Chapter 1

"The aloof crown prince's nemesis"

Chapter 1: Du Yizhen, the Shu Kingdom's foremost noble lady

Autumn, the third year of Yongsheng.

The osmanthus blossoms in Shu had already fallen three times. Tiny golden petals carpeted the bluestone steps of the princely residence, their fragrance heavy in the air, yet unable to smother the dread that pervaded the entire estate.

The Shu Kingdom was about to fall.

Du Yizhen sat on the cushioned couch beside the window, dressed in a pale jade silk gown embroidered with sprays of magnolia. Her skin was luminous and fair, her features exceptionally gentle. She was the eldest legitimate daughter of Shu's chancellor, hailed by everyone as the kingdom's foremost noble lady. Beauty was bred into her very bones, and her temperament was soft and delicate. From childhood, her father and brothers had cherished her in the palms of their hands.

Usually, she loved reclining here, watching the osmanthus trees in the courtyard and the maids laying out paper and grinding ink, painting a few small pictures of flowers and birds in her idle hours. But today, however sweet the osmanthus fragrance outside the window, it carried a bitter edge.

Quiet conversation drifted in from outside. It was the household steward, his voice lowered almost to a whisper, yet fragments still reached her through the window.

"The army of Great Qi's crown prince, Zhao Xuan, has already taken three cities to the south and is advancing straight toward the capital... His Majesty is already planning to open the gates and surrender."

"Then what will become of our household... and the eldest young lady? They say Great Qi's crown prince is cold and ruthless, rules his army with an iron fist, and has never shown the slightest tenderness toward a beautiful woman."

Du Yizhen gently tightened her grip on the silk handkerchief in her hands, her fingertips turning faintly white.

She had heard Zhao Xuan's name countless times.

He was the sharpest blade under the Yongsheng Emperor's command. Though still young, he had led armies on campaigns north and south, earning illustrious victories. Rumor described him as tall and powerfully built, stern-faced, taciturn, and indifferent to women. Every soldier in his army regarded him with awe and fear.

Such a decisive, merciless crown prince would soon set foot in the Shu Kingdom's capital.

Her maid Qinghe entered with a bowl of warm honey water, her face pale and her voice trembling slightly. "My lady, drink some honey water to settle your nerves. His Lordship has just returned from court and is discussing matters in the front hall. They say... once Great Qi takes the city, members of the royal family and the households of high officials will all be counted and sent to the crown prince's military camp."

Du Yizhen raised her eyes, her long lashes trembling softly.

"I know." Her voice was soft and gentle, carrying a barely perceptible note of panic. "Father said that if we're sent there, there's no telling whether fortune or disaster awaits us."

Until now, her world had consisted only of courtyards, poetry, books, flowers, and plants. She had never seen the flames of war or known the despair of a fallen kingdom and a ruined home. Pampered all her life, she knew neither martial arts nor political intrigue. Once she fell into the victors' hands, a woman as beautiful as she was would have no say in her own fate.

"My lady, why don't we run away?" Qinghe's eyes reddened with distress.

Du Yizhen shook her head gently. All four gates of the capital were already surrounded by troops. Where could they possibly escape? Once the kingdom fell, there would be nowhere for her family to flee.

She rose and walked slowly to the window, gazing at the osmanthus blossoms fluttering down in the courtyard.

She was beautiful-so beautiful that people's first thought upon seeing her was of a lovely face that could bring ruin. But Du Yizhen knew perfectly well that she was merely an ordinary woman who had been sheltered far too well: timid, afraid of pain, and prone to tears when hurt. She possessed not the slightest ability to topple a family or a kingdom.

The sky slowly darkened, and her father's heavy footsteps sounded from the front hall.

Du Heng, the chancellor of Shu, pushed open the door and entered the inner chamber. Dust clung to his official robes, and a little more frost had gathered at his temples. At the sight of his daughter beside the window, his eyes filled with guilt and helplessness.

