King An was in his forties, yet looked like a decrepit old man in his sixties or seventies. Lying sleepless in bed, every time he drifted off, he saw an army storm the Royal Palace of An Country, swords in hand, hunting down him—the true king.
He was deeply worried, because more and more people no longer regarded him as King An.
His mother, a Central Plains Princess of uncertain origins, had already installed a new ruler with the Dragon King's support. He had thought it would only be temporary, but events had not gone as he wished. The Dragon King's power was growing stronger and stronger, and it seemed his fate in exile would drag on forever.
King An dreamed again of swords and blades striking him. He jolted awake, drenched in cold sweat. Just as he was trying to comfort himself, he suddenly noticed someone crouching beneath the window. He rubbed his eyes and confirmed that it was a real person, their back to him as they peered outside.
King An felt his heart stop. Even his blood seemed to freeze.
"Don't, don't kill me. I surrender..." Those few words alone exhausted him.
"Shh." The shadow beneath the window turned back and gestured for him to stay quiet.
King An recognized her. It was the strange woman staying in his home. "Han... Han Xuan, is that you?"
"I told you to keep quiet. Why won't you listen?" Han Xuan said impatiently, as if scolding a disobedient child.
King An was a little afraid of her. Whenever he encountered that unflinching, straight-on stare, he thought of the throne he had lost. When he had held power, no one had ever dared look at him like that.
But now, he could not even earn respect in his own bedroom.
Han