When the envoys of the Northern Barbarian Kingdom arrived in Yuncang, it was the time when the March vegetation was flourishing[1].
All the way, the envoys saw that the Yuncang was backed by the Canghai River, the land was fertile and prosperous, and wherever they passed, there were flowers like brocades and the country was peaceful. The cavalry following the envoys was amazed.
When they thought of their own country, backed by the snow-capped mountains and a wasteland, where the weather was cold throughout the year, and it was hard to see even a flower, the contrast was really tragic.
But it was precisely because of this that the soldiers of the Yuncang country soaking in the gentle environment did not have the power to resist when facing the northern barbarian wolf cavalry. Within half a month, they had abandoned five cities in a row. The 100,000 wolf cavalrymen were estimated to be under the city of Yuncang at this moment.
The Maharaja of Beiman was a person who was unpredictable and did not play according to common sense. When he sent troops, he looked at Yuncang as something that was already in his bag. He changed his mind in the middle of the fight and didn't want to swallow them.
Yuncang and Beiman were too far apart, and there was a sea between them. If they were to be annexed, it would be too inconvenient to manage.
Moreover, this place was rich in water, but it was far away, and the emperor was still here. The Maharaja was thus suspicious, and he was not at ease with whom he would send troops to garrison there.
So, when Monarch of Yuncang rushed to send letters of appeal for peace, the Maharaja thought for a while and agreed.
Since then, Yuncang became a subject of Beiman, paying tribute every year, and the two countries signed a mutual non-aggression agreement, and Yuncang Court had to send a royal princess to Beiman for peace.
The envoy brought three hundred wolf cavalry to Yuncang this time, just to pick up the princess.
They had heard that all the women of Yuncang were gentle and beautiful, but they didn't know how beautiful the princess who was going to marry the Maharaja this time would be.
The envoy secretly thought in anticipation.
There were five princesses in Yuncang Kingdom. The oldest two were married, and the remaining three princesses, one was Princess Anping born from the empress, the second was Princess Wenjun born from the imperial consort, and Princess of Changle who was born from a low-ranked concubine.
No one wanted to send their daughter to suffer in that barren land. Moreover, they had heard that the Northern Barbarian King was like a Rakshasa with a tiger's back and a bear waist. He would eat and drink human blood.
All in all, whoever went would die!
In the end, this marriage naturally fell on the little princess of Changle who was weak and without any backing.
When the imperial decree came down, the mother of the little princess of Changle cried to death, and almost wanted to throw her daughter into the lake to die.
Finally, she was persuaded by the little princess of Changle.
Although the mother and daughter were not favored, and their daily food and clothing costs were far less than that of the other princesses and concubines, the two depended on each other in the harem. The mother and daughter had a deep affection for each other but this also provoked the emperor's dislike.
When the mother was alone in the palace, she did not know how much she would suffer.
She quietly accepted the imperial decree, quietly received the reward, and then quietly prepared to marry.
On the auspicious day, Princess Changle dressed up in front of the temple and worshipped her parents three times. She couldn't bear her maid going to Beiman to suffer, so she set foot on the carriage to Beiman alone.
Xuan Liangren cried and yelled "Yingying", only to feel that this parting was life and death. She didn't know how Yingying would be tortured after marrying, so she cried and fainted in front of the temple.
The envoy of Beiman looked back and sighed inwardly. Looking at the swaying carriage, he thought to himself, that the little princess might have already fainted after crying.
Hey, why bother, in fact, their Maharaja was not so terrible.
Although he was not very good tempered, moody, suspicious and sick, and killed when he was unhappy, his tyrant reputation was well-known…
Forget it, he was pretty scary.
When the carriage drove out of the gate of the city, a soft voice suddenly came from the quiet carriage: "Sir."
This voice resembled a rhyme, wrapped in the color of jewels, and it sounded many times better than those of Beiman who were born with crude voices.
The envoy waved his hand and the entourage stopped. He rode his horse over, leaned down slightly, and respectfully asked: "What is the princess' order?"
The voice came out softly: "Excuse me, sir, can you pick a trumpet creeper for me?"
The envoy was taken aback and looked aside subconsciously.
Large clusters of purple flowers bloomed under the city wall, and the roads were filled with its haze and fragrance.
The climate and land of Beiman were not suitable for the survival of flowers and plants, and this little princess would never see such a beautiful scenery in the future. The envoy sighed inwardly and said, "Princess wait a minute", then dismounted and picked up a few trumpet creepers, opened the corner of the curtain and passed it in.
Only half of the white feather-like gauze skirt was seen.
It took more than two months to travel from Yuncang to Beiman.
The northern barbarians were naturally strong, and this journey was nothing to them, but the little princess had been tortured throughout the journey, and she had lost a lot of weight by the time they reached Beiman.