"Yizhen." Du Heng's voice was hoarse. "All is lost. Shu's letter of surrender will be sent out tomorrow. Once Great Qi's crown prince, Zhao Xuan, enters the city, he will take a count of every high official's household."

Du Yizhen turned to face her father and asked softly, "Will I be taken to the military camp?"

"Yes." Du Heng briefly closed his eyes. "Zhao Xuan has ordered that the families of Shu's senior ministers be housed together to await his judgment. I have done everything I could to negotiate, but there is no way to keep you here."

Du Yizhen's nose stung, and her eyes instantly reddened. There was nothing affected about it; the fear in her heart was real.

She had heard far too many stories of the miserable fates women suffered in troubled times. Whenever she thought of soon meeting the crown prince of Great Qi, rumored to be cold and heartless, panic surged through her.

"Father, I'm afraid." Her voice was very soft, her eyes brimming with tears, crystalline drops trembling on her lashes. "They say that crown prince is hard and cold, that his heart never softens."

Seeing his delicate daughter in tears sent a stab of pain through Du Heng's chest, yet he could do nothing. He reached out and gently patted her shoulder. "Yizhen, you will have to endure this hardship. When you stand before the crown prince, you must never defy him. Be cautious in everything you say and do. Keeping yourself alive matters most."

Du Yizhen bit her lower lip and nodded gently.

The night deepened, and she slept fitfully until morning.

In her dreams, the flames of war raged, and horses' hooves shattered Shu's prosperity. That tall, stern general in black stood far away amid the firelight, his expression indistinct, his oppressive presence bearing down on her.

Early the next morning, the city gates opened wide.

Great Qi's armored cavalry slowly rode into the Shu Kingdom's capital.

The streets were terrifyingly quiet. The common people kept their doors shut, and only the synchronized beat of horses' hooves echoed down the long avenue.

A squad of armored Qi soldiers arrived outside the chancellor's residence, under orders from the crown prince to collect Chancellor Du and his family.

Du Yizhen changed into a plain, elegant gown of moon-white. She wore no elaborate pearls or jewels, merely pinning her hair into a simple bun. Following the women of the household, she walked out through the residence's gates, one step at a time.

When she looked up, she saw a troop of elite cavalry slowly approaching from the far end of the street, clustered around a single man.

He sat astride a towering warhorse, his black armor making his upright figure seem as imposing as a mountain. His shoulders and back were broad, his face stern, his eyes deep-set, without a trace of a smile. He carried the grim, killing aura of a man seasoned by countless battles, and even the wind around him seemed to grow colder.

It was Zhao Xuan, the crown prince of Great Qi.

Du Yizhen's heart abruptly missed a beat, and she instinctively shrank back a little.

So this was the iron-fisted crown prince of rumor.

Zhao Xuan's gaze swept indifferently over the captured Shu families gathered beside the street. Passing across the crowd, it happened to fall on Du Yizhen.

The young woman stood among the others in plain clothes, her features delicate and lovely, the corners of her eyes red. Like a frightened little white blossom, she gazed timidly at him with a faint shimmer of tears in her eyes.

At that single glance, Zhao Xuan's somber gaze briefly lingered on her.

Du Yizhen's heart trembled. She hastily lowered her head, her long lashes falling to conceal the panic in her eyes.

She did not know that, from this first encounter in the street, the tear she had struggled to hold back would remain firmly etched in the aloof crown prince's memory.

All the ties, entanglements, and push and pull that followed began with this fleeting glimpse amid a world in turmoil, as startlingly beautiful as a swan in flight.

Zhao Xuan withdrew his gaze, his deep voice sounding as he ordered his soldiers, "House the families properly. They are not to be mistreated."

His ringing voice resounded down the long street.

The curtain fell on the Shu Kingdom's prosperity, while the story of Du Yizhen and Zhao Xuan had only just begun.