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Yuan Ming had recently noticed a gradual fading of memories of his past life. He couldn't tell if it was simply a poor memory or the effects of this strange rebirth.
The only thing she was sure of was that the person she was looking for was within these mountains. In her previous life, she had been able to fight back because of him.
She You, a famous general in the army, once traveled around with Princess Yuan Ming. One year before Yuan Ming fell from the throne, he retired and returned to his hometown, fortunately avoiding the reckoning of the Eastern Palace.
Yuan Ming pulled the breathless Ru Lan over a mountain. Both of them were covered with cockleburs and had a few small branches stuck in their heads. They looked so miserable, like the clumsy savages in the mountains.
"I can't walk anymore." Rulan practically crawled on the ground, wiping her sweat with her hands, which ended up smearing her face with dust. Yuan Ming couldn't help laughing, "Stop wiping, it's getting dirtier." In fact, Yuan Ming wasn't much better. While she was making fun of Rulan, she was still pulling cockleburs from her clothes.
Rulan slumped to the ground and asked, "Who are you looking for in this mountain?"
"A former friend, so he should be considered a friend."
Rulan couldn't wait to ask, thinking that this way she could rest a little longer.
"What do you want to do with this person?"
Yuan Ming carefully recalled the hazy memories of her past life. They seemed shrouded in a veil of white, neither real nor clear. Only a few fragmented fragments floated in her mind. It was strange. When she set out, she knew exactly what she was going to do.
Yuan Ming's pensive expression made Rulan feel uneasy. She asked, "Did something go wrong?"
After spending some time together, Rulan has come to regard Yuan Ming as a family member. While entrusting her life to her, she also pays close attention to her health.
Ever since Yuan Ming collapsed in front of everyone, Rulan vowed to keep a constant eye on Yuan Ming's condition, unwilling to lose sight of any expression on Yuan Ming's face. Gradually, Yuan Ming began to feel that Rulan had become a little mirror for her—with every slight frown on her brow, Rulan seemed to sense the coming storm; with a slight curl of her lips, Rulan's world seemed to brighten. This subtle tacit understanding, to those around her, seemed a reflection of their relationship.
Yuan Ming twitched his lips and said, "No, it's just that things have been happening so many times lately that I can't react right away."
"You, please stop making me worry all the time, okay?"
The midday sun shone through the lush forest, leaving behind countless circles of light. The wind rustled the leaves, bringing a drowsy feeling to the weary Rulan. The sky was bright, too bright for Rulan to open her eyes, but in this peaceful and tranquil moment, a tiger's roar shook the mountains and rivers.
Rulan was startled and all sleepiness disappeared: "Big insect?"
Yuan Ming took a defensive stance, swung his worn broadsword, and protected Rulan behind him.
The surroundings were quiet again, but even under the dazzling sunlight, Rulan felt a biting cold.
Yuan Ming glanced around, his eyes sharp and intimidating. The tiger's roar was clearly still some distance away. The startled birds flew away in the east, so Yuan Ming whispered to Rulan, "Go west."
Rulan advanced westwards alongside Yuan Ming, while Yuan Ming retreated step by step, his blade pointed forward, his eyes fixed on the deep and dense forest.
"Yuan Ming, if we go further west we will reach a cliff." Rulan bent her body slightly and glanced down. Below was a white stream and the sound of rushing water could be faintly heard.
Yuan Ming did not dare to relax for a moment. Her instinct to face danger told her that something was following them, like a hunter lurking in the dark to tease its prey, ready to deliver a fatal blow when the prey's psychological defenses collapsed.
Rulan turned her head slightly and said, "Yuan Ming, we—ah!"
Before she could finish her words, a scream erupted from Rulan's throat, echoing through the valley. Yuan Ming's eyes flashed, and she strode forward. She ducked, swung her sword with her right arm, and the blade scraped against the air, making a sharp, piercing sound that met the beast's claws.
A half-grown white-browed tiger, its eyes terrifying. The moment she spotted it, Yuan Ming felt her heart palpitate and her body stiffen. Yet, she charged forward, attacking almost simultaneously with the tiger. Humans instinctively fear large beasts, a survival trait ingrained in their blood through millennia of experience. Yuan Ming also had a deeply ingrained instinct: facing fear, the only way is to fight back and conquer.
The white-browed tiger opened its bloody mouth, changed the direction of its sharp claws, and pounced on Yuan Ming's shoulder. Its sharp claws tore the flesh and blood gushed out.
Yuan Ming felt as if a thread in his brain had broken. Fear turned into anger, and reason and madness fought for the last control of his body. This was a sign that the madness was about to break out.
No matter how powerful a force is, it has its limits. If you fight with a tiger, the end result will undoubtedly be that you become its food.
Yuan Ming's eyesight had begun to blur. She yelled at Rulan, "Jump down!"
Rulan took a few steps back with weak legs, her feet slipped, and she fell into the rushing river.
Yuan Ming's eyes were bloodshot, and he pushed his body to the limit. He pushed away the knife and the tiger in his hand, grasped the last bit of clarity in his mind, and without hesitation, quickly jumped into the river at the bottom of the cliff.
There are no ripples in the snow-white turbulence, only everlasting splashes of water.
…
Yuan Zi held her chin, admiring the scenery of Mobei outside the carriage. She stretched her hand out the window, and the fine, warm sand gently brushed against her fingertips. Yuan Zi was in a trance for a moment. This feeling was truly strange.
"Songlan, have you been here before?"
Song Lan abruptly stopped what she was doing at the sudden question and bowed, saying, "Your Highness, I've never been here before. My hometown is in Jiangnan, where the scenery is more exquisite, not as magnificent as this."
