Dreaming of Warhorses and Icy Rivers

She was Li Youran, the most honored Princess Pingyang of the Jin Kingdom, and also Yu Huqing, the young general who struck fear along the border.

"The spring breeze fills my heart, my horse's hooves fly; in a single day, I take in all the flowers of Chang'an."

During her years in the border camp, she had been its brightest young general, as well as the treasured princess cherished by her parents and kin.

But a sudden upheaval changed everything. Her father ordered her mother's family executed, and relatives turned on one another until the ground ran red and bones lay strewn everywhere.

She, too, was confined to the palace, where she was shut away from the light of day.

On the day her mother's family was executed, she dressed in plain white and sat before a mirror. With her own hands, she killed Li Youran, buried her in her heart, burned a few offerings before the grave, then cast it into a deep, dark abyss with no bottom.

From then on, she was only Yu Huqing. She left everything behind, living only to avenge her mother's family.

When she was born, her mother named her Youran, hoping she would live a peaceful, carefree life. She never imagined her daughter would ultimately choose the most arduous path of all.

This novel and its characters are entirely fictional. Any resemblance to actual people or events is purely coincidental. Do not imitate.