It was snowing on the day they arrived at Beiman's Capital City.
The little princess opened the curtain and looked out secretly.
The heavy city wall towered high into the clouds, with a cold, heavy, and murderous aura.
There were no colors and no flowers.
She lost interest after only a few glances, and sat back in the carriage, silently staring at the dried trumpet creeper in her hand in a daze.
The carriage drove her into the palace and to the Changle Hall which was named after her title.
After getting along for two months, the envoy felt very sorry for the little princess. Before leaving, he secretly sent her some words: "The Maharaja is quick to kill, and he is not close to the female sex. I hope the princess will soon adapt."
Qi Ying saluted and thanked him.
She was the only one left in the Changle Hall, other than the maids who had bowed their heads in silence.
The palace looked big, but it was not at all warm. Like the entire Beiman, it was cold and solemn. She had just arrived, and she was not yet accustomed, so she didn't dare to walk around, holding the withered trumpet creeper, she sat waiting late into the night.
The maid, who was sent to serve the princess, saw her fragile appearance and felt unbearable, so she walked over and said: "Princess, it's so late, the Maharaja shouldn't come. The princess is tired, and this slave maid will serve you to get ready for bed."
Qi Ying was indeed too tired, glanced at the moonlight outside the window, and nodded in response.
Unexpectedly, after sleeping for a while, when she was still in a daze, she heard the panicked voice of the outer maid Luo Xiao: "Greetings to the Maharaja."
Qi Ying used her hands and feet to get up from the bed.
Before she had time to jump out of bed to get dressed, a tall figure had already walked in.
Rumor had it that the Great Maharaja of Beiman, was like a bear, a bull, a tiger, and a wolf. He was nine feet tall, with blue fangs, and his eyes wide open…
There was no light in the hall, and it was dark. Qi Ying couldn't see anything, so she started to cry. She just felt the figure walked faster and faster, coming to the bed with a sharp chill and a suffocating feeling.
She lowered her head and tried her best not to make her trembling voice too obvious: "The concubine…sees the Maharaja."
The person standing in front of the bed seemed to be looking at her and did not speak for a long time.
Qi Ying's heart beat wildly, it was especially clear in the silent hall.
After a long while, she heard a low laugh from the visitor.
The laughter was a bit muffled, but it was not at all as crude as imagined. Luo Xiao tremblingly followed, and bowed and said, "Maharaja, do you want to light a lamp?"
Qi Ying heard the voice more clearly: "Light."
The hall quickly lit up.
An inch of light and shadow came to her eyes, and she saw a pair of cloud ink boots, the corners of the black clothes that were swaying slightly embroidered with golden edges, like a dragon pattern.
A cold finger stretched over and lifted her jaw.
Qi Ying was forced to look up.
She saw an unexpectedly beautiful face.
How to describe this face? Yuncang's most talented Young Master Pian Pian was less than a three-point in front of his suave face, and the most prestigious general under her father emperor was less than five-point imposing.
He was like a mysterious iron sword polished in the wind and snow, sharpened hard and sharp, the coldness had also entered his bones, and he looked good but even more than that he looked dangerous.
Maharaja of Beiman looked at her up and down, and there was no emotion in his tone: "So small."
Qi Ying felt that this was different from the rumors, that he would pity her young age.
Then he heard the Maharaja continue to say without expression: "I can choke to death with one hand."
Qi Ying: "…"
But fortunately, he didn't really intend to strangle her, so he let go, and left without saying a word.
It was said that this Maharaja was moody, and it was true.
Qi Ying was frightened for a while and finally fell asleep in the middle of the night. She had nightmares, dreaming that the Maharaja strangled her neck and pressed her against the wall…
Ji Rang walked out of the Changle Hall, and the attendant with the lantern was waiting outside.
Seeing him coming out, he greeted him with a smile, and asked softly, "Did the Maharaja see the princess who is married over?"
He couldn't sleep in the middle of the night and went out for a walk. He heard the servant mention that the princess sent by Yuncang had entered the palace today.
He recalled the little girl who was wearing a white single coat and half-kneeling on the bed with her inky hair like a waterfall. He stretched out two hands and showed the attendant: "She's only this big."
Attendant: "???"
Monarch Yuncang was so frantic??? He sent a baby princess in a swaddle???
As a result, on the second day, when the attendant sent a lot of brocade garments to the Changle Hall according to Ji Rang's instructions, he saw the cute and soft little princess, and realized that he had been played by the Maharaja again.
Although compared with the tall and strong northern barbarians, the little princess did look very small, as if a gust of wind could blow her away.
