A Fleeting Glimpse

At dawn the next day, the first light broke through.

On the official road outside Qinzhou City, the thin mist had yet to clear.

Hooves struck the packed yellow earth with a crisp, unhurried rhythm.

A jet-black horse with a glossy coat trotted lightly west along the road.

After a night's rest and a serving of feed enriched with an egg, the black horse was full of spirit. Even its tail swished with unusual enthusiasm.

A young woman sat astride it.

Plain black traveling clothes traced her slender, upright figure. She had pinned her dark hair behind her head with a simple wooden hairpin, baring a long, fair neck.

The morning breeze brushed past, pressing a few loose strands against her cheek. They only made her cool, otherworldly face look more like something out of a painting.

Her small face, though, showed no expression, and her bearing was distinctly aloof.

Passing merchant caravans sensed her keep-away air even from afar and reined in to give her room.

Only as they passed did they dare steal a glance from the corners of their eyes.

What a beautiful young woman.

But... she did not look easy to get along with.

Whoever married a woman like that—should he be envied or pitied?

Jiang Yuechu paid their looks no mind. She swayed lazily with the horse's gait.

This was Qinzhou, after all, renowned as Longyou's little Jiangnan.

Even beyond its bustling city, the scenery was hardly desolate.

Great stretches of green wheat fields lined the road. Here and there, an unknown flower peeked from a branch, lending a touch of beguiling spring color to this harsh northwestern land.

Compared with the taut, head-on-a-belt existence in Liangzhou, this place was certainly better suited to living.

Still, she was only passing through.

Jiang Yuechu withdrew her