Jingle, jingle~~
The clear chime of horse bells echoed in the bitter wind. A spacious carriage bearing a wooden plaque marked "Hua" rolled slowly across the endless ice plain, surrounded by more than thirty mounted martial artists dressed as guards, who watched their surroundings warily.
A stove warmed the spacious carriage, with a small painting desk beside it. Dressed in a winter skirt, Hua Qingzhi sat upright by the window, quietly wielding her brush to paint the beautiful starry river.
There was also a chess table opposite her. Green Pearl sat on one side, holding a black stone and frowning in concentration.
An elegant middle-aged man dressed as a scholar stroked his beard and spoke softly:
"The Western Frontier hasn't been peaceful lately. If Wang Divine Physician hadn't prescribed that medicine, your mother would never have let me come here and take this risk. If this works out, you'll have to settle down once we get home. Even if you think His Highness the Crown Prince is too fat-headed and big-eared to catch your eye, you ought to consider the princes' heirs. The Left Xian King's heir is a dragon among men. He's only in his early twenties, and he's already a Grandmaster. He's certain to become an overlord of the Western Frontier someday..."
Green Pearl glanced up at her young mistress, wanting to interject, "What's so great about a Grandmaster? Young Master Ye of the Southern Dynasty is only eighteen or nineteen, and he's almost reached Entering Sainthood..."
But as a maid, she would certainly be thrown out of the carriage by her master and made to walk if she said that. So she silently kept her mouth shut, pretending she had heard nothing.
After entering the pass at Yashan and returning to their own territory, Hua Qingzhi and