Beiman was backed by the snow-capped mountains. It was cold in winter and cool in summer. Now in this spring season, the weather was still cold. Ji Rang asked the servant to send a lot of warm skirts over, and everything sent over was better-looking than what other beauties had in the palace.
When Ji Rang came over, the little princess was sitting on the steps in front of the temple, holding a withered flower in her arms, with her head lowered. He wondered what she was thinking.
He saw last night that she put the flower by her pillow when she slept.
He stretched out his hand to stop the maid's salute, and when he walked over, the little princess was too lost in thought to find him coming.
Until he said: "What is this?"
Qi Ying was taken aback by him again.
She was in a rush to salute, but Ji Rang dragged her arm, sat down next to her, and asked, "What is this?"
Qi Ying whispered: "Trumpet Creeper."
The flower petals had fallen a long time ago, leaving only a bare branch. Ji Rang couldn't imagine what this flower looked like. He asked, "Do you like this?"
She hesitated and nodded slightly.
Ji Rang took the flower branch and greeted the attendant who was waiting outside: "Go, plant it outside the hall, we will see the flowers bloom next year."
The attendant looked at the obviously dead flower branch: "…Yes."
Qi Ying felt that the Maharaja was a little bit ignorant, and couldn't help but say: "Your Highness, it's just a dead flower branch that can't be planted."
Ji Rang turned his head and glanced at her: "Really?" He smiled coldly, "If you want it to live, it has to live."
Qi Ying didn't dare to speak for a moment and lowered her eyes.
Ji Rang was stunned. He stood up, took the little girl's slender wrist, "Eat."
The wrist was so thin, soft and tender, he couldn't help rubbing it with his fingertips. The little princess got goosebumps because of his actions.
He left after eating.
The news that the Maharaja was eating at the Changle Hall soon spread throughout the harem.
The Maharaja had never been close to female sex, so the imperial consort position was vacant. At the beginning, there were some beauties who wanted to fight for favor and engaged in all sorts of troubles in the harem.
They all died later.
They were all killed by the Maharaja. One beauty just sneaked up on his bed in the middle of the night, so he chopped off her hands and feet and threw her out of the palace.
Then the beauties had an epiphany.
It was okay to show your face in front of the Maharaja, but if one day he was in a bad mood and thought of you, the time to die would come.
Self-preservation was the only rule for survival in the Beiman Harem.
Now the little princess who had come from Yuncang didn't understand the truth, and she started to follow the footsteps of the others again, so everybody thought that her death was approaching.
Everyone mourned for the little princess.
In the end, she did not die the first time, nor did she die the second time. Instead, it was the Maharaja, who went to Changle Hall for three meals a day.
The beauties in the harem could not sit still, looking for a day, they collectively went to visit the little princess.
The little princess was soft and tender, speaking politely, with the gentle air of Yuncang nobility, and she looked particularly easy to bully. It turned out that the Maharaja liked this type???
The beauties looked at their long legs and big breasts and sighed silently.
The beauties in the harem had lived cautiously under the tyranny of the Maharaja over the years, and their desire to fight for favor had long since disappeared. To live was their only purpose!
But Ji Rang didn't know.
As soon as he heard that the beauties had all gone to the Changle Hall, he rushed over with a murderous aura.
On the way there, he imagined hundred kinds of scenes of the little princess being tortured.
The hostility was so heavy that the servants felt that the Maharaja was going to kill again today.
As soon as he entered, he saw the little girl wearing a red cloak, chatting with the beauties smiling.
When Ji Rang arrived, the atmosphere in the hall changed instantly. Everyone shivered and knelt down.
His icy eyes first glanced at the trembling little princess, and then cast an emotionless glance at the kneeling beauties: "Go! Whoever dares to step into the Changle Hall again in the future, I will cut her legs!"
The beauties left the Hall of Changle afraid and trembling.
The little princess was almost crying.
Did the Maharaja mean to put her under house arrest? What did she do wrong? She had been cautious in her words and deeds these days, and the Maharaja was also calm yesterday when he ate here!
She knelt on the ground, not daring to raise her head, Ji Rang walked over, raised her chin with his fingers, and forced her to raise her head.
Seeing the little princess's red eyes, where she was holding back her tears, she looked very pitiful.
Ji Rang felt his fingers stiffen, he pulled the little princess from the ground, wrapped her palms, and asked, "Why are you crying? I didn't yell at you."
Qi Ying said: "The concubine did not cry."
Ji Rang reached out and touched the corner of her eye, spreading the water stains on his fingertips and asked: "Then what is this? Is your saliva?"
Qi Ying: "…"
What was going on with this person!!!
She flushed with anger. She looked even more attractive.
Ji Rang, which had never been close to female sex, suddenly found his mind had become turbulent.
