A Princess’s Journey of Self-Reliance

Once a princess, always a princess. Princess Qionghua, famed for her beauty throughout the Western Regions, was spoiled and arrogant, often comparing herself to a snow lotus on the Tianshan Mountains. She had never gotten along with her detestable half-sister, Princess Roujia. But fate took a sudden turn. In a single night, her country fell and her family was destroyed. The princess who had once stood above everyone else became destitute and was forced to seek refuge with her maternal uncle. There she met Lu Mingzheng, a refined young man from the Han people, and fell for him at first sight, for a lifetime.

Shyly, she confessed her feelings. “My lord, would you take me back to the Central Plains?”

Lu Mingzheng hurriedly fled. “Princess, please behave yourself!!”

Hmph! If you have no feelings for me, I’ll move on. There are more handsome men ahead!! From a fallen princess living under someone else’s roof, to a beloved consort in a foreign land, then a queen, and finally the Empress Dowager, revered by all, she thought she could settle into a leisurely retirement at last.

But the banners atop the city walls changed, and enemy forces advanced to the capital. This time, she was firmly on the side of war! Anyone who called her a bewitching beauty who brought ruin to the realm would answer to the dog-head guillotine!

Khan of Heaven Temur: “Though the peony is lovely, it cannot rival a realm in full bloom.”

Old aristocrat Gu Huaizhi: “You venomous woman! My Gu family has been a family of court officials for generations, showered with imperial favor, and you murdered your own husband and usurped another’s place!!”

Sickly Pei Xichuan: “My lady, I ask for nothing more than that we keep out of each other’s way.”

Marrying a prefect on her second try and a powerful magnate on her third, she cared nothing for marrying across class lines or being mocked by the world. As long as her people had roofs over their heads and branches of the parasol tree to shelter beneath, she would have fulfilled her duty as a princess. Even if she fell into the Avici Hell after death, she would gladly accept it.

But you, you hateful man! When we cross the River of Forgetfulness, could you turn back and look at me once more? Lu Mingzheng, hey, I’m talking to you! Slow down, and don’t let go of my hand!