As soon as the words fell, only the sound of wheels grinding gravel echoed in the carriage. Yuan Zi did not look at Song Lan, her eyes were always looking out the window, as if she was just asking casually, and the servant's answer was of no importance to her.
Song Lan was at a loss, unable to move or speak, and remained in a state of bowed posture. She had been whipped and disciplined by her master before entering the palace, and knew that a servant must not move without the master's orders. Especially in front of this noble son of the phoenix and dragon, absolute obedience was the only way to save her life.
After a long silence, Yuan Zi finally spoke compassionately: "In the past, for a long time, what I saw most was the red walls of the deep palace, and the farther I looked, the rolling hills looming on the horizon. At that time, I envied Ah Ming so much for being able to travel all over the country under his mother's instruction and witness countless sceneries." Yuan Zi paused, a fierce look flashed in her eyes, and the next sentence seemed to be suppressed in her throat.
"I could have done the same, so she really deserves to die."
Who is she? Song Lan didn't show it on her face, but she was thinking in her heart that this "she" should be the princess's enemy. After further speculation, she could associate it with the princess's well-known and fragile body.
Song Lan lowered her eyes and thought: Sometimes it is good to keep a low profile, because it can cover up many... emotions in the eyes that are difficult to express.
The princess' carriage, crafted from the finest wood and coated with silver, slowly entered the military camp. Zhong Yingqi led the soldiers to greet her. Everyone held their breath, respectfully awaiting the appearance of this noble royal.
Song Lan was the first to jump off the carriage and carefully drew aside the curtain for Her Royal Highness. Yuan Zi slowly stepped out of the carriage, a gentle smile on her face that made people feel like spring breeze. She said, "All the soldiers, please stand up quickly."
As Zhong Yingqi stood up, Yuan Zi glanced at the handsome young general in soft armor, her eyes murky and unclear. Zhong Yingqi, however, boldly looked directly at Yuan Zi, his gaze intriguing. This glance surprised Yuan Zi for a moment, and she quickly forced a smile to conceal her inner emotions.
Zhong Yingqi said gently, "Your Highness, you must be exhausted from the journey. Please follow me to the princess's tent to rest for a while."
Yuan Zi: "Thank you, General Zhong."
On the way to the camp, Yuan Zi looked around and frowned, saying, "The soldiers on the frontier are loyal and dedicated to their country, yet their lives are so difficult. We are ashamed."
Zhong Yingqi felt a sense of pent-up frustration and said with a wry smile, "Your Highness is concerned about the soldiers. I, Zhong, would like to thank Her Highness on their behalf."
The group stopped outside the tent. Zhong Yingqi bowed and said, "This is the princess's tent. If you need anything, just ask the guards. I have military duties to attend to, so I won't bother Her Highness today."
After Zhong Yingqi left, Song Lan noticed that Yuan Zi's dark eyes were covered with a layer of coldness, and her disguised smile fell off. Her whole body was like a fiercely burning flame under the ice, making people feel that it would explode at any time.
His Highness was angry. Song Lan raised her eyelids and served Her Highness the Princess more carefully.
In the general's tent, Jiang Kai was so engrossed in reading Ru Lan's medical book that he didn't even look up when Zhong Yingqi entered. It wasn't until Zhong Yingqi sat down on the chair that Jiang Kai started and said, "Why are you walking so quietly? Are you trying to scare me to death?"
Jiang Kai's voice wasn't deliberately aged; it was his natural youthful voice. It was just that he was wearing the skin of an old man, sounding young, which was a bit creepy.
Zhong Yingqi ignored Jiang Kai's joke and talked about the scene when he met Yuan Zi today.
Jiang Kai asked casually, "Oh, what about the current queen? I guess she's even more difficult to deal with than Yuan Ming."
Zhong Yingqi smiled and said, "These two royal sisters have similar eyebrows and eyes, but the impressions they give people are completely different."
"Tell me about it."
"Her Royal Highness the current Princess smiles brightly, but I always sense a condescending warmth within that smile, tinged with distance and contempt, a pride etched deep within her bones."
The cold wind outside the tent foreshadowed the coming of winter. Zhong Yingqi added: "It's just like the sunshine in winter. It seems warm, but in fact it has no temperature."
"It was just a smile." Jiang Kai turned another page of the medical book. "You rarely describe people like that. It's probably because of Yuan Ming."
Zhong Yingqi was stunned for a moment, and after a long pause, he said, "Your Highness always gives people hope and warmth, even in winter. I was deeply touched by this when I was in Yucheng."
That year, everyone in Yucheng was in panic.
Young Zhong Yingqi stumbled and scrambled to escape the clutches of a barbarian army. Though a distinguished young man, he felt like a rat just rolled in the mud. He desperately crawled to the outskirts of Yucheng, but the barbarian soldiers followed him at a leisurely pace, as if teasing him. Young Zhong Yingqi was heartbroken, but then a young woman appeared like a savior, dispatching the laughing barbarian soldiers and saving the destitute Zhong Yingqi.
A simple story of a beauty saving a hero, the embarrassed hero Zhong Yingqi, and the beautiful and powerful Yuan Ming - the beginning of fate.
Zhong Yingqi would never forget the moment the young girl, carrying a broadsword almost as tall as herself, stood in the moonlight and told the general protecting her in a childish voice, "The great Daqi Kingdom is afraid of a few stray soldiers? Ridiculous!"
"If I had run away after this happened, I would have been stabbed in the back afterwards.
"General She, please stop talking. I'm going to show them how powerful my sword is!"
The confident and bright Yuan Ming is like the bright moon in the sky in the heart of the young Zhong Yingqi, and it still sheds moonlight on him today.
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