiling did not let her go this time. Instead, he forcibly sent her to the marriage procession and made her go to Dongxia with Yu Yun.
Yingning went to marry a foreign ruler, and Yun Yiyi naturally returned home. Yu Yun made a promise to her that he would definitely come to pick her up in two years at most, or one year at least, and make her his empress.
After returning home, Yun Yiyi kept a low profile and waited patiently for Yu Yun to fulfill his promise.
Yingning cried incessantly, but Yuyun ignored her. The journey was long and arduous, and Yingning suffered a lot.
When the weather was bad, they couldn't even get a drink of water, but Yu Yun never showed them any care.
Every time Yingning thought about becoming Yuyun's stepmother, she felt so sad she wanted to cry, but she couldn't just die.
Even for the sake of the people of Xiling and the soldiers on the border, she had no choice but to swallow her anger.
Unexpectedly, Ying Ning compromised, but news of the death of the King of Dongxia arrived on the way.
Ying Ning was both relieved and happy. She was relieved that she didn't have to marry the old king again, and happy that she could return to Xiling.
But before she could be happy for two days, the King of Xiling sent a message saying that the marriage alliance with the King of Dongxia could not be changed. Since the old king was dead, the next king would be chosen instead.
Yingning is completely disappointed in her father. Now she only hopes to marry Yuyun, but unfortunately Yuyun has never spoken up.
Due to the unexpected death of the king, Yu Yun ordered the journey to be accelerated, which made things difficult for the delicate princess Ying Ning.
She was so uncomfortable from being jostled around in the carriage that she was often bruised and nauseous.
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