[ 14 years before ]
The midsummer sun shined without a cloud obstructing its view. Air steamed, and dust clouds filled the otherwise still air, as two men rode across the dry land. The nearest village was a few miles ahead, yet even amidst the vast emptiness, they couldn't see the outlines of the village. Only quivering hot air and endless sand and hills awaited them.
"TianLan, we should stop and take a break. The horses are tired," Wang ZhiYi said as he held out a water bottle to the emperor.
"The horses are the fastest and the healthiest in the land, they won't be tired of such a short ride." Wu TianLan took the bottle and drank, the water dripping down his faint stubble, trailing down his popping Adam's apple and over his robes. For an emperor, he looked ordinary in his cotton clothes and a simple fabric tying parts of his hair up. He could pass for a regular farmer if he wasn't so strikingly beautiful.