He took the little princess into the inner hall, walked to the side with the heating stove and sat down, then pinched the little girl's waist with both hands, lifted her up, and let her sit on his lap.
The little princess blushed even more.
However, he was contented, pondered for a while, and decided to explain his behavior just now: "The harem is sinister. You are here for the first time. They have no good intentions. Don't interact with them in the future."
Qi Ying stared at him blankly.
Unexpectedly, his behavior just now was to protect her.
Of course, she also knew that the harem was sinister, and she had seen her father's harem before. Today, she also worked hard to deal with it. She didn't expect that those beauties didn't seem to be malicious to her, but they had come to warn her.
Qi Ying couldn't help saying: "They have no malice."
Ji Rang lowered his face: "I say that they have it."
Ok.
Qi Ying dropped his eyes again and said nothing.
Ji Rang: "…"
Headache.
He put his arms around her waist. The waist was thin and soft, as if it would break with a pinch, and it felt very good to the touch.
He touched for a long time and asked: "How old are you?"
The little princess raised her eyes and whispered: "The concubine is sixteen."
Then the little princess was eaten by the Maharaja that night.
He never touched the beauties in the harem. He only felt upset when he saw those beauties, but for the first time he tasted desire and hope in the soft body of the little princess.
He took the tossed little princess into his arms and forced her to answer: "Are you afraid of me?"
Qi Ying wanted to say she was not afraid.
He pinched her by the waist and said coldly, "Be honest."
The little princess couldn't help but be frightened, and she said aggrievedly, "I'm afraid."
Ji Rang was unhappy when he heard the truth: "Why are you afraid of me? I'm so good to you."
Qi Ying: "…"
He wrapped his arms around her, so she couldn't breathe, and threatened fiercely: "Don't be afraid of me!"
Qi Ying: "…"
What a moody tyrant.
No beauty dared to come to Changle Hall again. Everyone walked around Changle Hall, for fear that one day they would encounter the Maharaja when they got close, and they would lose their lives without fault.
Except for Luo Xiao, Qi Ying had no one to speak to.
The palace was made up of black stones piled up, cold and heavy, there were even no flowers, and people couldn't breathe in the oppression.
Ji Rang soon discovered that something was wrong with his little princess.
He went to see the imperial doctor, and the imperial doctor said that she was congested.
Ji Rang looked at the trumpet creeper that had withered within two days outside the hall.
It was a guard who rushed to Yuncang overnight and uprooted the piece of trumpet creeper outside the city wall, brought it back and planted it in the Changle Hall. But the climate and soil of Beiman were really not suitable for planting flowers, and the plant died in two days.
Ji Rang thought for a while and issued a decree: to recruit flower specialists from all over the world, if they could plant living flowers and plants in the palace, he would give them a hundred acres of fertile land, and countless gold and silver.
The unpopular harem became lively.
Every day, a steady stream of flower specialists come to the capital to plant flowers in the palace.
Planting flowers naturally required fertilizer, so a…very unpleasant smell began to fill the palace.
Ji Rang didn't expect this either. The Changle Palace was the focus of the experiment, so the taste was even heavier. He was suffering from a headache, so he waved his hand and took Qi Ying to the summer palace for a holiday.
The summer palace was on the top of the snow-capped mountains.
Although it was cold, the scenery was good and there were hot springs.
Qi Ying had never seen hot springs and was very happy. Ji Rang's little princess had regained her aura again, which made him feel relieved. So, every year he took the little princess out on vacation.
Sometimes it was a snow-capped mountain to enjoy the snow in the hot springs. Sometimes it was the grassland where he took her to hunt on a large horse. He also brought Qi Ying back to Yuncang to meet her concubine mother, and when he drove off with his little princess, everyone around breathed in disbelief.
Later, many flowers grew in the palace. The killing air was dissipated, and the cold harem became full of life. Qi Ying was very happy. When Ji Rang saw that she liked flowers so much, he ordered every family in Beiman to plant flowers and grass. Whoever planted the largest and most beautiful flowers would be rewarded.
As a result, the gloomy capital began to take on color.
Ji Rang also personally planted an acacia tree in Changle Hall.
The flower specialist said that this tree was very hardy, and when it grew up, it would produce beautiful white flowers.
Ji Rang hugged his little princess and asked her, "Do you like the tree planted for you alone?"
Qi Ying said: "I like it."
Ji Rang asked: "What else do you like? I will find it for you."
Qi Ying: "…Some people have already said that this concubine is causing harm to the country."
Ji Rang's fingertips brushed her lips: "I have killed them all, don't be afraid."
Qi Ying: "…"
People like you had to talk more!
But would the tyrant care what others say?
He only wanted his little princess to be happy.
When he first saw his little princess, he wanted to give her the greatest love in the world.