Crossing the Xiaoxiang River

[Disgraced Princess x Powerful Regent]

Yan Li first met Helian Jun beside Xiaoxiang Lake.

She was fleeing when someone seized her and forced her to kneel in the muddy ground beneath the rain.

The man sat upright on his horse, looking down at her with a smile that never reached his eyes.

He even held a long sword to her throat, threatening her into guiding him.

He said, "Make one wrong move, and you lose your head."

By then, Yan Li's kingdom had fallen and she had lost all power. To save her own life, she had no choice but to pretend to cooperate.

Along the way, they matched wits and schemed against each other.

After escaping, Yan Li thought they would never meet again.

Who could have guessed that a few months later, she would be married into the prince's manor under a false identity, only to find that the man lifting her red bridal veil was none other than him...

Helian Jun regarded her with keen interest and a probing look. "Princess Consort, have we met before?"

Yan Li panicked and could only manage an awkward smile. "Your Highness must be joking. I was raised at my grandfather's country estate from a young age and have lived in seclusion for years. How could I ever have had the chance to behold Your Highness's distinguished face?"

"Is that so?"

"Of course." Yan Li slipped a hand around Helian Jun's waist. "Your Highness, it's getting late. How can we let such a beautiful evening go to waste..."

She thought Helian Jun would refuse. After all, he had never taken this marriage seriously.

He had even tried to kill her at every turn...

But instead, the man caught her hand and pushed her toward the bed.

"Since my princess consort has so kindly invited me, how could I refuse?"

Yan Li panicked, completely thrown off balance.

She hadn't expected him to actually mean it...

After that, Yan Li devoted all her efforts to restoring her kingdom, especially by making good use of Helian Jun's influence.

She thought she had hidden everything well. Then one day, just as she returned to her room to rest, she saw the man sitting at her desk, smiling as he held a letter she'd written to contact her old allies.

"I never expected my dear princess consort to have such courage and cunning. We've shared a bed for so long, and this is the first I've heard of it."

Yan Li didn't dare admit anything, so she could only force an awkward laugh.

It's over. It's all over...

"Bonus scene"

Helian Jun knew all about Yan Li's efforts to restore her kingdom, but chose to turn a blind eye.

He would tease her in his spare time, and the days went by like that. He had completely forgotten that at first, he'd wanted to kill her.

At night, they slept in the same bed. When passion took hold, he would kiss Yan Li's neck and tease her, asking, "Have you ever truly loved me, my princess consort?"

His only answer was a silence as deep as night.

Helian Jun wasn't angry. The smile on his lips only grew as he bit the fragrant shoulder of the woman beneath him, as if to punish her.

It didn't matter. There was still plenty of time. He would make the woman beneath him cry out that she loved him...

Title source: "The fragrant alfalfa crosses the river; a wisp of cloud and a passing shower drift across Xiaoxiang." - Zhu Yuanzhang

Theme: Fight for your country and your people!